Jack gets in over the wire again in time – –

I thought I’d heard most all of Bob Dylan’s songs, but one seems to have escaped me.

Regular readers of this blog or listeners to my weekly radio show will know that I’m a big fan of Mr. Zimmerman and have been ever since his first album appeared in the early 1960s.

I was always aware that he adopted British folk song melodies as the carriers for many of his most popular early songs, and that’s partly what first intrigued me about him. But then I heard ‘Blind Willie McTell,’ where he adapted the melody of ‘St. James Infirmary’ to make my very favorite song by him. That was a twist because the origins of ‘St James’ were in Britain!

I love that like many Americans he was able to re-invent himself and has continued to do that throughout his life.

His guitar accompaniments were very basic back when he arrived in New York, but they have become much more sophisticated since then – which brings me back to this song – –

A good friend suggested I should listen to “Make me feel your Love,” sung by Joan Osborne, and I was astonished. I had never heard of her, but it was great. Then I saw it had been written by Bob! The chord sequence behind the words is incredible – a descending series, but not predictable.

The lyrics are very different from anything else I have heard from him and seem very heartfelt.

As someone once said – ‘The answer, my Friend – – –

Take a listen…

Come back next Wednesday for more from Jack