 Dylan began 1973 by signing with a new label , David Geffen 's Asylum Records , when his contract with Columbia Records expired . On his next album , Planet Waves , he used the Band as backing group , while rehearsing for a tour . The album included two versions of " Forever Young " , which became one of his most popular songs . As one critic described it , the song projected " something <unk> and heartfelt that spoke of the father in Dylan " , and Dylan himself commented : " I wrote it thinking about one of my boys and not wanting to be too sentimental . " 
