A Dylan cover a day: Only a pawn in their game

Reminding me of just how lucky I have been.

by Tony Attwood

“Only a pawn” is such an idiosyncratic song, and a song sung by Bob in such a particular way, with the variations of timing and verse lengths, that at first sight it looks pretty well impossible to do anything with it that isn’t just a straight copy.

But I am delighted to say that this is not the case – delighted because I think it is a wonderful song, and one that the album recording by Bob doesn’t take to its ultimate point.

Fortunately however other artists seem to have been very reluctant to have a go.   Sadly not all recordings are available on the internet, but I’ve selected a few covers from those that are…

Lenny Nelson

Lenny Nelson turns the song into rock, which before I heard this I thought would not be possible.  And yet I found everything about this interesting, and indeed exciting except what happens with the title line.   But that of course is just a personal point – I don’t think “game” needs emphasising as happens here, but it’s a musical decision.   The problem for me is that doing that ending to each verse means that the ending of the whole piece doesn’t have much impact… but still that is a personal view.

Rich Robinson

This takes us right back to Bob’s version and I am not sure what the point is of doing the song in a way so similar to the original.  But if you find something in this version that Bob doesn’t manage to find in his own recording then fine.  And that brings me to what I think  is an interesting point – Bob only played this eight times in concert, concluding in 1964.  I wonder what he would make of it now.

Roy Bailey

Now this recording I treasure – not my favourite but one I am so glad I found.   This solo performance really does show us the incredible power of this song which seemingly Bob set aside having written, presumably deciding it was not suitable for concerts.

I write these commentaries sitting upstairs in my house in the countryside, looking today with winter firmly established, at the leafless trees and the frost on the grass.   There is no wind, and just a few birds circling.   The red kites have long since migrated.   I sit here alone.    This performance is utterly and totally overwhelming – although there is yet more to come.

Morrisey

Hearing the drum beat used here, it seems utterly obvious – as if it should have been there in every recording.

What makes the song unusual is that it is in 6/8 time – meaning six beats in a bar in two groups of three, but that phrases are of uneven length so we never know what is going happen.

This is one of my absolute all time favourite cover versions of any Dylan song.  If I ever feel I have forgotten how privileged a life I have been granted, this is the recording I use to remind me of just how lucky I have been.  How dare I ever be sad or anxious or worried.

The Dylan Cover a Day series

1. The song with numbers in the title.
2. Ain’t Talkin
3. All I really want to do
4.  Angelina
5.  Apple Suckling and Are you Ready.
6. As I went out one morning
7.  Ballad for a Friend
8. Ballad in Plain D
9. Ballad of a thin man
10.  Frankie Lee and Judas Priest
11. The ballad of Hollis Brown
12. Beyond here lies nothing
13. Blind Willie McTell
14.  Black Crow Blues (more fun than you might recall)
15. An unexpected cover of “Black Diamond Bay”
16. Blowin in the wind as never before
17. Bob Dylan’s Dream
18. You will not believe this… 115th Dream revisited
19. Boots of Spanish leather
20. Born in Time
21. Buckets of Rain
22. Can you please crawl out your window
23. Can’t wait
24. Changing of the Guard
25. Chimes of Freedom
26. Country Pie
27.  Crash on the Levee
28. Dark Eyes
29. Dear Landlord
30. Desolation Row as never ever before (twice)
31. Dignity.
32. Dirge
33. Don’t fall apart on me tonight.
34. Don’t think twice
35.  Down along the cove
36. Drifter’s Escape
37. Duquesne Whistle
38. Farewell Angelina
39. Foot of Pride and Forever Young
40. Fourth Time Around
41. From a Buick 6
42. Gates of Eden
43. Gotta Serve Somebody
44. Hard Rain’s a-gonna Fall.
45. Heart of Mine
46. High Water
47. Highway 61
48. Hurricane
49. I am a lonesome hobo
50. I believe in you
51. I contain multitudes
52. I don’t believe you.
53. I love you too much
54. I pity the poor immigrant. 
55. I shall be released
56. I threw it all away
57. I want you
58. I was young when I left home
59. I’ll remember you
60. Idiot Wind and  More idiot wind
61. If not for you, and a rant against prosody
62. If you Gotta Go, please go and do something different
63. If you see her say hello
64. Dylan cover a day: I’ll be your baby tonight
65. I’m not there.
66. In the Summertime, Is your love and an amazing Isis
67. It ain’t me babe
68. It takes a lot to laugh
69. It’s all over now Baby Blue
70. It’s all right ma
71. Just Like a Woman
72. Knocking on Heaven’s Door
73. Lay down your weary tune
74. Lay Lady Lay
75. Lenny Bruce
76. That brand new leopard skin pill box hat
77. Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
78. License to kill
79. Like a Rolling Stone
80. Love is just a four letter word
81. Love Sick
82. Maggies Farm!
83. Make you feel my love; a performance that made me cry.
84. Mama you’ve been on my mind
85. Man in a long black coat.
86. Masters of War
87. Meet me in the morning
88. Million Miles. Listen, and marvel.
89. Mississippi. Listen, and marvel (again)
90. Most likely you go your way
91. Most of the time and a rhythmic thing
92. Motorpsycho Nitemare
93. Mozambique
94. Mr Tambourine Man
95. My back pages, with a real treat at the end
96. New Morning
97. New Pony. Listen where and when appropriate
98. Nobody Cept You
99. North Country Blues
100. No time to think
101. Obviously Five Believers
102. Oh Sister
103. On the road again
104. One more cup of coffee
105. (Sooner or later) one of us must know
106. One too many mornings
107. Only a hobo