Nothing Was Delivered

Last updated
"Nothing Was Delivered"
Song by Bob Dylan & The Band
from the album The Basement Tapes
ReleasedJune 26, 1975
Recorded1967
Studio West Saugerties, New York
Genre Rock
Length4:23
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Bob Dylan
Producer(s)
  • Bob Dylan
  • The Band
"Nothing Was Delivered"
Song by The Byrds
from the album Sweetheart of the Rodeo
ReleasedAugust 30, 1968
RecordedMarch 15
Studio Columbia (Nashville, Tennessee)
Genre Country rock
Length3:24
Label Columbia
Songwriter(s) Bob Dylan
Producer(s) Gary Usher

"Nothing Was Delivered" is a song written by Bob Dylan that was originally recorded by Dylan and The Band in the Fall of 1967 during the sessions that generated The Basement Tapes . The song was first released by The Byrds on their 1968 album Sweetheart of the Rodeo .

Contents

Lyrics and music

"Nothing Was Delivered" has country music elements, as do other Basement Tapes songs. [1] Several authors, including Rolling Stone writer Greil Marcus, have suggested that the song is based on Fats Domino's 1940 standard "Blueberry Hill." [2] [3] But critic Clinton Heylin has suggested that the melody may have been conceived spontaneously by Dylan or else based on a country music riff he may have heard sometime earlier. [4]

A straightforward interpretation suggests that the lyrics describe a failed deal, possibly a drug deal, in which the promised goods were not delivered. [2] [1] An alternative interpretation is that the song is addressing politicians, or society's elites in general, who lie and don't deliver what they promise and are thus asked in the song to return what they have taken and explain their actions. [1] [3] Oliver Trager suggests a possible religious interpretation; that the singer is a preacher asking a church congregation to forgive an unspecified betrayal, perhaps even that of Judas Iscariot. [2]

Music critic Robert Shelton considered the song as one of several of Dylan's songs from this period whose theme is the search for salvation. [5] He also noted that it is one of several songs from the period that makes prominent use of the word "nothing" or "nowhere". [5] He suggests a possible influence from King Lear , where these words also are used to great effect. [5] Shelton also points out that the word "nothing" "echoes the artists dilemma: death versus life, vacuum versus harvest, isolation versus people, silence versus sound, the void versus life-impulse". [5]

Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon describe the lyrics as dark and threatening. [1] But Andy Gill describes the lyrics as "more sad than angry" about the betrayal, particularly the last line of the refrain, "Take care of yourself and get plenty of rest," which he describes as being an ambivalent expression suggesting both a threat and a caring farewell. [3]

Dylan and the Band version

Dylan and the Band recorded multiple versions of "Nothing Was Delivered" between September and October 1967 at the "Big Pink" house they were using in West Saugerties, New York. [4] [6] Two complete versions are known to exist as well as one fragment. [4] [6] The first version, which Heylin regards as more successful, was used for The Basement Tapes. [4] This version begins with Richard Manuel playing on the piano. [1] Dylan plays a 12-string guitar on this version. [1] The other musicians are Robbie Robertson on guitar, Garth Hudson on organ, and Rick Danko on bass guitar, and Manuel and Danko provide backup vocals. [1] Margotin and Guesdon note that the contrast between the heavy, threatening lyrics and light music is a key element of the song, and point out that Dylan has used a similar contrast in other songs on The Basement Tapes, such as "You Ain't Going Nowhere." [1] Gill describes Dylan's vocal and Robertson's guitar being "of a piece, dramatic and intimate as if sharing confidences" about the incident described in the lyrics. [3]

The two complete versions do not include drums. [3] [4] [6] Levon Helm, the Band drummer who temporarily left the group earlier, stated in his autobiography that he played the drums for a recording of this song. [4] [6] The fragmentary version does include drums, but Heylin has suggested that this sounds more like Manuel's drumming style. [6] He has suggested that this may mean that the Band may have recorded another version for possible inclusion on their own album. [6]

The Byrds version

Dylan had intended to donate "Nothing Was Delivered" to other singers rather than release it himself. [4] It was one of fourteen songs from the Basement Tapes sessions that were circulated by Dylan's publishers in an effort to get other artists to record them. [7] Byrds bassist Chris Hillman has stated that he personally received tapes in late 1967 or early 1968 that contained, among others, "Nothing Was Delivered" and "You Ain't Going Nowhere." [7] Hillman stated that he received the tapes through Columbia Records, which was both the Byrds' and Dylan's record label. [8] Byrds guitarist Roger McGuinn suggested that their producer Gary Usher may have been their source for the tapes stating that "We always had a good relationship with Dylan's publishers...we heard the songs, and we were as thrilled as you might have expected us to have been with this material. [7]

The Byrds recorded "Nothing Was Delivered" in Nashville on March 15, 1968, for Sweetheart of the Rodeo, six days after having recorded "You Ain't Going Nowhere" there. [7] McGuinn sang the lead vocal in what music critic Johnny Rogan described as McGuinn's "best Dylan imitation voice." [8] Lloyd Green played pedal steel guitar and Byrds biographer Christopher Hjort assumes that Gram Parsons played the "unobtrusive" piano part. [7] Drummer Kevin Kelley played in a rock style rather than a country style for the only time on the album, with Rogan noting that the contrast between the rock style drumming and the pedal steel guitar produced a "startling crescendo." [8]

Hjort particularly praises McGuinn's arrangement, taking the song "from Dylan's triplet feel to a country shuffle." [7] Music critic Johnny Rogan described the song as a "surprise highlight" of Sweetheart of the Rodeo, particularly praising McGuinn's vocal. [8] Rolling Stone critic Rob Sheffield calls the Byrds' version "great" and "scary" and a "peak" of the Sweetheart of the Rodeo album. [9] Reviewing Sweetheart of the Rodeo, New York Times critic William Kloman stated that the two songs written by Dylan were "treated with characteristic and confident tastefulness." [7] Allmusic critic Rick Clark described them as "pure magic." [10] On the other hand, music writer Sean Egan panned the song as being "overly mordant" and stated that the only notable aspect of the recording was that its bass line presented one of the few rock sounds on the album. [11]

Other versions

Buddy Emmons covered "Nothing Was Delivered" on his 1975 album Steel Guitar. [2] [12] Allmusic critic Eugene Chadbourne disliked the recording, stating that it sounded like it was being played by a wedding band. [12] The Original Marauders covered the song on their 1977 album Now Your Mouth Cries Wolf. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Byrds</span> American rock band

The Byrds were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member. Although their time as one of the most popular groups in the world only lasted for a short period in the mid-1960s, the Byrds are considered by critics to be among the most influential rock acts of their era. Their signature blend of clear harmony singing and McGuinn's jangly 12-string Rickenbacker guitar was "absorbed into the vocabulary of rock" and has continued to be influential.

<i>Sweetheart of the Rodeo</i> 1968 studio album by the Byrds

Sweetheart of the Rodeo is the sixth album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1968 on Columbia Records. Recorded with the addition of country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, it became the first album widely recognized as country rock as well as a seminal progressive country album, and represented a stylistic move away from the psychedelic rock of the band's previous LP, The Notorious Byrd Brothers. The Byrds had occasionally experimented with country music on their four previous albums, but Sweetheart of the Rodeo represented their fullest immersion into the genre up to that point in time. The album was responsible for bringing Parsons, who had joined the Byrds in February 1968 prior to the start of recording, to the attention of a mainstream rock audience for the first time. Thus, the album is an important chapter in Parsons' crusade to make country music fashionable for a young audience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Tambourine Man</span> 1965 song by Bob Dylan

"Mr. Tambourine Man" is a song written by Bob Dylan, released as the first track of the acoustic side of his March 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. The song's popularity led to Dylan recording it live many times, and it has been included in multiple compilation albums. It has been translated into other languages and has been used or referenced in television shows, films, and books.

"My Back Pages" is a song written by Bob Dylan and included on his 1964 album Another Side of Bob Dylan. It is stylistically similar to his earlier folk protest songs and features Dylan's voice with an acoustic guitar accompaniment. However, its lyrics—in particular the refrain "Ah, but I was so much older then/I'm younger than that now"—have been interpreted as a rejection of Dylan's earlier personal and political idealism, illustrating his growing disillusionment with the 1960s folk protest movement with which he was associated, and his desire to move in a new direction. Although Dylan wrote the song in 1964, he did not perform it live until 1988. However, during his 1978 tour, his band played a brief instrumental version of it as Dylan took the stage.

<i>Younger Than Yesterday</i> 1967 studio album by the Byrds

Younger Than Yesterday is the fourth studio album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released on February 6, 1967, on Columbia Records. It saw the band continuing to integrate elements of psychedelia and jazz into their music, a process they had begun on their previous album, Fifth Dimension. In addition, the album captured the band and record producer Gary Usher experimenting with new musical textures, including brass instruments, reverse tape effects and an electronic oscillator.

<i>Mr. Tambourine Man</i> (album) 1965 studio album by the Byrds

Mr. Tambourine Man is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released on June 21, 1965, by Columbia Records. The album is characterized by the Byrds' signature sound of Jim McGuinn's 12-string Rickenbacker guitar and the band's complex harmony singing. The material on the album mostly consists of cover versions of folk songs, primarily composed by Bob Dylan, and originals written or co-written by singer Gene Clark. Along with the Dylan-penned single of the same name, Mr. Tambourine Man established the band as an internationally successful act and is widely regarded by critics as representing the first effective American challenge to the chart dominance of the Beatles and other British Invasion bands during the mid-1960s.

<i>The Notorious Byrd Brothers</i> 1968 studio album by the Byrds

The Notorious Byrd Brothers is the fifth album by the American rock band the Byrds, and was released in January 1968, on Columbia Records. The album represents the pinnacle of the Byrds' late-'60s musical experimentation, with the band blending together elements of psychedelia, folk rock, country, electronic music, baroque pop, and jazz. With producer Gary Usher, they made extensive use of a number of studio effects and production techniques, including phasing, flanging, and spatial panning. The Byrds also introduced the sound of the pedal steel guitar and the Moog modular synthesizer into their music, making it one of the first LP releases on which the Moog appears.

<i>Bob Dylans Greatest Hits Vol. II</i> 1971 greatest hits album by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II, also known as More Bob Dylan Greatest Hits, is the second compilation album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on November 17, 1971 by Columbia Records. With Dylan not expected to release any new material for an extended period of time, CBS Records president Clive Davis proposed issuing a double LP compilation of older material. Dylan agreed, compiling it himself and suggesting that the package include a full side of unreleased tracks from his archives. After submitting a set of excerpts from The Basement Tapes that Davis found unsatisfactory, Dylan returned to the studio in September 1971 to recut several Basement songs, with Happy Traum providing backup.

<i>Turn! Turn! Turn!</i> (album) 1965 studio album by the Byrds

Turn! Turn! Turn! is the second studio album by the American rock band the Byrds, released on December 6, 1965, by Columbia Records. Like its predecessor, Mr. Tambourine Man, the album epitomized the folk rock genre and continued the band's successful mix of vocal harmony and jangly twelve-string Rickenbacker guitar. The album's lead single and title track, "Turn! Turn! Turn!", which was adapted by Pete Seeger from text in the Book of Ecclesiastes, had previously been arranged in a chamber-folk style by the Byrd's lead guitarist Jim McGuinn for folk singer Judy Collins' third album, but the arrangement he used for the Byrds' recording of the song utilizes the same folk-rock style as the band's previous hit singles.

<i>Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde</i> 1969 studio album by the Byrds

Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde is the seventh studio album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released in March 1969 on Columbia Records. The album was produced by Bob Johnston and saw the band juxtaposing country rock material with psychedelic rock, giving the album a stylistic split-personality that was alluded to in its title. It was the first album to feature the new band line-up of Clarence White (guitar), Gene Parsons (drums), John York (bass), and founding member Roger McGuinn (guitar). Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde is unique within the band's discography for being the only album on which McGuinn sings the lead vocal on every track.

<i>Farther Along</i> (The Byrds album) 1971 studio album by the Byrds

Farther Along is the eleventh studio album by the American rock band the Byrds and was released in November 1971 on Columbia Records. For the most part, the album was recorded and produced by the Byrds themselves in London, England, over the course of five work-intensive days in July 1971. It was quickly released as a reaction to the commercial failure of the Byrds' previous album, Byrdmaniax, and as an attempt to stem the criticism that album was receiving in the music press.

<i>The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II</i> 1972 greatest hits album by the Byrds

The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II is the third greatest hits album by the American rock band the Byrds, but only the second to be released in the United States, since the earlier The Byrds' Greatest Hits Volume II had only been issued in the UK. The album was released in the U.S. by Columbia Records on November 10, 1972 in lieu of any new Byrds' product during that year. It spent a total of thirteen weeks on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and peaked at number 114.

<i>The Byrds</i> (box set) 1990 box set by the Byrds

The Byrds is a four-CD box set by the American rock band the Byrds. It features music that had previously been released between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, along with a number of previously unreleased tracks and some new recordings from 1990. The box set was issued on October 19, 1990, by Columbia/Legacy and reached number 151 on the Billboard albums chart.

<i>The Original Singles: 1967–1969, Volume 2</i> 1982 compilation album by the Byrds

The Original Singles: 1967–1969, Volume 2 is a compilation album by American rock band the Byrds.

"You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is a song written by American musician Bob Dylan in 1967 in Woodstock, New York, during the self-imposed exile from public appearances that followed his July 29, 1966 motorcycle accident. A recording of Dylan performing the song in September 1971 was released on the Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II album in November of that year, marking the first official release of the song by its author. Earlier 1967 recordings of the song, performed by Dylan and the Band, were issued on the 1975 album The Basement Tapes and the 2014 album The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete.

<i>The Basement Tapes</i> 1975 studio album by Bob Dylan and the Band

The Basement Tapes is the sixteenth album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and his second with the Band. It was released on June 26, 1975, by Columbia Records. Two-thirds of the album's 24 tracks feature Dylan on lead vocals backed by the Band, and were recorded in 1967, eight years before the album's release, in the lapse between the release of Blonde on Blonde and the subsequent recording and release of John Wesley Harding, during sessions that began at Dylan's house in Woodstock, New York, then moved to the basement of Big Pink. While most of these had appeared on bootleg albums, The Basement Tapes marked their first official release. The remaining eight songs, all previously unavailable, feature the Band without Dylan and were recorded between 1967 and 1975.

"The Bells of Rhymney" is a song by the folk singer Pete Seeger, which consists of Seeger's own music accompanying words written by the Welsh poet Idris Davies. Seeger first released a recording of the song on a live album in 1958, but it is the American folk rock band the Byrds' 1965 recording that is the best known version of the song.

<i>Preflyte</i> 1969 compilation album by the Byrds

Preflyte is a compilation album by the American folk rock band the Byrds and was released in July 1969 on Together Records. The album is a collection of demos recorded by the Byrds at World Pacific Studios in Los Angeles during late 1964, before the band had signed to Columbia Records and become famous. It includes early demo versions of the songs "Here Without You", "You Won't Have to Cry", "I Knew I'd Want You", and "Mr. Tambourine Man", all of which appeared in re-recorded form on the band's 1965 debut album.

Kevin Daniel Kelley was an American drummer, best known for his work with the rock bands the Byrds and the Rising Sons. Kelley also played drums for Fever Tree, although it is unknown whether he was an official member of the group or not. Kelley is the cousin of country rock pioneer and ex-member of the Byrds and the Flying Burrito Brothers, Chris Hillman.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2015). Bob Dylan: All the Songs. Black Dog & Leventhal. p. 268. ISBN   9781579129859.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Trager, Oliver (2004). Keys to the Rain. Billboard Books. pp. 459–460. ISBN   0823079740.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Gill, Andy (1998). Don't Think Twice It's Alright. Thunder's Mouth Press. p. 122. ISBN   1560251859.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Heylin, Clinton (2009). Revolution in the Air. Chicago Review Press. pp. 354–355. ISBN   9781556528439.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Shelton, Robert (1997). No Direction Home. Da Capo Press. pp. 384–385. ISBN   0306807823.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Heylin, Clinton (1995). Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions 1960–1994 . St. Martin's Griffin. pp.  55, 66. ISBN   0312150679.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hjort, Christopher (2008). So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star. Jawbone. pp. 156, 164–165, 188. ISBN   9781906002152.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Rogan, Johnny (1997). The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited. Rogan House. p. 272. ISBN   095295401X.
  9. ↑ Sheffield, Rob (2004). Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide . Fireside. p.  126. ISBN   0743201698.
  10. ↑ Clark, Rick (1997). Erlewine, Michael (ed.). All Music Guide to Country: The Experts' Guide to the Best Recordings in Country Music. Hal Leonard. p. 67. ISBN   9780879304751.
  11. ↑ Egan, Sean (2006). Egan, Sean (ed.). 100 Albums That Changed Music. Magpie Books. p. 137. ISBN   9781845294014.
  12. 1 2 Chadbourne, Eugene. "Steel Guitar". Allmusic . Retrieved 2017-03-01.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.