Every Grain of Sand

:"For the tribute album by Barb Jungr, of a similar name, see ""."

"Every Grain of Sand" is a song written by Bob Dylan and originally released on his 1981 album "Shot of Love". It was subsequently included on the compilations "Biograph" and "The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991", as well as appearing on the soundtrack for the 1997 film "Another Day In Paradise". It was also performed at the funeral of Johnny Cash, in 2003, by Emmylou Harris and Sheryl Crow.

The song was very well received for its haunting imagery, which some have compared to that of William Blake. This was partly inspired by the following lines from William Blake's Auguries of Innocence:

"To see a world in a grain of sand"
"And a heaven in a wild flower,"
"Hold infinity in the palm of your hand"
"And eternity in an hour."

Dylan was in what has been called his "Christianity Phase" at the time of its recording and release, and the song does contain powerful allusions to Jesus, faith, and spirituality. But it also stands as a secular work, and Rolling Stone magazine described it as a "mature update" of Dylan's 1964 song Chimes of Freedom.

Biblical references include: Cain's "chain of events" - Genesis 4: 1-16 Abraham's seed as sand on the seashore - Genesis 22: 15-18 God's thoughts "more in number than the sand" - Psalm 139: 17-18 The Parable of the Sower - (newborn seed, flowers of indulgence, weeds of yesterday, choked) Mark 4: 13-20 Be of Good Cheer - Mark 6: 47-51 Sparrows/hairs numbered - Matthew 10: 28-31; Luke 12: 6-7.