Cover art for Born in Time by Bob Dylan

Born in Time

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Sep. 10, 19901 viewer5K views

Born in Time Lyrics

[Verse 1]
In the lonely night
In the blinking stardust of a pale blue light
You’re coming’ thru to me in black and white
When we were made of dreams

[Verse 2]
You’re blowing down the shaky street
You’re hearing my heart beat
In the record-breaking heat
Where we were born in time

[Verse 3]
Not one more night, not one more kiss
Not this time baby, no more of this
Takes too much skill, takes too much will
It’s revealing

[Verse 4]
You came, you saw, just like the law
You married young, just like your ma
You tried and tried, you made me slide
You left me reeling with this feeling

[Verse 5]
On the rising curve
Where the ways of nature will test every nerve
You won’t get anything you don’t deserve
Where we were born in time
[Verse 6]
You pressed me once, you pressed me twice
You hang the flame, you’ll pay the price
Oh babe, that fire

[Verse 7]
Is still smoking
You were snow, you were rain
You were striped, you were plain
Oh babe, truer words
Have not been spoken or broken

[Verse 8]
In the hills of mystery
In the foggy web of destiny
You can have what’s left of me
Where we were born in time

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About

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Genius Annotation

“Born In Time” was first recorded during the sessions for Oh Mercy (1989), but wasn’t included on the album. Dylan later revisited the song during the “Under The Red Sky” sessions and chose to include it there. One outtake each from the two sessions was released on 2008’s The Bootleg Series Volume 8 – Tell Tale Signs: Rare And Unreleased 1989-2006.

The phrase “born in time” is an inversion of the last lines of Dylan’s “Simple Twist Of Fate” (1975)

She was born in spring
But I was born too late
Blame it on a simple twist of fate

Q&A

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Credits
Written By
Background Vocals
Vocals
Accordion
Engineer
Release Date
September 10, 1990
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