Bob Dylan / 4:31
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals
Barry Beckett: keyboards
Recording Studio
Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, Sheffield, Alabama: May 4, 1979
Technical Team
Producers: Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett
Sound Engineer: Gregg Hamm
The questions haunting Bob Dylan have not really changed since his debut in the clubs of Greenwich Village. This is obvious when comparing “When He Returns” and “Blowin’ in the Wind.” In his 1962 anthem, he wondered, “How many ears must one man have / Before he can hear people cry?” In “When He Returns” he asks himself, “How long can I listen to the lies of prejudice?” However, in both songs, Dylan uses the metaphor of a man who has eyes but does not see. What differs is the answer. In “Blowin’ in the Wind,” there is no answer; in “When He Returns,” the answer lies in trust in Christ. Consequently, this is a song of hope. Dylan sees the world on the edge of a cliff and sings, “Will I ever learn that there’ll be no peace, that the war won’t cease / Until He returns?” Yes, but hope will be reborn “when He returns.” Then, there will be no more wars, no infamy or falsification; on the contrary, “He’s got plans of His own to set up His throne,” and under his power harmony will reign. Once again, the songwriter is inspired by the Gospel according to Matthew (7:14), especially the Sermon on the Mount, to carry his good word: “But the gate that leads to life is small and the road is narrow, and those who find it are few.”
Jerry Wexler remembers that “[it] was Dylan’s intention not to sing on the song at all, rather it was to be a lead ensemble by the otherwise backup female singers. [Barry] Beckett’s piano was an ad-lib accompaniment to a vocal Dylan had made as a demo for the singers to use while rehearsing. Ultimately, however, Dylan abandoned his original notion, and after practicing overnight, he redid his vocal to fit the demo’s spontaneous piano track.”112 Dylan delivered a great interpretation of that gospel sound, which would have gained more strength with the chorus in the backup vocals.
Studio records that mention “When He Returns” list nine takes recorded on May 4, 1979. The first was recorded with Dylan and all his musicians. For the eight others, Dylan and Mark Knopfler were on guitar and Barry Beckett on piano. Which take was Wexler talking about?
Dylan sang “When He Returns” for the first time in public in San Francisco on November 1, 1979.