Bob Dylan releases Murder Most Foul, his first song in eight years, with allusions to John F Kennedy's assassination

Bob Dylan released his latest track today on 27 March; titled 'Murder Most Foul', the 17-minute track is also the longest song (16 minutes 57 seconds precisely) ever recorded by the singer. His last album of original songs, Tempest, was released in 2012. It was followed by a triple album titled Triplicate in 2017.

In what came as a surprise to fans, Dylan took to Twitter and announced the track's release.

Greetings to my fans and followers with gratitude for all your support and loyalty across the years.
This is an unreleased song we recorded a while back that you might find interesting.
Stay safe, stay observant and may God be with you.
Bob Dylanhttps://t.co/uJnE4X64Bb

— bobdylan.com (@bobdylan) March 27, 2020

In his tweet, he mentioned that they'd recorded the song "a while back". However, the exact timeline remains a mystery, as this Variety piece points out. Speaking to the publication, a Dylan representative said that apart from his statement on Twitter, there were no other details accompanying the song.

'Murder Most Foul' has references to former US president John F Kennedy's assassination in 1963, alluding to precise details. For instance, in the very first stanza, the lyrics say: “being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb...they blew off his head while he was still in the car / shot down like a dog in broad daylight."

Dylan also makes several references to 1960s pop culture, some of which, as the BBC points out, comes across like "a catalogue of his favourite music". These range from Nightmare on Elm Street and The Merchant of Venice to The Beatles, Woodstock, Charlie Parker, the Eagles, Stevie Nicks and Stan Getz.

In 2016, Dylan became the first songwriter ever to win the Nobel Prize for Literature. 'Murder Most Foul' is his first original release since he received the award.

Listen to 'Murder Most Foul' here: