Got It Covered: A Blue Birthday Song

One of this country's greatest poets was born 72 years ago today. If you came into existence anytime in the past fifty years, there is no way his words didn't impact your life.

From "Blowing in the Wind," to "Like a Rolling Stone," "Positively 4th Street," "Knocking on Heaven's Door," "Maggie's Farm," "Lay Lady Lay," the list goes on. You want to learn about real life, hard life, you want to learn how to write a song... go back and listen to Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, Nashville Skyline, Blood on the Tracks.

When he played at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1965, he took a bold leap and went from acoustic to electric guitar, and man did he take shit for that. But once the world realized the sky wasn't falling, everyone did a double take and realized the genius that was, and is Mr. Bob Dylan.

In his honor, today we are doing another edition of Got It Covered and the selection is of course, a Dylan tune. It also happens to be my favorite Dylan song. Now I like a lot of his songs, but I don't want to listen to them everyday. My measurement of a favorite song is; would I be able to listen to this song everyday for the rest of my life and still enjoy it? My gold standard is "Layla." Now it may not be the song that makes me the happiest, but I have heard "Layla" thousands of times and still love and appreciate all approximately seven minutes and five seconds of it.

I feel the same way about today's pick. ""Tangled Up In Blue." From the Blood on the Tracks album, it was released in 1975 and lyrically it was a change for Dylan. I think that's what drew me to it first. The opening lines are so simple, but just magic.

"Early one morning the sun was shining

I was laying in bed

Wond'ring if she'd changed it all

If her hair was still red"

They set the tone, and give your imagination room to move. The story continues through time and years and you don't quite know what to make of it, but you can't help yourself from needing to know it all.

"She turned around to look at me

As I was walking away

I heard her say over my shoulder

"We'll meet again someday on the avenue"

Tangled up in blue."

So, time for tasting. First up is Dylan himself, in a live version from the mid 70's with Dylan singing the song from a third person narrative.

"Then she opened up a book of poems

And handed it to me

Written by an Italian poet

From the thirteenth century

And every one of them words rang true

And glowed like burning coal

Pouring off of every page

Like it was written in my soul from me to you

Tangled up in blue"

An interesting and really nice take by KT Tunstall.

"But me I'm still on the road

Heading for another joint

We always did feel the same

We just saw it from a different point of view

Tangled up in Blue."

And because I'd get yelled out by the "uncle" if I didn't include this one... Jerry Garcia..

An almost perfect song, especially for a long holiday weekend... thinking about getting on the road.
Happy Birthday Bob.

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