Song · Bob Dylan
“Every Grain of Sand” by Bob Dylan
Released 1981
“Every Grain of Sand” by Bob Dylan appears on 4 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 2001 and 2021. It was first released in 1981. Its best result is #63 on the WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #3,432 indie & aaa song of all time.
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Bob Dylan cut "Every Grain of Sand" in Los Angeles in the spring of 1981 and put it out that August on Shot of Love, and it plays like a hymn from a man who has found some peace. By biographer Ian Bell's account he had become a born-again Christian in November 1978, and the song is thick with references to Jesus, faith and the spirit, its imagery often set beside William Blake's. Rolling Stone heard it as a grown-up successor to his 1964 song "Chimes of Freedom".
Dylan produced it with Chuck Plotkin, blows the harmonica himself and shares the vocal with Clydie King, with Benmont Tench on organ and Jim Keltner on drums. An earlier take from September 1980, with Jennifer Warnes singing backup, surfaced in 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3, and by June 2026 he had played it live 491 times.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1532 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2009 | 63 | WXPN | WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) | 885 |
| 2020 | 912 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2021 | 512 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
Also listed as: Every Grain Of Sand.
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