Tioga Pass: Dylan’s lost song now with music

We first mentioned Tioga Pass in July 2020 with a plea for anyone who could complete this song.

As we noted at the time Tioga Pass is a song that was seemingly recorded at Sunset Sound Studios in Hollywood, on 16 June 1987 and according to the only note we have concerning the song, it was written by Robert Hunter and Bob Dylan.

You can see the lyrics and the background to the song (as far as we were able to sort that out) in our earlier article on the subject here.

Now Paul Robert Thomas has provided us with a musical version of the song

And here one more time are the lyrics

Needle's on empty
and here I'm stuck
Four in the morning
and just my luck
Listen to the radio
waiting for the sun
Can't flag a ride
until daylight comes

Four in the morning
and out of gas
Mile and a half
from Tioga Pass

Tuned to a station
I've never heard
while moonlight glimmers
on Dead Man's Curve
Glory in the morning
and God bless you
for playing that song
when another would do

Four in the morning
and out of gas
Mile and a half
from Tioga Pass

Ain't quite rock
although it moves
It sure ain't country
and it's not the blues
They don't say nothing
when it gets to the end
Just keep playing it
over again

Four in the morning
and out of gas
Mile and a half
from Tioga Pass

It isn't pop
and it isn't soul
Nothing like fifties
rock and roll
It isn't folk
Not especially jazz
Got something special
nothing else has

Four in the morning
and out of gas
Mile and a half
from Tioga Pass

The sun comes up
about six o'clock
The station drifts
to some pre-fab rock
Although they played it
all night long
I never did learn
the name of that song

The song can also be  found on their website HERE and is part of our ‘Les Paul’s’ (The Paul’s) Dylan Found project.

On our site we’ve created an alphabetical list of all Dylan’s compositions and co-compositions that we know about.  You can find that here.