It is one of five songs on the album that Dylan initially recorded in New York City in September 1974 and then re-recorded in Minneapolis in December that year.
In an accompanying article, the list asks, "Is there a more desperately lovesick moment in Dylan’s entire catalog than the point in this Blood on the Tracks gem when he croons, 'I can change, I swear', and then howls like a wounded dog?
[5] The Big Issue placed the New York outtake version at #13 on a 2021 list of the "80 best Bob Dylan songs - that aren't the greatest hits" and noted that it "captures the sound of a heart being wrenched".
[6] Bedouine cited it as her favorite Dylan song in a Stereogum article, noting that the "oh, oh" Dylan sings in every verse on the Blood on the Tracks version (which she refers to as a "sonic battle wound") elevates it above the New York outtake version: "The biggest distinction for me is him humming versus moaning the 'ohhh!'
[7] Individual outtakes of "You're a Big Girl Now" from the New York sessions were released in 1985 on the compilation Biograph[8] and in 2018 on the single-CD and 2-LP versions of The Bootleg Series Vol.
[11] The lyric "Love is so simple, to quote a phrase" refers to a line in Marcel Carné's Children of Paradise, one of Dylan's favorite movies: "You were right, Garance.