Episode 1 of “The Greatest Dylan Song year by year”
By Tony Attwood
The idea of this new series is for me to select one song from each year in which Bob Dylan has been composing and nominate it as a candidate for “Bob Song of the Year”. So if you already know each and every Bob Song, and most of the multiplicity of cover versions, then there won’t be anything new here for you in terms of compositions, although I rather suspect there might be the odd cover version that you haven’t heard for quite a while.
And also, if, like me, you have the ability to forget particular songs, this series might just bring back a fine memory of two.
And immediately, I am going to cheat as I am not including 1959 and 1960 in this series, both because the dates of the songs’ compositions are not always clear, and because in those two years Bob was very much finding his way. And I must admit I feared that if I did launch with a piece that didn’t show Bob at his best, that might put you off reading episode two.
So here we go with Episode 1: 1961. According to this site, that year included nine original compositions by Bob, and it includes (as far as I know, as the last composition of the year) I was young when I left home
Now there is what appears to be a second version of this song, in that it has a bit of Bob chatting at the beginning. In fact I think this is the same recording as above – the previous one simply has the chat cut out. So I am bypassing the copy which comes from “Through the open window, the bootleg series volume 18”.
Here are the lyrics….
I was young when I left home But I been out a-rambling around And I never wrote a letter to my home To my home, Lord, to my home And I never wrote a letter to my home. It was just the other day I was bringing home my pay When I met an old friend I used to know. Said your mother’s dead and gone Baby sister’s all gone wrong And your daddy needs you home right away. Not a shirt on my back Not a penny on my name Well I can’t go home thisaway Thisaway, Lord, Lord, Lord And I can’t go home thisaway If you miss the train I’m on Count the days I’m gone You will hear that whistle blow a hundred miles A hundred miles, honey baby. Lord Lord Lord And you’ll hear that whistle blow a hundred miles I’m playing on a track Ma would come and whoop me back On them trestles down by old Jim McKay’s When I pay the debt I owe To the commissary store I will pawn my watch and chain and go home Go home, Lord Lord Lord I will pawn my watch and chain and go home Used to tell ma sometimes When I see them riding blind Going to make me a home out in the wind In the wind Lord in the wind Make me a home out in the wind I don’t like it in the wind Want to go back home again But I can’t go home this-a-way Thisaway, Lord Lord Lord And I can’t go home this-a-way I was young when I left home But I been out a-rambling around And I never wrote a letter to my home To my home, Lord, to my home And I never wrote a letter to my home
And now onto the recordings…. the commentary follows the video in each case…
The video has the note that it comes from “A Trolley Show (live performance) folowed by the note.
I just love the idea of playing the song on a train. I know it’s obvious, but I’d just not seen it done before.
This second version is noted as being by Antony and Bryce Dessner. If you double-click, you are likely to get the lyrics on screen with a range of pictures.
Now, if you have been with Untold Dylan for a while, you might have noticed that I tend not to take too much notice of solo artists recording themselves at home. The multiple camera shots in this piece are a little off-putting, but if I look away from the video, I really can gather some further thoughts about the song. (I have recorded a version of this song with a solo piano accompaniment but I don’t want to put you off reading Untold, so I’ll leave that out of this collection, you’ll be pleased to note).
So moving on…
There is a scene from the “A Complete Unknown” movie, in which Bob Dylan (played by Timothée Chalamet) is introduced by Pete Seeger (played by Edward Norton) for his first appearance at New York’s Folk City. In that scene, “Dylan” performs “I Was Young When I Left Home.”
I really enjoyed that movie, hence I’m including this…
So there we are…. I hope you found that interesting, as there will be another “Song of the year” along in a few days. And of course, if you would like to write a piece for this new series, or indeed a piece on anything else Dylan orientated, please do send it to me Tony@schools.co.uk – ideally complete with links to appropriate videos, although that is not essential.