"Love Minus Zero/No Limit" (read "Love Minus Zero over No Limit") is a song written by
Bob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
for his fifth studio album
Bringing It All Back HomeBringing It All Back Home is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's fifth studio album, released in March 1965 by Columbia Records. The album is divided into an electric and an acoustic side. On side one of the original LP, Dylan is backed by an electric rock and roll band - a move that further alienated...
, released in 1965 (see
1965 in music-Events:*January 4 – Fender Musical Instruments Corporation is sold to CBS for $13 million.*January 12 – Hullabaloo premieres on NBC. The first show included performances by The New Christy Minstrels, comedian Woody Allen, actress Joey Heatherton and a segment from London in which Brian Epstein...
). The song was originally written as a tribute to Dylan's future wife Sara Lowndes. The song's main musical hook is a series of three descending
chordsA chord in music is any harmonic set of two–three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously. These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may for many practical and theoretical purposes be understood as chords...
, while its lyrics describe Dylan's infatuation with his lover, and how she brings a needed
zenZen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
-like calm to his chaotic world. The song uses surreal imagery, some of which recalls
Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's "
The Raven"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
" and the
BiblicalThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
Book of DanielThe Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
. The style of the lyrics is reminiscent of
William BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
's poem, "
The Sick Rose"The Sick Rose" is a poem by William Blake. The first publication was in 1794, when it was included in his collection titled Songs of Experience as the 39th plate. The incipit of the poem is O Rose thou art sick. Blake composed the page sometime after 1789, and presents it with the illuminated...
".
Dylan has performed "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" live on several of his tours. Since its initial appearance on
Bringing It All Back Home live versions of the song have been released on a number of Dylan's albums, including
Bob Dylan at BudokanBob Dylan at Budokan is a live album by Bob Dylan, released in 1979 by Columbia Records. It was recorded during his 1978 world tour and is composed mostly of the artist's "greatest hits"...
,
The Concert for Bangladesh,
The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder RevueThe Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue is a live album by Bob Dylan released by Columbia Records in 2002. It documents the Rolling Thunder Revue, led by Bob Dylan prior to the release of the album Desire...
and
MTV UnpluggedMTV Unplugged is a live album by Bob Dylan, released in 1995 by Columbia Records . It documents Dylan's appearance on the then-highly popular MTV Unplugged television series, recorded at Sony Music Studios in New York on November 17, 1994 and November 18, 1994...
. Live video performances have been included on
The Concert for BangladeshThe Concert for Bangladesh was the name for two benefit concerts organised by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, held at noon and at 7 PM on August 1, 1971, playing to a total of 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York City...
and
The Other Side of the Mirror: Live at Newport Folk Festival 1963–1965The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival is a 2007 documentary film about Bob Dylan's appearances at the Newport Folk Festival in three successive years: 1963, 1964, and 1965, directed by Murray Lerner....
. Artists who have covered "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" include Rick Nelson,
The TurtlesThe Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965...
,
Joan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
,
Judy CollinsJudith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
,
Fleetwood MacFleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
,
Rod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
as well as
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
, who played it at Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration.
Composition and recording
The version of the song that appears on
Bringing It All Back Home was recorded on January 14, 1965 and was
producedA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Tom Wilson. This version was recorded by the full rock band that Dylan used to accompany him on the songs that appeared on side one of the album, and features a prominent electric guitar part played by
Bruce LanghorneBruce Langhorne is an American folk musician. He was active in the Greenwich Village folk scene in the 1960s, primarily as a session guitarist for folk albums and performances...
. However, like the other love song on side one, "
She Belongs to Me"She Belongs to Me" is a song by Bob Dylan, and was first released as the second track on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. It was one of the first anti-love songs and one of Dylan's first of many songs that describe a "witchy woman"...
", "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" was recorded a day earlier in an acoustic configuration, which was a strong contender to be included on the album. An unreleased outtake of the song from the
Bringing It All Back Home sessions exists where Dylan is supported only by Langhorne's guitar, with no bass, drums or third guitar.
The song is tuneful, with a prominent series of three descending diatonic chords providing the main hook. The music is soothing, so that the love expressed seems tranquil even when images such as cloaks and daggers and trembling bridges are evoked by the lyrics. The tune and rhythm have a Latin feel and the lyrical rhyming pattern varies from verse to verse. For example, in the first verse, the first and second lines rhyme, the fourth and eighth lines rhyme and the sixth and seventh lines rhyme, but the third and fifth lines are unrhymed. But in the second verse, the first three lines rhyme. Throughout the song, the rhymes are sometimes approximate; for example "another" is rhymed with "bother" and "trembles" is rhymed with "rambles."
Interpretation
"Love Minus Zero/No Limit" was written as a tribute to Dylan's future wife Sara Lowndes. The lyrics reflect her
ZenZen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
-like detachment through a series of opposites, for example, that she "speaks like silence" and is both "like ice" and "like fire". Another famous line from the song also captures this dichotomy: "She knows there's no success like failure, and that failure's no success at all."
The first verse of the song has the singer infatuated with the woman, admiring her inner strength. The three remaining verses reflect the inauthentic chaos that the singer has to deal with in the outside world, from which the lover's Zen-like calm provides needed refuge. The final image is of the lover being like some raven at the singer's window with a broken wing. This image recalls
Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
's "
The Raven"The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness...
", but is also a symbol of the lover's vulnerability in spite of her strength. The broken wing may also be a reference to the woman's need for shelter, or else to a flaw in her. The style of the song's lyrics are comparable to
William BlakeWilliam Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age...
's poem, "
The Sick Rose"The Sick Rose" is a poem by William Blake. The first publication was in 1794, when it was included in his collection titled Songs of Experience as the 39th plate. The incipit of the poem is O Rose thou art sick. Blake composed the page sometime after 1789, and presents it with the illuminated...
", in their economy of language and use of a detached tone to express the narrator's intense emotional experience. The song's surreal images anticipate the psychedelic songs Dylan would later write.
Some of the song's images evoke prophecies from the
BiblicalThe Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
Book of DanielThe Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
. For example, the line:
- Statues made of matchsticks
- Crumble into one another
is reminiscent of Daniel's prophecy that
NebuchadnezzarNebuchadnezzar was the name of several kings of Babylonia.* Nebuchadnezzar I, who ruled the Babylonian Empire in the 12th century BC* Nebuchadnezzar II , the Babylonian ruler mentioned in the biblical Book of Daniel...
would build a statue of precious metals only to see it crumble like "chaff". Another line in the song states that people "Draw conclusions on the wall." Drawing conclusions
on the wall rather than
from the wall evokes the story from the Book of Daniel where a hand writes on a wall the words "MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN," warning that the
Neo-Babylonian EmpireThe Neo-Babylonian Empire or Second Babylonian Empire was a period of Mesopotamian history which began in 626 BC and ended in 539 BC. During the preceding three centuries, Babylonia had been ruled by their fellow Akkadian speakers and northern neighbours, Assyria. Throughout that time Babylonia...
was about to end.
One interpretation of the lover in this song, as well as that which features in "She Belongs to Me", is that she is Dylan's
museThe Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
. In each song, the inaccessibility of the lover/muse can be interpreted as Dylan's acknowledgment of his own limitations—limitations that he attempts to overcome in writing the songs. In this interpretation, the final raven image sitting at the window can be viewed as a symbol of the muse's inaccessibility, and the raven's broken wing a symbol of its wildness. A related interpretation is that the song reflects an artist's "self-awareness through isolation." The line "She knows there's no success like failure, and that failure's no success at all" can be seen as a reflection of the isolation of the American writer.
The original title of the song was "Dime Store", which originates from the line "In the dime stores and bus stations..." The official title "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" is, according to Dylan, a
fractionA fraction represents a part of a whole or, more generally, any number of equal parts. When spoken in everyday English, we specify how many parts of a certain size there are, for example, one-half, five-eighths and three-quarters.A common or "vulgar" fraction, such as 1/2, 5/8, 3/4, etc., consists...
with "Love Minus Zero" on the top and "No Limit" on the bottom, and this is how the title appeared on early pressings of the
Bringing It All Back Home LP. In theory, the resulting quotient would be equal to "absolutely unlimited love." The title is also based on gambling terminology that would mean that all love is a risk.
Performances and recordings
Dylan has long been proud of this song and has played it in concert ever since it was written, almost always acoustically. He performed it occasionally in concert during 1965 and 1966, but more frequently during the
Rolling Thunder RevueThe Rolling Thunder Revue was a famed U.S. concert tour consisting of a traveling caravan of musicians, headed by Bob Dylan, that took place in late 1975 and early 1976; the prevailing theory was that the tour was named after the Native American shaman Rolling Thunder. Others maintained that tour...
tours from 1974 through 1976. Dylan also played it at
The Concert for BangladeshThe Concert for Bangladesh was the name for two benefit concerts organised by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, held at noon and at 7 PM on August 1, 1971, playing to a total of 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York City...
, a benefit concert on August 1, 1971 organized by
George HarrisonGeorge Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
and
Ravi ShankarRavi Shankar , often referred to by the title Pandit, is an Indian musician and composer who plays the plucked string instrument sitar. He has been described as the best known contemporary Indian musician by Hans Neuhoff in Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart.Shankar was born in Varanasi and spent...
to help provide relief for refugees in
BangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
. Dylan has also been playing the song live throughout the
Never Ending TourThe Never Ending Tour is the popular name for Bob Dylan’s endless touring schedule since June 7, 1988. During the past 23+ years, musicians have come and gone and the band has continued to evolve...
that began in 1988. In addition to its appearance on
Bringing It All Back Home, "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" has been included on several Dylan live and compilation albums. In the 1970s, it was included on
MasterpiecesMasterpieces is a compilation album by Bob Dylan. The 3-LP set was released in Japan and Australia in anticipation of his 1978 tour. Primarily a greatest hits collection spanning Dylan's career up that point, the album features three previously unreleased tracks, including "Rita May", "George...
and the live
Bob Dylan at BudokanBob Dylan at Budokan is a live album by Bob Dylan, released in 1979 by Columbia Records. It was recorded during his 1978 world tour and is composed mostly of the artist's "greatest hits"...
albums. Other live performances have been included on
The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder RevueThe Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue is a live album by Bob Dylan released by Columbia Records in 2002. It documents the Rolling Thunder Revue, led by Bob Dylan prior to the release of the album Desire...
, Bob Dylan's
MTV UnpluggedMTV Unplugged is a live album by Bob Dylan, released in 1995 by Columbia Records . It documents Dylan's appearance on the then-highly popular MTV Unplugged television series, recorded at Sony Music Studios in New York on November 17, 1994 and November 18, 1994...
album and the
The Concert for Bangladesh album. Footage of Dylan playing the song is included in
The Concert for BangladeshThe Concert for Bangladesh was the name for two benefit concerts organised by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar, held at noon and at 7 PM on August 1, 1971, playing to a total of 40,000 people at Madison Square Garden in New York City...
film and in
The Other Side of the Mirror: Live at Newport Folk Festival 1963–1965The Other Side of the Mirror: Bob Dylan at the Newport Folk Festival is a 2007 documentary film about Bob Dylan's appearances at the Newport Folk Festival in three successive years: 1963, 1964, and 1965, directed by Murray Lerner....
, a film by
Murray LernerMurray Lerner is an Academy Award-winning American documentary and experimental film director and producer.1967 saw the release of the film Festival...
showing Dylan's performances at the
Newport Folk FestivalThe Newport Folk Festival is an American annual folk-oriented music festival in Newport, Rhode Island, which began in 1959 as a counterpart to the previously established Newport Jazz Festival...
. A snippet from an impromptu performance of "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" is also included in the film
Dont Look BackDont Look Back is a 1967 documentary film by D.A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylan's 1965 concert tour in the United Kingdom.In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically...
. The song was also included on the
RhinoRhino Entertainment Company is an American specialty record label and production company. It is owned by Warner Music Group.-History:Rhino was originally a novelty song and reissue company during the 1970s and 1980s, releasing compilation albums of pop, rock & roll, and rhythm & blues successes...
/
StarbucksStarbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
compilation album
This is Us: Songs from Where You Live.
Cover versions
The song was covered several times in 1965, including a version by
The TurtlesThe Turtles are an American rock group led by vocalists Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman. The band became notable for several Top 40 hits beginning with its cover version of Bob Dylan's "It Ain't Me Babe" in 1965...
on their album
It Ain't Me BabeIt Ain't Me Babe is The Turtles first studio album. It was released in October 1965 on White Whale Records.Sundazed Records licensed the rights to The Turtles library and has re-released most of their early albums.-Track listing:Side 1...
and a version by
The Walker BrothersThe Walker Brothers were an American 1960s and 1970s pop group, comprising Scott Engel , John Walker , and Gary Leeds...
on their album
Take It Easy with The Walker BrothersTake It Easy with The Walker Brothers is the debut album by The Walker Brothers, released in 1965. It is often known simply as, Take It Easy.In the USA the album was released on Smash Records as Introducing the Walker Brothers...
. Los Angeles band
The LeavesThe Leaves were an American garage band formed in California in 1963. They are best known for their version of the song "Hey Joe", which was a hit in 1966. Theirs is the earliest release of this song, which became a rock standard.-History:...
covered the song on their 1966 album
Hey Joe"Hey Joe" is an American popular song from the 1960s that has become a rock standard and as such, has been performed in a multitude of musical styles by hundreds of different artists since it was first written. "Hey Joe" tells the story of a man who is on the run and planning to head to Mexico...
and
Joan BaezJoan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
included it on her 1968 album of Dylan covers
Any Day Now. It was also covered in 1993 by
Judy CollinsJudith Marjorie "Judy" Collins is an American singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic tastes in the material she records ; and for her social activism. She is an alumna of the University of Colorado.-Musical career:Collins was born and raised in Seattle, Washington...
on
Judy Collins Sings Dylan... Just Like a Woman.
Eric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
covered the song on during Bob Dylan's 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration. Other musicians who have covered the song include
Fleetwood MacFleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
,
Rod StewartRoderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
, Rick Nelson,
Buck OwensAlvis Edgar Owens, Jr. , better known as Buck Owens, was an American singer and guitarist who had 21 No. 1 hits on the Billboard country music charts with his band, the Buckaroos...
, Bridget St. John and
Les FradkinLes Fradkin is a guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer and record producer. He is best known for being a member of the original cast of the hit Broadway show Beatlemania...
.
Legacy
In a 2005 reader's poll for
MojoMOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
magazine, "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" was listed as the #20 all time greatest Bob Dylan song, and a similar poll of artists ranked the song #32. In 2002,
UncutUncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
magazine listed it as the #23 all time greatest Bob Dylan song. Australian music critic
Toby CreswellToby Creswell is an Australian music journalist and pop-culture writer. He was editor of Rolling Stone and a founding editor of Juice. In 1986 he co-wrote, with Martin Fabinyi, his first book Too Much Ain't Enough a biography of pub rocker and former Cold Chisel vocalist Jimmy Barnes...
included the song in his book
1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets Behind Them.
External links