As the ballad appears on the latest Bootleg Sessions box set, some of the many artists who have covered it explain why it tugs their heartstrings
When Adele covered Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love on her debut album 19, her interpretation was a sparse piano ballad that exuded tortured romantic longing. “The lyrics are just amazing and summed up exactly what I’d been trying to say in my songs,” Adele said then. “It’s about regretting not being with someone, and it’s beautiful.”
The heartbreak resonated. Originally released in October 2008, Adele’s take on Make You Feel My Love ended up a Top 5 UK hit two years later. But hers is hardly the only cover of the song to have had a lasting impact. First appearing on Dylan’s Grammy-winning 1997 album Time Out of Mind – newly rereleased with previously unheard material – Make You Feel My Love has been tackled by the likes of Billy Joel, Pink, Neil Diamond, Kelly Clarkson and Boy George. In the process it has become a rare recent entry in the Great American Songbook.
