I've been holding off on Bob Dylan here at Cover Lay Down, unsure that I had anything to add to the existing cacaphony in the blogworld. But now that the fervor for the I'm Not There soundtrack been replaced by a reckless affection for the Moldy Peaches, it's time, I think. We begin our journey through the works of Dylan with one of his sweetest confessional ballads, Girl from the North Country. 
I've never been a fan of Dylan the performer -- something about that broken, almost tuneless wail never really touched my soul. But years of listening to coversongs make it impossible to ignore the power and poetry of Bob Dylan, songwriter. It says something that practically every folksinger I've ever heard plays at least one Dylan song regularly in concert. It says something more that I'm actually willing to listen to Dylan himself if it's the only way to hear those songs.
Happily, a cover collector has plenty of Dylan songs at his disposal. There are hundreds of covers of Girl from the North Country alone; even before the Covers Project over at My Old Kentucky Blog did a feature on it a couple of summers ago, I owned a decent earful of them. Even Dylan covered this one: originally released on 1963 record The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, it was subsequently rerecorded (with Johnny Cash) for 1969's Nashville Skyline, and then featured again on Dylan's 1984 live album.
If the number of times Dylan recorded this song is any indication, Dylan loved this song as much as the rest of us. And it's not hard to see why. With its timeless rural references, its simple melody, and a trope that rises and falls like wind rippling through wheat, Girl from the North Country sounds more like a traditional folksong than a work of early genius from the guy who electrified American folk music.
To be fair, the song is based on Scarborough Fair, one of the most popular of those traditional folksongs, thanks to Simon and Garfunkel. But the majority of those who cover it recognize it for what it is: something wholly Dylan, textually sweet and musically elegant, and tailormade for the sparse, yearning, softly regretful touch most artists choose to adopt when covering it.
Here's nine such tributes, each one a folk gem of a different tone and timbre, each one no less stunning than the song itself. They range from eerie lo-fi guitar-and-pianofolk (Mohave 3, Yo La Tengo) to warm, rich coffehouse folk (John Gorka, Leo Kottke), from syrupy folkpop (Johnny Cash and Joni Mitchell) to a heavy concentration of weary-voiced alt-country indiefolksters (Eels w/ strings and piano, Eels w/ strings and squeezebox, a plugged-in, drunken-sounding M. Ward and friends). But it's Jimmy LaFave's slow, wailing Texas folk cover that really brings the song to life for me. No wonder some folks call LaFave the best living interpreter of Dylan songs.
(from A Nod to Bob: An Artist's Tribute To Bob Dylan)
(live from Kerry's Farm, 1993; more Jimmy LaFave here)
(live from KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic, 2005)
(from Eels With Strings: Live At Town Hall)
(live at No Exit Coffeehouse, 1968; used for the film North Country)
(from Return to Sender)
(live on WFMU, 2006; more Yo La Tengo here)
(live, 1970; alt. version on The Best Of The Johnny Cash TV Show)
(live; more Ward, Oberst, and James)
As always, wherever possible, all album and artist links above take you towards wonderful, local, artist-centric places to buy albums, and as far away from faceless major-market megastores as possible. I think Dylan would appreciate the authenticity of it all, don't you?
One of these days I'll have to do a whole post on the Dylan covers of Jimmy LaFave. In the meantime, pick up the original Girl from the North Country, plus a heck of a lot more covers, at My Old Kentucky Blog. It's not all folk over there, but a lot of it's worth hearing, especially Sam Bush, The Waterboys, and Dear Nora.
Single Song Sunday collections previously on Cover Lay Down:
70 comments:
Hey Howdy,
Thanks for your kind words at my blog. I was going to put up a Dylan cover mix next week. Great minds think alike? Anyways, great site, some good finds and clever posts. I bookmarked your site,
Cheers,
Kevin
Hi, Kevin! Thanks for dropping by; the respect is mutual. Looking forward to that Dylan covers post, and hope you don't hold back just because of me -- there's more than anough out there for both of us, and then some!
Folks: Kevin lives at to the dogs or whoever; if you've never been over there, you're missing out.
Secret Machines also do a great cover of "Girl from the North Country". It is on their "Road Lead where it's led" EP
A truly wonderful song and your analysis is quite insightful. Obviously you're a big fan of Dylan.
Accordingly, I thought I'd introduce you to my new novel, BLOOD ON THE TRACKS, which I think you'd enjoy.
It's a murder-mystery. But not just any rock superstar is knocking on heaven's door. The murdered rock legend is none other than Bob Dorian, an enigmatic, obtuse, inscrutable, well, you get the picture...
Suspects? Tons of them. The only problem is they're all characters in Bob's songs.
You can get a copy on Amazon.com or go "behind the tracks" at www.bloodonthetracksnovel.com to learn more about the book.
I'm up to 28 different variations of the song. It is one of my favorite songs, ever! If you have anymore post them, pleeeeaaassee! Thanks for the tip on the "to the dogs or whoever" site. Both, your and his are great!
Thanks
Hmm. Except that it's a traditional tune that was being sung before St.Bob was ever born. He no more wrote 'North Country' than Paul Simon wrote 'Scarborough Fair'.
Love your site! Bruce Hornsby, no slouch in his choice of covers, has a fine version of this as well. But talking about Dylan covers is a world in and of itself . .. .
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