The Vanishing Dylan

February 29, 2008 8:10 AM

Dylan swallowed by black hole?

Just discovered Meet Me In the Morning (off Blood on the Tracks), promptly downloaded it, and have been playing it ad nauseam. Then I do a lyrics search, and a whole stanza shows up that isn't on my recording.

My i-tunes download clocks in at 4:19. Allmusic lists the song at 4:21, and Wikipedia at 4:22. Doesn't seem like he could squeeze the missing section into those extra few seconds.

Here's the full listed lyrics (the section missing from my download is the one that starts with "The birds are flyin' low babe...":


Meet me in the morning, 56th and Wabasha
Meet me in the morning, 56th and Wabasha
Honey, we could be in Kansas
By time the snow begins to thaw.

They say the darkest hour is right before the dawn
They say the darkest hour is right before the dawn
But you wouldn't know it by me
Every day's been darkness since you been gone.

Little rooster crowin', there must be something on his mind
Little rooster crowin', there must be something on his mind
Well, I feel just like that rooster
Honey, ya treat me so unkind.

The birds are flyin' low babe, honey I feel so exposed
Well, the birds are flyin' low babe, honey I feel so exposed
Well now, I ain't got any matches
And the station doors are closed.

Well, I struggled through barbed wire, felt the hail fall from above
Well, I struggled through barbed wire, felt the hail fall from above
Well, you know I even outran the hound dogs
Honey, you know I've earned your love.

Look at the sun sinkin' like a ship
Look at the sun sinkin' like a ship
Ain't that just like my heart, babe
When you kissed my lips?


Dylan masters...please help a brother out. I'd love to be able to belt the whole thing out with Dylan, but only if he intended it so.

posted by subajestad to media & arts (12 comments total)

I no longer have it but there is a book published that has all Dylan lyrics in it as he wrote them (as opposed to how he recorded them). Perhaps this is taken from the book. I used to be a Dylan freak but have never heard the above version on any recording.
posted by dobbs at 8:21 AM on February 29, 2008

This post made me dig out my vinyl, and SURPRISE! No "birds are flying low...". I strongly urge you to get the whole album though. I think it's Dylans best work.
posted by SurrenderMonkey at 9:15 AM on February 29, 2008

They appear as transcribed above on BobDylan.com too.
posted by peacecorn at 9:40 AM on February 29, 2008

Here is a live version of the song with Bob Dylan and Jack White. I don't hear the lyric there either, however there are some other lyrics that I think Jack White made up.

It's quite possible the version you have lyrics for is from some B-side or studio outtake. Perhaps look for bootleg versions or live versions of the song. It could also just be lyrics as they were written, but not actually performed.
posted by mto at 9:45 AM on February 29, 2008

I remember reading the liner notes to my dad's vinyl copy and begin SO confused- the writer refers to lyrics that are entirely different from what's on the record- not missing lyrics, but different versions of what's there.

I think I remember reading that Dylan re-recorded a lot of the songs late in the process, after the album jacket had already been printed up. I think I saw this in the biography "Behind the Shades."

And yeah, brilliant album.
posted by drjimmy11 at 9:51 AM on February 29, 2008

I have a bootleg at home called "Blood on the Tapes" that contains alternate takes of many of the songs on that album. If think of it I'll check late tonight or early a.m tomorrow. Whooops, just found the track listing and it ain't there.
posted by marxchivist at 10:11 AM on February 29, 2008

Searching the above BobsBoots page I don't see anything with alternate versions of that song.
posted by marxchivist at 10:15 AM on February 29, 2008

dobbs' and mto's explanations sound like the most parsimonious to me, so I'll go with them and omit the stanza in question (it's just as well because it's killing my throat as is it -- for someone with a pretty poor voice Bob really pulls it off here...he shoulda done more blues).

Thanks all.
posted by subajestad at 10:52 AM on February 29, 2008

following up on what I said above, i think maybe those are the lyrics that he recorded originally, and that were printed on the "Blood on the tracks" vinyl jacket. But he changed versions after the jacket had been printed. The tape with the missing lyrics may be floating around somewhere, or may have never seen the light of day.

The "official" lyrics printed on the album have probably been passed down from re-issue to re-issue and onto the internet.

This is somewhat speculation on my part, but like I said I think the answer is in the book "behind the shades," which is a great read anyway (if you can get past the author's somewhat pretentious tone)
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:59 AM on February 29, 2008

You got a bad version. Buy the cd. Blood is pretty nearly the best album ever. Also get Planet Waves because I like it. Then go crazy and get the Basement Tapes, less polished but interesting. You will definitely need to pick up Blond on Blond and Desire... fine, I'll stop now. I think that Time Out of Mind is very very good... very good. No. I've stopped. I have.
posted by ewkpates at 11:20 AM on February 29, 2008

on the original version of "girl from the north country," dylan sings a verse that doesn't appear in the version with johnny cash, apparently because the phrasing would have been awkward. it's just something that happens if the song is sung to different music than it was written to. but i'm not aware of any recorded version of mmitm that include that verse.

the missing verse as transcribed above seems like it would have been difficult to sing with the song as recorded.
posted by klanawa at 12:24 PM on February 29, 2008

I'll just flesh out and clarify what a few have already pointed to, re: the rerecordings, etc...

That verse doesn't show up in any released version, at least to my knowledge. I do know that Dylan's posted lyrics are often wrong, and have more to do with what was copyrighted (I think) than what is actually performed in a session. This is significant because his lyrics do tend to change rather quickly, and this is particularly the case with songs from Blood On The Tracks. The reason here is that he recorded the album originally in New York, in a very spare fashion, then rerecorded it a few months later with a stronger sound, with more backing musicians. Some takes from the first session were used, and some from the second, when the final album was assembled. The original takes are really worth checking out, because they're beautiful, feel more naked, and you can hear the buttons on his shirt rattling on his guitar. Some are available officially (in a few places), some only in bootleg form (a bootleg called Blood on the Tapes assembles a few of these cast-off; Blood on the Tracks The New York Sessions assembles the album as it would have been if released without the rerecordings).

I much prefer the original, softer takes of Idiot Wind and You're A Big Girl Now, but I wouldn't give up the redone version of Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts, so I can't say one way or the other which was the better "version" of the album.

In terms of lyrical differences, there are a few, including a noticeable change in Tangled Up In Blue (sung as "I" in the first version, "he" in the final version). There is an unused version of Shelter from the Storm with this extra verse:

Now the bonds are broken but they can be retied
By one more journey to the woods, the holes where spirits hide
It's a never-ending battle, for a piece that's always torn
Come in, she said, I'll give you shelter from the storm

And there is an extra verse in an early version of Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts:

Lily's arms were locked around the man that she really loved to touch
She forgot all about the man she couldn't stand who hounded her so much
"I've missed you so," she said to him and he felt she was sincere
But just beyond the door he felt jealousy and fear
It was just another night in the life of the jack of hearts.

There's also a brilliant song, never put on the final album, called Up To Me, which is one of the best things he's ever done, but I think was left off because the melody was a shade too close to Shelter From The Storm.

More specific to your question, though, you'll want to track down Call Letter Blues. It's the early version of Meet Me In The Morning, with the same melody, but much more vicious lyrics. It's a dirty, dirty blues, so take care of your throat if you're singing it. No use of your verse, but you'll love it just the same.

My advice: get out now, or you'll get swallowed. There's no turning back after this point.
posted by roombythelake at 12:37 PM on February 29, 2008 [3 favorites]