Sweetheart Like You

“Sweetheart Like You” is a song by Bob Dylan that appeared as the second track of his 1983 album Infidels.[1][2] The song was recorded on April 18, 1983[3] and released as a single in December 1983, with "Union Sundown" as its B-Side.[4]

"Sweetheart Like You"
Single by Bob Dylan
from the album Infidels
B-side"Union Sundown"
ReleasedDecember 1983
RecordedApril 18, 1983
Power Station, New York City
GenreRock
Length4:31
LabelColumbia Records
Songwriter(s)Bob Dylan
Producer(s)Mark Knopfler
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan singles chronology
""I and I""
(1983)		 "Sweetheart Like You"
(1983)		 "Jokerman"
(1984)

"Sweetheart Like You" peaked at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 28, 1984, staying on the chart for a total of nine weeks.[5] The song also appeared on the ARIA Charts in Australia, reaching #74.

Song

On its face, the song is about "rediscovering an old lover in sordid surroundings"; however, other interpretations have been made, with The New York Times drawing parallels between the song and American military intervention in Central America,[6] while other sources believe Dylan was targeting the song at the Christian church.[7]

In 1983, a video of the song was released, featuring Steve Ripley, Charlie Quintana, Clydie King and Carla Olson.[8] As of 2020, Dylan has never played the song live.[1][9]

Personnel

In addition to Dylan, the song features Mick Taylor, Mark Knopfler who plays the lead guitar solo, Alan Clark on keyboard, Robbie Shakespeare on bass, and Sly Dunbar on drums.[3]

Reception

Rolling Stone listed the song at #75 on its list of 100 Greatest Bob Dylan Songs,[7] also naming the song one of Dylan's greatest songs of the 1980s.[10] The magazine called "Sweetheart Like You" "the sort of love song only Bob Dylan could write."[9]

The song has received criticism for the lyric "a woman like you should be at home/That's where you belong."[9] In a 1984 interview, Dylan stated that the line did not come across as he had intended, stating "I could easily have changed that line to make it not so overly, uh, tender, you know? But I think the concept still woulda been the same. You see a fine-lookin' woman walking down the street, you start goin', 'Well, what are you doin' on the street? You're so fine, what do you need all this for?'"[11] In The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan, Jonathan Lethem notes that "for most listeners the line[] will be redeemed by both context and presentation."[12]

Other versions

Craig Finn from The Hold Steady covered the song on the Dylan tribute album Bob Dylan in the 80s: Volume One.[13] The song was also covered by artists such as Rod Stewart, on his album A Spanner in the Works.[14] The song was featured in the play Girl from the North Country.[15]

References
  1. "Sweetheart Like You | The Official Bob Dylan Site". www.bobdylan.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  2. "Sweetheart Like You - Bob Dylan | Song Info | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  3. "1983 Sessions". www.bjorner.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  4. "Bob Dylan Discography - USA - Page 2 - 45cat". www.45cat.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  5. "Bob Dylan Sweetheart Like You Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  6. Holden, Stephen. "BOB DYLAN MINGLES EXHILARATION AND MISANTHROPY". Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  7. "100 Greatest Bob Dylan Songs". Rolling Stone. 2016-05-24. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  8. BobDylanVEVO (2009-10-25), Bob Dylan - Sweetheart Like You, retrieved 2018-08-01
  9. Greene, Andy (2015-06-17). "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Bob Dylan Songs of the 1980s". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  10. "Bob Dylan's Greatest Songs of the 1980s". Rolling Stone. 2012-08-15. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  11. Loder, Kurt (1984-06-21). "Bob Dylan, Recovering Christian". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  12. Dettmar, Kevin J. H. (2009-02-19). The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan. Cambridge University Press. p. 164. ISBN 9781139828437.
  13. "Dylan in the Eighties". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  14. "A Spanner in the Works". EW.com. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  15. "Listen to Songs from Bob Dylan Musical Girl From the North Country". Spin. 2017-05-03. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
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