I don’t have much to say about this song except that the last line always makes me think of Sister Veronika.

That, and the fact that the original album version from Shot of Love has the wrong lyrics there (Dylan later changed them, and every decent cover uses the “perfect, finished plan” lyrics.) There are many great interpretations of this song, but my personal favorite is Emmylou Harris’ cover, which you can get on her album Wrecking Ball or listen below from a recent festival:

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The Author

Matthew Loftus

Matthew grew up in a family of 15 children and completed his medical training in Baltimore, Maryland. Since 2015, he and his family have lived in East Africa, where he currently teaches and practices Family Medicine at a mission hospital. His work has appeared in outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The New Atlantis, and Mere Orthodoxy and his first book is forthcoming from InterVarsity Press.

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The Author

Mere Orthodoxy

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