An early version of the song, recorded in September 1980 and featuring Jennifer Warnes on backing vocal, was released in 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.
[3] Although it is filled with numerous biblical references, it may also have been partly inspired by the following lines from Blake's "Auguries of Innocence": To see a world in a grain of sandAnd a heaven in a wild flower,Hold infinity in the palm of your handAnd eternity in an hour.
[4] "Every Grain of Sand" is "perhaps his most sublime work to date", writes Clinton Heylin, "the summation of a number of attempts to express what the promise of redemption meant to him personally.
An article accompanying the list calls it a "spellbinding ballad" that is "equal parts Blakean mysticism and biblical resonance" and quotes U2 singer Bono who compares it to "the great Psalms of David".
[5] Paul Williams in his book Bob Dylan, Performing Artist: The Middle Years, said, "The love in "Every Grain of Sand," though firmly rooted in Dylan's conversion experience and his Bible studies, immediately and obviously reaches beyond its context to communicate a deeply felt devotional spirit based on universal experiences: pain of self-awareness, and sense of wonder or awe at the beauty of the natural world.
Rock critic Milo Miles wrote, "This is the one Dylan song in ten years...in which he examines a pop-culture paradox (that legendary stars in particular have to believe in ideals greater than themselves) more eloquently than any other performer has."
"Every Grain of Sand" was cited by Elvis Costello on his list of "500 albums essential to a happy life" as possibly Dylan's finest track.