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EVERY GRAIN OF SAND |
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LIVE PERFORMANCES
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"'Every Grain of Sand' is one of those songs that should never be played live because the studio versions are so perfect" says Andrew Muir in his excellent account of the Never Ending Tour (Razor's Edge: Bob Dylan and the Never Ending Tour; London 2001). Be that as it may it is one of those songs which though not performed very often has been performed every year of the Never Ending Tour. It is remarkable that in reviews by concertgoers this song, when performed, is very often chosen as a highlight of the evening. There have been no rewrites of this song and little variation in the text. I have heard only two live versions (Dublin & Athens 1989) which has the "Shot of Love" album penultimate line with "the reality of man" rather than "a perfect finished plan". In the first line of verse three "the weeds of yesteryear" is very often rendered as ""the leaves of yesteryear" and in the last verse "Sometimes I turn, there's someone there" often has look instead of turn. An air of uncertainty is often added to the song ending by the use of the phrase "some perfect finished plan" instead of "a perfect finished plan" Usually the full version of the song is sung and where this does not happed it usually appears as a mistake rather than a conscious decision. As with many Dylan songs errors are sometimes made and this often happen in the last verse where the second last line appears to cause the most confusion. |
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DATE |
POSITION |
VENUE |
BOOT NAMES (If any) |
1981 Lakeland, Florida sees the song's live debut at the last concert of the 1981 Shot of Love tour. Dylan messes up the last verse repeating "Then onwards . . " line from verse four instead of "I am hanging in the Balance . . ." line. |
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November 21 | Lakeland, Florida | ||
1984
In the rehearsals for the 1984 tour, May 23, Los Angeles, Dylan fluffs
the last two lines singing something delightfully confused like: The song is sung at twenty five of the twenty six concerts on the 1984 European tour being "recast as a rock anthem" as Paul Williams puts it. The exception is the middle night at Rome, June 20th. It is normally at 15th on the setlist. In all the boots of 1984 I have heard he sings the "perfect finished plan" second last line with no mistakes. He appears to sing "and the leaves of yesteryear" rather than "the weeds of yesteryear". |
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May 28, 1984 | |
Verona, Italy | |
May 29, 1984 | 15 |
Verona, Italy | |
May 31, 1984 | 15 |
Hamburg, West Germany | |
June 2, 1984 | 15 |
Basel, Switzerland | |
June 3, 1984 | 16 |
Munich, West Germany | Jokerman has just left the Stadium |
June 4, 1984 | 15 |
Rotterdam, The Netherlands | His Master's Voice |
June 6, 1984 | 16 |
Rotterdam, The Netherlands | |
June 7, 1984 | 15 |
Brussels, Belgium | Standing on the Waters |
June 9, 1984 | 15 |
Göteborg, Sweden | Don't Think Twice |
June 10, 1984 | 15 |
Copenhagen, Denmark | |
June 11, 1984 | 15 |
Offenbach, West Germany | |
June 13, 1984 | 15 |
West-Berlin, West Germany | Just the Girls |
June 14, 1984 | 15 |
Wien, Austria | Jokerman in Europe |
June 16, 1984 | 15 |
Cologne, West Germany | |
June 17, 1984 | 14 |
Nice, France | |
June 19, 1984 | 15 |
Rome, Italy | Live at Palaeur |
June 21, 1984 | 15 |
Rome, Italy | |
June 24, 1984 | 15 |
Milano, Italy | |
June 26, 1984 | 15 |
Madrid, Spain | |
June 28, 1984 | 15 |
Barcelona, Spain | Barcelona 84 (Dylantree) |
June 30, 1984 | 15 |
Nantes, France | |
July 1, 1984 | 15 |
Paris, France | Les Temps Changent |
July 3, 1984 | 15 |
Grenoble, France | Fury of the Moment |
July 5, 1984 | 15 |
Newcastle, England | Dancing on the Rooftops |
July 7, 1984 | 15 |
London, England | What's Real |
July 8, 1984 | 16 |
Slane, Ireland | |
1988 The song appears in the setlists for the June - October 1988 tour only four times out of seventy one shows. Its first appearance in the Never Ending Tour is at Dallas, Texas on July 28th. In all of the versions I have heard, Dylan sings "the perfect finished plan". At Dallas July 28 he appears to sing "leaves of yesteryear" though he sings "weeds" at Syracuse and Upper Darby. He sings "sometimes I look, there's someone there" at Dallas but sings "turn" at Syracuse and Upper Darby. |
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July 28, 1988 | 4 |
Dallas, Texas | Mudplex |
August 2, 1988 | 12 |
Los Angeles, California | The Critic's Choice Vol 4 (?) |
August 31, 1988 | 5 |
Syracuse, New York | Blown Out On The Trail |
October 13, 1988 | 21 |
Upper Darby, Pennsylvania | |
1989 The song is played at only two of the twenty one concerts during this years's summer tour in Dublin and Athens. In Dublin he sings "I am hanging in the balance of the reality of man" the album version rarely sung live. The Athens performance also sounds as if he is singing the same "reality of man" line though it is less distinct and may represent a confusion of the two versions. |
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June 3, 1989 | 5 |
Dublin, Ireland | |
June 28,1989 | 8 |
Athens, Greece | |
1990
In 1990 he plays the song once during the January-February Fastbreak tour. He ignores it during the spring North American tour and the summer European festival tour but sings it five concerts in a row during the late summer North American tour and three times during the US fall tour. At London in February he sings the usual "perfect finished plan" in the penultimate line. At Milwaukee in November he sings verses 1, 2, 5, 4 in that order omitting the last verse and thus finishing with the "temptation's angry flame" verse. |
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February 8, 1990 | 19 |
London, England | Staying Here With You |
September 4, 1990 | 12 |
Tulsa, Oklahoma | |
September 5, 1990 | 13 |
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | |
September 6, 1990 | 13 |
Dallas, Texas | |
September 8, 1990 | 13 |
San Antonio, Texas | |
September 9, 1990 | 13 |
Austin, Texas | |
October 25, 1990 | 13 |
Oxford, Mississippi | |
November 10, 1990 | 15 |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Getting Harder and Harder to See a New Sunrise |
November 18, 1990 | 6 |
Detroit, Michigan | |
1991 There are only two live performances during the 101 concerts this year both in the US fall tour in October. At Tulsa he sings all the verses but muddles the last two lines repeating "Then onward in my journey I come to understand" from verse four and something like "Every hair is mumble-mumble like every grain of sand" as the last line. |
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October 27, 1991 | 13 |
Lubbock, Texas | |
October 30, 1991 | 13 |
Tulsa, Oklahoma | Answer Me |
1992
In 1992 there are six live performances of the song, two during the west coast spring tour, one during the summer European tour and three during the US late summer/fall tours. In San Francisco he sings only verses 1 to 4. In Merano, Italy he sings the whole song with the "perfect finished plan" version. |
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May 1, 1992 | 2 |
Red Bluff, California | |
May 4, 1992 | 2 |
San Francisco, California | From Springtime into Autumn |
July 7, 1992 | 4 |
Merano, Italy | |
September 3, 1992 | 13 |
Minneapolis, Minnesota | |
November 3, 1992 | 13 |
Cincinnati, Ohio | |
November 13, 1992 | 14 |
Sunrise, Florida | |
1993 The song was played at three concerts during this year, once in London during the European winter tour and twice during the US fall tour with Santana. |
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February 9, 1993 | 2 |
London, England | |
September 5, 1993 | 4 |
Scranton, Pennsylvania | |
September 23, 1993 | 5 |
West Palm Beach, Florida | |
1994 Nine outings for Every Grain of Sand this year, three during the US April-May tour, two during the summer tour of Europe and the others during the US summer and fall tours. The Washington version is a poor attempt with Dylan using his "declamatory voice" which adds nothing to the song. |
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April 27, 1994 | 4 |
Lincoln, Nebraska | |
April 30, 1994 | 4 |
Springfield, Missouri | |
May 3, 1994 | 4 |
Evansville, Indiana | |
July 14, 1994 | 4 |
Graz, Austria | |
July 21, 1994 | 4 |
Dresden, Germany | Exclusive Series '94 |
August 24, 1994 | 6 |
South Bend, Indiana | |
October 4, 1994 | 4 |
Portland, Maine | |
October 30, 1994 | 11 |
Washington, D.C. | |
November 10, 1994 | 11 |
Jackson, Tennessee | |
1995 Only five appearances this year, each one a slow stately version not unlike the album version. With long intros, a long instrumental section before the last two verses and a long instrumental finish these are lengthy tracks, the Munich version taking just over 10.30mins. All are sung without mistakes and have the "perfect finished plan" penultimate line. All also seem to have "Sometimes I look" rather than "Sometimes I turn" in the last verse. |
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March 30, 1995 | 5 |
London, England | F*** The Playlist |
May 27, 1995 | 11 |
Monterey, California | Guided by the Eternal Light |
July 8, 1995 | 11 |
Munich, Germany | Germany Summer Tour 1995 Vol 1 |
October 6, 1995 Review | 4 |
Jacksonville, Florida | |
December 17, 1995 | 4 |
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Paradise Regained |
1996
The song appears just once this year in the set-lists
at Birmingham, Alabama in November. |
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November 2, 1996 | 4 |
Birmingham, Alabama | |
1997 |
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February 24, 1997 | 4 |
Sapporo, Japan | |
April 9, 1997 | 4 |
Bangor, Maine | Bathed in a Stream of Pure Heat |
November 8, 1997 | 4 |
Dayton, Ohio | |
1998 Four appearances this year, in Europe, Australia and US/Canada. The Stockholm June version is one of the shortest on record, coming in at 5.40 mins. No prolonged instrumental section is played before the final two verses. Wollongong returns to a more usual length, just over seven minutes. |
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June 9, 1998 | 4 |
Stockholm, Sweden | At the Globe Arena |
September 5, 1998 | 4 |
Wollongong, Australia | |
October 29, 1998 | 10 |
Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |
November 5, 1998 | 11 |
College Park, Maryland | |
1999 |
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February 19, 1999 Review | 11 |
Binghamton, New York | The Lonely Graveyards of my Mind (Filler) |
April 28, 1999 Review | 9 |
Ljubljana, Slovenia | Roadmaps for the Soul |
July 26, 1999 Review | 9 |
New York City, New York | Ace of Clubs: Tramps |
October 30, 1999 Review | 7 |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin | |
November 17, 1999 Review | 11 |
Durham, New Hampshire | |
2000 |
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May 11, 2000 Review | 10 |
Cologne, Germany | |
July 29, 2000 Review | 8 |
Columbia, Maryland | |
2001
None of the three outings this year is without its problems. At Hamamatsu the first line of the last verse is sung thus: "I gaze into the doorway mumble-mumble sea" but he manages to get the rest of the verse correctly. At Grand Rapids it's the second line of the last verse that causes trouble. He sings "Every time I mumble-mumble other times, other times it's only me" At Detroit in verse three he sings "The sun beats down upon the mumbles of time to light the way" and in verse five he sings "I have gone from rags to riches mumble mumble might". |
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March 13, 2001 | 5 |
Hamamatsu, Japan | |
November 6, 2001 Review | 6 |
Grand Rapids, Michigan | |
November 9, 2001 Review | 6 |
Detroit, Michigan | |
2002 |
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April 16, 2002 Review | 7 |
Stuttgart, Germany | |
April 27, 2002 Review | 13 |
Oberhausen, Germany | |
August 9, 2002 | 13 |
St. John, Canada | |
Oct 12, 2002 Reviews | 7 |
Berkeley, California | |
Nov 16, 2002 Reviews |
11 |
Boston, Massachusetts | |
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May 14, 2003 Reviews
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8 |
Asheville, North Carolina |
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July 25, 2003 Reviews
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11 |
Kelseyville, California | |
August 13, 2003 Reviews | 11 |
Hammerstein Ballroom, New York | |
October 9, 2003 Reviews | 11 |
Hartwall Areena, Helsinki, Finland | |
October 11, 2003 Review | 11 |
Globe Arena, Stockholm, Sweden | |
October 12, 2003 Review | 11 |
Löfbergs Lila Arena, Karlstad, Sweden | |
October 13, 2003 Review | 11 |
Spektrum, Oslo, Norway | |
October 15, 2003 Review | 11 |
Göteborg, Sweden. | |
October 16, 2003 Review | 11 |
Copenhagen, Denmark | |
October 20, 2003 Review | 13 |
Berlin Arena, Berlin, Germany | |
October 22, 2003 Review | 13 |
Leipzig Arena, Germany | |
October 23, 2003 Review | 11 |
Prague, Czech Republic | |
October 24, 2003 Review | 13 |
Budapest, Hungary | |
October 26, 2003 Review | 13 |
Graz, Austria | |
October 27, 2003 Review | 11 |
Vienna, Austria |
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October 29, 2003 Review | 12 |
Munich, Germany | |
October 30, 2003 Review | 11 |
Bolzano, Italy | |
November 1, 2003 Review | 11 |
Rome, Italy | |
November 2, 2003 Review | 13 |
Milan, Italy | |
November 3, 2003 Review | 13 |
Zürich, Switzerland | |
November 5, 2003 Review | 10 |
Freiburg, Germany | |
November 6, 2003 Review | 11 |
Frankfurt, Germany | |
November 10, 2003 Review | 13 |
Amsterdam, The Netherlands | |
November 11, 2003 Review | 11 |
Amsterdam, The Netherlands | |
November 12, 2003 Review | 12 |
Brussels, Belgium | |
November 13, 2003 Review | 15 |
Paris, France |
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November 15, 2003 Review | 11 |
London, England | |
November 17, 2003 Review | 11 |
Dublin, Ireland | |
November 20, 2003 | 11 |
Sheffield, England | |
November 21, 2003 | 13 |
Birmingham, England | |
2004 |
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February 28, 2004 | 11 |
Cain's Ballroom, Tulsa, Oklahoma |
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March 3, 2004 | 11 |
St. Louis, Missouri |
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March 5, 2004 | 13 |
Chicago, Illinois |
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March 6, 2004 | 13 |
Chicago, Illinois |
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March 13, 2004 | 13 |
Milwaukee, Wisconsin | |
March 17, 2004 | 13 |
Detroit, Michigan | |
April 7, 2004 | 10 |
Boone, North Carolina | |
June 5, 2004 | 13 |
Uncasville, Connecticut |
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June 23, 2004 | 13 |
Glasgow, Scotland | |
June 26, 2004 | 11 |
Belfast, Northern Ireland | |
July 3, 2004 | 13 |
Cernobbio, Italy | |
July 5, 2004 | 13 |
St. Etienne, France |
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July 7, 2004 | 13 |
Barcelona, Spain | |
August 18, 2004 | 11 |
Sevierville, Tennessee |
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October 14, 2004 | 9 |
Santa Clara, California |
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October 20, 2004 | 10 |
Irvine, California |
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October 27, 2004 | 13 |
Columbia, Missouri | |
October 30, 2004 | 4 |
Kenosha, Wisconsin | |
November 4, 2004 | 13 |
Columbus, Ohio | |
November 10, 2004 | 13 |
Toledo, Ohio |
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2005 |
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March 16, 2005 | 11 |
Oakland, California | Review |
March 25, 2005 | 11 |
Los Angeles, California | Review |
April 6, 2005 |
13 |
Chicago, Illinois | Review |
April 16, 2005 | 11 |
Boston, Massachusetts | Review |
June 23, 2005 | 8 |
Pittsfield, Massachusetts | Review |
July 28, 2005 |
11 |
Missoula, Montana | Review |
October 17, 2005 |
13 |
Stockholm, Sweden | Review |
November 13, 2005 | 8 |
Zurich, Switzerland | Review |
November 17, 2005 | 7 |
Glasgow, Scotland | Review |
November 24, 2005 | 11 |
Brixton, London | Review |
November 27, 2005 | 9 |
The Point, Dublin, Ireland |
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