Chances are, you had a lot of moments in 2015 when you couldn’t even. And hey, I would guess there will be several more times in 2016 when you literally just can’t right now. It’s a simple product of the human condition. But whenever you use that ubiquitous expression, there’s a rather unlikely source you should be thanking: Bob Dylan.
Yes, that’s right, the phrase most commonly associated with millennials may have been coined 50 years ago by the 74-year-old musician. While attempting to record the song “She’s Your Lover Now” for his legendary album Blonde On Blonde, things just weren’t going right. As Dylan suffered through take after take of just not being able to find the right sound, he says “aww it’s ugly. I can’t. I can’t even.”
Okay, is it possible that someone uttered the phrase “I can’t even” before Dylan did at that 1966 recording session? Yeah, sure. But isn’t it more fun to take the leap of faith and figure that Bob Dylan unwittingly coined one of modern pop culture’s most popular phrases? I would say so.
“She’s Your Lover Now” would eventually be released in 1991 as part of The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3. You can listen to it below. Frankly, Bob was being a bit picky here. Yes, the sound was a bit raw, but it suits the song quite well:
(Via The Daily Dot)
