Mr. Tambourine Man

From This Might Be A Wiki
They Might Be Giants performing Mr. Tambourine Man at "The Victory Show", 1986.

song name Mr. Tambourine Man
artist They Might Be Giants
releases Unreleased, Stumpbox III The Ceaseless Screaming
year 1986
first played March 29, 1986 (49 known performances)
run time 1:44
sung by John Flansburgh, John Linnell


Trivia/Info

  • This song is a cover of The Byrds' rendition of "Mr. Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan.
  • "Weep Day" was inspired by this song. On the back cover of a Bob Dylan album, it had been hyphenated and separated in the most unusual of places — Mr. Tambo-urine Man. The Johns subsequently used these separate terms as names for two characters in the song.
  • This song was first performed alongside a multitude of acoustic guitar players at a Pyramid Club show in 1986. In a letter labelling the show as "The Victory Show", fans were told to bring acoustic guitars and join the band onstage to perform the song. The second "annual" performance of the song occurred at the Village Gate in 1987.[1]
  • When performed live, "Mr. Tambourine Man" is often played as part of a medley with "Spy". A John flashes a T-shaped hand gesture during the wild improvisational ending to direct the band to launch into the song.

Song Themes

Body Parts, Clothes, Dancing, Hands, Mind Control, Hypnotism, Music, People (Imaginary), Sleep, Titles And Honorifics, TMBG Remakes

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