"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 ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' is the second studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963, by Columbia Records. Whereas his self-titled debut album ''Bob Dylan'' had contained only two original songs, this a ...

'' 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 "Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about ...

". 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 Susan Tedeschi (; born November 9, 1970) is an American singer and guitarist. A multiple Grammy Award nominee, she is a member of the Tedeschi Trucks Band, a conglomeration of her band, her husband Derek Trucks' band, and other musicians. Ea ...

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 Gerard Quintana i Rodeja (; born 27 November 1964) is a Catalan singer, songwriter, poet, novelist, actor, and radio and TV personality. He first came to prominence in 1986-2001 as the lead singer of the rock band Sopa de Cabra. Sopa de Cabra wa ...

and Jordi Batiste in Catalan,

Emilie-Claire Barlow Emilie-Claire Barlow (born June 6, 1976) is a Canadian singer, arranger, record producer, and voice actress. She has released several albums on her label, Empress Music Group, and has voiced characters for animated television series. She perform ...

in her 2010 album ''

The Beat Goes On The Beat Goes On, or variants, may refer to: Music Albums * ''The Beat Goes On'' (Herbie Mann album), 1967 * ''The Beat Goes On!'' (Sonny Criss album), 1968 * ''The Beat Goes On'' (Vanilla Fudge album), 1968 * '' The Beat Goes On: The Best of ...

'' 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 Susan Elizabeth Rotolo (November 20, 1943 – February 25, 2011),''The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia'', 2006, pp. 592–594, Michael Gray, Continuum known as Suze Rotolo ( ), was an American artist, widely known as Bob Dylan's girlfriend from 1961 to ...

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 ''Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II'', also known as ''More Bob Dylan Greatest Hits'' in certain territories, is the second greatest hits album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was released on November 17, 1971, through Columbia Record ...

'' (1971), ''

The Best of Bob Dylan ''The Best of Bob Dylan'' is a single-disc compilation album containing songs by Bob Dylan, released on November 15, 2005. ''The Best of Bob Dylan'' is available in a digipak format, in an attempt to imitate a vinyl record. The album has liner ...

'' (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 ''Bob Dylan at Budokan'' is a live album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released August 1978 on Columbia Records in Japan only, followed by a worldwide release in April 1979. It was recorded during his 1978 world tour and is composed mo ...

'' (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 ''Live at The Gaslight 1962'' is a live album including ten songs from early Bob Dylan performances recorded in October 1962 at The Gaslight Cafe in New York City's Greenwich Village. Released in 2005 by Columbia Records, it was originally dist ...

'' (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

recorded the song. Dylan's manager

Albert Grossman Albert Grossman (May 21, 1926 – January 25, 1986) was an American entrepreneur and manager in the American folk music and rock and roll scene. He was famous as the manager of many of the most popular and successful performers of folk and folk ...

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 ''In the Wind'' is the third album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, released in October 1963, a few months before the arrival of the Beatles heralded the British Invasion. It was reissued on audio CD in 1990. The lead-off ...

'', "

" 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,

released his ''

Don't Think Twice ''Don't Think Twice'' is a 2016 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Mike Birbiglia and starring Birbiglia, Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs, Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher and Chris Gethard. The film had its world premiere at South by ...

'' 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 Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

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 "White Iverson" is the debut single by American rapper Post Malone. It was released through Republic Records on August 14, 2015, as the lead single from his debut studio album, '' Stoney'' (2016). It was originally released on February 4, 2015, t ...

" 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! ''Norman Fucking Rockwell!'' (abbreviated to ''NFR!'' in some releases) is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, released on August 30, 2019, by Interscope and Polydor Records. The album was primarily produced by De ...

'' tour in 2019, joined by

Walkmen The Walkmen is an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The band consists of Hamilton Leithauser (vocals), Paul Maroon (guitar, keyboards), Walter Martin (musician), Walter Martin (bass, organ), Peter Matthew Bauer (org ...

singer

Hamilton Leithauser James Hamilton Leithauser (born April 15, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the lead vocalist of the American indie rock band The Walkmen, with whom he wrote and recorded seven studio albums from 2000 to 2 ...

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 Nancy Laura Savoca (born July 23, 1959) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Early life and education Nancy Laura Savoca was born in 1959 in the Bronx, New York, to immigrants Maria Elvira from Argentina and Carlos Savoca fr ...

'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 River Jude Phoenix (; August 23, 1970 – October 31, 1993) was an American actor. He was known as a teen actor before taking on leading roles in critically acclaimed films and becoming one of the most preeminent talents of his generation. Pho ...

and

Lili Taylor Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films '' Mystic Pizza'' (1988) and '' Say Anything...'' (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s i ...

; the 2011 film ''

The Help ''The Help'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Kathryn Stockett published by Penguin Books in 2009. The story is about African Americans working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s. A ''USA Today' ...

''; 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 Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek language, Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark".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 Iain David McGeachy (11 September 1948 – 29 January 2009), known professionally as John Martyn, was a British singer-songwriter and guitarist. Over a 40-year career, he released 23 studio albums and received frequent critical acclaim. ...

. 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 Peter, Paul and Mary were an American 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), and Mary Travers (contr ...

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 The Hook, or the Hookman, is an urban legend about a killer with a pirate-like hook for a hand attacking a couple in a parked car. In many versions of the story, the killer is typically portrayed as a faceless, silhouetted old man wearing a r ...

") of season one of ''Poker Face''.

References