Once Upon a Time

The words

An older man remembers a youthful, carefree love and the world it belonged to, both now long gone.

An older narrator recalls a time when he was young, in love and sure the world was his, and sets it against the quieter present. The song moves like a fairy tale turned inside out, its gentle opening giving way to the sadness of things that did not last. Dylan sings it slowly and tenderly, and his aged voice gives the memory of youth a real distance.

Words by Lee Adams