Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
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"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is a song written by
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 ...
in 1962 and released the following year on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' and as the
B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
of the single " Blowin' in the Wind". The song has been covered by several other artists, including
Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...
in 1964, Susan Tedeschi,
Melanie Safka Melanie Anne Safka Schekeryk (February 3, 1947 – January 23, 2024), professionally known as Melanie or Melanie Safka, was an American singer-songwriter. Melanie is widely known for the 1971–72 global hit " Brand New Key", her 1970 version o ...
, Gerard Quintana and Jordi Batiste in Catalan, Emilie-Claire Barlow in her 2010 album '' The Beat Goes On'' and
Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary were an American Contemporary folk music, folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), ...
, who released it as a single, which reached the Top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.


Composition

In the liner notes to the original release,
Nat Hentoff Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for ''The Village Voice'' from 1958 to 2009. F ...
calls the song "a statement that maybe you can say to make yourself feel better ... as if you were talking to yourself". It was written around the time that Suze Rotolo indefinitely prolonged her stay in Italy. The beginning of the melody is based on the public domain traditional song "Who's Gonna Buy Your Chickens When I'm Gone", which was taught to Dylan by folksinger Paul Clayton, who had used it in his song "Who's Gonna Buy You Ribbons When I'm Gone?" As well as the beginning of the melody, a couple of lines of lyrics were taken from Clayton's "Who's Gonna Buy You Ribbons When I'm Gone?", which was recorded in 1960, two years before Dylan wrote "Don't Think Twice". Lines taken word-for-word or slightly altered from the Clayton song are, "T'ain't no use to sit and wonder why, darlin'" and "So I'm walkin' down that long, lonesome road." On the first release of the song, instead of "So I'm walkin' down that long, lonesome road babe, where I'm bound, I can't tell" Dylan sings "So long, honey babe, where I'm bound, I can't tell". The lyrics were changed when Dylan performed live versions of the song and on cover versions recorded by other artists.


Releases

In addition to its original release, the song has appeared on several of Dylan's greatest hits compilations, including '' Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II'' (1971), '' The Best of Bob Dylan'' (1997), and ''
The Essential Bob Dylan ''The Essential Bob Dylan'' is a compilation by Bob Dylan, released in 2000 as the inaugural entry in Sony Music's "The Essential" double-disc series. ''The Essential Bob Dylan'' spans from 1963's " Blowin' in the Wind" (from '' The Freewheelin' ...
'' (2000). Another version of the song, recorded as a demo for Dylan's music publisher M. Witmark & Sons in 1963, was included on two releases in Columbia's '' Bootleg Series'': '' Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack'' (2005) and '' Vol. 9 – The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964'' (2010). In addition, live versions have been released on '' Before the Flood'' (1974; recorded February 14, 1974), as a
reggae rock Reggae rock is a subgenre of reggae fusion and rock music that primarily uses the genres reggae, rock, and ska. Typical lyrics of reggae rock songs incorporate love, personal awareness, and life challenges while incorporating music and beat ...
version on '' Bob Dylan at Budokan'' (1978; recorded February 28, 1978), '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall'' (2004; recorded October 31, 1964), '' Live at The Gaslight 1962'' (2005; recorded October 15, 1962), and ''Live 1962-1966: Rare Performances from the Copyright Collections'' (2018; recorded April 12, 1963).


Certifications


Cover versions

In 1963, the popular folk trio
Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary were an American Contemporary folk music, folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), ...
recorded the song. Dylan's manager Albert Grossman also managed Peter, Paul and Mary and started offering Dylan's songs to other artists to record. "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" was one of three Dylan songs Peter, Paul and Mary picked up that way for their third album '' In the Wind'', " Blowin' in the Wind" and "Quit Your Lowdown Ways" being the others. Released as a single, it reached number nine on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number two on its Easy Listening charts. It was this version that popularized the song. ''
Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' described it as "an infectious medium-paced country-styled folk item with a haunting, extremely pretty melody" that seemed destined to replicate the success the trio had with "Blowin' in the Wind". AllMusic critic William Ruhlman described the Peter, Paul and Mary version as an "understated rendition" of the song. Radio personality Bob Leszczak describes this version as being done "in typical fashion". The Four Seasons released a cover of the song as a single in 1965 (with the title "Don't Think Twice") under the pseudonym the Wonder Who? Their "joke" version reached number 12 on the Hot 100, and eventually sold one million copies. In 1968,
Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...
covered the song on his album '' The Times They Are a-Changin'''. Billy Strings has also done an acoustic cover. Several country music artists have also covered this song. In 1965,
Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
recorded a version of this song on his '' Orange Blossom Special'' album. In 1970,
Waylon Jennings Waylon Arnold Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He is considered one of the pioneers of the Outlaw country, outlaw movement in country music. Jennings started playing ...
released his '' Don't Think Twice'' album with this song as the first track on the album.
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
recorded the song as an in-studio jam with his band in Nashville in May 1971, and a shortened version first appeared on his self-titled 1973 album. The full version remained unreleased until the 1995 release of the box set '' Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters''. In 1971,
Jerry Reed Jerry Reed Hubbard (March 20, 1937 – September 1, 2008), known professionally as Jerry Reed, was an American country singer, guitarist, composer, songwriter and actor who appeared in more than a dozen films. His signature songs included " Gui ...
released an up-tempo version on his album, '' When You're Hot, You're Hot''. In 1978, Doc & Merle Watson covered this song on their album '' Look Away!''
Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country music, country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton's debut album ...
covered this song on her 44th studio album '' Blue Smoke'' in 2014 and has since been a popular bluegrass song during her concerts.
Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
and Merle Haggard covered this song in their sixth and final recorded collaboration '' Django and Jimmie'' in 2016. In 1965 Australian folk/pop outfit
The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk music, folk-influenced pop music, pop group originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the Unit ...
also recorded a version of "Don't Think Twice" and released it on their album ''A World Of Our Own''. Before he became famous,
Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...
uploaded a cover version to YouTube in 2013 under his birth name, performed in an earnest folk style unlike his later work. The video was widely viewed in 2015 after his " White Iverson" video went viral on SoundCloud.
Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...
performed the song on her '' Norman Fucking Rockwell!'' tour in 2019, joined by Walkmen singer Hamilton Leithauser in Nashville, Tennessee.


In popular culture

The song was used on the television series ''
Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American historical drama, period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on cable network AMC (TV channel), AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, with seven seasons ...
'', '' Friday Night Lights'', and ''
Men of a Certain Age ''Men of a Certain Age'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Ray Romano and Mike Royce, that ran on TNT from December 7, 2009, to July 6, 2011. The hour-long program stars Romano, Andre Braugher, and Scott Bakula as thre ...
''. It was used in Nancy Savoca's 1991 film ''
Dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...
'', starring River Phoenix and Lili Taylor; the 2011 film '' The Help''; the October 30, 2016 episode of the AMC television series '' The Walking Dead''; the January 22, 2019 episode of the NBC television series '' This Is Us (season 3)'' (episode 11, "Songbird Road Part 1"); the 2019 film '' The Kitchen'' (during a funeral scene, the cover version is sung by the artist Melanie); the January 7, 2020 episode of the series ''
Emergence In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence occurs when a complex entity has properties or behaviors that its parts do not have on their own, and emerge only when they interact in a wider whole. Emergence plays a central rol ...
'' (season 1, episode 10, "15 Years"); and the February 16, 2021 episode of the NBC television series '' This Is Us (season 5)'' (episode 8, "In The Room"), which featured a cover version sung by John Martyn. It was also featured in the BBC Scottish sitcom series, ''Still Game'' in the final episode, "Over the Hill" which was played in the final scenes of the show. The song is also heard over the end scenes of the December 16, 2021 episode of the HBO MAX miniseries '' Station Eleven'' (season 1, episode 1, "Wheel of Fire"). A cover version by Peter, Paul & Mary played over the end credits of the April 5, 2023 episode of the AppleTV+ series ''
Ted Lasso ''Ted Lasso'' ( ) is an American sports film, sports comedy-drama television series developed by Jason Sudeikis, Bill Lawrence (TV producer), Bill Lawrence, Brendan Hunt, and Joe Kelly. It is based on a character Sudeikis portrayed in a series ...
'' (season 3, episode 4, "Big Week".). A Burl Ives' cover was used in the final episode (" The Hook") of season one of ''Poker Face''.


See also

* List of Bob Dylan songs based on earlier tunes


References

{{Authority control 1962 songs 1963 singles 1965 singles Songs written by Bob Dylan Bob Dylan songs Peter, Paul and Mary songs Dick and Dee Dee songs Elvis Presley songs The Four Seasons (band) songs Burl Ives songs Doc Watson songs Song recordings produced by John Hammond (record producer) Song recordings produced by Albert Grossman RPM Top Singles number-one singles Columbia Records singles Warner Records singles Esther & Abi Ofarim songs Joan Baez songs Mike Ness Songs