Bob Dylan All the Songs
Page 36
Technical Team
Producers: Bob Dylan and the Band
Sound Engineer: Garth Hudson
Genesis and Lyrics
“Tiny Montgomery” is similar to “Yea! Heavy and a Bottle of Bread”—enigmatic, absurd, impenetrable, and joyfully subversive. Who is Tiny Montgomery, whose arrival in San Francisco is imminent? Why does his arrival prompt the greatest concern and inspire the most unlikely people to take action? A mystery. Again, maybe Dylan wrote the verses of the song based on the sound of each word and the rhythm of each line. The lyrics reflect no coded message or veiled intent. Who are the other characters mentioned? Skinny Moo, Half-Track Frank, Lester, and Lou—all names with a cartoonish sound. In addition, the fact that Dylan mentions the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), a powerful federation of industrial unions organizing workers in the United States and Canada, could cause some of the confusion. The characters in question are union members, some openly communist. But as Dylan himself often says, there is nothing to understand besides what is written. Yet “Tiny Montgomery” talks about returning to San Francisco at a time when the youth of the world gathered in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of that city for the Summer of Love.
Production
This song, situated on the edge of folk, country, and rock music, shows that there is no need for more than two chords to give a melody its swing. The lyrics and music are kind of weird. It is 1967, and Dylan, although a recluse in Woodstock, is not unaware of the musical evolution of his peers: psychedelic, rock, folk, but also humor and nonsense are the keys to this Summer of Love. “Tiny Montgomery,” although poorly recorded, is the musical farce of a group of friends playing like schoolboys. The backup vocals (Manuel and Danko), sounding improvised, reinforce the amateurish aspect of the song. Dylan delivers a hermetic text, while he accompanies himself, probably on a 12-string guitar. Robertson gives the impression of playing rhythm on an electric guitar. Only the bass and organ are clearly heard. But despite the rough sound and interpretation, “Tiny Montgomery” captivates the listener by the talents of its performers. Dylan never performed this song live, and he never made a follow-up recording.
You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
Bob Dylan / 2:43
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar
Robbie Robertson: drums
Richard Manuel: piano
Rick Danko: bass, backup vocals
Garth Hudson: organ
Recording Studio
Big Pink, West Saugerties, New York: Summer 1967
Technical Team
Producers: Bob Dylan and the Band
Sound Engineer: Garth Hudson
Genesis and Lyrics
There are several versions of “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” the first dating back to the basement sessions in Big Pink. The original version presents a stream of absurd lyrics, especially the chorus, “Now look here dear soup / You’d best feed the cats / The cats need feeding.” Dylan changed the lyrics afterward. In The Basement Tapes version, the first verse is like a weather report speaking of “Clouds so swift / Rain won’t lift / Gate won’t close / Railings froze / Get your mind off wintertime.” After the chorus, they dip into the deep waters of surrealism: the narrator is waiting for his bride to arrive and flying “down in the easy chair.” Finally, in the last verse, the famous Mongol ruler Genghis Khan appears and “could not keep / All his kings / Supplied with sleep.” Obviously, Dylan did not adhere to a specific writing style, other than focusing on the sound of each word.
Production
“You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” has a country music tone to the point of sounding like a tribute to Hank Williams. Dylan sings this curious story with a laid-back attitude, accompanying himself on an acoustic 12-string guitar, backed by Danko on bass and Hudson on organ. Manuel’s piano part is almost inaudible, which might indicate that he provided the drums as well. But it is actually Robbie Robertson who in all likelihood holds the drumsticks. However, an electric guitar part might have been overdubbed in 1975, but there is no evidence to confirm this. “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” is an attractive country ballad that immediately catches the attention of the listener, but Dylan probably wanted to turn away from the listener with an introverted and detached text.
Curiously, the version found on The Basement Tapes album was the first to be recorded, but the last to be released because the double album only appeared in 1975. Four years earlier, in 1971, Dylan rerecorded three songs from The Basement Tapes sessions for his Greatest Hits Vol. II album: “I Shall Be Released,” “Down in the Flood,” and “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.” The lyrics of “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” differ from The Basement Tapes sessions. He talks about a movie called Gunga Din and Genghis Khan (already mentioned in the previous version) is accompanied by his brother Don.
Dylan mentioned the name McGuinn in the 1971 version, which is not a coincidence, since Roger McGuinn was Dylan’s friend and a founding member of the Byrds. In the spring of 1968, the Byrds recorded a real nugget of country rock, the Sweetheart of the Rodeo album, which was available in stores on August 30. The opening track of the album is “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.” McGuinn perhaps unwittingly altered Dylan’s lyrics: “Pick up your money / And pack up your tent” becomes “Pack up your money / Pick up your tent.” When Dylan rewrote his text for the Greatest Hits Vol. II album, he made a fun nod to his friend and rival, Roger McGuinn, by singing “Pack up your money / Put up your tent, McGuinn!”
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
The Byrds released “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” as a single in 1968. The song reached number 45 on the UK singles chart, and number 74 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
COVERS
Numerous artists have covered “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere,” including Joan Baez; Counting Crows; the trio of Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rosanne Cash, and Shawn Colvin; the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; and Maria Muldaur.
Nothing Was Delivered
Bob Dylan / 4:24
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar
Robbie Robertson: guitar
Richard Manuel: piano, backup vocals
Rick Danko: bass, backup vocals
Garth Hudson: organ
Recording Studio
Big Pink, West Saugerties, New York: Summer 1967
Technical Team
Producers: Bob Dylan and the Band
Sound Engineer: Garth Hudson
Genesis and Lyrics
When he recorded the songs included on The Basement Tapes album, Bob Dylan was twenty-six years old. His near-fatal motorcycle accident had occured a few months before. In this song he returns to his recent past, to his self-destructive life as a rock star. The song is reminiscent of a dark period in his life, the time in 1966 when he flirted with illicit substances and the environment associated with them. The lyrics of “Nothing Was Delivered” could be interpreted as an encounter gone bad between a drug dealer and his client. Dylan sings, “For what you sell has not been received.” The title may also be interpreted as “no promise has been fulfilled,” suggesting that politicians and, in a broader sense, all elites are in Dylan’s sights. These are the so-called elites whom he asks to give back what they took, elites he accuses of lying and from whom he demands an explanation. Not a love song, it is rather a dark, threatening song, separate from the stream of nonsensical lyrics filling most of the other tracks of the album.
Production
Like the other songs of The Basement Tapes, “Nothing Was Delivered” has the heady feeling of country music. In a slow tempo, Richard Manuel opens the rhythmic part with his piano. The song was compared to Fats Domino’s “Blueberry Hill,” released in 1956, but lacks that song’s jovial atmosphere. For Dylan the song had a darker tone. He accompanies himself on his 12-string guitar, singing in a detached manner his heavy text full of threats, backed by a very soulful organ and a bluesy solo guitar. The disparity between the lightness of the music and the heaviness of the lyrics is some
thing Dylan likes and uses regularly in other songs, such as “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.”
COVERS
In 1968, the Byrds included this song in their repertoire during the sessions for Sweetheart of the Rodeo, accentuating the country side of the piece.
Open The Door, Homer
Bob Dylan / 2:49
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar
Robbie Robertson: guitar
Richard Manuel: piano, backup vocals
Garth Hudson: organ
Rick Danko: bass, backup vocals
Recording Studio
Big Pink, West Saugerties, New York: Summer 1967
Technical Team
Producers: Bob Dylan and the Band
Sound Engineer: Garth Hudson
Genesis and Lyrics
In the 1940s, Dusty Fletcher and comic John Mason became famous for a hilarious vaudeville routine at Harlem’s Apollo Theater in New York City. With his burlesque performance perfectly staged, Fletcher made the public laugh until they cried. He appeared in rags, drunk, groping his way around the stage. He placed a ladder against a wall, tried to climb it, went through a window, and crashed to the floor while screaming, “Open the door, Richard!” In 1946, Jack McVea, inspired by this hilarious routine, wrote the song “Open the Door, Richard.” He also recorded it with his band. In October 1946, Fletcher himself recorded the song, and the following year both Count Basie and Louis Jordan took their turn, climbing to the top of the hit parade.
Bob Dylan found the title of his song in the original rhythm and blues repertoire. Why did he prefer “Homer” to “Richard”? According to Clinton Heylin,66 “Homer” was a nickname for the novelist and musician Richard Fariña, a folksinger, a friend of Dylan’s, and Carolyn Hester’s husband, who was killed in a car accident on April 30, 1966, on his way home from a party honoring the publication of his first novel Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me. The song may be an act of homage to his friend. From Fariña’s fatal accident to Dylan’s nearly fatal one, there is only one small, logical step. “Open the Door, Homer” would be the evocation of a destiny that spared Dylan. In the third verse, Dylan sings, “Take care of your memories… / For you cannot relive them.” He also says, “And remember when you’re out there / Tryin’ to heal the sick / That you must always / First forgive them.” This is further illustration of a gospel influence on the songwriter.
Production
Bob Dylan and his four-member band recorded three takes of “Open the Door, Homer.” The first take was chosen for the first release of The Basement Tapes. The song is very catchy. Far removed from the original from 1946, this version is almost reggae in style and with a seductive, harmonized chorus by Danko and Manuel. Although Dylan carefully changed “Richard” to “Homer” in the title, he sings “Richard” in the chorus! The band is in perfect harmony and highlights Manuel’s wonderful piano part and Dylan’s excellent vocal interpretation. This is another song that deserved to be reworked and rerecorded in the studio. The second take is only 0:52 in length and is a talking song, except for the chorus. The third take is very country and western in style.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
According to Andy Gill, “Homer” is a reference to Richard Manuel. The band members gave him that nickname.
This Wheel’s On Fire
Bob Dylan / Rick Danko / 3:53
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, piano
Richard Manuel: piano, backup vocals
Garth Hudson: organ
Rick Danko: bass, backup vocals
Robbie Robertson: drums, guitar
Recording Studio
Big Pink, West Saugerties, New York: Summer 1967
Technical Team
Producers: Bob Dylan and the Band
Sound Engineer: Garth Hudson
Genesis and Lyrics
After “Tears of Rage,” co-written with Richard Manuel, Bob Dylan co-wrote “This Wheel’s on Fire” with Rick Danko. The official copyright attributed the lyrics to Dylan and the music to Danko, but according to some sources, the refrain was actually written by both musicians.
Whatever the bassist’s contribution might have been, this beautiful song fully belongs to Dylan’s universe. It includes references to Rimbaud, Shakespeare, and the Bible. During his recovery after his motorcycle accident, he read assiduously. The “fire wheel” in the song may refer to the “chariot of fire” in Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear: “Thou art a soul in bliss / But I am bound / Upon a wheel of fire.” Perhaps also the song is connected to the prophet Ezekiel’s vision of a chariot as recounted in the black spiritual “Ezekiel Saw the Wheel,” a representation of God himself. The first line of “This Wheel’s on Fire”—“If your mem’ry serves you well,” refers explicitly to the first line of “A Season in Hell” by the French poet Arthur Rimbaud: “Once, if my memory serves me well, my life was a banquet where every heart revealed itself, where every wine flowed.” The French poet’s influence is visible, nearly a century later, on the American songwriter. Another reference to the “man with soles of wind” is hardly trivial. Despite his new role as a father looking for peace of mind, morbid ideas continued to haunt him.
Beyond the biblical and poetic references, it is hard not to connect the song to the motorcycle accident. As Andy Gill has mentioned, “it is virtually impossible not to see the locked wheel of Dylan’s Triumph 500 in the title.”
Some have seen in this song a kind of symbolic death, a conversation with God followed by rebirth. Dylan sings in the last two verses, “But you knew that we would meet again.” Following his accident, the singer would have undergone a metamorphosis through which he returned transformed both physically and mentally.
Production
“This Wheel’s on Fire” closes the album darkly, beginning with the first change of chord from A-minor to B-diminished, the latter an exception in Dylan’s work. The harmony is different from Dylan’s usual compositions, due to the writing of Rick Danko. And as in “Tears of Rage,” composed with Richard Manuel, Dylan’s voice has a strange sound, similar to that of John Lennon’s future Plastic Ono Band—the same intonation and the same delay. It seems as if performing the work of other songwriters led Dylan to change his approach to singing. The result here is a success. There are two acoustic guitars: the first played by Bob, the second an overdub in 1975 by Robbie Robertson. Robertson also played drums, not always for the better, backed by his friends Rick Danko, trying to help him by increasing the tempo of his bass, and Richard Manuel, trying to ensure a better rhythm for the piece at the piano. “This Wheel’s on Fire” is a great song that concludes the original version of The Basement Tapes album with a brilliant and inspired performance.
COVERS
“This Wheel’s on Fire” has been the subject of various covers, even before its official release by Dylan and the Band on The Basement Tapes. A version by Julie Driscoll with Brian Auger and the Trinity reached number 5 on the UK singles chart on April 17, 1968. The Band also recorded the tune for the album Music from Big Pink, released in 1968, as did the Byrds for their 1969 album Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde; much later, Siouxsie and the Banshees did it for their 1987 album Through the Looking Glass. “This Wheel’s on Fire” is also the theme music for the British TV series Absolutely Fabulous, starring Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley.
The Basement Tapes Outtakes
Although other songs were recorded during these sessions, there are only two “official” outtakes from The Basement Tapes. “Santa Fe” and “Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)” were released officially on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3: Rare & Unreleased, 1961–1991 and Biograph. How to describe these two songs? They were recorded in a good mood and a relaxed atmosphere and feature the combination of nonsense and humor characteristic of the album.
Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
Bob Dylan / 2:20
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Robbie Robertson: guitar; Richard Manuel: piano,
backup vocals; Garth Hudson: organ; Rick Danko: bass, backup vocals / Recording Studio: Big Pink, West Saugerties, New York: Summer 1967 / Producers: Bob Dylan and the Band / Sound Engineers: Garth Hudson and Pete Dauria / Set Box: Biograph (CD 2) / Release Date: November 7, 1985
Bob Dylan wrote this song during The Basement Tapes sessions in the summer of 1967, obviously inspired by Nicholas Ray’s 1960 movie The Savage Innocents, starring Anthony Quinn as Inuk the eskimo. The hero in Dylan’s tale is an Eskimo named Quinn who has a rare and admirable ability to bring happiness to people around him. In the first verse, Dylan sings, “Ev’rybody’s in despair / Ev’ry girl and boy / But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here / Ev’rybody’s gonna jump for joy.” Should we see a particular message here? In the notes to Biograph, the songwriter says, “‘Quinn the Eskimo,’ I don’t know. I don’t know what it was about. I guess it was some kind of a nursery rhyme.”12
Dylan’s nursery rhyme is not on the album, although Eskimo Quinn appears on the cover. Two takes were recorded during the summer of 1967. The second take appears on the Biograph box set. The strength of the piece lies in the perfect harmony between a rather “serious” folk-rock style and the childish words. Unfortunately, the recording quality is poor. Dylan probably accompanied himself on a 12-string guitar, backed quite soberly and somewhat lethargically by the rest of the band. Did Dylan want to accentuate the disparity between music and lyrics? Danko and Manuel are on backup vocals, giving a small country touch to the song. Surprisingly, toward the end of the song there is the sound of a pedal steel guitar (around 2:08). It may be Robertson playing bottleneck, unless he used the violining technique (with a pedal effect by hand), or he simply played a pedal steel guitar.