By Tony Attwood
In the last episode of this series, I continued with the point that Bob was having trouble finding new ways and directions to take his music (as opposed to his lyrics) in the early 1970s. Of course, some of his songs were indeed superb, but there were also many others that musically either were left incomplete for others to finish or simply were not up to the standard that we had come to expect.
That review took us as far as “Never Say Goodbye” and the next song written by Dylan was “Nobody Cept You,” which was planned as part of Planet Waves but then omitted from the album. And indeed, if we listen to it now, we can perhaps see why
For me, there is nothing either in the melody, the accompaniment or the lyrics that make this song something that I would choose to play for entertainment, or indeed to help get me through the day. There is a tiny bit of novelty with the chords, but not enough to make anyone fascinated by Bob’s music go back and listen again, while the lyrical content is pretty much summed up in the song title.
Love songs are, of course, a prime area of interest to writers of pop, rock and folk music, and they sometimes include the notion of denying oneself in favour of the other party… and with that theme in mind, we might excuse Bob the opening of the song that reads…
Nothing 'round here to me that's sacred 'Cept you, yeah you there's nothing round here to me that matters 'Cept you, yeah you
But then we find out that is the long and the short of the song, as we are later told “Nothing anymore seems to please me ‘cept you, yeah you”. Now of course, if the music were doing something really interesting, that could then rescue the song, but if ever there was a song that musically did not sound like Dylan, but instead sounded like a rather poorly written and not very original pop song, this is it. So as we move toward the end with….
Nothing hypnotizes me Or holds me in a spell Everything runs by me Just like water from a well Everybody wants my attention Ev'rybody got something to sell 'Cept you, yeah you.
… I find myself thinking, “yeah, no”. “Just like water from a well”???? Oh come on!!! I don’t wonder who this lady is, and in fact, I don’t wonder anything except why Bob bothered to record the song. This is a pop song, and in my mind, not a very good one, and one can only be grateful that someone persuaded Bob it was not what he was looking for.
But then Bob at this time really did feel it was a good idea to express where he was and what was happening. And by the way, if you do play the recording below and feel it has suddenly stopped, please let it roll. I suspect you will never have heard Bob do anything like this.
In my view, this is not just a songwriter coming up with the next song ready to offer it to the record company. No, this is a songwriter crying out in desperation, “I have lost it.”
Of course, that version was far too over the edge to put on an album, and an alternative approach was used, which I am sure you will remember.
I called my article on this site, in the series that reviewed every Dylan song, “turning an ok song into one of the greatest moments in rock music” and I would stand by that.
But as this series delves further than most into the actual music, rather than the lyrics, I feel I can add something more here about the music. Unlike any song that Bob had written before this point, he did something completely unusual musically, indeed, something virtually unheard of in popular music. He starts the song as one based on a major key (F major is the opening chord, which sets the scene) but then ends the verse in a minor key, with the chord of D minor.
Now this is a cadence which is perfectly well known to classical music scholars; indeed, it has its own name, the “interrupted cadence” and is written in musical shorthand as “V – VI”. The song is in F major, so chord V is C major, and chord VI is D minor, which is how each verse ends, and which gives us that unexpected effect.
And that cadence at the end of each verse works so wonderfully because of the lyrics: “I’m going, I’m going, I’m gone” – the “gone” not appearing until the submediant chord (VI) is reached.
F
I'm going,
C
I'm going,
Dm
I'm gone.
And if that were the only unexpected thing Bob did, it would be enough. But no, he goes further, for after three doleful, almost painful verses, he changes tack with by moving to a major key…
Am G
Grandma said, "Boy, go and follow your heart
G C/g G
And you'll be fine at the end of the line.
G C/g G
All that's gold isn't meant to shine.
Am C D /(c c bb bb a)
Don't you and your one true love ever part."
Now there is also a change of beat within that first line as we find the song completely unexpectedly jumps from the key of F major to the key of G major. And it is a real jump as there is no gentle modulation, except through the fact that the chord of A minor does exist in both the key of F major and G major. But really, if we had never heard the song before, it would be a jump and a half. And even now, knowing the song as I do, and having played and heard it over quite a few years, that jump can still take me by surprise. We are suddenly in the bouncy, happy key of G major – and believe me, Bob doesn’t normally do such things.
But then, after Grandma’s profound and soothing words, telling the singer to stay with his lover and make it work, without any real explanation, we are back to the opening minor key, and again for no reason apart from the thought that he has already gone too far, he leaves her. Grandma’s warnings are for nothing.
I been walkin' the road, I been livin' on the edge, Now, I've just got to go Before I get to the ledge. So I'm going, I'm just going, I'm gone.
The song didn’t make it onto Planet Waves but did get onto The Complete Budokan and then had 79 on-stage outings. And maybe that can be excused by the totally downbeat nature of the song. But its lack of exposure is a shame.
It meant that so far in 1973 Bob had written “Nobody Cept You,” “Goodbye Holly”, “Wagon Wheel,” Knocking on Heaven’s Door” and “Never Say Goodbye” – all songs about moving on, saying goodbye, and the fear of saying goodbye. To say the composer was fixated on one vocal theme is not an exaggeration.
But musically, these songs really do seek to travel in new directions. And in case you have lost track of my argument, here are these songs from the last article and this piece, in order of composition – I am leaving out the one song in the sequence that we can’t readily date. I hope you might find half an hour to play them and listen, as as you do, to recall that this is the order of composition. I find it gives me quite an insight as to where Bob was, and where he was going. If nothing else you might note that two songs hav the word “goodbye” in the title, plus there’s “going going gone, and “Knocking on heaven’s door”. A certain theme seems to dominate.
Previously in this series….
- We might have noted the musical innovations more
- From Hattie Carroll to the incoming ship
- From Times to Percy’s song
- Combining musical traditions in unique ways
- Using music to take us to a world of hope
- Chimes of Freedom and Tambourine Man
- Bending the form to its very limits
- From Denise to Mama
- Balled in Plain
- Black Crow to All I really want to do
- I’ll keep it with mine
- Dylan does gothic and the world ends
- The Gates of Eden
- After the Revolution – another revolution
- Returning to the roots (but with new chords)
- From “It’s all right” to “Angelina”. What appened?
- How strophic became something new: Love is just a four letter word
- Bob reaches the subterranean
- The conundrum of the song that gets worse
- Add one chord, keep it simple, sing of love
- It’s over. Start anew. It’s the end
- Desolation Row: perhaps the most amazing piece of popular music ever written
- Can you please crawl out your window
- Positively Fourth Street
- Where the lyrics find new lands, keep the music simple
- Tom Thumb’s journey. It wasn’t that bad was it?
- From Queen Jane to the Thin Man
- The song that revolutionised what popular music could do
- Taking the music to completely new territory
- Sooner or Later the committee will realise its error
- The best ever version of “Where are you tonight sweet Marie?”
- Just like a woman
- Most likely you go your way
- Everybody must get stoned
- Obviously 5 Believers
- I Want You. Creativity dries up
- Creativity dries up – the descent towards the basement.
- One musical line sung 12 times to 130 worlds
- Bob invents a totally new musical form
- There is a change we can see and a change we can’t see
- A sign on the window tells us that change is here
- One more weekend and New Morning: pastures new
- Three Angels, an experiment that leads nowhere
- An honorary degree nevertheless. But why was Bob not pleased?
- When Bob said I will show you I am more than three chords
- Moving out of the darkness
- The music returns but with uncertainty
- Heaven’s Door, Never Say Goodbye, and a thought that didn’t work…