4 Heartfelt Love Songs That Prove Bob Dylan Can Be a Real Softie

We think of him as a writer of songs depicting romantic turbulence and drama. Bob Dylan doesn’t get enough credit for being such a wonderful composer of straightforward love songs throughout his career.

The four songs on this list are heartfelt and unironic, but still contain Dylan’s unabashed lyrical brilliance. Be prepared to swoon.

“Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You”

Dylan changed pretty much his whole approach when making the 1969 album Nashville Skyline. He removed some of the mystery from his lyrics to go for a more direct approach. And he dressed those words up in the trappings of country music, not even pretending that he was in the pop/rock lane anymore. While “Lay Lady Lay” was more a song of seduction, we’re choosing “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You” as the love song from that album most appropriate for this list. The narrator wants nothing to do with the weary world of travel any longer. He’d rather stay behind with his paramour. As he did for all of Nashville Skyline, Dylan sings it with a mewling croon far removed from the nasally voice he utilized most.

“If Not For You”

On New Morning, Dylan once again returned to some of his old quirkiness on some of the tracks. But he also turned to the simple pleasures of domesticity on the 1970 album. “If Not For You”, which imagines all the calamities that might befall the narrator if his lover weren’t by his side, was chosen as the opening track on the LP. Just a month after Dylan released the song, George Harrison included a version on All Things Must Pass. Considering how well that the ex-Beatle’s album did, that was a nice chunk of royalties’ change in Bob’s pocket. His own version is low-key but utterly charming, much different from Harrison’s Spector-ized take on the track.

“Make You Feel My Love”

Dylan rose from the artistic depths with Time Out Of Mind in 1997, reminding everyone of his brilliance (although they really shouldn’t have forgotten about it so quickly). Much of the album skews dark and gloomy, Dylan bellowing from the depths of Daniel Lanois’ creaky production about the dying of the light. But “Make You Feel My Love” almost feels like it was shoehorned in from a different album. He freely indulges in some of the most obvious rhymes in his career, all because he doesn’t want to distract from the earnest nature of the feelings he’s expressing. It’s no wonder that this track immediately became a cover magnet, with artists like Billy Joel, Adele, and Garth Brooks all taking their crack at it.

“When The Deal Goes Down”

Dylan borrowed the melody for this track from Modern Times from an oldie by Bing Crosby. It’s the perfect little waltz for a slow dance. But when you tune into the lyrics a little bit, you start to realize that Dylan is playing up the power of love by suggesting that it’s most needed at the darkest times. The narrator is “haunted” and “bewildered.” A rose, usually a symbol of beauty, tears through his outfit. He understands that most of life’s pleasures are ephemeral. Yet with all that facing him, he makes a pledge to be with the person he’s addressing at the worst of possible times. That kind of commitment makes “When The Deal Goes Down” one of the most subtly touching songs of his career.

Photo by Fiona Adams/Redferns