Dylan Songs With Traditional Influences
Ove Ofteness suggests:
http://www.isound.com/biography/ove_ofteness/
I believe that Dylan got his melody for "Gypsy Lou" (recorded for the publisher M. Witmark
& Sons in 1963[?]) from "Ballad of a Teen-Age Queen," copyrighted in 1957 by "Cowboy" Jack
Clement. The song was recorded by Johnny Cash (for Sun Records?) and others.
This is a summary of the responses I received to my recent inquiry
about Bob Dylan songs based on traditional ones. Thanks to the
many people who responded, including Jim Musselman, Dick
Connette, Paul Stamler, Jerry Clark, Paul Castle, Michael Scully, and
Michael Cooney (who has put together a great festival workshop on
the subject). I'll start with a list of some of the song pairs (Dylan's
first, then the traditional one that inspired it), and follow that with
some longer comments.
Bob Dylan's Dream (Lord Franklin/Lady Franklin's Lament)
Masters of War (Fair Nottamun Town)
Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall (Lord Randall)
Ramblin' Gamblin' Willie (Brennan on the Moor)
Blowin' in the Wind (No More Auction Block for Me)
Restless Farewell (The Parting Glass)
Song to Woody (1913 Massacre Woody Guthrie; same tune as One
Morning in May/Hear the Nightingale Sing)
Girl from the North Country (Scarborough Fair)
I Pity the Poor Immigrant (Tramps and Hawkers, Paddy West)
Only a Hobo (Only a Miner)
Percy's Song (The Two Sisters/Wind and Rain)
Pretty Peggy-O (Fenario)
I Shall Be Free (We Shall Be Free -- Woody Guthrie version)
With God On Our Side (The Patriot Game)
Hollis Brown (Pretty Polly, Pastures of Plenty)
Farewell (Leaving of Liverpool)
To Ramona (The Last Letter -- Carter Family)
Leopardskin Pillbox Hat (Automobile Blues -- Lightning Hopkins)
I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine (Joe Hill written by Earl Robinson)
John Wesley Harding (Jesse James)
Several people mentioned useful websites that give more details about
some of these connections. Michael Scully found a fascinating essay
by Matthew Zuckerman, which discusses the origin of 33 Dylan
songs, at:
Paul Castle sent several website links, listed with his comments:
Manfred Helfert's site:
http://members.nbci.com/_XMCM/elstongunn/index.html
I found this about "The Leaving of Liverpool" which Dylan re-wrote
as "Farewell" (*although you may wish to start by turning off the midi
player on this page first!!!*)
http://members.nbci.com/elstongunn/leaving.html
and compare an interview with Liam and Pat Clancy at
http://members.nbci.com/_XMCM/elstongunn/inter02.html#leaving
a link to "The Patriot Game" ("With God on our Side")
http://members.nbci.com/_XMCM/elstongunn/patriot.html
an interview with Eric Von Schmidt about the origins of 'Baby, Let Me
Follow You Down'
http://members.nbci.com/_XMCM/elstongunn/inter03.html
Seth Kulick's 'Roots to Bob' site
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~skulick/edlis.html
(although on this one most of the links don't seem to go anywhere - I
could only find -
"I Pity the Poor Immigrant"
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~skulick/edlis/i-pity-the-poor-immigrant.html
"Lay Down Your Weary Tune"
http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~skulick/edlis/lay-down.html
*********
Paul Stamler listed some more cross-references:
Well, let's see. There's "Pledging My Time" ("Blonde on Blonde")
which at least quotes from Robert Johnson's "Come On In My
Kitchen", and there's a line in "Memphis Blues Again" (also "Blonde
on Blonde", about the railroad men drinking up your blood like wine)
that comes from Bascom Lamar Lunsford's "I Wish I was a Mole in the
Ground" (Harry Smith's "Anthology of American Folk Music", also on
a Lunsford collection on Smithsonian/Folkways). Then "Seven
Curses" ("The Bootleg Tapes"), which is based on the same
traditional material as the song "Anathea", recorded by Judy Collins
("Judy Collins 3", Elektra). "New Pony" ("Street Legal") is derived
from several Charley Patton recordings of "Pony Blues" or "New Pony
Blues".
Dylan did a rewrite of "Moonshiner" ("The Bootleg Tapes") that's
about 1/2 new lyrics, I suspect based on the version recorded by
Roscoe Holcomb. "New York Town" is derived from "Down on
Penny's Farm" (Harry Smith Anthology again, also "Hard Times Come
Again No More" on Yazoo). "I Shall Be Free #10" is derived,
distantly, from the traditional (widely parodied) hymn "Shout,
Mourner, You Shall Be Free". His version of "Baby Let Me Follow
You Down", as performed in the live electric album with the band in
1966, is about half new verses. "Going to Acapulco" ("The Basement
Tapes") is *very* loosely based on "Cripple Creek". "As I Went Out
One Morning" ("John Wesley Harding") is equally loosely based on
any number of ballads that begin with that line. And, of course, the
title of "Boots of Spanish Leather" comes from various versions of
"Gypsy Davy".
Finally, on at least two occasions ("Down in the Flood" ("The
Basement Tapes") and someplace else, I forget where) Dylan uses the
great line, "It's sugar for sugar, baby and it's salt for salt" from
blues tradition -- see Madcat & Kane's version of "Daddy Where You
Been So Long" ("Key to the Highway", Schoolkids), which I played a
couple of weeks ago and at least one listener thought it was a Dylan
song.
*********
Michael Cooney said:
SOMEWHERE I have a tape of Paul Clayton singing "Who'll Buy You
Flowers When I'm Gone?" which is his (terrible) re-make (I suspect) of
"Who'll Buy You Ribbons When I'm Gone", which I've never heard.
THAT's where Dylan got "Don't Think Twice". It has many tune and
word similarities -- lines like:
Ain't no use to sit and wonder why, Babe
Ain't no use to sit and sigh, now
Ain't no use to sit and wonder why, Babe
Who'll buy you flowers when I'm gone?
It's on a terrible Monitor (I think) LP of Paul Clayton, trying to be
Commercial -- "MacPherson's Lament" with snare drums, etc. Dylan
borrowed/stole from lots of songs, but sometimes greatly improved
'em. Sometimes not.
********
Jerry Clark noted:
In addition, as you know, Dylan frequently quotes lines from
traditional songs even in some of his most surrealistic material (e.g., a
line from "Roll on, Buddy" in "Memphis Blues Again"). His most
recent CD of original material, Time Out of Mind, is loaded with such
quotes. You could fill a fair amount of air time just playing the songs
alluded to (starting with the title) in "Tryin' to Get to Heaven" alone.
**********
Lastly, I'll contribute one more myself a really obscure Dylan song
because it isn't on any of his own albums. It's "I'm Troubled and I
Don't Know Why," which he sings in a duet with Joan Baez on her
boxed set "Rare, Live, & Classic" on Vanguard. It's clearly inspired by
"What Does the Deep Sea Say."
Thanks to all who contributed ideas. I won't be able to play all of
these on my show, but it's been great fun to read all of this and to
think about the enormously creative way Dylan used traditional
songs to weave his own masterpieces. Small wonder that, throughout
the years, he has continued to mention people like Dock Boggs, the
Monroe Brothers, Roscoe Holcomb, and Ralph Stanley as favorite
musical influences. And small wonder that Dylan's own music
continues to fascinate so many of us.
Bob Blackman, "The Folk Tradition," WKAR Radio, East Lansing, MI