I don’t know what it means either: an index to the current series appearing on this website.
Once or twice: A review of some of the songs that Bob has performed just once or twice on stage, selecting those of which we have a genuine recording (and “genuine” is important here since I have found a few sites that seem to suggest they are a recording of a live version, but I have my doubts.) Text and video selection by Tony Attwood.
In my last piece in this series I said that I thought the series was coming to an end, both because of a lack of songs which fit into the description of being performed just once or twice by Dylan and of which we had recordings, and because for the rest I often found myself less able to make a few moderately coherent comments.
As ever of course I am open to anyone else adding to the series (just email me at Tony@schools.co.uk – and should you not get a quick reply email me again!) but in the absence of these, that seems to be it.
So I thought I might round it all off with a bit of cheating. And that is with “When the ship comes in” which from my teenage years has always been a favourite of mine, and which I did actually perform (undoubtedly terribly) in folk clubs myself in those distant days before it was pointed out that maybe writing rather than singing was my forte.
Anyway according to the official site this song was performed three times between 26 October 1963 and 13 July 1985. That last date would put the song in the era of the Never Ending Tour, but we didn’t have it featured there, so I went looking to see what I could find.
The first performance I have is at Carnegie Hall, New York, in October 1963, and comes from the “No Direction” movie – which fits with the official site’s dating, which is always a good start.
This is a similar delivery in the second recording in which the music starts around 2’20”.
The third recording is from the March on Washington on 28 August 1963 with Joan Baez providing the second vocal. You can also find this on Facebook with a video
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=533261071243736
Then we have the Live Aid version from 13 July 1985. For some reason I can’t get a picture link from this one, but you should be able to reach it here.
And that’s about it I think. No sign of it being sung by Bob since then. But my much missed pal Aaron Galbraith, did an article on the song to which I added a few thoughts – and I am so glad we have this site on which we can still find Aaron’s selections. Aaron always came up with really extraordinary versions of songs, and so with his contribution to this site very much in mind, here’s one that he found. It’s not in any way part of the “Once or Twice” but it brings back fond memories…
So with another remembrance of times and people lost, that I think must be it for “Once or Twice”. Time to come up with another new way of looking at Dylan songs. When I think of it, I’ll let you know – unless you have an idea and you want to share it.
Thanks for reading through this series
- A satisfied mind
- All over you
- Blood in my eyes
- Buckets of Rain
- Caribbean Wind
- Corina Corina
- From a Buick 6 – see “Meet me in the Morining” below
- The Girl on the Greenbriar Shore
- He was a friend of mine
- Highway 51 revisited
- Lay Down your weary tune
- Lily, Rosemary and Stage Fright
- Long Time Gone
- Meet me in the morning and From a Buick 6
- North Country Blues
- Only a hobo
- Oxford Town
- Restless Farewell
- Roll on John
- Sally Sue Brown
- Seven Curses
- Spanish Harlem Incident
- Stage Fright
- Talking New York
- You Angel You