tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234078430535123877.post2877161390032016238..comments2023-06-24T11:06:45.498-07:00Comments on I Went Down to St. James Infirmary: 3 Favourite Bob Dylan SongsRobert W. Harwoodhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12039288617402114039noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234078430535123877.post-18401721968056516162021-04-22T09:50:54.562-07:002021-04-22T09:50:54.562-07:00My own personal favorites, though is is difficult ...My own personal favorites, though is is difficult to narrow them down to only three:<br /><br />The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar, which perfectly illustrates the fluidity of Dylan's own approach to his songs before the rest of us try to inscribe his words in stone, unchanged for all eternity. RIP Claudette. You too, Roy.<br /><br />https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/14839<br /><br />Everything Is Broken - Ain't no use jivin', ain't no use jokin'. It's not just what the words are saying here, but also the way the words sound when he says them. Perhaps Dylan's supreme original 12-bar blues, which I find to be the most perfect musical form ever invented precisely because it can be done so imperfectly and still be sublime.<br /><br />Brownsville Girl - Dylan and playwright Sam Shephard manage to tell a story with the scale of a Homerian epic in only eleven minutes.<br /><br />Interestingly enough, all three come from what many consider to be the lowest decade of Bob's entire career.<br /><br />Honorable mentions: Like a Rolling Stone (THE song that simultaneously revolutionized folk *and* rock), Tangled Up In Blue, Tom Thumb's Blues, Hard Rain, Simple Twist of Fate, Not Dark Yet, Mississippi, Make You Feel My Love.Michael Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12404703244173626963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234078430535123877.post-55973704810986532942018-09-02T16:00:50.197-07:002018-09-02T16:00:50.197-07:00Well, these are three I enjoy. No need for you to ...Well, these are three I enjoy. No need for you to agree.Robert W. Harwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12039288617402114039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234078430535123877.post-1009348897872883592018-09-02T11:26:47.423-07:002018-09-02T11:26:47.423-07:00I can't imagine 3 worse choices for top 3 Dyla...I can't imagine 3 worse choices for top 3 Dylan songs. First off, there are too many to whittle down to 3 ... Secondly, my god, those 3?Anthonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09971357610338164291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234078430535123877.post-27153043194197617272018-09-02T00:06:36.756-07:002018-09-02T00:06:36.756-07:00Bob wrote "gazing out the window" rather...Bob wrote "gazing out the window" rather than "standing in the doorway" of the St James Hotel but I get your drift.6Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04334734469393884557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234078430535123877.post-91118439416365741902018-09-01T14:57:57.011-07:002018-09-01T14:57:57.011-07:00Exactly. It was through Dylan that I heard the sim...Exactly. It was through Dylan that I heard the similarity between "St. James Infirmary" and "Blind Willie McTell." That is one of the things that stoked my curiosity and eventually caused me to further research the history of the song.(And what an interesting history it turned out to have! )Robert W. Harwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12039288617402114039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234078430535123877.post-60856179449605987172018-09-01T13:57:52.058-07:002018-09-01T13:57:52.058-07:00Anonymous misquotes the article by writing: Dylan...Anonymous misquotes the article by writing: Dylan was a central figure in the writing of 'I went down to the St. James Infirmary'. The words MY BOOK are omitted: Bob was central to the book, not the song.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234078430535123877.post-40545928363212253702017-06-27T13:53:06.322-07:002017-06-27T13:53:06.322-07:00You're quite right. The song "St. James I...You're quite right. The song "St. James Infirmary" was being played long before Dylan was born. My book, "I Went Down to St. James Infirmary," was published in 2015 and a Dylan song was among the stimuli for that undertaking ... which studies the origins and evolution of the song.Robert W. Harwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12039288617402114039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5234078430535123877.post-67752717221912864732017-06-27T12:24:43.621-07:002017-06-27T12:24:43.621-07:00Bob Dylan is a great artist. No doubt! But he didn...Bob Dylan is a great artist. No doubt! But he didn't write or co-write the St. James Infirmary song. Nor was he "a central figure in the writing of "I Went Down To the St. James Infirmary". The song is a very old standard and has many iterations.<br /><br />"St. James Infirmary Blues", sometimes known as "Gambler's Blues," is an American folksong of anonymous origin, sometimes credited to songwriter Joe Primrose (pseudonym for Irving Mills). Louis Armstrong made it famous in his influential 1928 recording.<br /><br />Since Bob Dylan was born in 1941, and his song "Blind Willie McTell" was recorded in the spring of 1983, I don't think you can give him songwriting credits. Just saying.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com