Bob Dylan strikes again. The folk legend has dropped another previously unreleased song, “I Contain Multitudes.” A monologue delivered by a man of contradiction, the song rings in just under five minutes. Dylan teased the track on Twitter earlier today, posting the mysterious hashtag #IContainMultitudes. You can listen to the song below. We also did our best to transcribe the lyrics.

It was three weeks ago to the day that Dylan awoke from slumber and delivered his 17-minute, John F. Kennedy assassination-inspired song, “Murder Most Foul.” He shared that track with a note to fans to stay safe, seemingly referring to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I Contain Multitudes” didn’t come with a note from Dylan, but rather a series of hashtags referring to lyrics in the song. The accompanying post on Twitter reads:

#today and #tomorrow,
#skeletons and #nudes,
#sparkle and #flash,
#AnneFrank and #IndianaJones,
#fastcars and #fastfood,
#bluejeans and #queens,
#Beethoven and #Chopin,
#life and #death.

“I Contain Multitudes” is a line from a Walt Whitman poem, so this was clearly an inspiration. As for when it was recorded, the song has a similar tone to “Murder Most Foul,” so likely it comes from the same session.

There’s been no word about the status of Bob Dylan’s 2020 summer tour. His first show is scheduled for June 4 in Bend, Oregon.

“I Contain Multitudes” is available for download from Amazon and iTunes. For other listening options, go here.

Today and tomorrow, and yesterday too
The flowers are dying like all things do
Follow me close, I’m going to Baliyali
I’ll lose my mind if you don’t come with me
I’ll fuss with my hair, and I fight blood feuds
I contain multitudes

I got a tell-tale heart, like Mr. Poe
Got skeletons in the walls of people you know
I’ll drink to the truth of the things we said
I’ll drink to the man that shares your bed
I paint landscapes, and I paint nudes
I contain multitudes

Red Cadillac and a black mustache
Rings on my fingers that sparkle and flash
Tell me what’s next, what shall we do?
Half my soul, baby, belongs to you
I rollick and I frolic with all the young dudes
I contain multitudes

I’m just like Anne Frank, like Indiana Jones
And them British bad boys the Rolling Stones
I go right to the edge, I go right to the end
I go right where all things lost are made good again
I sing the songs of experience like William Blake
I have no apologies to make
Everything’s flowing all at the same time
I live on a boulevard of crime
I drive fast cars and I eat fast foods
I contain multitudes

Big pedal pushers, great blue jeans
All the pretty maids, and all the old queens
All the old queens from all my past lives
I carry four pistols and two large knives
I’m a man of contradictions, I’m a man of many moods
I contain multitudes

You greedy old wolf, I show you my heart
But not all of it, only the hateful parts
I’ll sell you down the river, I put a price on your head
What more can I tell you, I sleep with life and death in the same bed
Get lost, madam, get up off my knee
Keep your mouth away from me
I’ll keep the path open, the path in my mind
I see to it that there’s no love left behind
I play Beethoven sonatas, Chopin’s preludes
I contain multitudes

Photo credit: William Claxton, courtesy of the artist and Columbia records