In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'

Subject: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 01:24 PM

I'm so tired of reading what a horrible, nasty, mysoginistic song Dylans "Don't Think Twice, It's Allright" is.

Personally I think that this captures perfectly those relationships that we've all had that didn't "quite" work out. I think that altough this song seems to be being sung to a woman, it is more an internal dialogue of the writer, trying to assure himself that it will be allright, when in fact there is doubt in his mind.

I think this song is one of Dylans prettier melodies, has some beautiful, mournful guitar playing and singing and is beautifully written.

As far as the mysoginistic aspect goes, I've listened to this several times lately and I feel that with minor gender changes in the lyrics that it would be as strong a song if sung by a female.

Let's cut Bob some slack please.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Mbo
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 01:33 PM

Yeah, what's the deal with that? I never got anything misogynistic about it. It's your typical break-up song. There are millions of other examples of the same type of song. The Eagles' "Already Gone" is the same. Not to mention countless blues songs. I heard Mike Ness (formely of Social Distortion, and bonafide Hank Williams & rockabilly freak) sing an AWESOME acoustic version of "Don't Think Twice" live on MTV's "120 Minutes". No band, no solos, just him and and a guitar. I though it was a song he had written, but later found out it was Dylan. That's what kinda got me interested in Bob. The electric version on his album Cheating At Solitaire isn't as good as the 120 Minutes version. Killer song anyway ye look at it, though.

--Mayy

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Mbo
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 01:38 PM

BTW you can hear the sound clip here. But only if you want to.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: katlaughing
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 01:39 PM

Surprise, surprise, even, I, as a feminist, never found it to be misogynistic. I used to sing it all of the time when I was going through a divorce...from ME to HIM!! It's always been one of my favourites.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: SINSULL
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 01:52 PM

I never had a problem with it either. Sometimes, you just have to walk away or run. It didn't work, move on.
Mary, Never Liberated, Never Enslaved.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 02:01 PM

I will always love that song. I've heard people complain that Bob stole the melody, which I guess is pretty well established, but I never heard the misogynistic complaint. Don't see it, myself.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: JedMarum
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 02:34 PM

I never heard the 'woman hating' aspect of the song ... seems to me the singer is pissed off at time wasted with a lover that didn't work out ... he is talking to her, not woman-kind, it seems to me. I never heard any complaints about the song, either.

I've enjoyed singing it for years, and when I do tonight, I'll remember this thread.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Catrin
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 02:37 PM

Never had a problem with this one - one of my favourites -and I am somebody who is pretty sensitised to most of the misogynist unimaginative crap that IS around.

Catrin - A bob dylan fan

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 02:41 PM

Yeah! Right on! It's a terrific song, and is not misogynistic at all...just sad, resigned and honest.

We have all wasted each other's time now and then. I actually had a former girlfriend apologize to me once, a year after the relationship had ended and things had calmed down. She said, and I quote, "I'm sorry I wasted 5 years of your life." Well, hey, I wasted quite a bit of her time too, and then on the other hand we had some wonderful times that neither will forget. That's the way it goes...you just do the best you can while you can, as long as it still makes sense to "keep on keepin' on".

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 03:30 PM

I've always loved the tune. I actually found it to be quite gentle and not harsh at all.

I loved hearing Jack Elliot play it...considering the way he and Bob had their falling out. When Jack sings it one gets the feeling that he's talking in someway to Bob.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 03:38 PM

Now Positively 4th st., that's a mean song. Evil!

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: DougR
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 03:44 PM

I really like that song. Sometimes I think we look just a little bit too close to find something to object to. It's a good song, I think. In fact, I'm gonna listen to it right now! DougR

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 03:49 PM

Guest,

Yes Positively Fourth St. is nasty.

DougR, Good for you.

Little Hawk, I was going to tie Keep on Keepin' on into my original post. That line sure helped me get through the most difficult time of my life.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 03:55 PM

Yeah, me too, Steve.

Guest - Postively 4th Street is nasty, but it ain't evil. It's the hidden side of the music business that's evil. Dylan was not afraid to say it straight out.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: bseed(charleskratz)
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 03:55 PM

I've always enjoyed singing the song, despspite its point of view, which seems to be that of a rather self-centered man accusing the woman he's leaving of being self centered--I particularly like the third verse with its expression of a bit of regret over the breakup:

There ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe,
The light you never showed.
There ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe,
I'm on the dark side of the road.
I wish there was something you could do or say
To try to make me change my mind and stay--
We never did too much talkin' anyway,
But don't think twice, it's all right.

The second verse is trite: "I gave you my heart but you wanted my soul," but the rest of the song is fine. It's fun to play and sing, although I don't think it's one of his prettiest tunes, even if it is plagiarized (from whom, what song?).

His prettiest tune, to my ear, is "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowland," although the verses are largely indecypherable. Sort of like George Harrison's "Words are spinning out like endless rain into a paper cup; they slither while they pass and slip away across the universe..."

--seed

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Mbo
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 03:56 PM

Seed, John Lennon wrote "Across The Universe."

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Brendy
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 03:58 PM

There is a recording somewhere, 'cos I heard it on the radio recently, of a lady singer doing it, with words changed as per Steve's suggestion.

I'm not sure, but I have a feeling she was American.

B-

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 03:59 PM

I have had a lot of differing feelings about the song over the years and I tend to see it as a "resigned to the fact its over" type of thing and I sing it (badly) as a "sarcastic lament." ......whatever that is.

I think the proof of the greatness of the song lies in the fact that it CAN be sung and interpreted in so many ways and styles. Interesting comment above about Ramblin' Jack....maybe that is what he had in mind. In every case that I read here and have heard in performance, the song DOES hit something true and honest within most of us, even if its not the same thing. Now THAT'S a great song!

I guess because it has also been so overperformed that I had dismissed it as another of those "not again songs," one rendition reawakened my interest in it and brought it back to great song status in my mind. If you have seen/heard the Bob Dylan 30 year thing, you know that Eric Clapton did this one......as a blues. Its possibly my high point in that whole program. Ol' Slow Hand really worked it over.

Spaw

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: CamiSu
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 03:59 PM

This is actually Wavestar, not that it matters... In regards to a woman singing it, Joan Baez does a lovely version of it on her album, "Ring Them Bells", and it's very gentle, sorrowful, and while I don't think that's the best way to end a relationship, I don't think the song means to be hateful. In defense of relationships that don't work out, as well - I also just ended a five year relationship. It didn't work out. It hurt. Sure, in all that time, I could have been doing a million other things. Nothing else i could have done would have taught me so much about love, people and the way it all works, though. It's not time wasted, it's time learning. -J

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 04:06 PM

'Spaw,

I've really gone off Clapton since he decided he was a pop star, but I agree with you about that version. It was brilliant, inspired and a great take on a a great song.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: SINSULL
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 04:08 PM

Wavestar! Not that it matters? Where have you been the past three weeks? Yes it matters. You are you. She is she. And we want to hear from each of you knowing whom we are hearing.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 04:14 PM

Yeah, you're right. It's time learning. Just doesn't seem that way for awhile, until the hurt fades.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Charlie2
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 04:35 PM

Of course Dont Think Twice is a hateful tune. But its got some god damn teeth that that can not be denied. When I was a kid I used to hear that tune and think it was so campy and quaint. But then I actually HEARD it for the first time and I realized that this is Bob's brilliance. I mean, if you've really heard Spanish Boots of Spanish Leather its the same story. Its: OK so if you're going to flake out and leave me then send me some fucking boots at least. This is CLASSIC Dylan that is of course in Positively Fourth Street as well. To make an analogy, Robert Frost is the same again, He seems nice on the outside but then you drill down a bit and realize that all of his seemingly nice phrases are also as bitter as can be. I love Dylan because he refuses to be anything for anybody. He's one cranky old dude, God bless him.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: bseed(charleskratz)
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 04:36 PM

I could have checked through my old vinyl for "Abby Road" to make sure, Embo--I had thought it was listed as Lennon/McCartney and almost said so, but the line "Jai guru deva aum" sounded like pure Harrison--and usually Lennon's lyrics made more sense than that ("A Day in the Life") compared to Harrison's. But I'll yield to your greater knowledge...or at least superior scholarship.

--seed, back to shooting from the lip

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: CamiSu
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 04:37 PM

Mary -

By "not that it matters," I meant that my mother would also have been able to provide this information, though not, presumably, the comments regarding the breakup. My parents are, to the best of my knowledge, still married :) I'll let you know when it's me - I have my own computer with cookie, but it's far away atm, with another post waiting to be finished on it. And for the last three weeks, or even three months, I've been home on break, working, directing a production of As You Like It (which is FINALLY over), and seeing all those folks I don't have a chance to while at Uni... I've been posting from time to time. *grin* Glad you missed me.

-Jessica

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Mbo
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 04:42 PM

Um, heh heh, Seed...Across The Universe is on "Let It Be."

Sorry to be the nitpicker!

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: MichaelAnthony
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 05:29 PM

I read a quote of Dylan saying that it's an internal phrase to reassure oneself.

And I can interpret it also as singing to one's own feminine side.

MichaelAnthony

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 06:52 PM

Well, I beg to differ with all of you. I think this song is one of the meanest, sneakiest songs there is. The line about walking on the dark side of the road? He probably cleared out her checking account and owes child support and doesn't want to be seen.

the worst is "you just sort of wasted my precious time..." Wasn't her time precious too? It's a cruel line, one designed to rankle.

I think Dylan just put his mouth on fast-forward for this one.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: bseed(charleskratz)
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 06:53 PM

Of course, Embo, you freakin' nitpicker, it's on Let It Be, and I almost wrote that--then let my faulty memory speak again--Abby Road is too good an album to contain such tripe.

--seed

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: katlaughing
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 07:00 PM

Charles! No matter...it is GOOD to see you on here!!!!! Bonnie is gonna be glad when she gets back to see her *Uncle* Charles!!

luvyakat

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: DougR
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 07:04 PM

GuestLeenia: Well, one thing about the Mudcat; you rarely get a 100% vote on anything. :>) DougR

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Mbo
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 07:22 PM

Tripe? Seed, that's an awesome song! I sing it on my new tape...

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Gary T
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 07:40 PM

I think BSeed nailed it with this:"its point of view...seems to be that of a rather self-centered man accusing the woman he's leaving of being self centered".

The thread where this song was called misogynistic also had a comment saying the same about Gordon Lightfoot's "That's What You Get For Loving Me". Neither song is misogynistic. Both of them express the sentiments of a heel. While one might speculate that the cads speaking in the songs could be misogynists, the lyrics themselves, which are gender neutral/gender reversible, don't show a hatred for womankind. They may imply a lack of respect for the opposite sex, but they're still quite a ways from misogyny.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Gary T
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 07:41 PM

Now who forgot to close those Italics?

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: catspaw49
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 07:42 PM

SEED!!!!!! FAR OUT!!!!!!!

Spaw

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST,Arkie
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 09:23 PM

If somebody has a problem with Dylan's songs, its their problem, not mine.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 09:35 PM

Good point, Arkie.

Suze seems to think rather well of Bob these days, according to what I've heard. How about that, eh?

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 10:23 PM

Oh, by the way, that Lightfoot song "That's What You Get For Lovin' Me" is pretty hard to defend, all right. I was so horrified by it at age 21 that I boycotted Lightfoot for years because of it. I thought it was the crummiest, scummiest thing I'd ever heard in my life. I still don't care much for it, but I love the rest of his repertoire.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: flattop
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 11:39 PM

leeneia's point is well taken. The song probably appeals to us because it put a sweet melody to our mean, sneaky, nasty feelings that we don't often get to celebrate in song.

Andy Gill wrote about the song: Ironically, it was Suze who had actually left Bob, the song salvages his pride by claiming it is he who is "trav'lin' on."'

Sort of reminds you of the W.C.Fields movie where he at a bar boasting about punching a woman. When another gentleman at the bar claims that he was the one who hit the woman, Fields replies, 'Oh yeah, but I was the first to kick her when she fell.'

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: ddw
Date: 24 Aug 00 - 11:55 PM

Hey 'Spaw — I've never heard Clapton's version of DTT, but you mentioning it reminded me of one of the best versions I've ever heard. It's on an album called Odetta Sings Dylan and she does it as a really funky blues — with only bass accompaniment, if memory serves. It's worth a look-up if you've never heard it. She also does a version of Mr. Tambourine Man on there that is one of the most soulful things I ever heard her do. Not at all like Dylan's version. And the whole album has Bruce Langhorn on guitar and Les Grenage on bass. Excellent stuff.

As for this song being anti-woman, I just can't see that. The first few versions I heard of it were done by Joan Baez, Odetta and PPM. But I guess the women of those days just weren't as sensitive to all the terrible things today's women are.

More PC crap, IMHO.

david

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST,Steve Latimer
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 12:01 AM

To me the highlight of the Dylan 30th Anniversary show was Sophie B. Hawkins version of "I Want You." And Johnny Winter doing Hwy. 61 Revisited.

The low points were Stevie Wonder and the O'Jays.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: catspaw49
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 12:06 AM

Thanks David.......I'll have to go find that. Kinda' funny I missed it as I like Odetta and Dylan both. Too many albums and too little time. I get hung up on something and play it for 3 months when I should be listening to more. Oh well, I'm happy. I'll check this one out.

And LH.......As gary said, "Lovi' Me" shows a lack of respect perhaps, but its gender neutral and an old college friend used to sing it quite well....female too. I think I heard her do it way back then at about the same time I heard it first from GL.....always thought Linda was much better at it.

Spaw

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Troll
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 12:08 AM

Ya know, sometimes you can analyze a good song to death. Both Don't Think Twice and Thats What You Get For Lovin' Me reflect a certain point of view; one of a person who is sad that it's over and one of a user of others emotions.Neither makes any pretense at any moral high ground. Both state their case honestly if somewhat coldly.

No one has to like either song and no one should be forced to listen to either song if they find them offensive. By the same token, those who like 'em shouldn't be condemed by those who do and vice versa.

Enough analysis from me!

troll

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: campfire
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 12:58 AM

I took "That's What You Get For Loving Me" and turned it into "That's What I Get For Loving You"....I don't remember all the changes and it probably wasn't much better than the original, but I couldn't sing it the way it was written.

campfire

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST,pete proctor
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 01:54 AM

Well done Troll for stating the bleeding obvious. DTT is just a great 'life' song with a great tune. All the rest is a load of bollocks!

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 02:29 AM

One of the first songs I ever learned...and I still love it. Keep in mind though, that the tune ain't Dylan's. Paul Clayton recorded it earlier, with the trad words. It was called "Who'll buy your Chickens when I'm gone". Peggy Seeger was singing it as well. Not sure if Clayton learned it from her.

Rick

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: bseed(charleskratz)
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 03:06 AM

Hey, Rick. Thanks for finally answering my question about whose tune it is.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that the third verse is what makes the song a good one. Without it, it's just a smart-assy kissoff. With it, there's some redemption, some self awareness--but the guy throws it away in the last verse--and throws himself away with it with his ultimate put-down: "You just kinda wasted my precious time." Or him hers. I don't know if I can sing it any more, but it's still fun to pick--"Who'll Buy Your Chickens When I'm Gone?" that is.

--seed

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 08:32 AM

Spaw, I agree that Clapton's version of "Don't Think Twice" was the highlight of the 30th anniversary show. Two reasons for that: one, because Clapton's take on this song was so original, and so good; two, because most of the rest of the show (including Dylan's segment at the end) was so bad!

Seed and Mbo, "Across The Universe" was indeed a John Lennon composition (which he wrote by himself), and appeared on Let It Be. Lennon was very proud of the song, but not happy with the version on the album. To hear a very different (and, to my ears, vastly superior) version, check out the David Bowie/John Lennon collaboration on Bowie's "Young Americans" album. It has all the passion that the Beatles version lacks, and it may just change Seed's mind about the song.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Groucho Marxist (inactive)
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 08:51 AM

flattop wrote:

Andy Gill wrote about the song: Ironically, it was Suze who had actually left Bob, the song salvages his pride by claiming it is he who is "trav'lin' on."'

-----

Bobby and Suze Rottolo were still very much an item when he wrote and and then recorded "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right." Their relationship ended when she went off to Italy almost a year later.

"Don't Think Twice," is probably not based on anyone real.

Pogo had the same problem when he wrote "the Last Thing On My Mind." Everyone thought that he and Midge were breaking up. It's 35 years later and they're still together as grandparents.

Groucho

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 09:07 AM

Happens all the time -- people hear a heartfelt song and assume it's autobiographical. Those of us who write songs get our ideas from events real and imagined; while we may put a lot of personal feelings and emotions into a song, many times the personal aspects are hard for the listener to discern, and the details of the story line are pure fiction.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 09:12 AM

I have never really liked Bod Dylan but I like this one because of the tune. I tend to pay far more attention to the melody than the words and in some cases, as, with this one, it might as well have been sung in Chineese for all the attention I have paid to the words over the years. I was interested to find out that Dylan didn't write this tune.

Jon

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: catspaw49
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 09:19 AM

Hey WS......I thought the 30th show had a few other decent moments, but you're right....an awful lot of it was pretty foul. Johnny Cash and June Carter were just flat awful!!! The whole Shithead O'Connor thing was pathetic. Neil Young was at his most crazed, Roger McGuinn had the neck bobbing thing in high gear. And DYLAN??? Geeziz, it was a parody wasn't it? Like Bob imitates Bob? I knew the songs well and I couldn't understand a friggin' word out of his mouth!!!

Spaw

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 10:48 AM

Bob tends to be rather unpredictable at times (to put it mildly). However, I have yet to see him do a bad performance in a live concert, and I've attended quite a few of them.

"I can't help it if I'm lucky..."

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: LR Mole
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 11:05 AM

I think "That's What You Get For Lovin' Me" is an internal dialogue about self-gratification. But I think that's what "Edmund Fitzgerald" is a euphemism for, too.I may have thought twice, though.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 11:26 AM

I've seen Dylan twice -- in 1974 with the Band on his big "comeback" (to the concert stage) tour, and in 1975 with the Rolling Thunder Revue. Both were good shows, but some of the stuff I've seen on film from the 1990's was pretty awful.

It's been a while since I saw the film of the 30th Anniversary Concert. I don't tend to like these kind of things, where everyone gets up in a sort of feigned comaraderie to play someone's songs, and they all get together to join in on the last song (these "let's get everyone up to link arms and sing the last tune together" deals are always horrible, without exception). I remember that I kind of liked George Harrison's take on "Absolutely Sweet Marie," and I think Ron Wood did a decent job of "Seven Days," but aside from those and Clapton's performance, I thought it was pretty bad.

At that time Dylan was having real problems with his voice -- don't know what it was, but I also saw some other things from around the same time (an appearance on the Letterman show was one), and the poor guy sounded like he had a severe sinus infection. I was very affected by it, and wrote a song about it at the time, called "When the Wind Dies Down"; sort of an answer to "Blowing In The Wind," asking Bob what he would do with himself when it became obvious to everyone that he couldn't perform any more. It was all "assembled" from lyrics from his own songs, and I felt like it was a pretty fair piece of work. My wife thought it was too mean spirited, and even though I intended it to be more compassionate than anything, I thought there was a certain justice in turning the blade of sarcasm back on Dylan.

God save Bob Dylan -- still my hero, after all these years.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Charlie2
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 11:30 AM

30th Reunion. I have to agree that Clapton was the man that night. But Eddie Vedder's take on Masters of War was unbelievable. I'd never given him a second thought untilk that night - but his performance had all of that young mans astounded bitterness that the rest of them had lost. I also have to disagree with somebodys comment of Sophie B Hawkins. I thought she was a disaster. Id rather lose a finger than have to hear her act out I want you again. No offence.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 03:27 PM

Saw Bob in the eighties and vowed I'd never waste my time again. I had heard that he performing very well in the nineties and when a friend called on the day of his '97 show to say that he spare ticket I decided to go. He was brilliant, animated and mostly coherent. His band was rock solid and I had a blast.

Saw him again last month and had exactly the same experience.

His performance at the 30th Anniversary show was pretty bad, but I loved how deathly quiet the audience was during his solo acoustic stuff. You could have heard a pin drop in Madison Square Garden.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 03:41 PM

Yeah, Bob in the 90's has been great. Saw him 2 years ago at a wonderful show in Toronto. Missed him in July, because I was in Cuba. Two friends of mine saw him, and one of them (Jamie) had never seen him before...she said that it was the best concert she'd ever seen in her life.

He's still my hero after all these years too...along with Buffy and Joan.

Bob in the later 80's was "Driftin' Too Far From Shore", but he has found his way back.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 03:50 PM

Little Hawk,

That's the show I was at, the Molson Amphitheatre. Other than having terrible seats and being surrounded by idiots who were there to party it was outstanding.

Were you at the Gardens show with him and Joni? I missed that one but know some people who were there that raved about it.

Steve

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Charlie2
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 03:52 PM

Bob is the center of all things combined in my opinion. He is the last of the beats, the last of the poets who really play a role in society, the last in a long line of cantakerous moralists going back to Mark Twain.

"There are those who worship lonliness /I'm not one of them / In this age of fiberglass / I'm searching for a gem."

Rock on Bob!

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: catspaw49
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 03:53 PM

Ya know what I kinda' enjoyed? A lot of the audience I think were former 60's folk who were used to shouting down

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: catspaw49
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 04:12 PM

I dunno' what happened to the rest of that post?!?! wan't important anyway......

Spaw

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 11:36 PM

Have to agree that I've heard it sung by both sexes & never thought it was just a "the other sex is scum" type song - always sounded as though about an individual to me. But, even if it were a generalized thing - so what? Can't count the times someone I know has broken up with his/her SO & announced that all men/women are scum. Songs generally come at us from all different POV's - it would be pretty boring if every song was nicey-nice (sorry, Mbo).

"I gave her/him my heart but s/he wanted my soul" may sound trite after hearing it a few hundred times, but I think that a lot of us have probably found ourselves in the same situation & can relate. - In fact, it's so common that similar attitudes (in the sense of controlling behaviors, which is what one often gets with someone who wants all - heart, body, & soul) are now listed in health-care materials as psychological abuse.

Interesting that this song can generate so much flack when we can sing of a rogue like the *hero* of "Melville Castle" with enthusiasm & joviality! Someone dangling 4 or more ladies like Willie would today be called a mutt or some such. ;-) We like our rogues - unless we're on the receiving end of certain elements of it.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST,celticblues5
Date: 25 Aug 00 - 11:40 PM

Aargh - posting from alien computer & forgot my name wouldn't show up - above post is mine - just so you'll know who to blame..........

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 26 Aug 00 - 02:05 AM

Hi Steve,

Yeah, I was at the Gardens Show with Bob and Joni. Great, great show. Some (a few) Joni fans left early. Too bad for them...

Would have liked to see the Dylan and Paul Simon tour, but didn't.

Do you live near Toronto?

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 28 Aug 00 - 10:06 AM

Little Hawk,

I'm in the sprawling metropolis of Whitby. Where are you?

Steve

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Catrin
Date: 28 Aug 00 - 11:09 AM

I saw Bob Dylan in Blackbush in 1977(ish) and then again at Earls Court, around the same time. Both concerts were magical.

I saw him again a couple of years ago when he was touring with Van Morrison. Van was brilliant but I was soooo dissapointed in Bob's set. I think it could have been the venue or something. I couldn't hear properly and for me, what is really great about Bob Dylan, is the words. There are few occasions in my life where I have felt so dissappointed.

Back to the discussion - I always thought that line 'I gave her my heart, but she wanted my soul' was great. Hasn't there been another thread recently where people (of both sexes) have been talking about ex-partners who have demanded 'souls' when all that was on offer was 'hearts'?.....

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 28 Aug 00 - 12:21 PM

I agree Catrin, that's a wonderful line. One's heart may be lent, but one's soul is one's own.

I've heard some bootleg cuts from the Dylan/Van Morrison tour, and Bob did not seem to be in good form on that one...maybe he was having voice trouble...it happens.

Van seems to always be in great form.

Steve - I live in Orillia. Used to live in Toronto. If you can, come and see me play at the Corner Coffeehouse in Newmarket this September 15th.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Ely
Date: 28 Aug 00 - 03:00 PM

I've never heard anyone call it misogynistic (maybe I've been lucky). It's so easily changed from one gender to another that I don't think I could ever take it personally, as a female.

There are lots of other songs that bother me much, much more. Frankly, the line in "Tecumseh Valley" about "So she turned to whoring out on the streets/with all the lust inside her" bothers me much more--as if a woman's reaction to poverty and loneliness is lust rather than desperation. I suppose the two are very closely related in this situation, but the implications still disturb me. Nevertheless, I like the song and I love Townes.

But then, I've always been oversensitive.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 28 Aug 00 - 03:55 PM

So it's thread creep, but one of the biggest disappointments I've ever had was the one time I saw Van Morrison, about five years ago at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens. I guess he was promoting a new album that was very much R&B. He hardly played any of the songs that he is famous for. When the band finally started "Tupelo Honey" he left the stage and allowed his daughter (who was mediocre at best) to sing the song. He then returned to do more R&B only to have his daughter sing a couple of his more familiar songs.

I have nothing against someone promoting a new album, but I found Van's behaviour to be boorish. His band was very, very very good, but eight of us went, four walked out. It took me a long time before I could even listen to Van again. Could have stayed home and watch the Blues Brothers video if I wanted to hear that much R&B.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Peter T.
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 10:12 AM

Hi guys. I think I must be one of those weirdos that actually pay attention to the lyrics, rather than have them wash over me. Probably why I am no hell as a musician. I love "Don't Think Twice", but it is a deeply sick song, which is probably why people are mesmerized by Dylan -- how can anyone so openly display their own sleaziness, what kind of narcissism makes you do that? ("Idiot Wind" is another good example). The problem is that everyone who sings it or listens to it thinks of themselves as the leaver, and not the leavee. If you think about it from the point of view of the leavee -- the one addressed by the song -- you can see what a depraved song it is.

Its insidiousness begins with the title ("Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"). Notice that it isn't "don't give it a second thought" or "forget about it, get on with your life", it is "don't think twice". Is the person to think once about it? How do you keep someone from thinking twice about something? No, the whole idea of the song is to make the person being left not only feel guilty, but to make them obsess about what they did wrong interminably, and so wreck the rest of their life. So that it is more than punishment, it is a poisoned hook. It is designed to keep the person being left haunted by the leaver -- so the leaver doesn't really ever leave. The song is left like a slowly exploding hand grenade. "You just sort of wasted my precious time" is a good example of the whole tenor of the thing -- the vagueness of the opening of the line (Oh I don't care) contrasts with the tightness of the end of the line (but I do). So don't really worry, except do. "Goodbye is too big a word, so I'll just say fare thee well" -- can there be a more poisoned line -- "goodbye is too big a word" -- why? Because you don't deserve it? Because I may be back? -- so I'll just say fare thee well -- Oh, the romantic gypsy with his faretheewells, I'll be back from shipwreck someday, maybe, so it isn't really the final goodbye, so just keep standing at the window, thinking about the one you drove away.

And there are all these beautiful knife twists. That sneaky slide into the third person: "I once loved a woman, etc..." Not you, of course. Or is it you...? And the poison seeps: Am I the one who got his heart but I wanted his soul, or did I not even get that far? Is this some other woman he came into my life carrying around, who already had his heart, and that is why I couldn't get to him? Or is he accusing me of taking his heart but trying to get his soul? BUT HE ISN'T EVEN TELLING ME THAT!!! What was going on in him? And so on.

Truly one of the great sadistic masterpieces. Nothing to do with misogyny. Just deeply vicious, and all BOB.

yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST,Mbo_at_ECU
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 10:47 AM

Steve, Van does lots of R&B, so I'm not sure what the problem was. If it were up to me, I'd hear new stuff all the time. Why should anyone have to sing the same songs over and over again, just because people know them. Some people always rant about how so-and-so's old stuff was really good, and they're new stuff isn't, and why don't they sing more of their old songs? I listen to something new a few times and go, well, now I've learned and listen to them all, I want more and MORE and MORE! I'm like Number 5! MORE INPUT! MORE INPUT!

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 11:18 AM

Mbo,

Van is like Bob in that they both have over 35 years of material to draw from. I'd have no problem if the show was 50% the new album and the rest was a mix of just some of the songs that you already knew and loved, keeping in mind that for either of these artists to do every song that you'd like to hear them perform in one evening would be impossible.

When people asked me what I disliked about the show my response was 'Name a Van song that you like' No matter what song they named my reply was the same, "He didn't do it" or "He left the stage and his daughter did it"

I had seen Willie Nelson a few weeks prior to the Van show. Willie does a great job of performing new material while also trying to play every song that you've come to love. My take was that Willie performs for his fans, Van does it for his ego, pretty much saying F you, I'll do what I want.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Charlie2
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 12:53 PM

I saw Neil Young play Harvest Moon in its entirety a few years back. This was six months before the album came out and you could have heard a pin drop for the entire show. In the end he finally did play some of his older stuff but the mood seemed to suggest that people were digging the unheard tunes better. I like being challenged and being allowed to hear new things. A few chestnuts at the end is always nice, but I don't think I'd criticize Van for shying away from the material. It's no mystery that he is an odd duck who is rather reluctant to be anyone's hero.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 01:11 PM

Peter, what do you want the guy to do? He is writing a song to express emotions, not platitudes. The character singing the song (remember, this isn't necessarily autobiographical; it may be pure fiction) is ending a relationship that affected him deeply. When relationships end, there is pain, anger, regret, fault-finding -- all kinds of messy and "unfair" emotions. Whether or not the character is entirely justified in feeling these emotions is beside the point -- we aren't actually familiar with the particulars of the (fictitious) relationship, so we don't know. But as long as he's singing a song about it, don't you want him to express them? Would it be worth listening to if he just kept his feelings to himself?

I don't think our job as critics (which is what we are at the moment) is to judge the character's emotions and decide whether they are fair and appropriate to the circumstances. Our job is to decide whether he has expressed them in a way we can relate to and that has meaning to us. Based on that criterion, I think Dylan succeeded admirably; there are certainly a lot of us who can relate to this song.

I'm just glad this thread isn't about "The Ballad of Hollis Brown"; imagine how we'd take Dylan to task for the multiple murders in that one.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Mbo
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 01:13 PM

I'm with you all the way, Charlie!

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 01:13 PM

Steve - Willie Nelson has so much class and integrity that he could darn near run for God (instead of president) as far as I'm concerned. What a superb performer.

Peter T. - I'm one of those weirdos who pays absolute attention to the lyrics too, so you are not alone. A song like "Don't Think Twice" is not written to be listened to by the other party (in the collapsed romance) at all...it's a dialogue between the singer and himself. Period. If the singer happens to be famous, of course, then everybody else will end up hearing it too, and the usual reactions will follow.

Bob was in a whole lot of pain. It was Suze that was leaving him (and she was in a whole lot of pain too, needless to say). He was riding the whirlwind (of fame) and losing most of his close human contacts in the process.

I've written some pretty vicious songs about defunct relationships (both lovers and friends) on the odd occasion. I had to do it, just so I could talk to myself about what I was going through. The other person never gets to hear those songs if I can help it. If I was famous, I would not be able to help it...they would end up hearing the song.

How much guts must it take to be famous and still honest?

That's how it goes.

The "I once loved a woman, a child I'm told" was obviously referring to Suze. No doubt about that at all.

The deeper you love, the worse it hurts...at times.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: catspaw49
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 01:51 PM

I wrote a note to Peter saying I liked his post...and I do. WS makes a good point of course and perhaps that's why we relate. As I said to Peter, ol' Bob has a mean streak in him. And that is just the point.

Most of us have that same mean streak.....I wish I didn't but I do. In affairs of the heart, the hurt is painful when it happens and the often immature, but also quite natural, way to deal with it is through the blame and guilt we foist upon the other person. Its why this song plays so well as a blues. "Idiot Wind" has even nastier sentiments. Bob is a master at conveying that sarcastic and superior feeling that we often give to the other person. One of my all time favorite sarcastic Dylan lines:

.....You asked me how I was doing.....Is that some kind of joke? All those people that you mention, yes, I know them they're quite lame. I had to reaarange their faces, and give them all another name.

or what about......

.......then you'd know what a drag it is to see you.

Yeah.....he's human; mean streak and all.

Spaw

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Peter T.
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 03:05 PM

Whistle Stop and Little Hawk: don't get me wrong, I admire the song and the writer tremendously: I was trying to point out analytically why the song is so effective and vicious. One of its virtues is that it encapsulates one of Dylan's very powerful poetic techniques: what one could call tight vagueness. He uses very casual, what one thinks of as slovenly, throwaway lines, that keep making you wonder if he is paying attention, and you sort of let the lines skate past, and only at the end do you realize that he has foxed you. Or coyoted you. Same with this song.

Obviously the singer is criticizing the other person ("that light I never knowed"), but it is done in such a way that it is not the overt criticism that does them in -- it is the subtle placement -- "You're the reason I'm travelling on, but don't think twice, it's all right". Can there be a more maddening line -- what could be more important than being the reason for someone's travelling on "the dark side of the road", and yet they are to dismiss it from their minds as of no importance. Which means that if the other person accepts this suggestion, then the whole relationship was of no importance. It is part of the poisoned hook.

I don't think the autobiography matters one way or the other, though I wouldn't reject it. Similarly, I don't think critically it is obvious that the singer is only having a conversation with himself (this is known in the trade as reception critique) -- there is a presumptive audience, as there is in any creation, and this one is pretty strongly addressed -- "iffen you don't know by now"). It is almost like a taped letter left on the bed. But it does add to the ambiguity.

The best line in the song for me is "Still I wish there was something you could do or say, to make me change my mind and stay," since of course he is now gone. Although one could argue that he is still just about to leave and is imagining himself on the road thinking back ("It ain't no use in turning on your light babe) to where he is now, writing the farewell note. Or for a moment regretting what can't happen in the scenario he has created. It is that flash of ambiguity that I admire most in Dylan -- just when he is being a complete creep....I assume that is why Joan Baez' Diamonds and Rust is so messed up. He could reall mess up a woman.

Totally maddening, very simple song.

Idiot Wind is not in the same league -- though I admire it too.

yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 03:15 PM

Geez, Peter, what's your take on Idiot Wind?

Steve

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: catspaw49
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 06:22 PM

Idiot Wind? What "league" are we talking about here? No, it doesn't have the pain, backlash, and yet somehow longing, sentiment that I find in DTT, but for sheer nastiness in the "Go Fuck Off Bitch" mode, its pretty hard to top! Maybe the singer has been hurt, but the anger here is a lot greater. In DTT you can still sense the sorrow and the "maybe." In IW, its just plain vicious hurt. Love 'em both, but they've different emotions behind each.

Spaw

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Peter T.
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 06:42 PM

Cp is right, it is also much more diffuse of a song, with lots of those cardboard surreal images and mannerisms that sometimes mar his work). There are also the two versions (at least) of the song -- the one on the bootleg album (recorded before the one on Blood on the Tracks) is much less bitter, and to my mind a better song for that.

Technically, I suppose the intriguing part of Idiot Wind is the fact that someone clearly told Dylan that the original meaning of "idiot" in Greek (idiotes) was "a private person, an individual" (people who weren't part of the society were later considered impaired or quirky, hence the later change in meaning). So he plays poetically with the contradictory idea of the "wind that blows where it listeth" (the wind as public force or natural force, and by extension rumour, or as the equivalent of the hot wind of the desert) and the private breath of foolish speech and argument.

The question really is whether the switch to "we" in the last lines is powerful enough to change the whole previous song into a mutual lament -- I don't think so personally. The earlier, softer version almost gets away with it.

yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST,Ewan McVicar
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 07:10 PM

I've always had mixed feelings about Don't Think Twice, because it seems patronising. That's why a parody I heard in Boston in 1967 stuck in my mind.
It aint no use to sit and wonder why, friends
There's so many folk singers round
It aint no use to sit and wonder why, friends
They've all got the same old sound
Cause they all look the same and they all act the same
And they all sound like Peter Paul and Whatshername
They've got all of the fortune and fame
So if they don't think twice they'll be alright

It aint no use to sing another song, Bob
You can't sing anyhow
.............

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Gary T
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 07:28 PM

I love it, Ewan! Have you got more of that parody?

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Song Dog
Date: 29 Aug 00 - 11:44 PM

Remember folks, it's only a story in rhyme ---- a song.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Charlie2
Date: 30 Aug 00 - 02:22 PM

I've always thought that Idiot Wind was one of Dylans most difficult tunes. I don't really like the song, but I'm always intreagued with its inaccessibility and depth. I agree with Peter that the "bootleg version" is very interesting in its softer reading. What was amazing to me about that version is how much it illustrates Dylan's ability to change meanings simply by his intonation. In the softer version, the song is a lament, in the final version, it is a frontal attack on everything in Dylan's life from the press to the country as a whole. But Pete, I don't think I can agree with you about your comments regarding the greek origin of Idiot. I mean when he says "You're an idiot Babe, its a wonder that you still know how to breath" That is perhaps the most unadorned and bitter line he ever wrote.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 30 Aug 00 - 02:56 PM

Wow! Great discussion on Idiot Wind and DTW. Like Charlie2, I think Idiot Wind is an attack on everything from the music business, to the press, to Sara, to fame, to the whole society...a society that Bob has seen in bleaker and bleaker terms, as the decades rolled on. Take a look at his liner notes in the album "World Gone Wrong". He makes very clear his feelings about how decadent society has become, and how much the music has suffered as a consequence of that.

An earlier version of "Idiot Wind" was "Dirge" on Planet Waves...addressing much the same issues, with about an equal amount of venom. It's in sharp contrast to the rest of the album, which is mostly bucolic and celebratory love songs about a relationship gone right for a change.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Charlie2
Date: 30 Aug 00 - 03:17 PM

Dirge is a fantastic album. Going Going Gone is perhaps my favorite Dylan tune. That is a dangerous tune.

"In this age of fyberglass I'm searching for a gem!"

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Peter T.
Date: 30 Aug 00 - 03:21 PM

Someone told me that there is a version of Idiot Wind on "Hard Rain" (a live album) -- can anyone tell me if it is even harsher, or what? Have there been any later versions that anyone can recall? (I know that Tangled Up in Blue has gone through multiple changes).

yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Charlie2
Date: 30 Aug 00 - 03:26 PM

Hey Peter,

The Idiot Wind on Hard Rain is from the Rolling Thunder tour. That album is probably the hardest Dylan album out there. The version is fantastic but ragged! Great take on Shelter from the Storm as well.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 30 Aug 00 - 03:42 PM

Peter,

There's a sound clip here. (Sorry, can't Blueclickything)

www.bobdylan.com/albums/hardrain.html

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 30 Aug 00 - 04:45 PM

Hard rain is hard indeed. Very interesting alternate approach to the songs. It's probably the most vicious rendition of Idiot Wind ever.

The changes in Tangled Up In Blue were interesting. Instead of the song being about Bob and a woman, it became a song about Bob, another man, and said woman. The other guy becomes the one who "helped her out of a jam, I guess, but he used a little too much force". The woman travels with the man, then leaves him, later hooks up with him again later and "they lived in a place on Montague Street..." Bob meets her in "a topless place", is invited back by her, and ends up staying with the couple for a time. Then "he (the other man) started into dealing with slaves, and something inside of him died, she had to sell everything she owned and froze up inside". Bob becomes withdrawn, keeps on keepin' on, and decides that he has to go back and find her again.

Mysterious (as usual) and great.

Going, Going, Gone has also mutated several times...there's an interesting version on the "Live At Budokan" album...one which I like very much on the whole. The critics hated it. What do they know? Most of them couldn't write a good song to save their lives.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Whistle Stop
Date: 31 Aug 00 - 08:41 AM

The Rolling Thunder tour was interesting in and of itself. I caught the tour relatively early on, and was impressed with the old-time medicine show feel of the event, and with the care that went into staging, sequencing, etc. Some months after that, I saw a film of the tour from a later outdoor stadium show, which I believe was the one recorded for the "Hard Rain" album. Completely different! Much more ragged, and much less satisfying to my ears. Where the tour had originally presented a very clear and unique concept, the later date I saw on film and heard on the record seemed to have abandoned this. I got the impression they were all kind of tired and strung out. There were some interesting rearrangements of the tunes, as there always are in Dylan shows. But it didn't seem to hang together nearly as well.

My favorite moment from the show I caught was Bob standing in a classic rock and roll stance with no guitar -- right foot forward, left foot back, clutching the mike in his hand and bearing down hard on it -- while the band played "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" in a very aggressive, Muddy Waters style arrangement. Da DA da da Da - "Oh where have you been" - Da DA da da Da - "My blue eyed son?" A total departure, but surprisingly effective, and appropriate to the changing times.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 31 Aug 00 - 10:52 AM

One oif the things I like about Bob is his willingness to experiment with his own songs. I would love to hear his Muddy Waters treatment of Hard Rain.

I also like that he (like Willie) doesn't feel that he hase to stick to his own material, but is willing play music that he likes. www.bobdylan.com has some sound clips of live stuff that he's done lately. It includes Muddy's Hoochie Koochie Man and Ralph Stanleys "I Am The Man Thomas" some very interesting stuff.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST,Ewan McVicar
Date: 02 Sep 00 - 03:49 AM

Gary T

That's all there was of that parody. It tailed away on "anyhow ...."
There is an odd absence of parodies of Dylan songs.
Mind you, I recall that one of the Clancy Brothers was known to sing
"The answer my friends is blowing up your nose".

Of course, when he was drunker the wind blew somewhere darker.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Peter T.
Date: 02 Sep 00 - 11:23 AM

"How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood?, yes, and...."

(An oldie) yours, Peter T.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 02 Sep 00 - 01:57 PM

I actually composed what I truly believe is the ultimate Dylan parody of all time. I mean it.

I feel I can do this, because I love Bob Dylan so much that the whole sky couldn't be any larger than my love for him.

So, without further ado...here it is...to the tune of "Like A Rolling Stone", but with a little short bridge thing at one point that isn't in the original song (kind of like those brief 2-line asides that he did between the regular verses in "Absolutely Sweet Marie" and some other songs). I'll put the Chords in above that part. I do it in Key of G.

I stole a couple of great key lines in this parody from Wendell Ferguson, by the way...he's a terrific singer/guitar player and a very funny guy, and he was writing a similar parody at the time...at Don's Coffeehouse, and I just couldn't help myself. Now I gotta hear Wendell's finished version sometime...

In key of G...is it rolling?

"Gagged On A Chicken Bone"

It happened just the other day
I was eating a bowl of curds and whey
And I didn't chew
I dropped my fork, I dropped my plate
I almost saw Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates
Cos I didn't chew
I choked and gagged and had a fit
Then I fell into the orchestra pit
It felt just like I'd swallowed a sword
I think I damaged my vocal chords
I started seeing stars...and then I heard somebody squeal
That's how it feels!
Yeah, that's how it feels!
When you rush your meal
And then you're on your own
Unwashed and slightly stoned
Like a complete unknown
Gagged on a chicken bone!

I tried to phone the emergency
And tell 'em what was wrong with me
Cos I didn't chew
But they put me on hold, I had to wait
And I couldn't even enunciate
Cos I didn't chew
I almost suffered a heart attack
When Albert whacked me in the back
He broke my harmonica and hurt my chest
I think I'm gonna sue him after I get some rest
He ruptured my esophagus and bent my driving wheel
That's how it feels!
Yeah, that's how it feels!
When you rush your meal
And then you're on your own
Rejected on the phone
Like a complete unknown
Gagged on a chicken bone!

[Bridge]

[C]I'm gonna sue the hotel too, for [Am7]negligence and criminal com[D]missionnnnn....
If they [C]hadn't of dropped that chicken bone in my [Am7]curds and whey, I wouldn't be in this po[D]sitionnnn.... Now I'm broken-hearted and out of luck
And my voice is as rough as a gravel truck
Cos I didn't chew
I've lost my pride and my dignity
There's people out there making fun of me
Cos I didn't chew
They're got a lot of gall, they've got a lot of nerve
I hope they ALL get what they deserve
I hope they end up just like me
Deprived of peace and serenity
I hope they all end up choking on their pickled eel! Yeah, that's how it feels!
That's how it feels!
When you rush your meal
And then you're on your own
Unwashed and slightly stoned
Rejected on the phone
Like a complete unknown
Gagged on a chicken bone!

Lyrics by George Coventry & Wendell Ferguson
Origina music by Bob Dylan, except the bridge by George Coventry
Copyright c 2000 G. Coventry & W.Ferguson

:-) !!!

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Art Thieme
Date: 07 Sep 00 - 11:58 PM

RICK,

I'm CERTAIN it wasn't CHICKENS that Paul Clayton sang about in the original song of his from which Dylan "took" "Don't think twice. It does make it pretty funny to sing it that way though.

The real word on the monument album, a pop sounding album from Clayton, pretty rare, was RIBBONS. Who is gonna buy you ribbons when I'm gone?

Art

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Steve Latimer
Date: 10 Aug 01 - 09:53 PM

So, the Dylan over-rated thread has been resurrected. Me refreshing this thread is me not being drawn into the other. Since this thread was started I've got both Biograph and The Bootleg Series. When I look at the volume of work that Mister Zimmerman did that was never released on album, I'm abolutely awed.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST,Frogmore
Date: 10 Aug 01 - 11:08 PM

Good to see that a majority recognize a gifted artist when they see (hear) one. And there ain't many at Bob Dylan's level. To anyone who has nothing better to do than find fault with this very good song written by a very young man, I can only say "You're damn lucky that no one (NO ONE) is reading the songs - or letters - or journal entries - or whatever you wrote at this age. I've heard it said that there is no easier enterprise on this earth than criticism. Frank Zappa said, "Shut up and play yer guitar." So I will.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: mousethief
Date: 11 Aug 01 - 12:12 AM

I'm not the world's largest Bob Dylan fan, but I will speak up in defence of DTT. I love this song. It quietly frames a scene and paints a set of emotions with deft brush strokes and a world of understatement. Like all good art, it's something of a mirror. Whatever ugliness people have inside, they may find in the song. But the song itself has no ugliness.

Alex

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: pavane
Date: 11 Aug 01 - 04:36 AM

When I listen to the bootleg tapes, I understand WHY they weren't released

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 11 Aug 01 - 09:48 AM

With Dylan, you either get it...or you don't.

- LH

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: pavane
Date: 11 Aug 01 - 11:44 AM

I have all his early LP's (on vinyl, from first release). But I was NOT impressed when I eventually heard the bootleg stuff.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 11 Aug 01 - 01:58 PM

We used to sing:... "Don't sing twice, Bob, that's all right..."

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 13 Aug 01 - 03:47 AM

Peter T, Davey Graham does a very nice faster version of DTT. Rick probably has a copy.
RtS

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Cappuccino
Date: 13 Aug 01 - 06:37 AM

DTT was the first song I ever learned to finger-pick, so it will always have a place in my heart.

And one day I'll get it right.

- IanB

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Mr Red
Date: 13 Aug 01 - 05:08 PM

Hey! this is a love song
if the guy didn't care so much why all the macho posing as he leaves?
fiction maybe, but the delivery makes it all so believable.
add my voice to the ayes

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: GUEST,Chuck Perdue
Date: 08 Mar 08 - 05:05 PM

My son, Martin Perdue, gave me some posts re: my parody on Don't Think Twice, so I thought I would send along the original of my song, "They Don't Think Twice," and a couple of other of my Dylan parodies of the time.
My wife, Nancy J. Martin-Perdue, and I were much involved in the folk scene--as soon as we discovered that there was one--which happened when I was a student at UC Berkeley in Geology ca. 1957--though I had been singing folksongs since I was about age two in 1933 in Georgia without any knowledge they were folksongs. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss!
In the 1950's and '60's we got much involved in singing in coffeehouses around Berkeley, L.A., and other parts of California and, after mid 1960, Washington, D.C. and other east coast points. Went to Newport in 1963 and spotted a young kid hanging around with a bull whip on his shoulder. My impression was that he didn't play guitar or harmonica very well, nor sing very well but that he was a pretty good poet--and that he wrote many songs that seem (to me) to cry out for parody--Hence my attempts with several of Dylan's songs.
If there is room for an attachment here I will include three songs--one with some help by Ernie Marrs--for whatever amusement they may provide.
Have fun.

PARODIES RE: SONGS BY BOB DYLAN
        
        THEY DON'T THINK TWICE

Ain't no use to sit and wonder why babe,
There's so many folk-singers around,
Ain't no use to sit and ponder why babe,
They all make the same sound,
They know the same songs and they sound the same,
They all sing like Peter, Paul, and what's-her-name,
But they've got plenty of fortune and fame,
And if they don't think twice, well that's alright.

A parody of Bob Dylan's DON'T THINK TWICE which was made excruciatingly popular by PP&M. Written by Chuck Perdue on December 28, 1963.
________________________________________________________________

SONG TO BOBBY

Hey, Hey, Bob Dylan, I wrote you a song,
'Bout the time you wrote Woody Guthrie a song,
'Bout the son Woody wrote about old Leadbelly,
Now, who's gonna come along and immortalize me?


A parody of Bob Dylan's song SONG TO WOODY, written by Chuck Perdue in the fall of 1962. I sang this song for Ernie Mars in the summer of 1965. He listened, went to his room and came back a bit later with this:

Hey, Hey, Chuck Perdue, I wrote you a song,
And in case you're wonderin' why it's just one verse long,
Sooner or later I might write more,
When you've done somethin' to be immortalized for.


After hearing Ernie's song I crept away and wrote the following which I promptly sang for Ernie:

Hey, Hey, Ernie Mars I wrote you a song,
'Cause the one you wrote me was one verse too long,
But I'll make you a deal if you will agree,
I won't write no more about you if you won't write no more about me.

And we have kept that agreement.



WITH ME ON MY SIDE

Your name may mean nothin', but mine means a lot,
As a matter of fact, it's about all I got,
I ain't ashamed of it; got nothin' to hide,
I can lick Bob Dylan with me on my side!


This parody of Bob Dylan's WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE was written by Chuck Perdue in August of 1963.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Joe_F
Date: 08 Mar 08 - 08:18 PM

In my copy of a certain collection:

*Don't Think Twice, It's All Right* Bob Dylan
                                     was never in
                                     danger of that

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Little Hawk
Date: 08 Mar 08 - 10:04 PM

The macho posing is a bit ironical, and I think that's quite intentional on Bob's part. It is clear if you read between the lines that the young guy in the song is quite upset about losing his girlfriend...but he's pretending like crazy that he's not upset just to make himself feel better about it. And that's why the macho posing. It's outer defiance in the face of inner hurt.

The song was about Bob's on-again, off-again romance with Suze Rotolo, which he took very seriously indeed, and which mattered a lot to him. (And, yes, I know he was going out with Suze after the song was written and recorded...but it's still about that relationship. Like I said, it was on-again, off-again, and for quite some time. They separated more than once.)

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 Mar 08 - 10:07 PM

I always preferred to sing the Reader's Digest version of this song:

"Don't Think Once, It's All Right"

Cheerily,
Charley Noble

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: Suegorgeous
Date: 09 Mar 08 - 09:46 AM

Agree with Little Hawk.

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: SINSULL
Date: 09 Mar 08 - 10:35 AM

You guys are very kind. Paul Clayton wrote:
Ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
Ain't no use to sit and wonder why
Ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
Just wonder who's going to buy you ribbons when I'm gone.

Walkin down that long lonesome road

Ain't no use to sit and cry now.

I believe he finally acknowledged Clayton and even paid him something. Anyone know?

Subject: RE: In defense of 'Don't Think Twice'
From: SINSULL
Date: 09 Mar 08 - 10:39 AM

Kendall does a beautiful version of Clayton's song. Too bad he never recorded "Don't Think Twice". He could have made it simple and bitter.