by Aaron Galbraith and Tony Attwood
In this series we are looking at songs about Bob Dylan. Recently we have covered…
- Songs about Dylan part 1: The Joan Baez songs
- Songs about Dylan part 2: The country songs
- Songs about Dylan part 3: The comedians – Paul Simon, Loudon Wainwright
- Songs about Dylan part 4: The songs that criticise
Let’s look at some more songs about Dylan from female singer/songwriters…
Harsh Dylan Songs by Laura Imbruglia
Here it is probably best to give the lyrics first.... I’ve got some things to tell you, I’m gonna give it plain. You’ve got a lot of issues and you’ve been playing games. Us joining forces is long overdue, babe, We could be makin’ hay. I profess my love to you and you just wanna save it for a rainy day. Harsh Dylan songs are now my vice- I Don’t Believe You and Don’t Think Twice! Positively 4th Street sometimes. I need to leave you alone. I’m foolishly compelled. I’ll change your name in my phone to Stop Hurting Yourself! Dignity abandoned me long ago, it took off with self-respect. They’re hidden deep in some mysterious cove, holding my compass as they genuflect. Harsh Dylan songs are now my vice- I Don’t Believe You and Don’t Think Twice! Idiot Wind’s not very nice.
Tony’s comment on hearing this for the first time: “‘Idiot Wind’s not very nice’ must surely be one of the greatest lines ever in a popular song. A total understatement that is so overwhelming it just leaves the listener stunned.”
Second…Aaron’s favorite of all the songs for these articles…
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=k17f_iPr02A
Cat Power – Song To Bobby (“Chan” Marshall)
I wanna tell you
I’ve always wanted to tell you
But I never had the chance to say
What I feel in my heart from the beginning ’til my dying day
I was fifteen, sixteen maybe
In the park I was waving my arms
You were waved this way
And you sang the song I was screaming
I wanted you to
Another time was in South Carolina
It’s always been the third encore
Whose wind came roaring in
Can you tell me who were you singing for
Oh my God, can you tell me who you were singing to
A phone call from your New York City office
You were supposedly asking to see me
And how I wanted to tell you
That I was just only four hundred miles away
Who could believe that you were calling I was in DC
I was four hundred miles behind
Backstage pass in my hand
Giving you my heart was my plan I wish I could tell you
My chance
In the middle of the stadium in Paris, France
Can I finally tell you
Can I finally tell you
To be my man
April in Paris, can I see you
Can you please be my man
This from her 2008 album Jukebox. The song immediately before it on the album is a cover of “I Believe In You”. If you have 10 minutes to spare I’d recommend listening to the 2 tracks in that order, although Tony’s view is that the live version is far superior to the album version.
The singer recounts her youthful infatuation with Dylan and how this transitioned into romantic obsession/ affection. She recalls how she reacts when Bob calls her record company asking to meet her when she was out of town, and then ending with her being backstage about to meet him…
On previous albums she also covered Moonshiner, Kingsport Town and Paths Of Victory, all are tremendous and are available on YouTube. She also covered Stuck Inside Of Mobile on the It’s Not Me soundtrack. As well as a live medley of oh sister/ knocking on heavens door on the Peel Sessions.
What else is here?
An index to our latest posts arranged by themes and subjects on the home page. You can also see details of our main sections on this site at the top of this page under the picture.
There is an alphabetic index to the 550+ Dylan compositions reviewed on the site which you will find it here. There are also 500+ other articles on different issues relating to Dylan. The other subject areas are also shown at the top under the picture.
We also have a discussion group “Untold Dylan” on Facebook which mostly relates to Bob Dylan today. Just type the phrase “Untold Dylan” in, on your Facebook page or follow this link
And please do note The Bob Dylan Project, which lists every Dylan song in alphabetical order, and has links to licensed recordings and performances by Dylan and by other artists, is starting to link back to our reviews.