World Gone Wrong

Traditional / Arrangement Bob Dylan / 3:58

Musician: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar / Recording Studio: Bob Dylan Garage Studio, Malibu, California: May 1993 / Producer: Bob Dylan / Sound Engineer: Micajah Ryan

Genesis and Production

The recordings made by the guitar and fiddle players Mississippi Sheiks in the first half of the 1930s have earned the group and their guitarist Sam Chatmon a place comparable to that of Charley Patton and Robert Johnson in the history of blues—folk blues, in this case. More than thirty years later, they left an indelible mark on the rock movement as a whole. Thus, from the Grateful Dead to Jack White, several generations of musicians have claimed the legacy of the group from Bolton, Mississippi.

A few months after covering the first Mississippi Sheiks’ success, “Sittin’ on Top of the World,” for the album Good As I Been to You, Dylan covered another classic from their repertoire, “World Gone Wrong.” He opens his new album with this cover, still contemporary, but harmonically quite far from the original. The songwriter took some liberties with the melody, but the result is a success. His interpretation is heavier than the Sheiks’ original, conveying disillusionment. The sound is more “tense” than that of Good As I Been to You, but the emotion is palpable. Dylan makes a superb introduction to his new album. His first guitar lick (0:36) gives the impression it was added by overdub.