![]() ![]() ![]() Well, I’ve been to London and I’ve been to gay Paree Much later the river became another metaphor for the journey life, as with the old man’s reflection on the matter many years later Now with “Watching” he had done just that – at least to some extent.īut when he did get to that topic the river was something to be watched, contemplated and maybe remembered. So can we untangle anything from these tales? Some 18 months or so later Bob came up with Watching the River Flow and I think the point here is that Dylan had experienced what Easy Rider was about but hadn’t yet written the song to go with the disillusion he now felt. Some have Bob saying words to the effect, “I just gave you a line that’s all.” The river flows, it flows to the sea/Wherever that river goes, that’s where I want to be/ Flow, river, flowĪnd then McGuinn turned that into “The Ballad of Easy Rider.” The tale finishes with the suggestion that when Bob was shown the film prior to release he saw the credit of himself at the end but asked for it to be removed. It is then reported that Bob was asked to write a new song, but given that he didn’t like the film (or at least the ending) he declined and instead picked up a table napkin and wrote on it The background story is that the movie makers wanted to use “It’s Alright Ma” over the closing credits but Bob refused to allow this and the story is that Bob didn’t like the end of the film – although others have said that he felt his name was just being used for exploitative purposes. Rolling Stone magazine said at the time the song expressed the complete feeling that existed at the end of the 1960s: “the weary blues and dashed expectations of a decade’s worth of social insurrection.” I remember it well (the weary blues and dashed expectations that is). There is a movie version of the song by Roger McGuinn and a second version by the Byrds – which as far as I know was for some odd reason never issued in the UK. The best summary of the ownership of the song that I have seen describes this as a song written by Roger McGuinn “with input from Bob Dylan”. They also turn Jackson Browne's "Mae Jean Goes To Hollywood" (easily the best bonus song here) into a playfully romantic, twang-rocking rip on anyone who ever believed that they could easily "make it" in show business if they only relocated to Los Angeles.I doubt that I can add much (or better put, “anything”) to the story told so often, but every other morning at the moment I write a review of a Dylan song not yet included on the Untold Dylan site, and as this song might have a bit of Dylan in it, here is the tale for completeness, along with a couple of links to recordings of the song. The real magic happens on more pensive songs like Gene Parsons' "Gunga Din," or "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" which could be the definitive version of this Dylan chestnut with its weeping slide guitar and hushed harmonies. "Fido" is another standout that similarly implements White's pedal steel approximations with a heavy dance-floor boogie and a percussive conga-laden breakdown so undeniably groovy that The Beastie Boys sampled it for "Body Movin'" off 1998's Hello Nasty. The guitar interplay between Roger McGuinn's jangling Rickenbacker and Clarence White's inventive string-bending Telecaster birth a sweet chemistry that makes songs like "Jesus Is Just Alright" (later popularized by the Doobie Brothers) pulse and strut with an unpredictably successful marriage of country and funk. Byrds aficionados often pronounce 1969's Ballad Of Easy Rider the band's last great work.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |