William Shatner - Mr Tambourine Man

[@pegclairezach]

I want this played at my funeral. Loud. 50 times in a row. With all of the doors locked and no way for anyone to leave.

[@mycrazyfamilyid]

I don't know you but I'll happily attend pass out kazoos and Mardi Gras beads.

[@kitcat7538]

You want the mourners to listen to a tortured drug addict pleading for a fix?

[@pegclairezach]

@@kitcat7538 Sorry, but that is not what this song is about. Listen to it and you might find out something more than is on the surface...

[@kitcat7538]

@@pegclairezach What is below the surface is exactly what Shatner's dramatic reading of the lyrics is bringing out.

[@pegclairezach]

@@kitcat7538 In your opinion. And that is great because we can all have our own opinions and they don't need to be validated by anyone! :) Have a super day.

[@slappy10524]

"I'll show that Nimoy and his stupid song about Bilbo Baggins what TRUE art is."

[@MisterMikeTexas]

Nimoy actually did quite good on "Proud Mary".

[@JT_O4]

You got that right, Brother!

[@dbman63]

😂

[@NormAppleton]

Nonono the pinnacle of Saint Nimoy's Oeuvre is his magnificent version of If I had a Hammer. Totally straight here, it's bizarre and totally amazing. It never fails to make me grin like the Uncle that asks you to pull his finger. kzbin.info/www/bejne/mJqohmWnicysbrc

[@21stcenturyguy25]

The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins - Rock out, with your Spock out.

[@PurpleBlackSyrup]

The tortured scream at the end is what nails this astonishing interpretation.

[@nancybryce92]

That's drastic.......

[@lionide138]

3:16

[@andrewmorrice9139]

Cannot stop laughing at that part! Gets me every time.

[@Kornknealious]

it sounds like Shatner is constipated throughout the whole song...and at the end, the huge dump finally is released.

[@Kornknealious]

@Nenethegreat W only one of my friends gets why I love this rendition

[@MrNeoTM]

A descent into madness

[@Nestor123057]

LOL That's exactly how I felt upon hearing this on a NYC bus, of all places, some 40 years ago.

[@briane173]

Or impatience. Hey Mr. TAMBOURINE MAAAAAAAANN Whaderyou DEAF!!??

[@kitcat7538]

@@Nestor123057 A descent into madness is exactly what it portrays. Shatner recites song lyrics as poetry, and he always finds the deeper meaning in them. This song is actually about drug addiction. That's what Shatner is bringing out.

[@Nestor123057]

@@kitcat7538 Yeah right.

[@NormAppleton]

Glorious madness

[@maryeckel9682]

He makes "I'll come following you" into a threat.

[@lonewolf82007]

Lol!!

[@AlexColberg]

Bob Dylan wrote it, The Byrds made it a hit, and William Shatner...God, I don't know.

[@GestapoPussyRanch]

+Alex Colberg Made it EPIC!

[@AlexColberg]

yes...Yes...YES!

[@moonbeanification]

EXACTLY !!!!!!

[@GestapoPussyRanch]

William Shatner makes anything cooler.

[@brandiborders6920]

you're hilarious, man!

[@cooperthewolf]

This is like listening into the mind of someone slowly going insane... I love it.

[@graemekornicki6810]

Did he ever record a version of there coming to take me away ah haaa??

[@kitcat7538]

That's exactly what was intended. Beautiful performance.

[@PIERRECLARY]

Do you know Porter Waggoner's "rubber room" It's on youtube. This Shatner cover should have been on the soundtrack of the movie adaptation of Fear And Loathing in Las Vegas....

[@chewbaccasita]

It’s played in the closing sequence of the 1978 fear and loathing omnibus as Thompson’s funeral is visualized. You’re welcome

[@PIERRECLARY]

@@chewbaccasita "fear and loathing omnibus?" Is it a miniseries? I never heard about it! Tell me please! No ! Don't ! I forgot i could use the information superhighway and googled it. Thanks for telling me it exists! Now i have to find it (torrent...?)

[@prevarctorII]

On my deathbed I hope I have the strength to shout, “MR TAMBOURINE MAAAANN!

[@cow_tools_]

I'm gonna try and remember this. It could be like my "rosebud".

[@NormAppleton]

@@cow_tools_ I'm going with "In the jingle jangle morning, I'll come following you!"

[@Veldoril]

MR. TAMBOURINE, MAAAAN!

[@suzannee6673]

By god, those last two "Mr. Tambourine Man's" may be the greatest bit of acting ever performed by a human being!

[@PeterBrown-mz4nv]

Are you serial?😅

[@theviniso]

There are underrated musicians and then there's William Shatner.

[@kitcat7538]

Shatner is underrated by many but much loved and appreciated by many others. This is a brilliant performance, although he could hardly be called a musician, since he is reciting the lyrics as poetry.

[@mattw4496]

😂

[@douglasagriswold6118]

He's the Chuck Norris of singers.

[@fwobebe5164]

He wasn't too enthusiastic when he was at an autograph signing and someone brought him The Transformed Man 😅

[@vinvass2674]

Agreed

[@Dramgon_]

i just love how when the scream at the end happens, the music just stops midway into the scream

[@kitcat7538]

Brilliant touch. Emphasises that the man is, after all, quite alone.

[@rae3432]

My dad had this burned onto a CD when I was little and used to play it in the car all the time. He'd be laughing his ass off and at that age I didn't understand what was going on. Now listening to this as an adult, it has me in stitches too

[@kvdp9543]

If I had this CD, I'd burn it too

[@oldbiff8194]

I like your Dad!

[@Themaddprof]

​@@kvdp9543 Good one!

[@BusinessLunch]

This is Shatner doing what he does best. Anything he wants. No one else could ever pull this off.

[@kitcat7538]

Shatner gives a very moving and beautiful performance. He brings out all the dark subtext of the lyrics. He was a member of the Canadian National Repertory Theatre in Ottawa. He acted in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario. He was Christopher Plummer's understudy in Henry V. He first came to America to star in a production on Broadway of Tamburlaine, a play written by Christopher Marlowe in 1587. He is trying to bring a taste of that world into pop culture, trying to bring a tradition he loves to a wider audience.

[@kvdp9543]

@@kitcat7538 LMAO !

[@manifestgtr]

Hell, HE didn’t even pull it off…which makes it even better, imo…

[@NormAppleton]

It's true you just have to love his freak show.

[@goopygilscarbo3677]

Never knew it was possible to dramatically choke out a tortured groan of the word "jingle-jangle". #mindblown

[@Nestor123057]

Angela Kluge: LOL That was funny.

[@bobthebear1246]

@EnriqueLovinLife OMFG 😂 DYING HERE 😂

[@obscureentertainment8303]

He found a way.

[@d.f.s.studios281]

I’ll come FOLLowing YA!

[@kitcat7538]

That is actually very fine acting. He's portraying a drug addict, and the words "jingle-jangle morning" take on new meaning.

[@MegaFortinbras]

He sounds like he were trying to summon an inattentive waiter.

[@kitcat7538]

He sounds like a drug addict pleading for a fix -- which is what his performance is about.

[@TheWorld-of7dd]

🤣🤣

[@waukivorycopse2402]

@@kitcat7538 prove it. Shatner has said on numerous occasions that this performance is based on his experience of being contacted by extraterrestrial beings in the desert in 1967.

[@kitcat7538]

@@waukivorycopse2402 Go soak your head.

[@jamesfinlayson4383]

amazing comment

[@30nations]

I'll always remember this track. As a little kid, I tried to use primitive early 90s internet to download a WAV of this. Right after the final scream, the hard disk corrupted. Left quite an impression on me!

[@HawkGTboy]

I first heard it as a freshman in college, my roommate had found this album, I remember us laughing our asses off.

[@cathybessodes9894]

Je suis une grande fan de William Shatner j'adore son physique

[@dirtibertfirst]

Your life, touched, by the incredible power of Shatner.

[@wheelinthesky300]

The Shatner being The Shatner.

[@chrisg7891]

He certainly shat upon this song.

[@kitcat7538]

He has always had the courage to try something new. He is bringing out the dark subtext in this song and making it about drug addiction.

[@startrek1992]

This is motherf*cking art! I feel sorry for people who don't see the greatness in this,

[@Adhansstuff]

haha

[@Brokephi316]

Protector of the Realm This is art at its finest!!!

[@macuna1995]

Really is great.

[@normanmacfarlane6724]

Greetings from Western Australia ❤😂 I completely agree. This is a whole new way of interpreting songs . . . but only by Captain Shatner. I freaking love this album.

[@Saucypants1000]

Shatner really wants Mr. Tambourine Man to play the fucking song.

[@kitcat7538]

What the singer wants is a drug fix. This is one of those songs that are really about something else.

[@alcosmic]

I think I finally get it. It's tragic, because Mr. Tambourine Man passes him by. Shat sees him coming and tries to catch his attention, the whole song he's pleading to be overtaken by the music and the moment and in the end he just can't bring himself to let go no matter how badly he wants to join that somnambulant parade. I feel like I understand you now, Bill. I've felt your pain.

[@kitcat7538]

It is a brilliant performance. That song is not about tambourines; it is about drug addiction, and it is this dark subtext which Shatner is bringing out, speaking the lyrics as poetry. Shatner has made a lot of these, and he always digs beneath the surface and finds new meaning in what he is reading.

[@OnBleeckerStreet]

I agree

[@wiremuwifebash]

nigga called him Shat

[@timberosdelnorte5623]

This video is one of the most underrated in all of youtube.

[@JockoJonson17]

genius. whatever this man touches turns to entertainment gold.

[@kitcat7538]

Shatner gives a very moving and beautiful performance. He brings out all the dark subtext of the lyrics.

[@LazlosPlane]

Still has me rolling on the floor, laughing my ass off, after all these damn years. Holy crap.

[@donberry7657]

Kindred spirits. I own his CD, this is my favorite because it's a completely neurotic rendering. And I saw him do Rocket Man as a kid in the moment on T.V. You got to love Bill. You see the movie Free Enterprise? What a hoot. KZbin has his Julius Caeser rap from it. Awesome...

[@kitcat7538]

It is a brilliant performance. That song is not about tambourines; it is about drug addiction, and it is this dark subtext which Shatner is bringing out, speaking the lyrics as one reads poetry. Shatner has made a lot of these, and he always digs beneath the surface and finds new meaning in what he is reading.

[@matthewschreck6418]

I had forgotten the “MISTER TAMBOURINE MAN!!” scream at the end. Perfection.

[@davidl570]

At the end, when he yells "MR. TAMBOURINE MAAAAAAAAN!!" he sounds like he's begging for his life!

[@21stcenturyrambo16]

He shouts it like KHAAAAAAN

[@TtotheCizzel]

i dont know what hes trying to convey in this but im loving it

[@kitcat7538]

It is a brilliant performance. That song is not about tambourines; it is about drug addiction, and it is this dark subtext which Shatner is bringing out, speaking the lyrics as one reads poetry. Shatner has made a lot of these, and he always digs beneath the surface and finds new meaning in what he is reading.

[@johncostello6043]

I almost peed my pants the first time I heard this. Could not stop laughing. Thank you for this video!

[@Alexs.2599]

Me too, it's freaking hilarious lol.

[@Mr.Robert1]

I was looking for this particular song after making a big speech about how great William Shatner is at everything he's done. For the exception of singing.

[@louisemiller2774]

A man with a great sense of humor. We need more of him.

[@FishpondsLady]

I was playing "The Very Best of Shatner and Nimoy" driving my daughter back from school, it must have been about 2012. My girl had been quite enjoying Leonard Nimoy singing, "Ruby, don't take your love to town" and then suddenly this song came on. As we were turning off the slip road of the M32, to St Werburghs (Bristol), William Shatner suddenly burst out with "Mr Tambourine Man!" My daughter asked me to never play that song again. But it was funny!

[@horrortackleharry]

The best finish to any music track, ever.

[@kerryfry1857]

Best ever.

[@Denji2006]

I find this shit infinitely hilarious! Nobody else around me gets it, but it makes me laugh!

[@briane173]

Just tell them "You had to be there and then you'd understand."

[@ej20tnz]

Same as me mate.

[@kitcat7538]

The people who actually get it don't laugh because it is a very powerful and moving portrayal of a drug addict.

[@brubeck1]

@@kitcat7538 did bobby dylan tell you that?

[@RebuttalRecords]

You obviously need to change your circle of friends.

[@BSNFabricating]

This is the definitive version of this song. It's a shame the Byrds' version has gotten the most attention over the years.

[@thomasking5472]

Check out Leonard Nimoy's version of Ballad of Bilbo Baggins

[@bloodfireguaranamo3785]

@@thomasking5472 excellent

[@kitcat7538]

Not definitive, perhaps, but a very powerful alternative reading. Shatner recites song lyrics as poetry, and he always finds the deeper meaning in them. This song is actually about drug addiction. That's what Shatner is bringing out.

[@douglashott9843]

As Glaucon always said to Socrates in The Republic, "only a fool would reason otherwise."

[@sexobscura]

Play it BACKWARDS

[@zachuram]

So many crap videos with 1 billion views. Now, this video deserves it!! A masterpiece!

[@kerryfry1857]

Agreed 100%

[@fabuniverse3908]

Shatner conveys a myriad of emotions in this classic: anger, disgust, frustration, resignation, melancholy, alienation, disenfranchisement to name a few.

[@kitcat7538]

Superb actor giving a wonderful performance, bringing out all the dark subtext of the lyrics.

[@vinvass2674]

Agreed Amazing performance by a talented performer

[@culwin]

And more importantly, he makes the listener feel emotions too. Confusion,

[@ghost-ez2zn]

Nobody I've told this to EVER believed me. Now I have proof! Back then when an actor begant to be popular, they tried to cash in on all the entertainment platforms. I remember hearing this as a kid, on the radio in my dad's car. He was laughing so hard we almost crashed.

[@paulcallahan3676]

Where's Shatner's Nobel prize? This cover gives entirely new layers of meaning to the work.

[@athens31415]

I completely agree. Everybody ignores the CD insert, and completely mis-interprets this piece as a song -- this was never meant to be singing -- it is an album of spoken word set to music. And each track comes paired with two pieces of a totally opposite nature. The entirety of the album illustrates the many aspects of man's dual and contradictory nature. It's really brilliant and creative. But it's the morons who incorrectly interpret this to be a song who find this to be terrible. That's just how brilliant an album this is -- by revealing the contradictory natures of the ignorant and un-ignorant listener!

[@trustmeimblack1620]

I'm sure the folks what's staying at Bellevue find this to be a brilliant album too!

[@chrisg7891]

Grammy!

[@stevecochrane8799]

This is the most surreal thing I have ever seen.

[@kitcat7538]

@@athens31415 Well said! What Shatner is doing here is too intelligent and subtle for some people. This is a brilliant performance, bringing out all the dark subtext of the song. I'm glad William Shatner has the self-confidence to pursue this kind of experimental work. He doesn't care what his detractors say.

[@eromitlabhitw]

Mister Tambourine MAAAAAAAAANNNNNN!

[@JohnSmith-kz8yo]

+eromitlabhitw 3:16 lol

[@JohnSmith-kz8yo]

+eromitlabhitw 3:16 lol

[@whoswhoincanadianracing410]

😂😂😂

[@CinematicMaj]

no, stop it

[@w3rf4mily]

KHAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNN!!!!!!

[@bozotheclown169]

This version of the song set to those Trek images creates an almost psychedelic experience! (even the music is slightly reminiscent of certain TOS tracks) The implication of it being a bad trip/dream of Kirk as he lays asleep in his cabin on the Enterprise is fascinating (Kirk must've had some truly bizarre dreams/nightmares what with all the eerie creepy twilightzoney stuff he experienced on a regular basis as he charted a haunted universe that harboured some deeply strange and frightening things)

[@spoton7683]

O... M... F... G... is there NO end to the sheer intergalactic AWESOMENESS of the AMIGHTY Shatner?! 🙇🙇🙇

[@douglashott9843]

This is so over-the-top fantastic...costly arrangements and total madness. Tell me you've ever listened to this and not ended up in a better mood than you began and I won't believe you. The bongos, the ending scream....I think it narrowly beats jos Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

[@alandynin1087]

Tough call between the two...

[@eleamunroe5829]

And THIS is why I will continue to love William Shatner! Great vid! I've heard Shatner's version of "Mr. Tambourine Man" lots of times but I absolutely love how you did this. The screenshots were hilarious and fit with the song so well.

[@kitcat7538]

The screen shots were only intended to mock a moving and beautiful perfornance.

[@SteveBarton13]

Your sequence of still shots makes listening to this hoot once again worthwhile, thanks @maestrojohn!

[@dawnofapril3055]

Oh my god, I wish I had discovered this masterpiece earlier! "Mr. Tambourine Man!!!"

[@billintex001]

"How do you do a spoken word version of a rap song?" --- Walter Koenig in the 33rd century "And yet he found a way..." --- Melllvar, seer of the tapes, knower of the episodes

[@noname2226]

I see you are a man of culture as well

[@Jason1920]

Excellent editing. Simply marvelous.

[@kitcat7538]

The crap editing is only intended to mock a superb performance.

[@roberthart6435]

Godspeed, Mr. Shatner. You enrich our lives, and no mistake.

[@robertpolanco1973]

Shatner must be quite a comedian. I enjoyed his CDs very much. It helps me to get a very good laugh.

[@harlowethrombey7665]

“Captain………….are you aware the ship intercom was on and broadcasting to the the entire ship?”

[@nigelwalker6103]

When the strain of command started to take its toll on Captain Kirk he would resort to expressing himself in song. Much to the distress of the crew. They kept his recordings contained in a device codenamed the Corbomite device. Such were the legends of the disastrous effects of listening to these recordings it became a code word for a device of mass destruction.

[@cro44magnum]

It wasn't until William Shatner got ahold of this song that Mr. Tambourine Man finally got the freaking message.

[@kitcat7538]

Shatner gives a very moving and beautiful performance. He brings out all the dark subtext of the lyrics.

[@SkylaneCaptain]

I love everything Shatner does!! One of the most unique personalities of our time!!

[@kitcat7538]

Everything he does is so individual! This performance, bringing out all the dark subtext of a familiar song, is just wonderful.

[@SkylaneCaptain]

@@kitcat7538 Wow I forgot all about this comment from 9 years ago!! :)

[@edengbrock9726]

I'm in tears. Love the Byrds. Now in a state of confusion and sadness yet laughing. Indescribable.

[@oldbiff8194]

Is it funny? Is it serious? Is it a work of art? Yes, yes and yes!

[@dbkparm]

Makes Bob Dylan sound like Frank Sinatra.

[@kitcat7538]

Shatner isn't singing. He is doing a poetry reading -- doing it beautifully, too.

[@dbkparm]

@@kitcat7538 he's an overdramatic buffoon.

[@kitcat7538]

@@dbkparm Well, that's your reaction. I found his performance powerful and moving, but then I like Shakespeare and Shatner came from that tradition.

[@robertwest6350]

@@kitcat7538 honestly that makes so much sense because Dylan is a great poet

[@michaelbrinkers1145]

Makes Bob Dylan sound like Nancy Sinatra.

[@zyxnix]

This never fails to bring a smile to my face.

[@RichardHallas]

This is absolutely one of the greatest videos of all time. I never tire of experiencing it. The stills chosen are just perfect in terms of suiting the interpretation; by turns apt and hilarious. But the ending is the crowning glory as William Shatner goes menacingly off his head. It’s a performance of unhinged genius from him complemented by imagery of off-the-wall perfection.

[@Matthew-xr5be]

Kudos to whomever edited this video.. The still photos "match" what's going on in the song > HILARIOUSLY.. Top shelf, aces up..

[@real_fjcalabrese]

When William Shatner covers a song he makes it his own!

[@ludehead]

Words can't describe how utterly awesome this is!

[@kitcat7538]

Shatner gives a very moving and beautiful performance. He brings out all the dark subtext of the lyrics.

[@kitcat7538]

I LOVE THIS! If you close your eyes and listen, the song is very effective. Shatner conveys an intense desperate longing very powerfully. The images appearing on the video are intended to mock and undermine Shatner, of course, but one need only look away from them to feel the power of his performance here. I simply LOVE this!

[@durango8882]

Too much malt liquor dude 😂

[@jamesmcbeth4463]

People who have never heard this have not truly lived.

[@lagnok]

I love how william shatner actually appears to be piss-scared of mr tambourine man lol - LOVE his pronunciation of it

[@kitcat7538]

This is a song about drug addiction, and that hint of fear is very appropriate.

[@PlasmaTwa2]

I actually like this as a piece of art. It's very bold and unique and certainly not as bad as everyone says it is.

[@kitcat7538]

It'a excellent, very powerful and moving. Bob Dylan's song is actually about drug addiction. That's what Shatner is bringing out.

[@flaccidego9468]

Will some music artist out there please do a cover of William Shatner covers. Thank you. 1:17-1:24 ~ is William speaking in an Irish brogue? That man has talent.

[@whoswhoincanadianracing410]

😂

[@kitcat7538]

No, the Irish aren't the only ones who drop the final "g" in "-ing".

[@fenderstratguy]

I love that he ain't afraid to do this kind of stuff.

[@mvader7188]

Rubber Soul led to Pet sounds. Pet sounds led to Sgt pepper. Sgt pepper led to the transformed man. And that's where it ends😂

[@mrstacyj9496]

may 2022 - happy birthday dylan

[@lexx2847]

I don't just like this, I love and adore it.

[@kitcat7538]

Me too. A beautiful and moving performance, bringing out all the dark subtext of the lyrics.

[@alkuhseltsur9243]

This is one of the most wonderful "this should NEVER NEVER EVER have been allowed to happen" pieces of music I ever heard. I've never listened to this without laughing enouht to feel better after I listened than I did before.

[@kitcat7538]

It is a brilliant performance. That song is not about tambourines; it is about drug addiction, and it is this dark subtext which Shatner is bringing out, giving a dramatic reading of the lyrics. Shatner has made a lot of these, and he always digs beneath the surface and finds new meaning in what he is reading.

[@Nemesis7293]

So over the top, so deliciously bizarre....so.....so kitschy, yet so amazingly sincere. Just f*cking incredible!!!

[@kitcat7538]

Shatner was a member of the Canadian National Repertory Theatre in Ottawa. He acted in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario. He was Christopher Plummer's understudy in Henry V. He first came to America to star in a production on Broadway of Tamburlaine, a play written by Christopher Marlowe in 1587. He is trying to bring a taste of that world into pop culture, trying to bring a tradition he loves to a wider audience.

[@tonywhite3620]

The best version - of anything.

[@MrBenny1010101]

lmao I have no earthly idea what he was he thinking but it's gloriously bizzare

[@melhope]

MR. TAMBOURI-I-I-NE MA-A-A-A-A-N!!! I totally made this into a ringtone.

[@kitcat7538]

It's the wail of a drug addict pleading for a fix.

[@jamesr2268]

This is the best. Ever.

[@sappyse107]

This is my favorite version.

[@jasonnn2284]

Ben P fuck off, ASSHOLE

[@kitcat7538]

Don't listen to morons. This is a powerful and moving interpretation by a superb actor.

[@Brakathor]

He wasn't trolling was he: he really thought he was good?

[@alexthompson9516]

Brakathor A little of both.

[@steve9094]

He wants people to THINK he was trolling, that's for sure. At a certain point, I guess it was either stop taking himself so seriously or just commit suicide out of embarrassment. The truth is that he was such an egomaniac, he thought he was blowing everyone's mind with this spoken-word beatnik dreck.

[@sirmellaley83]

A lil from column a and a lil from column b

[@Denji2006]

Watch his live rendition of Rocket Man. If you couldn't tell, then you're blind.

[@whoswhoincanadianracing410]

@@steve9094 you nailed it

[@zonqor]

Finally, thanks to the accompanying video, this rendition now makes perfect semse. Well done, As well as being extremely amusing, I found It all to be strangely moving.

[@kitcat7538]

Possibly you found it strangely moving because it is actually a beautiful performance. This song is not about tambourines; it is about drug addiction, and Shatner brings out all the dark subtext of the lyrics.

[@usedforks]

2:46 - I love how constipated he sounds.

[@briane173]

He LOOKS equally constipated in the still pic that comes up.

[@kitcat7538]

He sounds like the drug addict he is portraying. Some of the people posting comments on this thread seem to have MINDS that are constipated.

[@ConnieLynchitzWhoElse]

One of the greatest albums ever made. He wasn't high, just sincerely having a good time. An inadvertent masterpiece.

[@kitcat7538]

Shatner was a member of the Canadian National Repertory Theatre in Ottawa. He acted in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario. He was Christopher Plummer's understudy in Henry V. He first came to America to star in a production on Broadway of Tamburlaine, a play written by Christopher Marlowe in 1587. He is trying to bring a taste of that world into pop culture, trying to bring a tradition he loves to a wider audience.

[@ConnieLynchitzWhoElse]

@@kitcat7538 Thanks for the reply on a comment near 10 years old lol. His intent is widely questioned on this Transformed Man album. And while I believe that he was sincere in making a serious "Shakespeare meets modern pop(at the time)" record, some commenters think it's an elaborate prank or a drug induced extravagance; both pretty ridiculous interpretations when you think about it.

[@sabinesabine7031]

I love his humour. He is such a funny guy.

[@blatherskite3009]

I once read someone's description of their experience of listening to this track as being like "nodding off in a public park on a warm, sunny day - and then being woken up by a drunken hobo shouting at you." It captured something of the essence of this ... _unique_ work.

[@kerryfry1857]

Genius! This could be the best humanity ever produced.

[@lar41381]

Hey, Mr. Shatner Man, ham up a song for me!

[@briane173]

Cuz I gotta sleep and there's tons of places I'm going to.

[@kitcat7538]

Actually, it is a beautifully acted portrayal of a drug addict, which is what this song is about.

[@janellepowles660]

I freaking love this! William shatner is the best. If you don't get him I'm sorry but he is just too cool. Always has been always will be God bless you shatner

[@LoRaineyDay]

This is art.

[@kitcat7538]

Shatner was a member of the Canadian National Repertory Theatre in Ottawa. He acted in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario. He was Christopher Plummer's understudy in Henry V. He first came to America to star in a production on Broadway of Tamburlaine, a play written by Christopher Marlowe in 1587. He is trying to bring a taste of that world into pop culture, trying to bring a tradition he loves to a wider audience.

[@fredpagniello3267]

Shatner: "MR TAMBOURINE MAAAAN!!!!" and Guilfoyle: " THE BEST IS YET TO COME!!!!"

[@wheelinthesky300]

Shatner: A true Renaissance Man.

[@TheOwl]

This is GENIUS!!! Who else but Shatner could've pulled this off!

[@kitcat7538]

Shatner gives a very moving and beautiful performance. He brings out all the dark subtext of the lyrics. He was a member of the Canadian National Repertory Theatre in Ottawa. He acted in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario. He was Christopher Plummer's understudy in Henry V. He first came to America to star in a production on Broadway of Tamburlaine, a play written by Christopher Marlowe in 1587. He is trying to bring a taste of that world into pop culture, trying to bring a tradition he loves to a wider audience.

[@pacerburton625]

he's a rocket man , a tambourine man...he's a fkn genius!

[@Tiberius291]

Dammit Jim you're a Starship Captain not a lounge singer.

[@ew467w6]

This is what going crazy feels like.

[@zanetierney]

I JUST LOVE THIS. SO BIZARRE.

[@Brokephi316]

Pure Genius!!!

[@kitcat7538]

It is a beautiful performance. Brings out all the dark subtext of the lyrics.

[@sanicyouth6540]

One can only wonder what was going through the mind of good ole William Shatspeare when he decided to do this. You gotta love how the actual music itself contrasts with Shatner's melodramatic spoken word delivery and of course at the end when he screams "MR TAMBOURINE MAN!!!!!!" Makes me laugh my ass off.

[@kitcat7538]

Shatner gives a very moving and beautiful performance. This song is not about tambourines; it is about drug addiction. He brings out all the dark subtext of the lyrics. Shatner was a member of the Canadian National Repertory Theatre in Ottawa. He acted in the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario. He was Christopher Plummer's understudy in Henry V. He first came to America to star in a production on Broadway of Tamburlaine, a play written by Christopher Marlowe in 1587. He is trying to bring a taste of that world into pop culture, trying to bring a tradition he loves to a wider audience.

[@michaelblair5566]

When Captain Kirk sings a song it's his forever!

[@culwin]

0% nudity 0% cursing 0% autotune 100% Shatner

[@FindYourOther]

Or did he achieve a tone so right, that it BLOWS YOUR MIND. If he sang this in the "right tone", I wouldn't be listening to it right now. Neither would you.

[@kitcat7538]

He always gets the tone right -- and the expression on his face perfect for the emotion his character is feeling.

[@patriciac2476]

THANK YO U SO MUCH !! needed this , enjoyed it and the vid and OMG, just needed the giggle.

[@kitcat7538]

That song is not about tambourines; it is about drug addiction, and it is this dark subtext which Shatner is bringing out. Shatner has made a lot of these, and he always digs beneath the surface and finds new meaning in what he is reading.

[@groofay]

Best Dylan cover ever made, right here... MR TAMBOURINE MAAAAN!!!

[@kitcat7538]

Shatner gives a very moving and beautiful performance. He brings out all the dark subtext of the lyrics.