"Highlands" is a blues song written and performed by Bob Dylan, and released as the 11th and final track on his 30th studio album Time Out of Mind in 1997.
The song's lyric is thought to have been inspired by the poem "My Heart's in the Highlands" published in 1790 by Scottish poet Robert Burns, whom Dylan later cited as his greatest influence.
[4] The music is based on a simple (E blues) riff, inspired, according to Dylan, by an unnamed Charley Patton record that has yet to be identified.
[6] In session musician Jim Dickinson's account, "I remember, when we finished 'Highlands'—there are two other versions of that, the one that made the record is the rundown, literally, you can hear the beat turn over, which I think Dylan liked.
A live version of the song performed in New York City on July 27, 1999 was also made available to stream on Dylan's official website in August 1999.
[13] The live debut occurred at Coors Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, California on June 25, 1999 and the last performance (to date) took place at Hearnes Center in Columbia, Missouri on April 2, 2001.