Born in Time
{{Short description|1990 song by Bob Dylan}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Born in Time
| cover =
| alt =
| type =
| artist = Bob Dylan
| album = Under the Red Sky
| released = September 10, 1990
| recorded = March–May 1990
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Rock
| length = {{Duration|m=3|s=39}}
| label = Columbia
| writer = Bob Dylan
| producer =
| prev_track =
| track_no =
| next_track =
| misc = {{External music video|header=Audio|{{YouTube|4qcHtGX34rk|"Born in Time" (album version) by Bob Dylan}}}}
}}
"Born in Time" is a rock song written by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, who first released the track on September 10, 1990, on his twenty-seventh studio album Under the Red Sky. It is a reworking of a song originally recorded at the previous year's Oh Mercy sessions.{{cite web|url=http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/born-time|title=Born In Time | The Official Bob Dylan Site|publisher=Sony Music Entertainment|work=bobdylan.com|access-date=October 14, 2015}} The British recording artist Eric Clapton covered the song for his 1998 studio effort Pilgrim and released his take on the tune as a single.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/born-in-time-mt0008749328|title=Born in Time – Eric Clapton | Song Info | AllMusic|publisher=Rovi Corporation|work=AllMusic|access-date=October 14, 2015}} The song has been praised by critics for its catchy melody and romantic, dreamlike lyrics.{{Cite web|date=October 16, 2020|title=Bob Dylan's 20 Best Songs of the '90s|url=https://spectrumculture.com/2020/10/15/bob-dylans-20-best-songs-of-the-90s/|access-date=March 4, 2021|website=Spectrum Culture|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|date=October 7, 2016|title=Born in Time: the often re-written Dylan song with the overpowering image {{!}} Untold Dylan|url=https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/3003|access-date=March 4, 2021|language=en-GB}}
Bob Dylan's versions
Dylan has officially released four different versions of the song: In addition to the version released on Under the Red Sky, he subsequently released two outtakes from the Oh Mercy sessions, recorded in 1989 and produced by Daniel Lanois, on The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989–2006 in 2008,{{Cite web|title=Born in Time {{!}} The Official Bob Dylan Site|url=https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/born-time/|access-date=March 4, 2021|website=www.bobdylan.com}} and a live version from 1998 as the b-side to his single "Love Sick" from Time Out of Mind.{{Cite web|title=Bob Dylan - Love Sick CD Singles|url=https://www.expectingrain.com/dok/cd/98/lovesick.html|access-date=March 4, 2021|website=www.expectingrain.com}}
=Reception=
Spectrum Culture included the Under the Red Sky version on a list of "Bob Dylan's 20 Best Songs of the 1990s". In an article accompanying the list, critic Tyler Dunston calls it "particularly urgent" and notes that it is a track where, "as with many of Dylan’s greatest songs, his romanticism and his realism intersect".{{Cite web|date=October 16, 2020|title=Bob Dylan's 20 Best Songs of the '90s|url=https://spectrumculture.com/2020/10/15/bob-dylans-20-best-songs-of-the-90s/|access-date=May 5, 2021|website=Spectrum Culture|language=en-US}} The Big Issue placed The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 version at #15 on a 2021 list of the "80 best Bob Dylan songs - that aren't the greatest hits" and noted that it signaled "a return to form after a rum decade" for the singer/songwriter.{{Cite web|date=May 17, 2021|title=The 80 best Bob Dylan songs – that aren't the greatest hits|url=https://www.bigissue.com/culture/music/dylan-best-songs/|access-date=May 18, 2021|website=The Big Issue|language=en}}
A 2021 Guardian article included it on a list of "80 Bob Dylan songs everyone should know".{{Cite web|date=May 22, 2021|title=Beyond Mr Tambourine Man: 80 Bob Dylan songs everyone should know|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/may/22/beyond-mr-tambourine-man-80-bob-dylan-songs-everyone-should-know|access-date=May 22, 2021|website=the Guardian|language=en}}
=In live performance=
Dylan performed the song 56 times on the Never Ending Tour between 1993 and 2003.{{Cite web|title=Born in Time {{!}} The Official Bob Dylan Site|url=http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/born-time/|access-date=March 4, 2021|website=www.bobdylan.com}} One of these performances was a duet with Eric Clapton in New York City in 1999.{{Cite web|last=Egil|date=March 2, 2016|title=Bob Dylan & Eric Clapton: Born In Time, New York 1999 (video)|url=https://alldylan.com/bob-dylan-eric-clapton-born-in-time-new-york-1999-video/|access-date=March 4, 2021|website=All Dylan - A Bob Dylan blog|language=en-US}}
Eric Clapton's version
{{Infobox song
| name = Born in Time
| cover = Eric Clapton Born in Time.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Eric Clapton
| album = Pilgrim
| released = {{Start date|1998|07|10}}
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Soft rock
| length = {{Duration|m=4|s=42}}
| label = Reprise
| writer = Bob Dylan
| producer = *Eric Clapton
- Simon Climie
| prev_title = Circus
| prev_year = 1998
| next_title = Pilgrim
| next_year = 1998
| misc = {{External music video|header=Audio|{{YouTube|ZPnsKeQY_Fo|"Born in Time" by Eric Clapton}}}}
{{Audio sample
| type = single
| file = Eric Clapton Born in Time.ogg
| description =
}}
}}
The British rock musician Eric Clapton covered Dylan's original release, adding his Pilgrim-style arrangements to the track. Clapton plays the song in the key of E major.{{cite web|url=http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/e/eric_clapton/born_in_time_tab.htm|title=Born In Time Tab by Eric Clapton @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com|publisher=Ultimate-Guitar.com|access-date=October 14, 2015}} The British recording artist adds a Distortion effect while playing the rhythm guitar pattern with his signature Fender Stratocaster. In between some lyrical lines and for his guitar solo, Clapton uses a Dobro, playing with the slide guitar technique. The background vocals and synthesizers on the recording create a string orchestra sound and feel.{{cite web|first=Eric|last=Clapton|url=https://play.spotify.com/album/3NciWxb2An4XoNC0AaYyNK?play=true|title=Pilgrim|year=1998|publisher=Spotify AB|work=Spotify|access-date=October 14, 2015}} The recording was produced by Clapton himself along with his long-time collaborator record producer Simon Climie.{{cite web |url=http://www.austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Eric+Clapton&titel=Born+In+Time&cat=s |title=Eric Clapton – Born In Time – austriancharts.at |publisher=Steffen Hung Hung Medien |work=Ö3 Austria Top 40 |language=de |access-date=October 14, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001195252/http://www.austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Eric+Clapton&titel=Born+In+Time&cat=s |archive-date=October 1, 2015 }}
=Track listing=
{{Track listing
|headline=Compact disc single{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Eric-Clapton-Born-In-Time/release/2418760|title=Eric Clapton – Born In Time (CD) at Discogs|date=November 26, 1998 |publisher=Discogs|access-date=October 14, 2015}}
|extra_column=Producer(s)
|total_length=18:38
|title1=Born in Time
|note1=Album Version
|writer1=Bob Dylan
|extra1=Eric Clapton · Simon Climie
|length1=4:42
|title2=Born in Time
|note2=Remix Edit
|writer2=Bob Dylan
|extra2=Eric Clapton · Simon Climie
|length2=3:59
|title3=Wonderful Tonight
|note3=Live
|writer3=Eric Clapton
|extra3=Russ Titelman
|length3=5:25
|title4=Tears in Heaven
|writer4=Eric Clapton · Will Jennings
|extra4=Russ Titelman
|length4=4:32
}}
=Reception=
Entertainment Weekly critic David Browne notes pop record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds humming the backing vocals to the tune on the Pilgrim studio album, giving it a R&B feel.{{cite magazine|first=David|last=Brownie|url=http://www.ew.com/article/1998/03/13/pilgrim|title=Pilgrim | EW.com|publisher=Entertainment Weekly, Inc.|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=March 13, 1998|access-date=October 14, 2015}} Journalist David Wild from Rolling Stone likes Clapton's interpretation of this "overlooked Dylan tune".{{cite magazine|first=David|last=Wild|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/pilgrim-19980225|title=Eric Clapton Pilgrim Album Review | Rolling Stone|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=February 25, 1998|access-date=October 14, 2015|archive-date=December 24, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224203046/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/pilgrim-19980225|url-status=dead}} The compact disc single was not that successful in the charts, reaching only number 88 in Germany, where the single release stayed for eight weeks on the official German single charts.{{cite web|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-49063|title=Eric Clapton – Born in Time|publisher=Offizielle Deutsche Charts|work=Media Control|language=de|access-date=October 14, 2015}} In the Czech Republic, the CD single was purchased more than one thousand times in the first week, making it Clapton's only single in the Republic, gaining a silver disc for outstanding sales figures.{{cite journal|first=Alena|last=Králová|title=Pokračování prodeje a hudební seznamy země|trans-title=Continued charts and sales in the country|publisher=Borgis, a.s.|journal=Právo|language=cs|date=July 20, 1998}}
=Weekly charts=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |
| Chart (1998)
!Peak |
|---|
| {{singlechart|Germany|88|artist=Eric Clapton|title=Born In Time|rowheader=true|access-date=October 14, 2015|songid=49063}} |
=Certifications=
{{Certification Table Top|format=2col}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|artist=Eric Clapton|region=Czech Republic (ČNS IFPI)|award=Silver|certref=|format=2col}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|format=2col }}
Other versions
- Robyn Hitchcock covered the song on his 2020 album The Man Downstairs: Demos & Rarities.{{cite web |url=https://www.brooklynvegan.com/robyn-hitchcock-covers-nick-drake-pink-floyd-on-new-rarities-album-for-bandcamp-friday/ |title=Robyn Hitchcock covers Nick Drake, Pink Floyd on new rarities album for Bandcamp Friday |author=Bill Pearis |date=2020-08-07 |website=Brooklyn Vegan |access-date=2020-08-10}}{{cite web |url=https://tinnitist.com/2020/08/07/robyn-hitchcock-the-man-downstairs-demos-rarities/ |title=Reviews: Robyn Hitchcock, The Man Downstairs: Demos & Rarities |author=Darryl Sterdan |date=2020-08-07 |website=Tinnitist |access-date=2020-08-10}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Bob Dylan}}
{{Eric Clapton singles}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Born in Time}}
Category:Reprise Records singles
Category:Songs written by Bob Dylan