{"id":48883,"date":"2025-05-01T15:54:44","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T20:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=48883"},"modified":"2025-05-01T19:02:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-02T00:02:09","slug":"the-chain-of-events-legacy-guilt-and-fate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wlbott.com\/?p=48883","title":{"rendered":"Every Grain of Sand"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Bob Dylan’s<\/strong> 1981 song Every Grain of Sand<\/em> reads almost like a prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Every Grain of Sand<\/strong>
Written by: Bob Dylan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the time of my confession, in the hour of my deepest need<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the pool of tears beneath my feet flood every newborn seed<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s a dyin\u2019 voice within me reaching out somewhere<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Toiling in the danger and in the morals of despair<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Don\u2019t have the inclination to look back on any mistake<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like Cain, I now behold this chain of events that I must break<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the fury of the moment I can see the Master\u2019s hand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In every leaf that trembles, in every grain of sand<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Oh, the flowers of indulgence and the weeds of yesteryear<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like criminals, they have choked the breath of conscience and good cheer<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sun beat down upon the steps of time to light the way<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To ease the pain of idleness and the memory of decay<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I gaze into the doorway of temptation\u2019s angry flame<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And every time I pass that way I always hear my name<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then onward in my journey I come to understand<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That every hair is numbered like every grain of sand<\/p>\n<\/div>

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I have gone from rags to riches in the sorrow of the night<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the violence of a summer\u2019s dream, in the chill of a wintry light<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the bitter dance of loneliness fading into space<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the broken mirror of innocence on each forgotten face<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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I hear the ancient footsteps like the motion of the sea<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes I turn, there\u2019s someone there, other times it\u2019s only me<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am hanging in the balance of the reality of man<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like every sparrow falling, like every grain of sand<\/p>\n<\/div>

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One reviewer suggests that this song may have been Dylan’s way of acknowledging God guidance in his life, while giving himself permission to return to secular themes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cEvery Grain of Sand\u201d is the last song on 1981\u2019s Shot of Love.[…] [T]his album marked Dylan\u2019s turning away from solely singing about God and starting to look towards secular concerns and themes in his work again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery Grain of Sand\u201d serves as an elegy, a goodbye to singing solely about God. It\u2019s the last song on the album and has an anthemic quality reserved for Dylan\u2019s greatest songs. Perhaps Dylan felt that in this piece of writing, he had finally captured what he wanted to say about God and God\u2019s place in Dylan\u2019s vocation as a writer and performer.<\/p>\nRecliner Notes<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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References<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Dylan had, according to his biographer Ian Bell, become a born again Christian in November 1978. “Every Grain of Sand” contains powerful allusions to Jesus, faith, and spirituality (\u2018In the fury of the moment I can see the Master’s hand \/ In every leaf that trembles, in every grain of sand\u2019). Rolling Stone described it as a “mature update” of Dylan’s 1964 song “Chimes of Freedom”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The song is well known for its haunting imagery, which has been compared to that of William Blake. Although it is filled with numerous biblical references, it may also have been partly inspired by the following lines from Blake’s “Auguries of Innocence”:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biblical references of Every Grain of Sand include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n