All Along the Watchtower

"I think Dylan wrote one of the timeless songs of all time when he wrote that song, and it's one of those songs that can be interpreted so many ways.." -Warren Haynes

"All Along the Watchtower" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan. Dylan performed this very song more often at any concert than any of his other compositions. At the end of 2007, it was estimated that he had sung the song 1,748 times on stage.

Dylan, recovering from a motorcycle accident which marked his career shift, had begun to read the Bible on a daily basis. The Book of Isiah, Chapter 21, verses 5-9, contains the words is where Dylan found inspiration for the song.

The song has been covered an uncountable number of artists, including Jimi Hendrix Experience and U2.

The Jimi Hendrix Expierence began to record their cover when Hendrix had been given a copy of Dylan's recording. To the Hendrix cover, Dylan replyed by saying, ""It overwhelmed me, really. He had such talent, he could find things inside a song and vigorously develop them. He found things that other people wouldn't think of finding in there. He probably improved upon it by the spaces he was using. I took license with the song from his version, actually, and continue to do it to this day."

U2 covered the song, and then performed the song on tour years later with an additional verse added by Bono. The performance can be seen in their documentary, "Rattle and Hum."

The Dave Matthews version of the song maintains Dylan's three chord structure and key signature, but differs in style. Dave Matthews typically starts the song slow with just vocals and guitar and the rest of the band joins him at the line "the hour is getting late" and the song tempo increasingly picks up.

Other artists to cover the song include Prince, Pearl Jam, Elton John, Eric Clapton, DMC, The Fratellis, Howie Day, The Indigo Girls, John Mellencamp, Lenny Kravitz, Phish, Tori Amos, and Widespread Panic.

Andrew Stockdale, front man of Wolfmother, has stated that the characteristics of their song "Joker and the Thief" came from Dylan's original song, which he has adored for years.

Bob Dylan
Jimi Hendrix Expierence

U2

Dave Matthews Band
Pearl Jam
Eric Clapton/Lenny Kravitz
The Fratellis
John Mellencamp
Widespread Panic
Wolfmother- "Joker and the Thief"