New Morning grew partly out of an exploration of the possibility of Dylans writing music for a play by the great poet Archibald MacLeish. The project never ended up working out, but a few of the songs survived, and created the foundation for an album. New Morning expands on the laid-back countryrock of John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline by adding a more pronounced rock & roll edge. The album is filled out with love songs, pop songs, pastorales like "Winterlude" (a waltz) as well as the funny, deadpan "If Dogs Run Free," making New Morning a charming, endearing record.