Thursday, July 24, 2008

Morning came and the morning went

Some days are simple, some songs are simple, and sometimes simple is the best.

One of the easiest, loosest and most ramshackle songs that ever found its voice in a circle of guitar strummers and light-hearted singers is "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," the Dylan classic that first fell upon the Earth with the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo. It's a song that even I can play.

It's the perfect song for several singers to each take a verse and all come back in on the swelling chorus. And it's got that playful, childlike absurdity that sometimes crept out when Dylan was holed up in Woodstock.

Tons of versions of this song exist (my collection currently holds more than a dozen), but let's stick with two wonderful cover versions and one of the early Dylan bootleg versions for now.

DOWNLOAD:
Bob Dylan - You Ain't Goin' Nowhere
Counting Crows - You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (live Bob Dylan cover)
Arlo Guthrie - You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (live Bob Dylan cover)

And a video of Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova singing their version, which is also on the I'm Not There soundtrack.

No comments: