"Make You Feel My Love": The Song Dylan Fans Love to Hate

Definitely Dylan

24-03-2023 • 59 mins

No other Bob Dylan song has provoked such a diverse range of responses as "Make You Feel My Love". Initially dismissed by reviewers as a failure, it has since grown into a wildly successful pop hit. It's the song that's loved by the masses, but hated by Dylan purists. Perhaps what's at the heart of this fundamental disagreement is a different question altogether: is this a banal love song, or does it have a deeper, perhaps even darker meaning?

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Thanks to Craig Danuloff from the Dylan.FM podcast for initially inviting me to speak about this topic, this episode partly draws on the talk I gave at his online event last year.

Graley Herren’s book Dreams and Dialogues in Dylan's "Time Out of Mind" is available here.