The Bob Dylan song Ringo Starr called “so emotional”
There are two names that crop up in every conversation surrounding the greatest songwriters of all time: The Beatles and Bob Dylan. While the Liverpudlian Fab Four spent the 1960s forging rock and roll amidst Beatlemania, Dylan was on the other side of the Atlantic, creating poetic protest music with folk instrumentation. They’ve amassed two of the most significant legacies in music history, their influence persisting through generations.
Perhaps expectedly, The Beatles harboured genuine admiration for their fellow songwriting giant. He influenced their own work through his sound and by introducing them to marijuana. From ‘You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away’ to ‘I’m A Loser’, his sound can be found throughout their catalogue.
While sharing his love for the songwriter during an appearance on the Celebrity Playlist Podcast, drummer Ringo Starr suggested that it was difficult to pick out a favourite from his wide-spanning discography. “We could do this for the rest of the week,” he quipped, “Just on Bob Dylan.”
The drummer landed on Dylan’s 2006 track ‘When the Deal Goes Down’, which featured on his thirty-second record, Modern Times. Over gorgeous twangs and twinkling keys, Dylan’s romantic words declare, “We live and we die, we know not why, but I’ll be with you when the deal goes down.” It’s enough to make anyone emotional, and Starr is no exception.
When asked why he chose the song, he suggested that it’s just “so emotional.”
“You know, deep down I’m an emotional person, really,” he admitted, “I think what it says, you know, ‘I’ll be with you when the deal goes down,’ it’s a beautiful way and only Bob would say it that way.”
It certainly is a beautiful way to convey love and devotion, delivered over such soft soundscapes. It’s characteristically Dylan, containing an authenticity and poeticism few other songwriters could match. Starr went on to share the time he almost collaborated with Dylan, but their plans fell through, recalling, “I did a track in Memphis with Bob… I was doing an album there and he came up to sing on it.”
“But the album fell apart and so did we,” he explained, “One thing was the person who was looking out for Bob at that time said, ‘Bob’s gone,’ so I said, ‘Where’s he gone?’ ‘Graceland.’ I said, ‘That’s good.’ He said, ‘That’s bad.’ It depends on which way you look at it.”
Unfortunately, fans of both The Beatles and Dylan are left to long for their collaboration, but you can listen to ‘When the Deal Goes Down’, the Bob Dylan song Ringo Starr called “so emotional,” below.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Bob Dylan Newsletter
All the latest stories about Bob Dylan from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.