Research by Aaron Galbraith, commentary by Tony Attwood
You might recall that a while back we found some lyrics written by Bob Dylan which seemingly has no music. So we asked if anyone would care to write the music to go with the lyrics, then perform the song, and have the song included in the list of all the songs that Dylan has composed or co-composed.
That was such a successful venture that we’ve decided to do it again.
First, to give the background. As we said at the time when Bob Dylan allowed all the famous songwriters to compose the music for the New Basement Tapes Notebook songs, he made it clear that the composers could do anything they liked with the lyrics. Indeed it is instructive to go back and look at those songs to see just how varied the composers were able to be in handling the notes that Dylan left.
And you might want to listen to what happened to “Dope Fiend Robber” the song that was developed out of our request last time.
Now there are two things to note here. First, the “Dope Fiend Robber” song was sensational, and we are not saying, “that is the standard you have to reach”. You don’t have to be that great a guitarist to join in – although if you are, please come along.
Second, if we get several entries I’ll try and put them all up.
Third, we got a bit of a negative comment last time over a misunderstanding of the use of the word “New”. The point is we know that these are old lyrics – but we have appointed ourselves as the “Guardians of the List of All Dylan’s Compositions” in the sense that although lots of people have put together lists of the songs Bob has written and co-written, no one has previously got anywhere close to our current total of 605 songs. So when we say “new” it means new to that list. Making it 606.
OK, now that is sorted, here are the lyrics by GERRY GOFFIN, CAROLE KING, AND BOB DYLAN. It is called “Don’t let anyone write your story”.
Don’t let anyone write your story
Write a story of your own
The greatest thing we have to live for
Is seeking the unknown
Don’t let anyone write your story
Or tell you how to love
Save it for the one who really loves you
Or as written in the stars above
I am just the humble one
Coming home from work when the day is done
But it’s love and lovin’ that makes the world go ’round
Here with both feet on the ground
Don’t let anyone write your story
Nowadays it’s not that hard
Don’t let anyone write your story
I’m still not too old to do the job
� Lushmole Music (BMI), Lauren-Wesley Music (BMI), Witmark M & Sons (ASCAP)
Then when you have written your song, just record it, and send it as an audio file or a video file to Tony@schools.co.uk and all being well, we’ll publish it, and as before we will add the song to the list and keep the recording on this site within the review.
And in case you didn’t hear Dope Fiend here it is
We have published an article on 10 earlier songs that Bob Dylan let other people finish off – complete with recordings. You can find it here.
Untold Dylan: who we are what we do
Untold Dylan is written by people who want to write for Untold Dylan. It is simply a forum for those interested in the work of the most famous, influential and recognised popular musician and poet of our era, to read about, listen to and express their thoughts on, his lyrics and music.
We welcome articles, contributions and ideas from all our readers. Sadly no one gets paid, but if you are published here, your work will be read by a fairly large number of people across the world, ranging from fans to academics who teach English literature. If you have an idea, or a finished piece send it as a Word file to Tony@schools.co.uk with a note saying that it is for publication on Untold Dylan.
We also have a very lively discussion group “Untold Dylan” on Facebook with approaching 5000 active members. Just type the phrase “Untold Dylan” in, on your Facebook page or follow this link
You’ll find some notes about our latest posts arranged by themes and subjects on the home page of this site. You can also see details of our main sections on this site at the top of this page under the picture. Not every index is complete but I do my best.
But what is complete is our index to all the 604 Dylan compositions and co-compositions that we have found, on the A to Z page. I’m proud of that; no one else has found that many songs with that much information. Elsewhere the songs are indexed by theme and by the date of composition. See for example Bob Dylan year by year.
And please do note our friends at The Bob Dylan Project, which also lists every Dylan song in alphabetical order, and has links to licensed recordings and performances by Dylan and by other artists, plus links back to our reviews (which we do appreciate).
If in reading the site and listening to some of the music you get even one-tenth as much pleasure as we get in researching, writing and publishing the material, you’ll be having a good time.
Tony Attwood, Publisher / editor, Untold Dylan.