Angelina (Bob Dylan song)

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"Angelina" is a song written by Bob Dylan, originally recorded in 1981 for the album Shot of Love. However, "Angelina" was cut from the record, and fans would have to wait until 1991 when it was released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991. Like Dylan's similarly named "Farewell Angelina", "Angelina" is full of imagery and biblical references. Considered by most critics to be one of the best songs written during his "born-again" period, "Angelina" is the classic Dylan work in which obscure yet meaningful poetry and a seemingly all-encompassing vision take on mankind's most pressing problems, all the while making for a pleasant listen.

Interesting note: The movie Masked & Anonymous plays an instrumental tune over the ending credits that sounds very similar to "Angelina," though neither credited as such nor included on the soundtrack.

[edit] Song structure

Dylan's recording on "The Bootleg Series Volumes 3" is in Db major (performed on a piano tuned to A = 437Hz) and has the following simple chord structure:

Intro: I

Verse: IV I V I / IV I V

Refrain: IV I V / IV I V

Coda: V

Each pair of verses is followed by a refrain on the words "Oh, Angelina", resulting in an AAB structure repeated 5 times. The song ends on a repeat of the refrain, and interestingly, not on the tonic (Db), but rather on the dominant (Ab).