I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You

Gladly I will be the first to comment on yet another masterpiece, this song has been on repeat since I first heard it weeks and weeks ago. How does this 79 year old man still do it, Thank you Bob. You are so cherished!

Now after that gushing is over with, onto the meaning, the very first listen I thought of it in a religious tone, kinda like Bob should have written this in the early 80's during his born-again Christianity time. But after a few listens, its taken on a different meaning, I think he's going one up higher and declaring this to God (instead of Jesus) like he has come to terms with every golden moment and every failure he's endured in his life and now has completely submitted and is ready for the big sleep. Or its just yet another perfect love-song that he's been holding long in his heart and finally decided to confess and admit that this person is THE ONE and he aint ever wandering away from her.

Either way, this new album and especially this song is breathtaking, it truly is. Thank You Bob for endless hours of beautiful meditation and self discovery, you've been with me throughout so many dark and painful moments in my life and you are loved greatly, we all have given our hearts to you. Peace

No interpretation here :P just wanted to say I like how he sings in it, makes me relaxed and feel at ease. In general I love Rough and Rowdy Ways for this exact reason; the whole album is very calm and quiet (well, maybe two songs are a bit more energetic, the blues-style ones), the level of decibels is very low, although you can still perfectly hear the vocals AND the accompanying instruments. Well done, Bob, another Noble prize-worthy material!

The album from which this song hails is one of Bob’s best and I think history will judge it as such, for many reasons, but one is that this whole albums is about, more than anything, music itself, and Bob’s relationship to it. What a perfect theme for what could very well be his last studio album(as far as he knew at the time of making it). The man devoted his life to music, and to music he shows the greatest reverence.

The clues are all there; Songs like I Contain Multitudes, Goodbye Jimmy Reed, and Murder Most Foul are bursting with references to countless other artists. False Prophet, the song Bob maybe wishes he could have written in the 60s when people were anointing him the voice of a generation when all he wanted to be was a “song and dance man”. My Own Version of you could be a coded recipe on his approach to songwriting and the way he is constantly reimagining his own repertoire. Mother of Muses…well hopefully you get the idea.

Which brings us to this masterpiece. Who has Bob made up his mind to give himself to? At first you think, this is the kind of sappy refrain you’d hear in a classic love song. But quickly, the veneer of nostolgia gives way to a deeper truth. Bob has given himself up to Music, more than people, more than religion.