Sweetheart Like You

Album: Infidels (1983)
Charted: 55
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Over seven verses and no chorus, Bob Dylan engages in a one-sided conversation with a femme fatale. He ends all but one verse with the question:

    What's a sweetheart like you doing in a dump like this?
  • On the face of it, Dylan set the song in a sleazy bar where he wonders why such an attractive woman is hanging out in such a shady place. This is a Dylan song, though, so there are other interpretations.

    Some sources speculate the female represents America, and the "dump like this" its military intervention in Central America.

    Other believe Dylan was targeting Christianity's deviation from scriptural truth. By ignoring God's Word, they've ended up slumming it in a "dump like this." It's not unusual for a woman to symbolize the church; the Bride of Christ is a prominent metaphor used in Scripture to describe God's relationship with the body of believers.
  • Dylan recorded the ballad for Infidels. Though critics often cite the album as a return to secular concerns following his gospel trilogy, many of the tracks retain Dylan's penchant for biblical imagery. During this song, he references Jesus' quote from John 14:2 about preparing a place in Heaven for his followers:

    They say in your father's house, there's many mansions
  • Dylan recorded "Sweetheart Like You" at New York's Power Station with Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler and the Stones' Mick Taylor on guitar, Alan Clark on keyboard, Robbie Shakespeare on bass, and Sly Dunbar on drums.
  • British engineer Ian Taylor mixed the song, with Dylan and Knopfler serving as co-producers. Ian Taylor said Mick Taylor's guitar break in "Sweetheart Like You" illustrated Dylan's power of suggestion. "He was very specific about how the solo should start," the engineer told Mojo magazine. "It wasn't about the sound he wanted, but the first few notes. He wanted the guitar solo at the end, the last thing you hear. So he wanted it to embellish the spirit of the song."
  • Dylan released a music video for the song featuring Carla Olson, Steve Ripley, the late Charlie Quintana, and Clydie King. In the clip, Olson mimes Mick Taylor's guitar part and solo. It was Dylan's first music video during the MTV era.
  • Artists who have covered the song include:

    1993: Judy Collins for her album Judy Collins Sings Bob Dylan Just Like a Woman
    1995: Rod Stewart for his record A Spanner in the Works
    2014: Craig Finn for the Dylan tribute project Bob Dylan in the 80s: Volume One
    2021: Chrissie Hynde for her project Standing in the Doorway: Chrissie Hynde Sings Bob Dylan

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Donald Fagen

Donald FagenSongwriter Interviews

Fagen talks about how the Steely Dan songwriting strategy has changed over the years, and explains why you don't hear many covers of their songs.

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in Rock

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in RockSong Writing

We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.

Danny Kortchmar

Danny KortchmarSongwriter Interviews

Danny played guitar on Sweet Baby James, Tapestry, and Running On Empty. He also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Dirty Laundry," "Sunset Grill" and "Tender Is The Night."