Sunday, June 8, 2025

Johnny Todd - Bob Dylan & the Band

Johnny Todd - Bob Dylan & the Band
2:05
The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete, 2014 (recorded 1967)

This is a 19th century morality tale about a sailor who goes off to sea only to find that his love has married another fast-talking sailor who promises her "golden blankets" and a wedding ring.  "All you men who go a-sailing / For to fight the foreign foe / Don't leave your love like Johnny / Marry her before you go."  Over a drunken carnival piano line, Dylan sings it with a wink, playing the story straight but not exactly with reverence. 

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