Single Song Sunday: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(John Martyn, Billy Bragg, Indigo Girls, The Waifs and 8 more!)
People who have no sense of the scale of a true coverfan’s collection often ask if I’ve done a Dylan feature yet. Simply put, the answer is no. It’s not that the task of compilation is daunting, it’s that the selection pool is so huge, to pick our usual short set would be too exclusionary, like picking the best ten stars in the sky, or the top five of an endless stream of cut stones. Heck, even our long-past week of Dylan covers over at Star Maker Machine barely scratched the surface.
But the same sheer numbers which make a broad-stroke tribute set essentially impossible create the ideal conditions for a Single Song Sunday scenario. We featured a dozen covers of Girl from the North Country way back when; now, in honor of my imminent departure from summer and Germany, we tackle Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.
For a teacher, the last days of August mark the end of a frame of mind, one where time is looser, and responsibilities have given way to a necessary state of self-reflection and regeneration. This year, summer’s end also means a goodbye to Germany, and to my brother and his wife, who will remain when my father and I return to the states tomorrow. Thanks to the whims of time and travel, after two planes, two taxis, and a long drive across Massachusetts, I will arrive home long past my children’s bedtime; I will kiss them in their sleep, and – having adjusted to the time difference just in time to leave it behind – stagger into bed for a short nap before waking to the first day of work.
Bob Dylan’s famous lyric applies here, though in the abstract. Summer is where my heart lives and grows, warm and safe through the long winter months. The week spent with my father is always precious. But home is where the soul is, and it’s time to go home: to my sweet children, and my inexhaustible spouse; to the vocational urge which nurtures my constant sense that a life of giving back every single day is the only one I can stand.
Monday, the rumblings of a school year gearing up to begin will bring me back to the classroom for professional development; that evening, when I return from the first of my 185 day workyear, I will finally be able to be with my family again, just us around the dinner table. In doing so, I will once again become myself, and recapture the crystal core that – however flawed and human – shines from me in my best moments. That doing so requires shelving the summerself is interesting and sad and wondrous, but there ain’t no use to sit and wonder why; explanations are moot, in the end. It’s alright to go, and let go; to walk into the unknown armed with only conviction and confidence, and let the world begin again.
Today’s Single Song Sunday features a song that - for many reasons - has become a popular choice to cover in concert. The set runs half and half, live and in-studio, and, as always, includes only the best and most authentic of a much larger sourcepile, plucked from a diverse set of folk, ranging in tone from bluegrass to indiefolk, from singer-songwriter to folk rock. All come highly recommended - try one if you don’t recognize the artist’s name - and in most cases, can and should be purchased along with other strong songcraft direct from independent and artist-friendly sources through the links provided.
But regardless of whether the crowd was there in spirit or bodily during the recording, each cover manages to recapture Dylan’s bittersweet sense of leaving the safety and comfort of the nurturing known for the benefit of the wandering, always-searching best-self soul. That such safety and comfort here is a woman makes it no less relevant to my own annual journey. Summer is a woman, too: warm, loving, nurturing, and powerful. But so is autumn, and she travels with me wherever I go: my constant companion, my saving grace, my true partner.
And so it goes. It’s like my father’s business card says: every step of the journey is the journey.
- The Waifs: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(from A Brief History, 2005) - Joan Baez feat. Indigo Girls: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(from Joan Baez’ Ring Them Bells; more Indigo Girls) - Eddie from Ohio: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(from Three Rooms, 2003) - Ramblin’ Jack Elliott: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(from A Nod To Bob: An Artists’ Tribute To Bob Dylan, 2001; more Ramblin’ Jack) - Davy Graham: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(from Folk, Blues And Beyond, 1965) - John Martyn: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(from London Conversation, 1968) - Alex Campbell: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(from Alex Campbell & His Friends [out of print], 1967) - Ava Quiqley: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(from Ava’s MySpace, 2008) - The Rice Brothers: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(from The Rice Brothers, 1989) - Billy Bragg: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(from live on-air acoustic sessions, 2008; more Billy Bragg) - Metric: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(from live on-air acoustic sessions, 2006; more Metric) - Susan Tedeschi: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
(from Wait For Me, 2002)
Cover Lay Down publishes new coverfolk sets and features Wednesdays, Sundays, and the occasional otherday.
Category: Bob Dylan, Single Song Sunday
August 22nd, 2009 at 6:03 pm
one of my favorite songs. love when susan tedesachi does it with dtb. thanks for the tunes, as always.
August 22nd, 2009 at 6:20 pm
The Indigo Girls version is a performance with Joan Baez (that’s her on the opening verse) from her live album Ring Them Bells - one of my favorites. Great collection - I’m loving the Eddie From Ohio version, which is one I haven’t heard before. Thanks!
August 23rd, 2009 at 5:44 am
I really like your blog, but the big problem with it is that you don’t link to me! Want to trade blogroll links and up your Google Page rating?
ekko
http://www.berkeleyplaceblog.com
August 23rd, 2009 at 1:15 pm
My favourite Dylan song. Thanks so much for this collection x
August 23rd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Thanks for your blog. Really enjoyed the collection. I love the song, all of them are great and the Susan Tedesachi version was a wonderfully refreshing Change. Thanks.
August 23rd, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Easily one of the best Dylan songs, and I’ve been obsessing over the Metric version for months - thanks!
August 23rd, 2009 at 10:43 pm
@ Dani: thanks for the source! I must admit, I wouldn’t have guessed that was Joan Baez — so subtle!
@ Ekko: done, finally — I only link to cover lovers, but though you’re not exclusively a cover blogger, your cred is certainly solid enough.
Nice to see others favorite the Tedeschi — it’s one of my favorites.
August 24th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
Boyhowdy — here’s a great link for you — enjoy!!
http://www.esquire.com/the-side/music/cover-songs-list-082009
August 24th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Thanks for including the Eddie From Ohio; they make me smile every time I hear them. When they were road warriors back in the day, they did quite a few covers and I always looked forward to their take on a song, traditional or quirky!
August 24th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
[...] Click here to go to CLD to check a big batch of covers of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright”…nice collection of takes on this classic by Susan Tedeschi, Billy Bragg, Metric, The Rice Brothers, Joan Baez (Featuring The Indigo Girls), Eddie From Ohio, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, John Martyn, Alex Campbell, Davy Graham, and Ava Quigley [...]
August 24th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
One of my top five personal favorite songs of all time, the cover by Bree Sharp is worth looking up.
August 27th, 2009 at 9:25 am
LOVE your blog. Thanks for the Beatles covers. Can’t wait to explore more (wish I had discovered it earlier).
August 31st, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Does anyone know the original name of the composer of the Dylan “borrowed” for this song? I heard a Johnny Cash version of the song on the radio one day, but I never got the name.
August 31st, 2009 at 6:48 pm
What about Eric Clapton’s amazing transformation of the song into a crying, pleading, screaming blues anthem at Bob Dylan’s 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration?http://www.youtube.com/my_playlists?pi=0&ps=20&sf=&sa=0&sq=&dm=0&p=9BE3393650C95A1D#
September 1st, 2009 at 10:43 am
There is a fabulous version of Don’t Think Twice by June Tabor.
September 9th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
[...] Mac and The Beatles + video covers of Paul Simon and Hank Williams from Falcon Ridge ‘09!Single Song Sunday: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright (John Martyn, Billy Bragg, Indigo Gi…Love, Reposted: For my wife on our 13th anniversaryThird Generation Coverfolk: Songs covered at [...]
December 15th, 2009 at 2:24 pm
@messengerboy
it was clayton, who showed bob the melody after recording the original song in 1960. dylan first recorded it in ‘62.
December 31st, 2009 at 10:03 am
[...] where the songs of Bob Dylan and Richard Thompson are, by definition, folk songs, which lend themselves to a universal [...]