After releasing 17-minute long single “Murder Most Foul” in March, Bob Dylan has surprised fans with another new track, “I Contain Multitudes”.

The follow-up takes its name from a line in the American writer Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself”.

Lyrics to the new track include: “I’m just like Anne Frank, like Indiana Jones/ And them British bad boys, The Rolling Stones”.

Appearing to address a woman, the 78-year-old says: “I’ll drink to the truth and the things we said/ I’ll drink to the man that shares your bed”, before adding: “Get lost, madame, get up off my knee/ Keep your mouth away from me”.

Though “I Contain Multitudes” is only about a fourth of the length of its predecessor, the two singles do have some similarities.

Both share a drumless rolling sound and “Murder Most Foul” also takes inspiration from a poet. The title of that track is borrowed from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Prior to these two songs, Dylan hadn't released new material since 2012’s “Tempest”.

Dylan’s latest release will no doubt fuel rumours that he is planning a new album of original songs, although to date there has been no confirmation of this.