“I don’t know what it means either” lists the current series on the Untold Dylan site.
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By Tony Attwood
If you have been around Untold Dylan for a while you might remember a series called “Once or Twice” in which I took a look at some of the songs Bob performed just the once or twice, and for which there was a recording of the live event that we could use.
That series came to an end simply because we ran out of songs for which semi-decent recordings were available, (it ended with Series farewell: When the Ship Comes In and there is an index to the whole series in that article) but having had a break from the series for a few weeks I thought I would take a look and see if anything interesting turned up when looking at songs that Bob has performed three times, and then dropped.
I don’t know how many of these with interesting recordings that we will find but as a starter I have Dink’s Song which is also known as “Fare Thee Well”. Pete Seeger and many others has performed it across the years.
Of course the lyrics vary across multiple versions but the opening lines still resonate and certainly in the UK where I live, many people will immediately recognize the opening…
If I had wings like Norah's dove, I'd fly up the river to the man I love. Fare thee well, O Honey, fare thee well.
The name of the song comes from the fact that John Lomax noted the song being sung by a lady called Dink as she washed clothes on the banks of the Brazos River in Texas. The song then became part of the American Ballads and Folk Songs volume published by John and Alan Lomax in 1934.
This is a quite stunning version by Marcus Mumford and Oscar Isaac.
There is a version that one might call somewhat eccentric by Jeff Buckley, which has a long section at the start which is hard to hear and also to some degree unclear as to where it is going, and indeed perhaps why it is going there. But the version is so unexpected (if you don’t know it already) it is worth noting I think and of course you can always miss out the opening stuff and arrive a bit later – maybe around 1’50”. But if you don’t know this version and treasure early versions, you might find this hard to take. So first here is a more staid reworking of the song…
And now…. Buckley
Bob’s best known version came from No Direction Home – and some copies of this recording end with Bob saying a few words, but I am not sure this is actually a live recording in the sense of being in front of an audience. But it is credited to 22 December 1961 and that is so specific, maybe it is right.
And we do have a recording of Bob and Joni Mitchell which certainly is live…
Joni Mitchell also recorded it….
So there we are – looking at a song Bob performed three times, I am not sure we have a real live solo recording in front of an audience, but still an interesting song and the version with Joan Baez is certainly worth a listen.
There are about 15 songs listed that Bob performed three times, so it is possible that we might find one or two more with some interesting recordings. And if not, well, at least this one was an interesting journey (for me if no one else).