Visions of Johanna

"Visions of Johanna"
Song by Bob Dylan
from the album Blonde on Blonde
ReleasedJune 20, 1966 (1966-06-20)
RecordedFebruary 14, 1966
GenreFolk rock[1]
Length7:30
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Bob Dylan
Producer(s)Bob Johnston

"Visions of Johanna" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan on his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. Several critics have acclaimed "Visions of Johanna" as one of Dylan's highest achievements in writing,[2][3] praising the allusiveness and subtlety of the language.[4][5] Rolling Stone included "Visions of Johanna" on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 1999, Sir Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, listed it as the greatest song lyric ever written.

Dylan first recorded the song in New York City in November 1965, under the working title of "Freeze Out", but was dissatisfied with the results. When the Blonde on Blonde recording sessions moved to Nashville in February 1966, Dylan attempted the composition again with different musicians, and decided to release this performance. All of the alternate versions of the song have been officially released, but some only on a limited edition collectors set: many of them are November 1965 or later 1966 studio outtakes, and two others are live performances from his 1966 world tour.

Numerous artists have recorded cover versions of the song, including the Grateful Dead, Cat Power, Marianne Faithfull, Chris Smither, and Robyn Hitchcock.

  1. ^ "Visions of Johanna by Bob Dylan - Track Info | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. ^ "10 Greatest Bob Dylan Songs". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  3. ^ "Bob Dylan: 30 greatest songs". The Telegraph. 2015-07-24. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  4. ^ "The 30 Greatest Bob Dylan Songs: #12, "Visions of Johanna" « American Songwriter". American Songwriter. 2009-04-24. Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  5. ^ "Visions of Infinity « Jonny Thakkar". www.jonnythakkar.com. Retrieved 2018-06-04.