The forgotten song Bob Dylan thought deserved to be a classic
When you look through Bob Dylan’s discography, regardless of the era, you can guarantee that you will stumble upon a litany of songs that people consider classics.
It’s hard to believe that Dylan started his career just playing covers. When he first arrived in New York, he took to the stage playing the likes of Woody Guthrie and other artists who had inspired him. No one in those early audiences would have known that the voice in front of them wasn’t just good, but would be the facilitator for aeons of poetry moving forward.
Dylan’s songwriting style was never complicated. He wasn’t someone who used complex chord sequences or time signatures in a bid to overwhelm the listener. Any budding guitarist could probably learn Bob Dylan’s biggest tunes in a matter of moments, so long as they had the basic chords confined to their arsenal, but that’s not the point.
The beauty in his music lies in his words and in the delivery of those words. He doesn’t just touch the hearts of music lovers, but the hearts of poets, writers, and fans of literature around the world.
Every emotion under the sun was touched upon somewhere in Dylan’s catalogue. Personal experiences were a big part of everything he did, along with his outlook on society and political views. This breadth of narrative meant that anyone who was willing to give their time to Dylan’s music was able to fully understand the man they were listening to, and had new things revealed to them as a result.
Not only were listeners inspired somewhat by Dylan’s music, but Dylan himself stumbled upon untapped emotions when he heard his songs back to him. It can be so easy as a creative to pine to move on to the next thing once a song or album is finished, and it took revisiting his work, or having other people play it back to him, for Dylan to truly appreciate what he had done. This approach to his own creations often got a mixed reception from Dylan, as some songs he was more of a fan of than others.
For instance, when Bruce Springsteen performed a cover of Dylan’s ‘Knocking On Heavens Door’, he was particularly moved by it, saying that it managed to make him feel nostalgic. “I’m not a nostalgic person, but for a second there it all came back, Peckinpah, Slim Pickens, Katy Jurado, James Coburn, the dusty lawless streets of Durango, my first wife, my kids when they were small,” said Dylan when discussing the cover, “For a second it all came back … it was that powerful.”
Of course, while there are some songs he hears back and feels moved by, there are others which disappoint him. This was the case with the track ‘Joey’, as while fans didn’t necessarily dislike the song, it wasn’t revered as a classic in the same way some of Dylan’s other music is. When he listened back, he was somewhat disappointed by this, saying that he felt as though the song deserved a bigger reception than what audiences gave it. A classic is a classic is a classic? Well, apparently not in the case of ‘Joey’.
“I thought ‘Joey’ was a good song,” he said, “I know no one said much about it, I thought it was one of those songs that came off and you didn’t hear that much about it.”
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.