By Tony Attwood
If you don’t recall “Walking Down the Line” as a Dylan song you are forgiven.
But it was indeed a Dylan piece, recorded in 1963 and released much much later.
OK so it is dead simple, just two chords, and only known to those of us who really follow most aspects of Bob’s work. Bob has never once played it in a concert.
So why has it attained such popularity? I think the answer can be summarised within this live version by Michael Cerveris and Loose Cattle: it is such fun to play. I don’t mean everyone heard this version and thought they could have fun with the song, but rather that Loose Cattle seem to sum up all the fun that can be had if one just lets the imagination run riot.
Indeed you don’t have to do much by way of rehearsal because the song is just based on those two rocking chords, but it gives everyone a chance to shine. Just listen to the violinist having a fantastic time in the instrumental break… and the laughter because the band having exactly agreed when that violin part is coming in as a solo. It may look under-rehearsed, but playing like this is part of the great fun of creating music, and this is a perfect song with which to have such fun.
And of course there is the fun with the lyrics – just listen to the “My money comes and goes” verse here.
But don’t think this is simply the enclave of unknown bands having a lark. Rick Nelson also made a recording emphasizing the country feel of the lyrics. And I really do think it is interesting to hear the contrast between this version below and the high-power approach above – all from such a simple song!
Robin and Linda Williams give it a bit of an extra on-beat emphasis to mix with the country feel in the chorus – just listen to the percussion in the chorus – that drum thump is on beat three of every four beats which is profoundly odd. Normally with rock the emphasis is on the second and fourth beat of the bar.
And then to contrast with that, try this next one… and enjoy these exquisite harmonies, which are perfect for their take on the song. But also if possible just recall the distance we have already traveled with this most simple of songs. (And that’s before I start waxing lyrical about the strings’ instrumental break). I just wish she hadn’t changed the lyrics in the “rolls and flows” verse from Bob’s recording.
I suppose one of the things about this song is that because it is not particularly well known outside the circles of those of us who really do know a bit about Bob’s songs, it can be played around with – here’s an example… This is Penny Lang. New chords too.
Fortunately, we even have the odd recording made by musicians of repute trying to get to grips with what they are doing with this most simple, yet utterly endearing of songs. Try this for example: it is Ry Cooder and Taj Mahal, not quite getting where they expected to be. (Please let it run; don’t judge it by the first five seconds).
But most of all it is the harmonies and simplicity that has attracted performers across the years. Plus the fact that it can be taken at a ludicrous speed while still making it an understandable piece. This next one is not, of course walking, but charging at 2000 mph. But it is still fun: Hamilton Camp.
I must admit I am now exhausted and I have to stop there. There are lots more recordings of this most simple of songs, and I am so glad they exist. On days when I’m covered in blue, it is lovely to have pieces of music like this around. Thank you to everyone who has felt it worth while… and thank you dear reader if you have listened to each one all the way through. And if you haven’t, just take the last example above and make that the one you listen to completely.
Previously in the series
- The song with numbers in the title.
- Ain’t Talkin
- All I really want to do
- Angelina
- Apple Suckling and Are you Ready.
- As I went out one morning
- Ballad for a Friend
- Ballad in Plain D
- Ballad of a thin man
- Frankie Lee and Judas Priest
- The ballad of Hollis Brown
- Beyond here lies nothing
- Blind Willie McTell
- Black Crow Blues (more fun than you might recall)
- An unexpected cover of “Black Diamond Bay”
- Blowin in the wind as never before
- Bob Dylan’s Dream
- BoB Dylan’s 115th Dream revisited
- Boots of Spanish leather
- Born in Time
- Buckets of Rain
- Can you please crawl out your window
- Can’t wait
- Changing of the Guard
- Chimes of Freedom
- Country Pie
- Crash on the Levee
- Dark Eyes
- Dear Landlord
- Desolation Row as never ever before (twice)
- Dignity.
- Dirge
- Don’t fall apart on me tonight.
- Don’t think twice
- Down along the cove
- Drifter’s Escape
- Duquesne Whistle
- Farewell Angelina
- Foot of Pride and Forever Young
- Fourth Time Around
- From a Buick 6
- Gates of Eden
- Gotta Serve Somebody
- Hard Rain’s a-gonna Fall.
- Heart of Mine
- High Water
- Highway 61
- Hurricane
- I am a lonesome hobo
- I believe in you
- I contain multitudes
- I don’t believe you.
- I love you too much
- I pity the poor immigrant.
- I shall be released
- I threw it all away
- I want you
- I was young when I left home
- I’ll remember you
- Idiot Wind and More idiot wind
- If not for you, and a rant against prosody
- If you Gotta Go, please go and do something different
- If you see her say hello
- Dylan cover a day: I’ll be your baby tonight
- I’m not there.
- In the Summertime, Is your love and an amazing Isis
- It ain’t me babe
- It takes a lot to laugh
- It’s all over now Baby Blue
- It’s all right ma
- Just Like a Woman
- Knocking on Heaven’s Door
- Lay down your weary tune
- Lay Lady Lay
- Lenny Bruce
- That brand new leopard skin pill box hat
- Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
- License to kill
- Like a Rolling Stone
- Love is just a four letter word
- Love Sick
- Maggies Farm!
- Make you feel my love; a performance that made me cry.
- Mama you’ve been on my mind
- Man in a long black coat.
- Masters of War
- Meet me in the morning
- Million Miles. Listen, and marvel.
- Mississippi. Listen, and marvel (again)
- Most likely you go your way
- Most of the time and a rhythmic thing
- Motorpsycho Nitemare
- Mozambique
- Mr Tambourine Man
- My back pages, with a real treat at the end
- New Morning
- New Pony. Listen where and when appropriate
- Nobody Cept You
- North Country Blues
- No time to think
- Obviously Five Believers
- Oh Sister
- On the road again
- One more cup of coffee
- (Sooner or later) one of us must know
- One too many mornings
- Only a hobo
- Only a pawn in their game
- Outlaw Blues – prepare to be amazed
- Oxford Town
- Peggy Day and Pledging my time
- Please Mrs Henry
- Political world
- Positively 4th Street
- Precious Angel
- Property of Jesus
- Queen Jane Approximately
- Quinn the Eskimo as it should be performed.
- Quit your lowdown ways
- Rainy Day Women as never before
- Restless Farewell. Exquisite arrangements, unbelievable power
- Ring them bells in many different ways
- Romance in Durango, covered and re-written
- Sad Eyed Lady of Lowlands, like you won’t believe
- Sara
- Senor
- A series of Dreams; no one gets it (except Dylan)
- Seven Days
- She Belongs to Me
- Shelter from the Storm
- Sign on the window
- Silvio
- Simple twist of fate
- Slow Train
- Someday Baby
- Spanish Harlem Incident
- Standing in the Doorway
- Stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
- Subterranean Homesick Blues
- Sweetheart Like You
- Tangled up in Blue
- Tears of Rage
- Temporary Like Achilles. Left in the cold, but there’s still something…
- The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar
- The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
- The Man in Me
- Times they are a-changin’
- The Wicked Messenger
- Things have changed
- This Wheel’s on Fire
- Thunder on the mountain
- Till I fell in love with you in the north of Norway
- Time Passes Slowly – just sit down and close your eyes
- To be alone with you
- To Ramona: unexpectedly yes!
- Tombstone Blues
- Tonight I’ll be Staying Here With You
- Too much of nothing
- Trouble as you have never been troubled before
- Tryin’ to get to Heaven
- Unbelievable
- “Up to Me” and a return to earlier days
- Visions of Johanna
I first learned from Odetta (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odetta_Sings_Dylan)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkin%27_Down_the_Line says Jackie DeShannon was the first released recording
The first public performance of the Hub City Movers (https://technologists.com/privatemp3s/HCM/Vulcan%20Gas%20Company%201970/) was a “battle of the bands” at the Austin Coliseum in 1969. We played two songs, Walkin’ Down the Line and Down in the Flood.