Things Have Changed

Album: Wonder Boys Soundtrack (2000)
Charted: 58
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Songfacts®:

  • Dylan wrote this for the movie Wonder Boys. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in a movie. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Kevin - Linden, NJ
  • On the night of Oscar 2000 ceremonies, Dylan played this song live from Australia after winning the Oscar. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Ashok - Ottawa, Canada
  • This song was used in a Chrysler commercial that aired during the 2014 Super Bowl. Dylan appeared in the 2-minute spot and did the voiceover, asking Americans to let Germany brew their beer, Switzerland make their watches and Asia assemble their phones, as long as they get their cars from America.

    It wasn't the first time Dylan appeared in a commercial - he had previously done spots for iTunes and Victoria's Secret. The Chrysler ad was unusual in that he provided such a long narrative that was clearly written by an ad agency.
  • American Songwriter magazine asked country singer-songwriter Marty Stuart in 2014 about the message board discussions regarding the melodic similarities between his 1999 track "The Observations Of A Crow" and this song, which was recorded shortly afterwards. He replied: "Well, actually, one night, this is probably close to ten years ago now, Bob and I hung out. I took him to my warehouse to see all the country music treasures I have. Bob said, 'Hey, I like that "Crow" song. I might borrow something out of that someday.' I said, 'Well, I probably borrowed it from you in the first place. Go ahead.'"
  • The line, "I'll get as far away from myself as I can" was something Dylan scrawled on a business card that was unearthed as part of his archive at the Center for American Research in Tulsa. This line eventually became the lyric, "I've been trying to get as far away from myself as I can."

Comments: 5

  • Patrick from Colorado Just saw the movie A Street Car Named Desire
    Blanche says toward the end. Don’t get up gentlemen I’m only passing through. I guess Bobby lifted that line. Great lyrics. Except the lifted line.
  • Kevin from Reading , PaThis is such an amazing song. It's actually kind of spooky, both the music and the way Dylan sings it. Another of his many songs about our impending doom. (I've been walking 40 miles of bad road / if the bible is right the world will to explode)
  • Kenny from Clydebank, ScotlandI haven't seen the video for this song, and come to that, I wish there were a video for every great dylan song. That's something that every rock star with cash to spare should do - make videos for all their best songs. Can you imagine the images for Tangled up in Blue and Just like a Woman? And the stand-out image in Things Have Changed for me would be, "feel like stoppin' the first woman I meet, throwing her in a wheelbarrow and wheeling her down the street....' Speaks volumes, of being being in a high place, sleeping alone.
  • Dylan from Salt Lake City, UtIronically, when Dylan performed the song for the 2000 Academy Awards via satellite uplink, he omitted the verse that contains the line "I'm in the wrong town/I should be in Hollywood."
  • Chad from Reading, PaLove the video for this song. It fits it perfectly
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