- "Baby let me follow you down, baby let me follow you down, well I'll do anything in this God almighty world, if you just let me follow you down." Bob Dylan is known as one of the best (if not the best) songwriters in the history of rock music. Perhaps surprisingly, his 1962 debut album "Bob Dylan" only featured 2 original songs. The rest of the album was made up of traditional folk songs including "Baby, Let Me Follow You Down". This particular version comes from "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live, 1966: The Royal Albert Hall Concert" album. Ironically the album takes it's name from mislabelled bootlegs that attributed the show to The Royal Albert Hall when in fact the show was recorded at Manchester's Free Trade Hall. The great thing about this version is hearing Dylan backed by The Hawks (The Band) who know how to keep it loose and keep it tight.
2. Long Division- Death Cab For Cutie
- "And they carried on like long division, and it was clear with every page, that they were further away from a solution that would play, without a remain remain remain remainder." I was told there would be no math on this blog. "Long Division" comes to us courtesy of the "Narrow Stairs" album. The song references an "open door" which ends up being the name of the great EP that followed "Narrow Stairs". For me the brilliance of "Narrow Stairs" is the seamless juxtaposition of lead singer Ben Gibbard's depressing lyrics (which have always been a hallmark of the band) and music that is much harder and more upbeat than what the band typically produced in the past. If you weren't paying attention you'd swear these are happy songs. "Long Division" isn't a standout track per se but it's a solid song from a great album.
3. Who Killed Davey Moore?- Bob Dylan
- "Who Killed Davey Moore, why and what's the reason for? 'Not me' says the gambling man, with his ticket stub still in his hand. 'Not me' says the man who's fists, laid him low in a cloud of mist." Another selection from the Bob Dylan Bootleg series-this time it's from volume 1. "Who Killed Davey Moore" is a protest song built around the real death of boxer Davey Moore in 1963. Each verse is from the perspective of various people involved in the fight- the referee, the crowd, the manager, a gambler, a boxing writer, and for good measure his opponent. In each case no one takes responsibility for his death. It's doubtful that Dylan was protesting boxing with this song. It's more likely that he was using symbolism to show how most people point fingers before they take responsibility for their actions or accountability for their role in events. If you listen to Jack Johnson's "Cookie Jar", off the album "On & On", you'll see that it's a straight jack of "Who Killed Davey Moore"...it might as well be the same song.
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