"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You" is a song written by
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
from his 1969 album ''
Nashville Skyline
''Nashville Skyline'' is the ninth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on April 9, 1969, by Columbia Records as LP record, reel to reel tape and audio cassette.
Building on the rustic style he experimented with on ''Joh ...
''. It was the closing song of the album. The song was the third single released from the album, after "
I Threw It All Away
"I Threw It All Away" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The track appeared on Dylan's album ''Nashville Skyline'' in 1969, and was released as its first single later that year, where it reached number 85 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 1 ...
" and "
Lay Lady Lay
"Lay Lady Lay", sometimes rendered "Lay, Lady, Lay", is a song written by Bob Dylan and originally released in 1969 on his ''Nashville Skyline'' album. Like many of the tracks on the album, Dylan sings the song in a low croon, rather than in the ...
", reaching #50 on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and reaching the top 20 in other countries.
It was anthologized on the compilation albums ''
Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II
''Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II'', also known as ''More Bob Dylan Greatest Hits'', is the second compilation album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on November 17, 1971 by Columbia Records. With Dylan not expected to releas ...
'' and ''Playlist: The Very Best of Bob Dylan '60s''.
[
]
Background and composition
Dylan arrived at the ''Nashville Skyline'' recording sessions having written just four songs, including "I Threw It All Away" and "Lay Lady Lay". Having recorded these and three other new songs on February 13 and 14, 1969, he needed a few more songs to fill out the album. "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You" was written over two days at the Ramada Inn
Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. As of December 31, 2018, it operates 811 hotels with 114,614 rooms across 63 countries under the Ramada brand.
Name
The ''Ramada'' name derives from t ...
where Dylan was staying, and recorded over 11 takes on February 17.John Wesley Harding
''John Wesley Harding'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on December 27, 1967, by Columbia Records. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album marked Dylan's return to semi-acoustic instrumentation and folk ...
'', "Down Along the Cove
"Down Along the Cove" is a song written and originally performed by Bob Dylan for his album ''John Wesley Harding''. Dylan recorded the song in one take at Columbia's Studio A, Nashville, on November 29, 1967.
Structure and instrumentation
"D ...
" and "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" is a 1967 song by Bob Dylan first released on ''John Wesley Harding''. It features Pete Drake on pedal steel guitar, and two other Nashville musicians, Charlie McCoy on bass guitar and Kenneth Buttrey on drums, both of ...
", particularly the latter.[ Even though the line from the title, which is repeated at the end of each verse, only explicitly expresses a willingness to stay "tonight", the implication of the song is that the singer is willing to stay permanently and become a family man.][ Train imagery runs throughout the song, but unlike earlier songs that used similar imagery, in this song even though the singer "can hear that whistle blowin'" he wants to "throw isticket out the window" and let "a poor boy on the street" have his seat so that he can stay with his lover.][ The accompaniment includes ]piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
, pedal steel guitar
The pedal steel guitar is a Console steel guitar, console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all s ...
and bass guitar.
Live performances
Dylan did not play "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You" live in concert until the Rolling Thunder Revue
The Rolling Thunder Revue was a 1975–1976 concert tour by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan with numerous musicians and collaborators. The purpose of the tour was to allow Dylan, who had now become a major recording artist and concert perfor ...
tours in 1975 and 1976, and it was not played live again until February 1990 on the Neverending Tour.Waltham, Massachusetts
Waltham ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, th ...
on November 22, 1975.[ The Rolling Thunder Revue version became an anthemic rocker, rather than the sweet country song from the original album.][ A live version of the song from the first Rolling Thunder Revue tour was released in 2002 on '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue''.;][ it was also included on the 2019 box set '' The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings'', along with a rehearsal of the song. According to his official website, Dylan played the song 144 times in total between 1975 and 2006.]
References
External links
Lyrics
at Bob Dylan's official site
Chords
at Dylanchords
{{Authority control
Songs written by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan songs
1969 singles
Song recordings produced by Bob Johnston
Columbia Records singles
1969 songs
Country rock songs