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"You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is a song written by the American musician
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 1967 in Woodstock, New York, during the self-imposed exile from public appearances that followed his July 29, 1966 motorcycle accident. A recording of Dylan performing the song in September 1971 was released on the '' Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II'' album in November of that year, marking the first official release of the song by its author. Earlier 1967 recordings of the song, performed by Dylan and
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 ...
, were issued on the 1975 album '' The Basement Tapes'' and the 2014 album '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete''.
The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...
recorded a version of the song in 1968 and issued it as a single. This was the first commercial release of the song, predating Dylan's own release by three years. A later cover by ex-Byrds members
Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (; born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician, best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the band. As a so ...
and
Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of the Byrds. With frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, defining the genre through his w ...
reached the top 10 of the
Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...
charts in 1989. "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" has also been covered by many other artists, including
Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...
, Unit 4 + 2, and
Glen Hansard Glen James Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top ten o ...
with
Markéta Irglová Markéta Irglová () (born 28 February 1988) is a Czech-Icelandic singer-songwriter, musician and actress, who starred in the film '' Once'', which earned her a number of major awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song for " Fal ...
.


Bob Dylan's versions


1967 versions

Starting in June 1967 and ending in October 1967, Bob Dylan's writing and recording sessions with
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 ...
(then known as the Hawks) in the basement of their house in Woodstock, New York, known as "Big Pink", were the source of many new songs. "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" was written and recorded during this period and features lyrics that allude to the singer waiting for his bride to arrive and, possibly, a final premarital fling. The song is in the key of
G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...
, and has been described by author
Clinton Heylin Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author. Heylin has written extensively about popular music, especially on the life and work of Bob Dylan. Education Heylin attended Manchester Grammar School. He read history at Bedford College ...
as, "one of those songs where Dylan never quite settled on a single set of lyrics." In its earliest recorded version, Dylan had a tune, the last line of each verse, and a chorus, but the song featured a stream of improvised, absurdist lyrics, including, "Now look here, dear soup/You'd best feed the cats/The cats need feeding", and "Just pick up that oil cloth, cram it in the corn/I don't care if your name is Michael/You're gonna need some boards/Get your lunch, you foreign bib". This first take was not officially released until 2014's '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete''. Dylan changed the song's lyrics soon afterwards, with authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon remarking that, in the final 1967 draft, the first verse sounds like a weather report: "Clouds so swift/Rain won't lift/Gate won't close/Railings froze/Get your mind off wintertime". The pair also describe the finished lyrics as being surrealist, with the narrator waiting for his bride to arrive, before flying "down in the easy chair", and even name-dropping
Mongol Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China (Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family of M ...
ruler
Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...
. This second 1967 version of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" was circulated by Dylan's
publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
as a demo for fellow artists to record and was first officially released on Dylan's 1975 '' The Basement Tapes'' album. Margotin and Guesdon have described the sound of this version as having "a
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
tone, to the point of sounding like a tribute to
Hank Williams Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...
". They also describe Dylan's singing voice in the recording as being laid-back, while he accompanies himself on a 12-string acoustic guitar, backed by Rick Danko on bass,
Garth Hudson Eric Garth Hudson (August 2, 1937 – January 21, 2025) was a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for The Band. He was a principal architect of the group's sound and was described as "the mo ...
on organ, Richard Manuel on piano, and
Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal Robertson (July 5, 1943 – August 9, 2023) was a Canadian musician of Indigenous and Jewish ancestry. He was the lead guitarist for Bob Dylan's backing band in the mid-late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. Robertson was also the ...
on drums (the Band's drummer
Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Hel ...
had temporarily left the group at this point). An additional electric guitar part may have been overdubbed in 1975, just prior to the song's release on ''The Basement Tapes'' album.


1971 version

Although Dylan had recorded "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" in 1967, he didn't release a version of the song until 1971's '' Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II'' album. On September 24, 1971, Dylan re-recorded three ''Basement Tapes''-era songs for inclusion on this compilation—"You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", " I Shall Be Released", and " Down in the Flood"—with Happy Traum playing bass, banjo, and electric guitar, as well as providing a vocal harmony. Traum notes that these songs "were very popular songs ... that ylanwanted to put his own stamp on." Author John Nogowski has described the 1971 version of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" as having a "joyus delivery." Heylin has concluded that Dylan took a lot more time and care over his third revision of the song's lyrics in 1971 than he had done back in 1967. The lyrics of the 1971 recording differed significantly from the ''Basement Tapes'' version, and featured what Heylin describes as "riddles, wisely expounded", such as, "Buy me some rings and a gun that sings/A flute that toots and a bee that stings/A sky that cries and a bird that flies/A fish that walks and a dog that talks." The 1971 lyrics also make mention of the film '' Gunga Din'', while Genghis Khan (who was mentioned in the earlier version) is now accompanied by his brother Don. These revised lyrics also name-checked guitarist
Roger McGuinn James Roger McGuinn (; born James Joseph McGuinn III; July 13, 1942) is an American musician, best known for being the frontman and leader of the Byrds. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a member of the band. As a so ...
of
the Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...
, and played upon a mistaken lyric in the Byrds'
cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
of the song from three years earlier (see below). The 1971 version of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" was later released on the compilations ''
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) and '' Dylan'' (2007), although the latter album's liner notes erroneously state that it is the 1967 version.


Live performances

According to his official website, Dylan performed the song live 108 times between 1976 and 2012.


The Byrds' version

The Byrds' recording of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" was released as a single on April 2, 1968 and was the first commercial release of the song, coming three years prior to any release of it by Dylan. The Byrds' single reached number 74 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number 45 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was also the lead single from the band's 1968
country rock Country rock is a music genre that fuses rock and country. It was developed by rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s. These musicians recorded rock records using country themes, vocal sty ...
album, '' Sweetheart of the Rodeo''. Although it is not as famous as their cover version of Dylan's " Mr. Tambourine Man", the Byrds' recording of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is sometimes considered by critics to be the band's best Dylan cover. ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' magazine described it as being "infectious rhythm material" and having a "good lyric line, well performed". The song was selected as a suitable cover by the Byrds after their
record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...
,
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
(which was also Dylan's record label), sent them some demos from Dylan's Woodstock sessions. Included among these demos were the songs "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" and " Nothing Was Delivered", both of which were recorded by the Byrds in March 1968, during the
Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
recording sessions for ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo''. The Byrds' version of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" features musical contributions from session musician
Lloyd Green Lloyd Lamar Green (born October 4, 1937) is an American steel guitarist noted for his extensive country music recording session career in Nashville performing on 116 Chart Hit, No.1 Country music, country hits including Tammy Wynette's “D-I-V-O- ...
on pedal steel guitar. Author
Johnny Rogan John Rogan (14 February 1953 – 21 January 2021) was a British author of Irish descent best known for his books about music and popular culture. He wrote influential biographies of the Byrds, Neil Young, the Smiths, Van Morrison and Ray Davies. ...
has commented that despite the change in musical style that the country-influenced ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' album represented for the band, the inclusion of two Dylan covers forged a link with their previous
folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
incarnation, when Dylan's material had been a mainstay of their repertoire. The Byrds' recording of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" caused a minor controversy between the band and its author. Dylan's original demo of the song contained the lyric "Pick up your money, pack up your tent", which was mistakenly altered in the Byrds' version, by guitarist and singer Roger McGuinn, to "Pack up your money, pick up your tent". Dylan expressed mock-annoyance at this lyric change in his 1971 recording of the song, singing "Pack up your money, put up your tent, McGuinn/You ain't goin' nowhere." McGuinn replied in 1989 on a new recording of the song included on the
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (sometimes abbreviated NGDB), also known as the Dirt Band, is an American band founded in Long Beach, California, in 1966. Since 2018, the band has consisted of Jeff Hanna and his son Jaime Hanna, both guitarists and voc ...
's '' Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two'' album, adding the word "Dylan" after the same "Pack up your money, pick up your tent" lyric. Following its appearance on ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'', "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" would go on to become a staple of the Byrds' live concert repertoire, until their final disbandment in 1973. The Byrds re-recorded "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" in 1971 with
Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...
, as part of the ''Earl Scruggs, His Family and Friends'' television special, and this version was included on the program's accompanying soundtrack album. The song was also performed live by a reformed line-up of the Byrds featuring Roger McGuinn,
David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He first found fame as a member of the Byrds, with whom he helped pioneer the genres of folk rock and psychedelic music, psych ...
, and
Chris Hillman Christopher Hillman (born December 4, 1944) is an American musician. He was the original bassist of the Byrds. With frequent collaborator Gram Parsons, Hillman was a key figure in the development of country rock, defining the genre through his w ...
in January 1989. McGuinn continues to perform the song in his solo concerts and consequently it appears on his 2007 album, ''Live from Spain''. In addition to its appearance on the ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' album, the Byrds' original recording of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" also appears on several of the band's compilations, including '' The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II'', '' History of The Byrds'', '' The Byrds Play Dylan'', '' The Original Singles: 1967–1969, Volume 2'', ''
The Byrds The Byrds () were an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) being the so ...
'', and '' There Is a Season''. Live performances of the song are included on the expanded edition of the band's '' (Untitled)'' album and on '' Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971''.


Other covers

The British beat group Unit 4 + 2 released a recording of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" as a single in 1968, but it suffered poor sales as a result of the competing version released by the Byrds and consequently it did not chart.
Joan Baez Joan Chandos Baez (, ; born January 9, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and activist. Her contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest and social justice. Baez has performed publicly for over 60 years, releasing mo ...
included a gender-switched version of the song, in which she sings "Tomorrow's the day my man's gonna come", on her 1968 album of Dylan covers, '' Any Day Now''. Former members of the Byrds Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman re-recorded the song in 1989 with the
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band Nitty Gritty Dirt Band (sometimes abbreviated NGDB), also known as the Dirt Band, is an American band founded in Long Beach, California, in 1966. Since 2018, the band has consisted of Jeff Hanna and his son Jaime Hanna, both guitarists and voc ...
on that band's '' Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two'' album. This recording was released as a single and peaked at number 6 on the ''Billboard'' Hot Country Singles chart and number eleven on the Canadian country music charts published by ''
RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
''. In spite of the involvement of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the single release was credited to McGuinn and Hillman alone. "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" has also been covered by
Earl Scruggs Earl Eugene Scruggs (January 6, 1924 – March 28, 2012) was an American musician noted for popularizing a three-finger banjo picking style, now called "Scruggs style", which is a defining characteristic of bluegrass music. His three-finge ...
,
Maria Muldaur Maria Muldaur (born Maria Grazia Rosa Domenica D'Amato; September 12, 1942) is an American folk and blues singer who was part of the American folk music revival in the early 1960s. She recorded the 1973 hit song " Midnight at the Oasis" and h ...
, Old Crow Medicine Show,
Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...
, Counting Crows,
the Dandy Warhols The Dandy Warhols are an American psychedelic rock, psychedelic/ band, formed in Portland, Oregon, Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia Mc ...
, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Loudon Wainwright III,
Noel Gallagher Noel Thomas David Gallagher (born 29 May 1967) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Gallagher is the primary songwriter, lead guitarist and a co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel ...
, and
Glen Hansard Glen James Hansard (born 21 April 1970) is an Irish singer-songwriter and musician. Since 1990, he has been the frontman of the Irish rock band The Frames, with whom he has released six studio albums, four of which have charted in the top ten o ...
with
Markéta Irglová Markéta Irglová () (born 28 February 1988) is a Czech-Icelandic singer-songwriter, musician and actress, who starred in the film '' Once'', which earned her a number of major awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song for " Fal ...
among others. It was one of about two dozen Dylan compositions included in the 2017 stage musical '' Girl from the North Country.''


Chart performance


The Byrds version


Chris Hillman/Roger McGuinn version


Year-end charts


References


External links


Lyrics
at Bob Dylan's official site {{Authority control 1967 songs 1968 singles 1989 singles Bob Dylan songs The Byrds songs Nitty Gritty Dirt Band songs Roger McGuinn songs Chris Hillman songs Unit 4 + 2 songs Songs written by Bob Dylan Song recordings produced by Gary Usher Columbia Records singles Male vocal duets Male–female vocal duets Universal Records (1988) singles