April 27, 1978: Bob Dylan recorded "Changing of the Guards" at Rundown Studios, Santa Monica, California.
Dylan expert Michael Gray commented that "Changing of the Guards" is a thorough description of Dylan's personal journey, from the beginning of his musical career, about sixteen years prior (the opening line is "Sixteen years"), through his marriage to and divorce from Sara Dylan, up to his conversion to Christianity, which was announced soon after the song's release, although Gray also accused some passages of being "opaque".
Critic Paul Williams praised both the music ("The rhythm and melody are original and powerful; and Dylan’s use of the back-up singers to echo his words at strategic moments throughout each verse is a marvelous device, effective and haunting") as well as the lyrics ("the storytelling structure of the song, mixing political and romantic intrigue, rich imagery, and fascinating setting, singer slipping neatly between first and third person narrative, seems more than adequate to deliver on the promise").
Dylan acknowledged the lyrical ambiguity in a 1978 interview, commenting: "It means something different every time I sing it. 'Changing of the Guards' is a thousand years old'".
U.S. Girls' Meghan Remy cited it as her favourite Dylan song precisely because of the "mistakes": "It’s like the backing singers have never heard the song before. They aren’t on time, the second voice is always late but that’s the charm and spirit of the recording. The lyrics are like a fantasy – you’d think they’re impossible to sing but he somehow cuts the syllables up so they fit in. It’s an insane skill to have, and meanwhile the hooks just keep on coming".
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