Honestly, if you ask a room full of country fans about the best wedding songs ever, Garth Brooks To Make You Feel My Love is going to come up within the first ten seconds. It is a staple. It’s that song that makes everyone at the reception stop what they’re doing, grab a partner, and sway.
But here’s the thing. Most people actually think Garth wrote it.
He didn’t.
In fact, he wasn’t even the first or second person to record it. By the time Garth’s version hit the radio in 1998, the track had already been passed around like a hot potato by some of the biggest names in music history. It’s a wild story of a song that almost didn't happen for him, involving a movie star, a legendary folk singer, and a very confused Garth Brooks trying to decipher "hieroglyphics" in a CD booklet.
The Bob Dylan Connection Nobody Saw Coming
The song was written by Bob Dylan. Yeah, that Bob Dylan. The guy known for gritty, gravelly folk anthems and protest songs. It appeared on his 1997 album Time Out of Mind. But before Dylan even got his own version out, Billy Joel actually released it first.
Think about that for a second.
Billy Joel and Bob Dylan both had their hands on this track before the biggest star in country music even heard it. When Garth finally did hear it, he didn't even know what he was listening to.
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Forrest Whitaker, the Oscar-winning actor, actually called Garth up. He was directing a movie called Hope Floats starring Sandra Bullock and Harry Connick Jr. He wanted Garth on the soundtrack. At first, Garth was kinda bummed. He didn't want to do a cover. He wanted something original. But then Whitaker told him the song was a Dylan track.
Garth, being a massive fan of songwriters, changed his tune immediately. "You’re the coolest luckiest guy if you get to do Dylan’s stuff," he later told American Songwriter.
Decoding the Lyrics
There’s a hilarious bit of history here that most fans don't know. When Garth got the demo, it was a plain silver CD with "Bob Dylan" scribbled on it. Dylan isn't exactly known for his crystal-clear enunciation. Garth literally couldn't understand what he was saying.
He panicked.
He went out and bought every Bob Dylan CD he could find, hoping to find a lyric sheet. No luck. He described it as trying to read hieroglyphics—trying to match the mumbles and noises he heard on the CD to phrases that made sense. Eventually, producer Don Was stepped in and told him to just listen to Billy Joel’s version because Joel actually enunciated the words.
That’s how Garth Brooks To Make You Feel My Love finally took shape. He took Dylan’s raw emotion, Joel’s clarity, and added that signature Garth vulnerability.
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Why Garth’s Version Hits Different
What makes his rendition stand out among the hundreds of covers (even Adele’s massive 2008 version) is the sparse production. It’s not overproduced. It’s mostly just piano, a bit of organ, and Garth’s voice.
- The Nuance: He sings it with a softness that was rare for his stadium-shaking 90s era.
- The Movie Tie-in: Being the lead track for Hope Floats gave it a cinematic weight.
- The Chart Power: It hit No. 1 on August 1, 1998, and stayed on the charts for 20 weeks.
The Trisha Yearwood "Coincidence"
Here is a fun bit of trivia for the superfans: Garth wasn’t the only one who recorded it for that movie. His now-wife, Trisha Yearwood, also recorded a version for the Hope Floats soundtrack. Garth’s version was the first song on the album; hers was the last.
They weren't even married yet.
They were just friends and collaborators at the time. It’s sort of poetic that this song bookended the soundtrack for a movie about finding love again, especially considering they would eventually marry in 2005. While Trisha’s version is technically more "country" with its instrumentation, Garth’s version is the one that became the "standard."
The Adele Factor and the "Dad" Moment
Garth has a great story about his youngest daughter, Allie. About 15 years ago, she came home from school all excited about a "new" song by Adele. She told her dad, "You've got to hear this song, I've never heard anything like it!"
When she told him it was "To Make You Feel My Love," he just looked at her.
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He joked later on The Kelly Clarkson Show that they haven't spoken since. It’s a testament to the song’s longevity. Every generation thinks they discovered it. Whether it’s through Dylan’s grit, Garth’s tenderness, or Adele’s powerhouse vocals, the song just works.
Making the Song Your Own
If you're a musician looking to cover this or just a fan wanting to understand why it works, look at the simplicity. The lyrics are basically a list of things someone is willing to do to prove their devotion. "I could hold you for a million years." It’s hyperbole, but in Garth’s voice, it feels like a promise.
Garth Brooks To Make You Feel My Love isn't just a cover; it’s a masterclass in how to interpret someone else's work without losing your own identity.
To really appreciate the craft, go back and listen to the original Dylan version from Time Out of Mind. Then listen to the Billy Joel version. Finally, put on Garth’s. You can hear the evolution of a modern classic.
If you’re planning a wedding or just want to add a timeless ballad to your playlist, make sure you're looking for the original 1998 Hope Floats version or the Limited Series box set version of Fresh Horses. It’s a piece of country music history that proves a great song transcends genre, artist, and even the ability to understand Bob Dylan’s mumbling.