"Baby, Let Me Follow You Down" is a traditional folk song popularised in the late 1950s by blues guitarist

Eric Von Schmidt Eric Von Schmidt (May 28, 1931 – February 2, 2007) was an American folk musician and painter. He was associated with the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s and was a key part of the Cambridge folk music scene. As a singer and guita ...

. The song is best known for its appearance on

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's debut album ''

''.

Early years of the song

The song was first recorded as "Don't Tear My Clothes" in January 1935 by the State Street Boys, a group that included

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1893 or 1903August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African-American audiences. In the 19 ...

and

Jazz Gillum William McKinley "Jazz" Gillum (September 11, 1902 or 1904 – March 29, 1966) was an American blues harmonica player and singer. Biography Gillum was born in Indianola, Mississippi. He ran away from home at age seven and for the next few ye ...

. The next few years saw several more versions, including "Don't Tear My Clothes" by

Washboard Sam Robert Clifford Brown (July 15, 1910 – November 6, 1966), known professionally as Washboard Sam, was an American blues musician and singer. Biography Brown's date and place of birth are uncertain; many sources state that he was born in 191 ...

in June 1936, "Baby Don't You Tear My Clothes" by the

Harlem Hamfats The Harlem Hamfats was a Chicago jazz band formed in 1936. Initially, they mainly provided backup music for jazz and blues singers, such as Johnny Temple (musician), Johnny Temple, Rosetta Howard, and Frankie Jaxon, for Decca Records. Their firs ...

in May 1937, "Let Your Linen Hang Low" by Rosetta Howard with the Harlem Hamfats in October 1937 and "Mama Let Me Lay It On You" by

Blind Boy Fuller Fulton Allen (July 10, 1904 – February 13, 1941), known as Blind Boy Fuller, was an American blues guitarist and singer. Fuller was one of the most popular of the recorded Piedmont blues artists, along with Blind Blake, Josh White, and Budd ...

in April 1938. The song was adapted by

, a blues-guitarist and singer-songwriter of the folk revival in the late 1950s. Von Schmidt was a well-known face in the East Coast

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

scene and was reasonably well-known across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. According to his chronicle of the Cambridge Folk era, also called ''"Baby, Let Me Follow You Down"'', Eric had first heard the song via the Blind Boy Fuller recording. Von Schmidt credits

Reverend Gary Davis Gary D. Davis (April 30, 1896 – May 5, 1972), known as Reverend Gary Davis and Blind Gary Davis, was a blues and gospel singer who was also proficient on the banjo, guitar and harmonica. Born in Laurens, South Carolina and blind since infanc ...

for writing "three quarters" of his version of the song (the melody is very similar to Davis's "Please Baby"). Dave Van Ronk's version became a feature in the coffee houses of

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

in the early 1960s.

Dylan years

The song was later picked up by the young, up and coming folk singer

, who made it famous on his

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

debut. As an introduction to the song on the album, Dylan pays homage to Schmidt, saying: "I first heard this from Ric von Schmidt. He lives in Cambridge/ Ric is a blues guitarplayer. I met him one day on/ The green pastures of the Harvard University." The song became very popular amongst Dylan's following and was a regular feature of Dylan's song list. During his 1966 World Tour, Dylan electrified the song's sound, playing it on electric guitar with a five-piece electric band as backing. A decade later, he performed the song at

the Band The Band was a Canadian-American rock music, rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1957. It consisted of the Canadians Rick Danko (bass, guitar, vocals, fiddle), Garth Hudson (organ, keyboards, accordion, saxophone), Richard Manuel (piano, d ...

's Last Waltz concert, backed by the Band.

Additional verses

An early version of the song contained two verses and a main chorus. Bob Dylan added another verse to the song which appeared regularly. The song has also been edited and changed over the last half a century.

Dylan albums containing the song

*''

'', recorded in studio November 1961, issued 1962 *'' Biograph'', from ''Bob Dylan'', issued 1985 *'' The Bootleg Series Vol. 9: The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964'', recorded in studio January 1964, issued 2010 *''Live 1962-1966: Rare Performances From The Copyright Collections'', recorded live May 11, 1966, issued 2018 *'' The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert'', recorded live May 17, 1966, issued 1998 *''The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert'', recorded live May 26, 1966, issued 2016 *'' The 1966 Live Recordings'', all 1966 live recordings, issued 2016 *''

The Last Waltz ''The Last Waltz'' was a concert by the Canadian-American rock group the Band, held on American Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1976, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. ''The Last Waltz'' was advertised as the Band's "farewell concert a ...

'', live with

, recorded live November 1976, issued 1978

References

External links

* - Von Schmidt speculates about the origins and evolution of the song he popularized. * - Short bio examines Davis' claim that he authored the song. {{Authority control Bob Dylan songs American folk songs 1930s songs