“Forever Young“ is a song by Bob Dylan….which was recorded in California in November 1973…..and first appeared….in two different versions, one slow and one fast….on Dylan’s fourteenth studio album Planet Waves in 1974…..as a demo version of the song, recorded in New York City in June 1973 was included on Dylan’s 1985 compilation Biograph. In the notes included with that album, Dylan is quoted as saying that he wrote “Forever Young” in Tucson, Arizona, “thinking about” one of his sons and “not wanting to be too sentimental”….whereas a live version of the song was recorded in Tokyo in 1978….and included on Dylan’s album Bob Dylan at Budokan….which was released as a European single in 1979.
Written as a lullaby for his eldest son Jesse, born in 1966, Dylan’s song relates a father’s hopes that his child will remain strong and happy….as it opens with the lines, “May God bless and keep you always / May your wishes all come true”….while echoing the Old Testament’s Book of Numbers….which has lines that begin with “May the Lord bless you and guard you / May the Lord make His face shed light upon you.” …..and not wishing to sound “too sentimental”….Dylan included two versions of the song on the Planet Waves album….with one being a lullaby….and the other more rock oriented.
