The Bob Dylan song Devendra Banhart described as “perfect”
It’s been over 60 years since Bob Dylan took his first steps into the music industry, but the influence of his songwriting is unwavering. During the 1960s, his work inspired everyone from fellow lyrical legends The Beatles to London-born rockers The Rolling Stones. The latter even set out to pen one of their biggest hits, ‘Sympathy of the Devil’, as if it were a Dylan track.
But his influence didn’t stop there—Dylan’s aptitude with a pen continues to guide the literary-inclined songwriters of today. Alt-pop icon Lana Del Rey has littered her grand ballads with references to the protest songwriter, while indie folk artist Laura Marling has directly borrowed from ‘It Ain’t Me Babe’ in her own lyricism. Among Dylan’s many disciples is Venezuelan songwriter Devendra Banhart, who once picked out his favourite tune.
Banhart divulged his love for Dylan to Mojo, sharing his thoughts on how he changed the folk circuit. After his heyday, Banhart suggested, the scene saw an influx of artists seeking to impersonate him. “Then,” he explained, “Immediately after that, Bob became Bob and did something so completely Bob that no one could imitate him.”
The songwriter seems to be referring to Dylan’s controversial decision to go electric, swapping his acoustic guitar for something a little more rocking during his appearance at the Newport Folk Festival of 1965. This stark change in artistic direction shocked Dylan’s listeners and left his desperate impersonators in the dust.
Not long before that now-iconic performance, Dylan had penned what would become Banhart’s favourite song in his discography. ‘I’ll Keep It with Mine’ was written in 1964, though Dylan’s 1966 recording of the song wouldn’t be unveiled to the world until decades later, when it appeared on the first volume of his bootleg series in 1991.
However, Banhart seemed particularly enthusiastic about a slightly earlier recording from the same year the song was penned, which was intended to incite cover versions from other artists. “I got The Witmark Demos bootleg from Currituck Co’s Kevin Barker,” he remembered, “And I love the sound of that version [from June, 1964] too. It sounds like it was recorded on a Radio Shack hand-held tape recorder.”
The track opens Dylan’s characteristic harmonicas before settling into gorgeous keys and subtle drums. Lyrically, the song is a lot more hopeful than much of Dylan’s work, as the protagonist makes promises to help the song’s subject wherever he can. “Everybody will help you, some people are very kind,” he sings, “But if I can save you any time, come on, give it to me, I’ll keep it with mine.”
The lyrics aren’t necessarily as complex or literary as some of Dylan’s more well-known and well-loved writings, but they shine in their simplicity. With little hidden meaning to dig into, the song feels gorgeously authentic. Banhart described the song as perfect, “like all of Dylan’s tunes.”
Though Banhart works in a realm of folk that is stranger to Dylan’s, it’s easy to see how the stylings of his predecessor may have bled into his own catalogue. On quaint little tracks like ‘Baby’, Banhart infuses his work with folky harmonies and playful but perfectly placed lyricism. ‘I’ll Keep It With Mine’ may not be the most influential song in Dylan’s catalogue, but it’s just as much of an illustration of his songwriting talents as any other entry.
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