“Lay across my big breasts, babe”: The Everly Brothers and the myth of Bob Dylan’s ‘Lay Lady Lay’
The pages of music history are chocked full of myths, legends, and downright lies. Due largely to the secretive and mysterious nature of certain artists, it is easy for myths and conspiracy theories to take root within their fanbase. Bob Dylan, for instance, has had something of a legend built around himself, owing to his intense success and strong personality. This legend has, however, caused Dylan to become embroiled in more than a few notable myths and misunderstandings.
Misunderstandings happen every day, but some are more embarrassing than others. Prior to the advent of the internet and search engines, it was easy to mistake or misunderstand a song’s lyrics. This was particularly true of Dylan, whose distinctive delivery and vocal style meant that it was often difficult for fans to understand the words he was singing. At one point in his career, this led Dylan into a particularly strange myth involving The Everly Brothers, Midnight Cowboy, and lesbianism.
Back in the summer of 1968, Dylan was on top of the musical world. Having found an audience for his politically active songwriting and modern take on various American folk traditions, the songwriter was at the forefront of America’s counterculture age. As a result, Dylan’s talents were in high demand during this time. So much so that the producers of Midnight Cowboy, starring Jon Voigt and Dustin Hoffman, approached Dylan to contribute to the film’s soundtrack.
Dylan thought the track ‘Lay Lady Lay’ would be perfect for the film but, ultimately, he didn’t finish work on the song in time for the film’s release, and so Harry Nilsson’s ‘Everybody’s Talkin’’ as the main theme, without ever hearing Dylan’s offering. In another missed opportunity for the song, Dylan offered it to The Everly Brothers shortly after it was passed over by the film producers. However, the rockabilly duo refused the song, apparently due to a strange misunderstanding of its lyrics.
The story goes that The Everly Brothers thought that the chorus of Dylan’s song, “Lay, lady, lay. Lay across my big brass bed,” was, in fact, “Lay, lady, lay. Lay across my big breasts, babe.” As a result of its explicit nature and lesbian angle, the pair were said to have refused the song during a meeting with Dylan.
Years later, however, Don Everly set the record straight, revealing that the lesbian debate was entirely fabricated. According to the musician, the meeting between Dylan and the duo was informal, and although he had played ‘Lay Lady Lay’ for the pair, they were unaware that he was offering it to them at all.
In support of the idea that the brothers did, in fact, like the song, The Everly Brothers ended up recording ‘Lay Lady Lay’ for their 1984 record EB 84, alongside cover versions of tracks by the likes of Paul McCartney and Jeff Lynne. The album was only a modest success for the pair, whose music had sharply declined in relevancy from their rockabilly golden age by the time the 1980s rolled around.
For Dylan, after his track was passed on by Midnight Cowboy and unknowingly rejected by The Everly Brothers, ‘Lay Lady Lay’ eventually made it onto the 1969 album Nashville Skyline. Despite its chequered history, the song became a fan-favourite within Dylan’s discography, as well as becoming a standard, covered by countless artists over the years, including The Byrds, The Isley Brothers, Duran Duran, and, of course, The Everly Brothers.
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