Bob Dylan: One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later) (1966)

"One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)" by Bob Dylan is the greatest song of all time.  Obviously.

It's the kind of song whose arrangement (the backing band here, for the record, is the Hawks, a.k.a. the Band) makes me want to scream, "Triumph!," even if its lyrics are about, well, losing.

Sooner or later, one of us must know

That you just did what you're supposed to do

Sooner or later, one of us must know

That I really did try to get close to you

In the hands of a lesser being, that's the kind of chorus that gets the draggy, alone-in-a-dark-room acoustic treatment.  Dylan and his people, naturally, make it the most rousing part the album, complete with massive (Levon Helm?) drum fills, jangly (Robbie Robertson?) guitars, and pianos (by Garth Hudson?) that skip all over the place.  In other words, it's the "mercury sound," in full effect.

Contradiction?  Not really.  "One of Us Must Know" is a break-up song for mature folks.  It's sad and nostalgic (or, if we combine em, "wistful"), sure, but it's also forward-looking.  Who really wants to be in a relationship where you can't see and can't hear and don't know and all those other things Bob mentions?

"One of Must Know (Sooner or Later)" is the greatest song of all time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flqJ3poWa_U&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL870783B645844CB1