Bob Dylan / 2:52
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, piano
Ron Cornelius: guitar
Al Kooper: organ
Charlie Daniels: bass
Russ Kunkel: drums
Recording Studio
Columbia Recording Studios / Studio E, New York: June 5, 1970
Technical Team
Producer: Bob Johnston
Sound Engineers: Don Puluse and Ted Brosnan
“Went to See the Gypsy” is about an encounter with Elvis Presley, one of the major points of reference for the young Dylan. According to Clinton Heylin, Dylan and Sara went to Las Vegas during the winter of 1970 to visit Dylan’s uncle. While in Las Vegas they attended a show performed by the King at the International Hotel. According to Heylin, they went backstage after the show to meet the King. However, Dylan refuted this hypothesis in 2009, telling Douglas Brinkley from Rolling Stone magazine, “I never met Elvis, because I didn’t want to meet Elvis.”96 He explained that he was afraid to see Elvis the way he had become. “I wanted to see the powerful, mystical Elvis that had crash-landed from a burning star onto American soil. The Elvis that was bursting with life. That’s the Elvis that inspired us to all the possibilities of life. And that Elvis was gone…” It is possible, even likely, that this song is the expression of a dream encounter dating back to early adolescence. As the last lines of the last verse reveal, “But the gypsy was gone / And that pretty dancing girl / She could not be found / So I watched that sun come rising / From that little Minnesota town.” As has been noted in some sources, Presley might have had some German gypsy ancestors who had emigrated to the United States in the eighteenth century.
On New Morning, Dylan, unlike on his other albums, played piano for more than half of the titles, including “Went to See the Gypsy.” Sometimes the piece lacks rigor. The drum part has difficulty distinguishing itself (around 2:04). But it all works rather well, and this is the first time an instrumental coda is the heart of one of the songwriter’s songs. Before cutting this fourth and final take on June 5, Dylan had already recorded seven takes during the Self Portrait sessions on March 3, 4, and 5, 1970 and another cut on May 1 in a duet with George Harrison. The demo of March 3 is available on The Bootleg Series Volume 10: Another Self Portrait. Among the four takes recorded on June 5 is a very intimate one where Dylan provides vocals and electric piano (see Another Self Portrait). Note that overdubs were made in Nashville on July 23; presumably these were not used.
Bob Dylan / 2:23
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, piano; Ron Cornelius: guitar; Al Kooper: guitar (?); Charlie Daniels: bass; Russ Kunkel: drums; Hilda Harris, Albertine Robertson, and Maeretha Stewart: chorus / Recording Studio: Columbia Recording Studios / Studio E, New York: June 5, 1970 / Producer: Bob Johnston / Sound Engineers: Don Puluse and Ted Brosnan
Dylan probably wrote this snowy interlude during the winter of 1969–1970, at his home in Woodstock, away from the poisonous atmosphere of the big city. Once again, the songwriter deliberately spreads confusion. Behind this ode to nature, “Winterlude” is a love song directed at a woman: “You’re the one I adore, come over here and give me more.” Is it a woman? Or an angel? “Oh, I see… the angel beside me.” Perhaps an implicit reference to the Holy Trinity. In this case, “Winterlude” is the Holy Spirit, the spirit of God. Unless the songwriter is using satire…
Bob Dylan’s waltz for this “winter interlude” would have fit on Nashville Skyline, with its family atmosphere by the fire. Playing piano, he sings for the first time on the album in a rather reverberated voice. Ron Cornelius plays an exquisite part on classical guitar (nylon strings), and probably Al Kooper on the electric joins him in the last verse (1:18). The piece includes a female chorus, well suited to this atmosphere: “Winterlude, this dude thinks you’re fine.”
“Winterlude” was recorded on June 5, 1970. Five takes were made, the fourth selected for New Morning. “Winterlude” is a minor song in Bob Dylan’s vast repertoire. It was never performed live.
Bob Dylan / 3:39
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals; Maeretha Stewart: scat; Ron Cornelius: guitar; David Bromberg: guitar; Al Kooper: piano; Charlie Daniels: bass; Russ Kunkel: drums / Recording Studio: Columbia Recording Studios / Studio E, New York: June 5, 1970 Producer: Bob Johnston / Sound Engineers: Don Puluse and Ted Brosnan
New Morning was received as a comeback album after the poor reception and “wanderings” of Self Portrait. “If Dogs Run Free,” like several major works on previous albums, was written under the influence of the Beat poets. The title also refers to the poem “Dog” by Lawrence Ferlinghetti. While Ferlinghetti writes, “The dog trots freely in the streets,” Dylan sings, “If dogs run free, then why not we / Across the swooping plain?” The song refers to Beat poetry when Dylan sings this wonderful line in the last verse: “In harmony with the cosmic sea / True love needs no company.” “If Dogs Run Free” celebrates the freedom given us by Mother Nature.
After the waltz “Winterlude,” Dylan here makes a surprising foray into mainstream jazz. In Chronicles, he writes, “For one of these sets of lyrics, Kooper played some Teddy Wilson riffs on the piano. There were three girl singers in the room, who sounded like they’d been plucked from a choir and one of them did some improvisational scat singing. The whole thing was done in just one take and called ‘If Dogs Run Free.’”1 This was Maeretha Stewart who improvised on the idea by Al Kooper. Kooper later said, “Maeretha stepped up and did a fantastic job… I especially enjoyed playing lounge-type, tongue-in-cheek piano.”42 Kooper’s performance was absolutely stunning. Dylan, meanwhile, does not sing, but does a voice-over and plays no instrument. With a walking bass, a rhythm guitar with a muffled sound, drums played with brushes, and an acoustic guitar solo, this version is diametrically opposed to the one on Another Self Portrait, which is a country-rock ballad with a totally different harmony and melody. These two variants are among the three takes of June 5, the last being the final. Dylan sang it for the first time in concert in Münster, Germany, on October 2000 and more than a hundred times since then.