A Dylan Cover a Day: Standing in the Doorway

By Tony Attwood

A Dylan Cover A Day – the title made sense during lockdown when we were looking for ways to fill the time.  Now it is more like a Dylan cover every two weeks, but we’re still working through the songs in alphabetical order for this series, and so I don’t really get much choice as to what comes next (except that there are some songs with only one or two covers, which don’t seem to add much so I quickly move on, ignoring those.)

And so coming to this song, one of my all-time Dylan favourites, I was surprised how few cover versions I found.  And doubly surprised that for those which I could find with freely available copies on YouTube, they were all by women – except for the version in Norwegian, which I’ve added at the end.

I’ve often used this site to rave over the work of Chrissie Hynde so no surprise really that I’m starting with her.   Interestingly the accompaniment is a little louder and her voice a little softer than I would have anticipated, but then the singer is totally lost so there is a sense in that.

Listening to this song again for the first time in quite a long while I am struck by the incredible power that is generated by these simple words.    I’m not sure about the video, but then, I’m really here for the music.

Jenny Lewis places all the emphasis, in contrast, on the beautiful melody and the exquisite lyrics of pain, torment, despair and to a degree hope.    There is of course the opportunity for the guitarist to overdo his part when we get to “I’m strummin’ on my gay guitar
Smokin’ a cheap cigar” and yes that doesn’t help to my ear, but it is an interesting arrangement.

https://youtu.be/ipefuta-1PY

Back with a studio recording, Sofia Lam’s voice is so distinctive, everything bends around that.  As she says on her You Tube page “I post whatever I feel and mainly for memories” and why not?

Bonny Raitt often collaborated with Warren Zevon, and if you have read my ramblings elsewhere on this site you’ll know that means something to me, and draws me in with extra attention.   I like this, not just for the voice but particularly for the way the accompaniment is handled.  Somehow it means that the lyrics come out much more meaningfully, seemingly without an extra effort.  It makes me feel that elsewhere, sometimes the producer or director is trying to get too much out of the band when that is not needed at all.

I porten from Tore Hestbråten is the song in Norwegian, and I’ve left this until near the end because I only found it today while preparing this little article.   And although I don’t speak a word of the language I find something very special within this performance.

Which shows that although the lyrics are sublime it is the melody that really adds to the song.  Bob only played it 58 times over a seven year period, and yet, and yet… it is a staggeringly beautiful song.  So why so few covers?  Why so few performances from Bob?

It is not as if it is difficult to perform, nor hard to imagine a different arrangement (how about it with a string quartet as a backing track).   So quite why it hasn’t attracted more artists I struggle to resolve.

Fortunately for you, dear reader, you are not going to be subjected to my version, recorded to prove to myself there is nothing there that causes particular problems for the artist.  But I can say from the experience, “do it gently; don’t get carried away; just let the words speak”.

But then, that’s just me.

And a postscript: I do sometimes get irate emails along the lines of “I can’t believe you didn’t include….”   The reason as often as not is that I couldn’t find a freely available video of the song that would play in the UK and USA.  It’s not always my odd taste.  So if you are tempted to point out a great version, please also give me a link to it on Youtube so it can be included.

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. BoB Dylan’s 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
108. Only a pawn in their game
109. Outlaw Blues – prepare to be amazed
110. Oxford Town
111. Peggy Day and Pledging my time
112. Please Mrs Henry
113. Political world
114. Positively 4th Street
115. Precious Angel
116. Property of Jesus
117. Queen Jane Approximately
118. Quinn the Eskimo as it should be performed.
119. Quit your lowdown ways
120. Rainy Day Women as never before
121. Restless Farewell. Exquisite arrangements, unbelievable power
122. Ring them bells in many different ways
123. Romance in Durango, covered and re-written
124. Sad Eyed Lady of Lowlands, like you won’t believe
125. Sara
126. Senor
127. A series of Dreams; no one gets it (except Dylan)
128. Seven Days
129. She Belongs to Me
130. Shelter from the Storm
131. Sign on the window
132. Silvio
133. Simple twist of fate
134. Slow Train
135. Someday Baby
136. Spanish Harlem Incident