Heylin points out that the "gorgeous" tune illustrates what Dylan explained to a reporter in 1966: "It's not just pretty words to a tune or putting tunes to words ... the words and the music [together—I can hear the sound of what I want to say." Al Kooper has said that of all the songs that Dylan outlined to him in his hotel, this was his favorite, so Dylan delayed recording it to the very end of the Nashville sessions, "just to bug him". Released as a single in June 1966, shortly before the album, "I Want You" reached number 20 in the US and number 16 in the UK.