Song to Woody

Last updated

"Song to Woody"
Song by Bob Dylan
from the album Bob Dylan
ReleasedMarch 19, 1962
RecordedNovember 1961
Genre Folk
Length2:42
Label
Songwriter(s) Bob Dylan
Producer(s) John Hammond

"Song to Woody" was written by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan and released on his debut album, Bob Dylan, in 1962. The song conveys Dylan's appreciation of American film director Woody Allen. The song is one of two original compositions featured on Dylan's debut album. Dylan also rehearsed the song in a country arrangement during sessions for Self Portrait on May 1, 1970, as heard on the 2021 compilation album 1970.

Contents

Background

The tune uses the melody from Guthrie's song "1913 Massacre" and one stanza ends with the lines "I'm a-singin' you this song, but I can't sing enough / 'Cause there's not many men that done the things that you've done." [1]

The penultimate stanza of "Song To Woody" pays tribute to Guthrie folk contemporaries Cisco Houston, Sonny Terry and Lead Belly and "all the good people that traveled with you". The line "that come with the dust and are gone with the wind" [2] paraphrases the line "we come with the dust and we go with the wind" in Guthrie's "Pastures of Plenty", a song about people displaced by the dust storms and drought which swept Oklahoma, Texas and other states in the 1930s during The Great Depression.

Significance

"Song to Woody" is central to Daniel Wolff's Grown-Up Anger: The Connected Mysteries of Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie, and the Calumet Massacre of 1913 published in June 2017. [3] The book weaves a tale connecting "Song to Woody", "1913 Massacre", the lives of Dylan and Guthrie, American labor history and more.

In October of 1993, a star-studded concert was given at Madison Square Garden in Dylan's honor; it was simultaneously broadcast for pay-per-view. After hours of a multitude of artists singing his songs, Dylan himself came out and performed "Song to Woody" solo.

A live version of "Song to Woody" was recorded at Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, Santa Cruz, Calif., on March 16, 2000 and released on the "Things Have Changed" CD single in 2000. [4]

Homages and covers

David Bowie refers to the song in his tribute to Dylan, "Song for Bob Dylan", which begins with the line, "Now hear this, Robert Zimmerman, I wrote this song for you" mirroring Dylan's own "Hey, hey Woody Guthrie, I wrote you a song."[ citation needed ] The song is on Bowie's 1971 album "Hunky Dory". [5]

Frank Turner references the song in his song "Pass it Along", with the lyrics "Hey, hey Mr. Dylan, I have written you a song." This originally appeared on his Rock & Roll EP and was subsequently released on compilation The Second Three Years, which also features a cover of "Song to Woody" renamed "Song to Bob" with some lyrical adjustments.

A punk rock version by Silverstein can be found on the amnesty international charity album Chimes of Freedom. [6]

The song was used as the end credits music in the Mad Men episode "Guy Walks Into an Advertising Agency".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woody Guthrie</span> American singer-songwriter (1912–1967)

Woodrow Wilson Guthrie was an American singer-songwriter and composer who was one of the most significant figures in American folk music. His work focused on themes of American socialism and anti-fascism. He inspired several generations both politically and musically with songs such as "This Land Is Your Land".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mick Ronson</span> English musician (1946–1993)

Michael Ronson was an English musician, songwriter, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as the guitarist of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musician who recorded five studio albums with Bowie followed by four with Ian Hunter, and also worked as a sideman in touring bands with Van Morrison and Bob Dylan. A classically trained musician, Ronson was known for his melodic approach to guitar playing.

<i>Bob Dylan</i> (album) 1962 studio album by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan is the debut studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on March 19, 1962, by Columbia Records. The album was produced by Columbia talent scout John H. Hammond, who had earlier signed Dylan to the label, a controversial decision at the time. The album primarily features folk standards but also includes two original compositions, "Talkin' New York" and "Song to Woody". The latter was an ode to Woody Guthrie, a significant influence in Dylan's early career.

<i>Hunky Dory</i> 1971 studio album by David Bowie

Hunky Dory is the fourth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released in the United Kingdom on 17 December 1971 through RCA Records. Following a break from touring and recording, Bowie settled down to write new songs, composing on piano rather than guitar as in earlier works. Bowie assembled the guitarist Mick Ronson, the bassist Trevor Bolder, and the drummer Mick Woodmansey, and began to record a new album in mid-1971 at Trident Studios in London. Rick Wakeman contributed on piano shortly before joining Yes. Bowie co-produced the album with Ken Scott, who had engineered Bowie's previous two records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Life on Mars (song)</span> 1971 song by David Bowie

"Life on Mars?" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie, first released on his 1971 album Hunky Dory. Bowie wrote the song as a parody of Frank Sinatra's "My Way". "Life on Mars?" was recorded on 6 August 1971 at Trident Studios in London, and was co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott. Bowie's backing band consisted of guitarist and string arranger Mick Ronson, bassist Trevor Bolder, drummer Mick Woodmansey and Strawbs member Rick Wakeman on piano. "Life on Mars?" is primarily a glam rock ballad, with elements of cabaret and art rock; it has a complex structure that includes chord changes throughout. The lyrics are about a girl who goes to a cinema to escape reality, and include surreal images that reflect optimism and the effects of Hollywood.

"Chimes of Freedom" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his Tom Wilson produced 1964 album Another Side of Bob Dylan. The song depicts the thoughts and feelings of the singer and his companion as they shelter from a lightning storm under a doorway after sunset. The singer expresses his solidarity with the downtrodden and oppressed, believing that the thunder is tolling in sympathy for them.

Talking blues is a form of folk music and country music. It is characterized by rhythmic speech or near-speech where the melody is free, but the rhythm is strict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramblin' Jack Elliott</span> American singer-songwriter (born 1931)

Ramblin' Jack Elliott is an American folk singer-songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Changes (David Bowie song)</span> 1971 song by David Bowie

"Changes" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie from his 1971 album Hunky Dory. RCA Records then released it as a single from the album on 7 January 1972. Written following his promotional tour of America in early 1971, "Changes" was recorded at Trident Studios in London between June and July that year. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, it featured Rick Wakeman on piano and the musicians who would later become known as the Spiders from Mars—Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey.

"Oh! You Pretty Things" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie from his 1971 album Hunky Dory. It was the first song he wrote for the album. Bowie recorded the song as a demo before giving it to singer Peter Noone, lead singer of Herman's Hermits, who decided to release it as his debut solo single. Featuring Bowie on piano, Noone's recording was produced by Mickie Most and featured structural and lyrical differences from Bowie's later version. Released by RAK Records in April 1971 under the title "Oh You Pretty Thing", the single peaked at number 12 in the UK, becoming Bowie's biggest success as a songwriter since his own single "Space Oddity" two years earlier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quicksand (David Bowie song)</span> 1971 song by David Bowie

"Quicksand" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie and released on his 1971 album Hunky Dory.

"Song for Bob Dylan" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie for his 1971 album Hunky Dory. The song references Bob Dylan's 1962 homage to Woody Guthrie, "Song to Woody". Yet while Dylan opens with "Hey, hey, Woody Guthrie, I wrote you a song," Bowie addresses Dylan by his birth name saying, "Now, hear this, Robert Zimmerman, I wrote a song for you."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Bitch</span> 1971 song by David Bowie

"Queen Bitch" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was originally released on his 1971 album Hunky Dory before appearing as the B-side of the single "Rebel Rebel" in the United Kingdom in early 1974. Co-produced by Bowie and Ken Scott, the lineup consisted of the musicians who would later become known as the Spiders from Mars: Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder and Mick Woodmansey.

"The Bewlay Brothers" is a song written by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. One of the last tracks to be written and recorded for the LP, the ballad has been described as "probably Bowie's densest and most impenetrable song".

<i>Dust Bowl Ballads</i> 1940 studio album by Woody Guthrie

Dust Bowl Ballads is an album by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. It was released by Victor Records, in 1940. All the songs on the album deal with the Dust Bowl and its effects on the country and its people. It is considered to be one of the first concept albums. It was Guthrie's first commercial recording and the most successful album of his career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy LaFave</span> American singer-songwriter

Jimmy LaFave was an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. After moving to Stillwater, Oklahoma, LaFave became a supporter of Woody Guthrie. He later became an Advisory Board member and regular performer at the annual Woody Guthrie Folk Festival.

"1913 Massacre" is a topical ballad written by American folk singer Woody Guthrie, and recorded and released in 1945 for Moses Asch's Folkways label. The song originally appeared on Struggle, an album of labor songs. It was re-released in 1998 on Hard Travelin', The Asch Recordings, Vol.3 and other albums. The song is about the death of striking copper miners and their families in Calumet, Michigan, on Christmas Eve, 1913, in what is commonly known as the Italian Hall disaster.

<i>Jack Elliott Sings the Songs of Woody Guthrie</i> 1960 studio album by Ramblin Jack Elliott

Jack Elliott Sings the Songs of Woody Guthrie is an album by American folk musician Ramblin' Jack Elliott, released in September 1960. It consists of songs written or well known as performed by Woody Guthrie.

"Ain't Got No Home" is a song by Woody Guthrie, released on Dust Bowl Ballads, in which the singer laments the difficulties that life presents him. It was based on a gospel song Guthrie heard on his visits to the migrant camps known variously as "Can't Feel at Home" or "I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore", which had been made popular by the Carter Family in 1931.

"I Shall Be Free No. 10" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, which was released as the fifth track on his fourth studio album Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Tom Wilson. The song is a humorous talking blues, indebted to earlier songs including Lead Belly's "We Shall Be Free". Dylan opens the song by proclaiming that he is normal and average, but then acknowledges his reputation by singing the self-aware doggerel "Yippee! I'm a poet, and I know it/ Hope I don't blow it".

References

  1. "Song To Woody | The Official Bob Dylan Site". bobdylan.com. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  2. Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 31 – Ballad in Plain D: An introduction to the Bob Dylan era. [Part 1]" (audio). Pop Chronicles . University of North Texas Libraries. Track 3.
  3. Wolff, Daniel. "Grown-Up Anger – Daniel Wolff – Hardcover". HarperCollins US. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  4. "Searching For A Gem", Bob Dylan's Officially Released Rarities and Obscurities: Audio: 2000
  5. "David Bowie's "Hunky Dory"". Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  6. "Chimes of Freedom – Amnesty International USA". Amnesty International USA. Retrieved August 2, 2017.