365 Days of Dylan, Day 67: Shot of Love

365 Days of Dylan, Day 67: Shot of Love from the 1981 album from the same name. Released just six years after Blood on the Tracks, it couldn't sound more different. This opening cut is all big beat, drums, bluesy bombastic vocals and stinging guitars. A lot of swagger in this song. Lyrics.

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365 Days of Dylan, Day 34: Every Grain of Sand

365 Days of Dylan, Day 34: Every Grain of Sand from Shot of Love (1981). Shot of Love is the final cut on the last of Dylan's trilogy of Christian albums that also include Slow Train Coming (1979) and Saved (1980).

Writing in Rolling Stone, Paul Nelson only gave Shot of Love a two-star review on its release. He did single out praise for Every Grain of Sand Though, calling it "...something special: the 'Chimes of Freedom' and 'Mr. Tambourine Man' of Bob Dylan's Christian period." 

Whatever happened to Bob Dylan's Born-Again Music Fans (Chicago Tribune).

Every Grain of Sand lyrics.

From the Bootleg Series, Volumes 1-3, a more stripped-down version of Shot of Love.

From a live performance in Toronto, 1998.

Bob Dylan and Mick Taylor.

Like many Dylan songs, Shot of Love inspired dozens of cover versions by the likes of Ann Wilson, Giant Sand, Emmylou Harris, Luka Bloom, Chuck Rogan, and The Blind Boys of Alabama. And that's just to name a few.

Emmylou Harris performs  "Every Grain of Sand"at the Ryman, May 23, 2016.

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