Man Gave Names to All the Animals - wikipedia Man Gave Names to All the Animals `` Man Gave Names to All the Animals '' French cover Single by Bob Dylan from the album Slow Train Coming B - side `` Trouble in Mind '' ( France ) `` When He Returns '' ( Europe ) `` When You Gonna Wake Up ? '' ( US ) Released 1979 Recorded May 4, 1979 Muscle Shoals Sound Studios Genre Rock, gospel Length 4 : 25 Label Columbia Records Songwriter ( s ) Bob Dylan Producer ( s ) Jerry Wexler Barry Beckett Bob Dylan singles chronology `` Forever Young '' ( 1978 ) `` Man Gave Names to All the Animals '' ( 1979 ) `` Gotta Serve Somebody '' ( 1979 ) `` Forever Young '' ( 1978 ) `` Man Gave Names to All the Animals '' ( 1979 ) `` Gotta Serve Somebody '' ( 1979 ) `` Man Gave Names to All the Animals '' is a song written by Bob Dylan that appeared on Dylan 's 1979 album Slow Train Coming and was also released as a single in some European countries. It was also released as a promo single in US. The single became a chart hit in France and Belgium. However, the song also has detractors who consider it the worst song Dylan ever wrote. A 2013 reader 's poll conducted by Rolling Stone Magazine ranked `` Man Gave Names to All the Animals '' the 4th worst Bob Dylan song, behind the hit single from Slow Train Coming, `` Gotta Serve Somebody '' in second place. `` Man Gave Names to All the Animals '' has been covered by multiple artists, including Townes Van Zandt, who covered the song on his 1993 album Roadsongs. The lyrics were turned into a children 's book published by Harcourt in 1999, with illustrations by Scott Menchin. The Singing Kettle covered this song in the second episode of their third BBC TV series. The Wiggles covered it on their `` Furry Tales '' CD in 2013. Contents 1 Lyrics and music 2 Live performances 3 Reception 4 References Lyrics and music The music to `` Man Gave Names to All the Animals '' is reggae - inspired. The lyrics were inspired by the biblical Book of Genesis, verses 2 : 19 -- 20 in which Adam named the animals and birds. The lyrics have an appeal to children, rhyming the name of the animal with one of its characteristics. So after describing an animal 's `` muddy trail '' and `` curly tail, '' Dylan sings that `` he was n't too small and he was n't too big '' and so that animal was named a pig. Similarly, the cow got its name because Adam `` saw milk comin ' out but he did n't know how '' and the bear got its name because it has a `` great big furry back and furry hair. '' In the last verse, the lyrics take a more sinister turn. In that verse the man Saw an animal as smooth as glass Slithering his way through the grass Saw him disappear by a tree near a lake The verse ends there, with the music hanging and the lyrics avoiding naming the snake. In concert, Dylan sometimes elaborated on the meaning of the snake to him at the time. For example, in a concert in Pittsburgh in May 1980 Dylan confirmed that the animal in the final verse is the same snake that appeared to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. In Dylan 's description that day, Lucifer had put his spirit into that snake, and Jesus later died not only for forgiveness of sins but also to destroy the devil 's work. Despite the obvious biblical source for the song, Dylan avoids any explicit mention of Adam and Eve, which to author Oliver Trager seems to pin the blame for the fall of man solely on the snake. Music critic Michael Gray finds it interesting that Dylan avoids blaming Eve for man 's fall, appreciating that he stops `` the song short on a beautifully hungover note at the arrival on the scene of the serpent. According to backup singer Regina Havis Brown, originally Dylan was n't sure if he wanted to include `` Man Gave Names to All the Animals '' on Slow Train Coming. But when Dylan heard Brown 's three - year - old son laughing at the identification of the animals, he said that `` I 'm going to put that on the record. '' Live performances Dylan regularly played `` Man Gave Names to All the Animals '' in concert between 1979 and 1981, and he played it in concert again during his 1987 European tour in light of the song 's popularity there. In concert he often played with the lyrics switching animals and messing up the rhymes. For example, the line `` he was n't too small and he was n't too big '' might be followed by identifying the animal as a giraffe rather than a pig. Dylan 's backup singers would often hiss to replace the missing line identifying the snake. Reception Rolling Stone Magazine described `` Man Gave Names to All the Animals '' as being `` clever '' but `` not very profound '' and that although it `` went over pretty well live '' it is `` simplistic '' and easy to see `` why it has detractors. '' Author John Nogowski calls it `` an embarrassment, '' `` silly '', and `` just awful. '' But music critic Michael Gray praises it as one of the standout tracks on Slow Train Coming, citing its humor, its quality as a children 's song, and the self - mocking contrast to the more fundamentalist tone of the songs Dylan wrote during this period. References ^ Jump up to : Heylin, C. ( 2010 ). Still on the Road. Chicago Review Press. pp. 143 -- 144. ISBN 9781556528446. ^ Jump up to : Trager, O. ( 2004 ). Keys to the Rain. Billboard Books. pp. 409 -- 410. ISBN 0823079740. ^ Jump up to : `` Readers ' Poll : The 10 Worst Bob Dylan Songs ''. rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2013 - 07 - 06. ^ Jump up to : Rogovoy, S. ( 2009 ). Bob Dylan : Prophet Mystic Poet. Scribner. p. 208. ISBN 9781416559153. ^ Jump up to : Gray, M. ( 2000 ). Song and Dance Man III : The Art of Bob Dylan. Continuum. pp. 231 -- 233. ISBN 0 - 8264 - 5150 - 0. Jump up ^ Williams, P. ( 1994 ). Bob Dylan Performing Artist 1974 -- 1986. Omnibus Press. p. 154. ISBN 0711935556. Jump up ^ Nogowski ( 2008 ). Bob Dylan. McFarland. p. 90. ISBN 9780786435180. Bob Dylan Discography Awards Bibliography Songs written by Dylan Studio albums Bob Dylan The Freewheelin ' Bob Dylan The Times They Are a-Changin ' Another Side of Bob Dylan Bringing It All Back Home Highway 61 Revisited Blonde on Blonde John Wesley Harding Nashville Skyline Self Portrait New Morning Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid Planet Waves Blood on the Tracks Desire Street - Legal Slow Train Coming Saved Shot of Love Infidels Empire Burlesque Knocked Out Loaded Down in the Groove Oh Mercy Under the Red Sky Good as I Been to You World Gone Wrong Time Out of Mind Love and Theft Modern Times Together Through Life Christmas in the Heart Tempest Shadows in the Night Fallen Angels Triplicate Live albums Before the Flood Hard Rain Bob Dylan at Budokan Real Live Dylan & the Dead The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration MTV Unplugged Live 1961 -- 2000 : Thirty - Nine Years of Great Concert Performances Live at The Gaslight 1962 Live at Carnegie Hall 1963 In Concert -- Brandeis University 1963 The 1966 Live Recordings Compilations Bob Dylan 's Greatest Hits Bob Dylan 's Greatest Hits Vol. II Dylan The Basement Tapes Masterpieces Biograph Bob Dylan 's Greatest Hits Volume 3 The Best of Bob Dylan ( 1997 ) The Best of Bob Dylan, Vol. 2 The Essential Bob Dylan Bob Dylan : The Collection The Best of Bob Dylan ( 2005 ) Blues Dylan The Original Mono Recordings The 50th Anniversary Collection Bob Dylan : The Complete Album Collection Vol. One The 50th Anniversary Collection 1963 The 50th Anniversary Collection 1964 Bootlegs Great White Wonder List of Basement Tapes songs ( 1967, 1975 ) The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 -- 3 ( Rare & Unreleased ) 1961 -- 1991 Volume 4 : The Royal Albert Hall concert Vol. 5 : Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue Vol. 6 : Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall Vol. 7 : No Direction Home : The Soundtrack Vol. 8 : Tell Tale Signs : Rare and Unreleased 1989 -- 2006 Vol. 9 : The Witmark Demos : 1962 -- 1964 Vol. 10 : Another Self Portrait ( 1969 -- 1971 ) Vol. 11 : The Basement Tapes Complete Vol. 12 : The Cutting Edge 1965 -- 1966 Vol. 13 : Trouble No More 1979 -- 1981 Concert tours England Tour ( 1965 ) World Tour ( 1966 ) Tour with The Band ( 1974 ) Rolling Thunder Revue ( 1975 -- 1976 ) World Tour ( 1978 ) Gospel Tour ( 1979 -- 1980 ) World Tour ( 1981 ) European Tour ( 1984 ) True Confessions Tour ( 1986 ) Tour with the Grateful Dead ( 1987 ) Temples in Flames Tour ( 1987 ) Never Ending Tour 1988 1989 1990 1991 1993 2017 2018 Films Dont Look Back Eat the Document Renaldo and Clara Masked and Anonymous No Direction Home I 'm Not There 65 Revisited The Other Side of the Mirror : Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963 -- 1965 Trouble No More - A Musical Film Writings Tarantula Writings and Drawings Chronicles : Volume One Books about Dylan The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia Bob Dylan, Performing Artist Invisible Republic The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan Related The Band Electric Dylan controversy Theme Time Radio Hour Traveling Wilburys Artists who have covered Dylan songs Chimes of Freedom ( album ) The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams Lost on the River : The New Basement Tapes Suze Rotolo The Telegraph magazine Sara Dylan ( first wife ) Carolyn Dennis ( second wife ) Jesse Dylan ( son ) Jakob Dylan ( son ) Book Portal Bob Dylan singles discography 1962 `` Mixed - Up Confusion '' / `` Corrina, Corrina '' 1963 `` Blowin ' in the Wind '' / `` Do n't Think Twice, It 's All Right '' 1965 `` The Times They Are a-Changin ' '' / `` Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance '' `` Maggie 's Farm '' / `` On the Road Again '' `` Subterranean Homesick Blues '' / `` She Belongs to Me '' `` Like a Rolling Stone '' / `` Gates of Eden `` Positively 4th Street '' / `` From a Buick 6 '' `` Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window ? '' / `` Highway 61 Revisited '' 1966 `` One of Us Must Know ( Sooner or Later ) '' / `` Queen Jane Approximately '' `` Rainy Day Women ♯ 12 & 35 '' / `` Pledging My Time '' `` I Want You '' / `` Just Like Tom Thumb 's Blues '' ( live with The Hawks ) `` Just Like a Woman '' / `` Obviously 5 Believers '' 1967 `` Leopard - Skin Pill - Box Hat '' / `` Most Likely You Go Your Way And I 'll Go Mine '' `` If You Gotta Go, Go Now '' / `` To Ramona '' ( only in Europe ) 1968 `` Drifter 's Escape '' / `` John Wesley Harding '' `` All Along the Watchtower '' / `` I 'll Be Your Baby Tonight '' 1969 `` I Threw It All Away '' / `` Drifter 's Escape '' `` Lay Lady Lay '' / `` Peggy Day '' `` Tonight I 'll Be Staying Here with You '' / `` Country Pie '' 1970 `` If Not for You '' / `` New Morning '' `` Wigwam '' / `` Copper Kettle '' 1971 `` Watching the River Flow '' / `` Spanish is the Loving Tongue '' `` George Jackson '' ( band version ) / `` George Jackson '' ( acoustic version ) 1973 `` Knockin ' on Heaven 's Door '' / `` Turkey Chase '' ( instrumental from Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid ) `` A Fool Such as I '' / `` Lily of the West '' `` On a Night Like This '' / `` You Angel You '' `` Something There Is About You '' / `` Tough Mama '' `` Most Likely You Go Your Way ( And I 'll Go Mine ) '' ( live with The Band ) `` All Along the Watchtower '' / `` It Ai n't Me Babe '' `` Tangled Up in Blue '' / `` If You See Her, Say Hello '' `` Million Dollar Bash '' / `` Tears of Rage '' `` Hurricane '' ( Part 1 ) / `` Hurricane '' ( Part 2 ) 1976 `` Mozambique '' / `` Oh Sister '' `` Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again '' ( live ) / `` Rita May '' 1978 `` Baby, Stop Crying '' / `` We Better Talk This Over '' `` Changing of the Guards '' / `` Señor ( Tales of Yankee Power ) '' `` Is Your Love In Vain ? '' / `` We Better Talk This Over '' 1979 `` Maggie 's Farm ( live ) / `` All Along the Watchtower '' `` Forever Young '' ( live ) / `` All Along the Watchtower '' / `` I Want You '' `` Man Gave Names to All the Animals '' / `` When You Gonna Wake Up ? '' `` Gotta Serve Somebody '' / `` Trouble in Mind '' `` Precious Angel '' / `` Trouble in Mind '' 1980 `` Slow Train '' / `` Do Right to Me Baby '' `` Solid Rock '' / `` Covenant Woman '' `` Saved '' / `` Are You Ready ? '' 1981 `` Heart of Mine '' / `` Let It Be Me '' `` Dead Man, Dead Man '' / `` Lenny Bruce '' `` Union Sundown '' / `` Angel Flying too Close to the Ground '' `` I and I '' / `` Angel Flying too Close to the Ground '' `` Sweetheart Like You '' / `` Union Sundown '' 1984 `` Jokerman '' / `` Isis '' 1985 `` Tight Connection to My Heart ( Has Anybody Seen My Love ) '' / `` We Better Talk this Over '' `` When the Night Comes Falling from the Sky '' / `` Emotionally Yours '' 1986 `` Band of the Hand '' / `` Joe 's Death '' ( Michael Rubini ) `` Got My Mind Made Up '' / `` The Usual '' 1988 `` Silvio '' / `` Driftin ' too Far from the Shore '' 1989 `` Everything Is Broken '' / `` Death is Not the End '' `` Slow Train '' ( live with The Grateful Dead ) 1990 `` Political World '' / `` Ring Them Bells '' ( only in the UK and Australia ) `` Most of the Time '' / `` Most of the Time ( edit piece ) `` Unbelievable '' / `` 10,000 Men '' 1991 `` Series of Dreams '' / `` Seven Curses '' `` Blind Willie McTell '' / `` It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry '' ( from The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 - 3 ) `` Step it Up and Go '' -- ( no b - side ) 1993 `` My Back Pages '' ( with Roger McGuinn, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, George Harrison ) -- ( no b - side ) 1995 `` Dignity '' ( live on MTV Unplugged ) / `` A Hard Rain 's a-Gonna Fall '' ( live version ) `` Knockin ' on Heaven 's Door '' / `` John Brown '' ( both live on MTV Unplugged ) 1998 `` Not Dark Yet '' / `` Tombstone Blues '' ( live ) / `` Ballad of a Thin Man '' ( live ) / `` Boots of Spanish Leather '' ( live ) `` Love Sick '' / `` Tombstone Blues '' ( live ) 2000 `` Things Have Changed '' / `` Make You Feel My Love '' ( live ) / `` Hurricane '' / `` Song to Woody '' ( live ) 2006 `` Someday Baby '' / `` Someday Baby '' ( edit piece ) `` Rollin ' and Tumblin ' '' / `` Not Dark Yet '' / `` High Water ( for Charley Patton ) '' 2007 `` Most Likely You Go Your Way ( And I 'll Go Mine ) '' ( Mark Ronson remix version ) / `` Most Likely You Go Your Way ( And I 'll Go Mine ) '' ( album version ) 2008 `` Dreamin ' of You '' ( edit piece ) / `` Dreamin ' of You '' ( album version ) 2009 `` Beyond Here Lies Nothin ' '' / `` Down Along the Cove '' ( live ) `` I Feel a Change Comin ' On '' / `` I Feel a Change Comin ' On '' ( edit piece ) `` Must Be Santa '' / `` ' Twas the Night Before Christmas '' `` The Times They Are a-Changin ' '' ( demo version ) / `` Like a Rolling Stone '' 2012 `` Duquesne Whistle '' 2013 `` Wigwam '' ( demo version ) / `` Thirsty Boots '' Adam and Eve Source Genesis creation narrative in the Book of Genesis Adam Eve Offspring Cain and Abel Aclima Seth Awan Azura Television `` Probe 7, Over and Out '' ( 1963 ) Film Mama 's Affair ( 1921 ) Good Morning, Eve ! ( 1934 ) The Broken Jug ( 1937 ) The Original Sin ( 1948 ) The Private Lives of Adam and Eve ( 1960 ) El pecado de Adán y Eva ( 1969 ) La Biblia en pasta ( 1984 ) The Annunciation ( 1984 ) Adipapam ( 1988 ) Adam ( 1992 ) Man 's Best Friend ( 1998 ) Babs ( 2000 ) The Last Eve ( 2005 ) Year One ( 2009 ) The Tragedy of Man ( 2011 ) Adam and Dog ( 2011 ) Tropico ( 2013 ) Plays Le Jeu d'Adam ( 12th century ) The Broken Jug ( 1808 ) The Tragedy of Man ( 1861 ) The Creation of the World and Other Business ( 1972 ) Musicals The Apple Tree ( 1966 ) Dude ( 1972 ) Up from Paradise ( 1973 ) Children of Eden ( 1991 ) Compositions The Creation ( 1798 ) structure La mort d'Adam ( 1809 ) Ève ( 1875 ) Genesis Suite ( 1945 ) Lilith ( 2001 ) Literature Apocalypse of Adam Book of Moses Book of Abraham Books of Adam Book of the Penitence of Adam Cave of Treasures `` El y Ella '' Genesis A and Genesis B Harrowing of Hell Life of Adam and Eve Testament of Adam Testimony of Truth ( 3rd century ) Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan ( 6th century ) `` Old Saxon Genesis '' ( 9th century ) `` Adam lay ybounden '' ( 15th century ) Paradise Lost ( 1667 ) Le Dernier Homme ( 1805 ) Extracts from Adam 's Diary ( 1904 ) Eve 's Diary ( 1905 ) The Book of Genesis ( 2009 ) Art Bernward Doors ( 1015 ) Tapestry of Creation ( 11th century ) Expulsion from the Garden of Eden ( 1425 ) Vienna Diptych ( 15th century ) The Last Judgment ( 1482 ) The Garden of Earthly Delights ( 1504 ) Adam and Eve ( 1507 ) Paradise and Hell ( 1510 ) The Creation of Adam ( 1512 ) The Haywain Triptych ( 1516 ) Eve, the Serpent and Death ( 1510s or 1520s ) Adam and Eve ( 1528 ) The Fall of Man ( 1550 ) Maps of ancient Israel The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man ( 1617 ) The Fall of Man ( 1628 ) The Four Seasons ( 1660s ) The Koren Picture - Bible ( 1692 -- 1696 ) The First Mourning ( 1888 ) Eve ( 1931 ) Adam and Eve ( 1932 ) The Serpent Chooses Adam and Eve ( 1958 ) Adam and Eve ( 1992 ) Songs `` Dese Bones G'wine Rise Again '' `` Adam - ondi - Ahman '' ( 1835 ) `` Forbidden Fruit '' ( 1915 ) `` The Garden of Eden '' ( 1956 ) `` Let 's Give Adam and Eve Another Chance '' ( 1970 ) `` Man Gave Names to All the Animals '' ( 1979 ) Albums The Cainian Chronicle ( 1996 ) Visions of Eden ( 2006 ) Other cultures Adam -- God doctrine Adam and Eve ( LDS Church ) Adam in Islam Adam in rabbinic literature Al - A'raf Book of Moses Endowment Manu ( Hinduism ) Mashya and Mashyana Serpent seed Tree of Jiva and Atman Tree of life ( Quran ) Our Lady of Endor Coven Geography Adam - ondi - Ahman Tomb of Eve Biology Mitochondrial Eve Y - chromosomal Adam The Real Eve Story within a story Doraemon : Nobita 's Diary of the Creation of the World Island of Love The Visitors Games Demon : The Fallen ( 2002 ) Related theology Fall of man Original sin Garden of Eden Tree of the knowledge of good and evil Serpents in the Bible Forbidden fruit Apple Fig leaf Figs in the Bible Adam 's ale Adamic language Rosh Hashanah Camael Shamsiel Tree of life Allegorical interpretations of Genesis Other Pre-Adamite Generations of Adam Cave of the Patriarchs `` In - A-Gadda - Da - Leela '' `` Simpsons Bible Stories '' Second Time Lucky Adam and Eve cylinder seal Timeline of Genesis patriarchs Genealogies of Genesis Carnal knowledge Legend of the Rood Ystorya Adaf Snakes for the Divine Ransom theory of atonement Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Man_Gave_Names_to_All_the_Animals&oldid=821872368 '' Categories : Songs written by Bob Dylan Bob Dylan songs Song recordings produced by Jerry Wexler Song recordings produced by Barry Beckett 1979 singles Columbia Records singles Townes Van Zandt songs 1979 songs Music based on the Bible Hidden categories : Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Brezhoneg Español Polski Edit links This page was last edited on 23 January 2018, at 03 : 02. 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Question: who named all the animals in the world
Answer: Adam; Adam