Working on a Guru

It's raining outside
And I need an umbrella.
So does the guru.

This is just a two-man guitar workout between George Harrison and Bob Dylan, recorded during the "New Morning" sessions in, I guess, 1969 or 1970. The words don't mean a whole lot, but they're fun anyway. This song appeared in 2013 on volume 10 of the Bootleg Series.

Rain on the ground, windshield wipers movin', 
Water on the ground, sure don't feel like groovin'. 
Working on a guru, 
Working on a guru, 
Working on a guru, before the sun goes down. 

Rain all around, I need me an umbrella. 
Water on the ground, I am that kind of fella. 
Looking for a guru, 
Working on a guru, 
Working on a guru, before the sun goes down. 

Walking on the street, I need me an umbrella. 
Just to keep it sweet, I am that kind of fella. 
Looking for a guru, 
Working on a guru, 
Working on a guru, before the sun goes down. 

Rain on the ground, windshield wipers movin', 
Water all around, I sure don't feel like groovin'. 
I'm working on a guru, 
Yes, I'm working on a guru, 
But I'm working on a guru, before the sun goes down. 

Working on a guru, 
Working on a guru, 
Well, it's true, it could be you ... 
I'm working on a guru.

Wild Mountain Thyme

If you ask your girl
To pick thyme, and she says no
Just ask another.

"Wild Mountain Thyme" is a song by Francis McPeake of Belfast, and is a variant on an old Scottish song, so Wikipedia says, called "The Braes of Balquhither." Bob Dylan and the Band performed it at the Isle of Wight festival in 1969, and it appears on the 10th volume of the Bootleg Series, "Another Self Portrait."

Oh the summertime is a-coming
And the leaves are sweetly blooming
And the wild mountain thyme
Blooms around the purple heather.
Will you go, lassie,  go?
And we'll all go together
To pull wild mountain thyme
From all around the purple heather.
Will you go, lassie,  go?
If my true love she won't go,
You know, I'll surely find another
To pull wild mountain thyme
From all around the purple heather.
Will you go, lassie, go?
I will build my love a tower
At the foot of the fountain
And then on it I will put
All the flowers of the mountain
Will you go, lassie, go?
Oh, the springtime is a-coming
and the wee birds are sweetly singing
And the wild mountain thyme
blooms around the purple heather
will you go, lassie, go?

This Evening So Soon

Bill is dead because
He chased downtown girls around.
We told him not to.

This song, by Bob Gibson, by rights is called "Tell Ol' Bill" and came out in 1958. The phrase "This morning, this evening, so soon," which is the refrain of the song, later became the title of a James Baldwin short story. The song admonishes ol' Bill to "leave the downtown girls alone," though the original, if I remember correctly, said to "leave the downtown coons alone," which is a decidedly more racist word to use and changes the meaning of the song significantly. In the rest of the song, you hear that ol' Sal was baking bread when she found out her man Bill was dead. They bring him home in a "hurry-up wagon," and his "arms, his legs and feet were dragging." That's the secret life of ol' Bill that Sally finds out only too late. This is a sweet song for all its morbid atmosphere, and Dylan brings it to life. For what it's worth, some people say a hurry-up wagon refers to an ambulance. I wouldn't be surprised if it referred to a hearse.

Thirsty Boots

One crash pad needed
For a civil rights worker
Who's returning home.

This is a song by Eric Andersen about a civil rights activist returning from the field. Bob Dylan recorded it for the "Self Portrait" album in 1970, but it was not included. It was released on volume 10 of the Bootleg Series, titled "Another Self Portrait."

You've long been on
the open road,
sleepin' in the rain
From dirty words
and muddy cells,
your clothes
are smeared and stained
But the dirty words and muddy cells
will soon be judged insane
So only stop to rest yourself
til you are off again

(Chorus)
And take off
your thirsty boots and stay
for a while
Your feet are hot and weary
from a dusty mile
And maybe I can
make you laugh, maybe I can try
I'm just lookin' for the evening
The morning in your eyes

But tell me of the ones you saw
as far as you could see
Across the plain from fields
to town a-marchin' to be free
And of the rusted prison gates
that tumbled by decree
Like laughin' children one by one
They looked like you and me

I know you are no stranger down
the crooked rainbow trails
From dancing cliff-edged
shattered sills of slander
shackled jails
For the voices drift up from
below as the walls are being scaled
Yes, all of this and more, my friends
your song shall not be failed

These Hands

My workingman's hands
Can vouch for me even if
My track record can't.

This song by Eddie Noack appears on the 10th volume of the Bootleg Series, combining recording session releases from the "Self Portrait"/"New Morning" albums in 1969 and 1970. He wrote it while on guard duty in the Army in Texas. It was meant as a patriotic song, but Johnny Cash's version turned it into a working man's praise. 

These hands aren't the hands of a gentleman
These hands are calloused and old
These hands raised a family, these hands built a home
Now these hands raised to praise the Lord
These hands won the heart of my loved one
And with hers they were never alone
If these hands filled their task then what more could you ask
For these fingers have worked to the bone
Now don't try to judge me by what you'd like me be
For my life hasn't been a success
Some people have power but still they grieve
While these hands brought me happiness
Now I'm tired and I'm old and I haven't much gold
Maybe things ain't been all that I planned
Lord above hear my plea when it's time to judge me
Take a look at these hard working hands
Take a look at these hard working hands

Tattle O'Day

Man buys animals
That can't possibly exist.
Then he plays with them.

I would think that "Tattle O'Day," which surfaced on the Bootleg Series in 2012 when Sony/Columbia released the recordings from Dylan's 1969-1970 "Self-Portrait"/"New Morning" studio sessions, was meant as a children's song. But that doesn't make it perfectly charming for adults. This song, which I think was written by Eric Andersen, contains the following:

- A little brown dog. He can whistle, sing, dance and run. His legs are 14 yards long, allowing him and the singer to go around the world in 12 hours.
- A four-inch-tall bull whose lowing shakes London to the ground.
- A flock of sheep of all wethers who produce wool and feathers. They also bring him lots of "increase" as they give birth to lambs and geese every autumn and every time the moon changes.
- A four-acre box that the singer carries in his pocket, having filled it with silver and guineas that he saved up to buy himself a trip to Turkey.
- A speckled hen who sits on an oyster until out springs a 15-hands-high hare.

Railroad Bill

I fear Railroad Bill.
He'll take whatever he wants
And kill everyone.

Here's a portrait of a bad man named Bill who rides the railroad like the mean old hobo he is. Bob Dylan recorded this old folk song in 1969 or 1970 during the "Self Portrait"/"New Morning" sessions, but it sat on the shelf until 201X when it was released on volume 10 of the Bootleg Series.

The crimes of Railroad Bill:
- Never worked
- Never will
- Mighty mean
- Shot the midnight lantern out of the brakeman's hand
- Took my wife, threatened to kill me if I resisted

The revenge of the singer:
- He bought a .38 and is taking it out West, presumably to find Bill and shoot him.
- As the singer notes, "Honey honey honey, think that I'm a fool? Think I would quit you when the weather is cool? Ride ride ride..."

Here's a cover of the song. I couldn't find one by Dylan.

Pretty Saro

Man must leave woman

Whom he can't afford. He dreams

About her and moans.

"Pretty Saro" is an 18th-century English ballad that survived among in the Appalachian mountain region of America. Dylan recorded it in 1969 or 1970 during his sessions for the albums "Self-Portrait" and "New Morning," but it went unreleased until it appeared in 2012 on the 10th volume of the Bootleg Series. It's one of his most tender vocal performances, making a sad song even sadder. The gist: poor man loves Sarah, but she would prefer a freeholder with house and land. He knows he can't afford what she wants, so he can't have her. He wishes he were a poet so he could write her a poem that would make her fall in love with him, but he can't write a poem, so he wanders the riverbank and dreams of Sarah wherever he goes.

Only a Hobo

Bum dies on the street.
He might not mean much to you,
But he's human too.

A social consciousness song from 1963. "Only a Hobo" doesn't specifically say that the guy died, but "His face was all grounded in the cold sidewalk floor" and "Only a hobo, but one more is gone" suggest to me that he did. This song appeared on the ninth volume of the bootleg series as a demo version for the Witmark music company. There's also a later version that he recorded around 1969 or 1970 that appears on volume 10 of the bootleg series, which collects recordings from that time.

As I was out walking on a corner one day
I spied an old hobo, in a doorway he lay
His face was all grounded in the cold sidewalk floor
And I guess he’d been there for the whole night or more

Only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leavin’ nobody to sing his sad song
Leavin’ nobody to carry him home
Only a hobo, but one more is gone

A blanket of newspaper covered his head
As the curb was his pillow, the street was his bed
One look at his face showed the hard road he’d come
And a fistful of coins showed the money he bummed

Only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leavin’ nobody to sing his sad song
Leavin’ nobody to carry him home
Only a hobo, but one more is gone

Does it take much of a man to see his whole life go down
To look up on the world from a hole in the ground
To wait for your future like a horse that’s gone lame
To lie in the gutter and die with no name?

Only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leavin’ nobody to sing his sad song
Leavin’ nobody to carry him home
Only a hobo, but one more is gone

House Carpenter

Woman leaves family,
Misses kids. Demon lover
Takes her straight to hell.

"House Carpenter" isn't so different from a million other spooky songs from the British Isles, but I've always thought this one was pretty frightening. The original title of this Scottish ballad is "The Daemon Lover," and is also known as "James Harris" or "James Herries."

Naturally, it is a cautionary tale for married women who might be considering their options. As the original title page went from the 17th century: A Warning for Married Women, being an example of Mrs Jane Reynolds (a West-country woman), born near Plymouth, who, having plighted her troth to a Seaman, was afterwards married to a Carpenter, and at last carried away by a Spirit, the manner how shall be presently recited.

The story: A man returns to his former lover. She's married to a carpenter and has one or more babies. He convinces her to run off with him to Italy. They board a ship and sail out to sea. She misses her children and regrets her action. Then she spies two coasts. One is bright and beautiful. The other is dark and frightening. She asks which coasts they are and her lover tells her. He lets her know that they're bound for the worse of the two options. At that point, she discovers that he is a demon or the devil or some other malevolent supernatural force. He destroys the ship and she dies, sunk at the bottom of the sea.

Here are the lyrics that Dylan used. His recording from 1961 appears on the first volume of the Bootleg Series, which was released in 1991. He recorded another version nearly a decade later during his sessions for the Self Portrait album. That one appears on Volume 10 of the Bootleg Series, called "Another Self Portrait."

Well met, well met, my own true love
Well met, well met, cried she
I've just returned from the salt, salt sea
And it's all for the love of thee

I could have married a King's daughter there
She would have married me
But I have forsaken my King's daughter there
It's all for the love of thee

Well, if you could have married a King's daughter there
I'm sure you're the one to blame
For I am married to a house carpenter
And I'm sure he's a fine young man

Forsake, forsake your house carpenter
And come away with me
I'll take you where the green grass grows
On the shores of sunny Italy

So up she picked her babies three
And gave them kisses, one, two, three
Saying "take good care of your daddy while I'm gone
And keep him good company."

Well, they were sailin' about two weeks
I'm sure it was not three
When the younger of the girls, she came on deck
Sayin' she wants company

"Well, are you weepin' for your house and home?
Or are you weepin' for your babies three?"
"Well, I'm not weepin' for my house carpenter
I'm weepin' for my babies three."

Oh what are those hills yonder, my love
They look as white as snow
Those are the hill of heaven, my love
You and I'll never know

Oh what are those hills yonder, my love
They look as dark as night
Those are the hills of hell-fire my love
Where you and I will unite

Oh twice around went the gallant ship
I'm sure it was not three
When the ship all of a sudden, it sprung a leak
And it drifted to the bottom of the sea

Bring Me a Little Water

With Sylvie around,

Bob lacks for nothing, but he

Still wants some water.

This appears to be a variation on the title "Bring Me Little Water Sylvie," which I understand was written by Leadbelly, though I don't know that for sure. Bob recorded it during the "Self Portrait" sessions in 1970, but it wasn't released until volume 10 of the Bootleg Series. Sylvie appears to be a nice girl from Florida who lacks for nothing in the department of serving her man:

Sylvie is a good ol' girl
                      G
From Florida, so they say.
    C       C7        F     Dm7-5
She came up here last April
   C         G     C
To pass some time away.
            
Now, won't you bring me a little water, Sylvie?
Bring me a little water now
Bring me a little water, Sylvie
For my tired brow
            
Sylvie came here Wednesday
She came this morning by the light of the dawn
She comes up here now nearly all of the time
to see if she can carry on
            
Sylvie says she loves me
she says it all of the time
she always gets behind me
when the hill is too high to climb
            
She brings me milk and honey
Brings me slop and beans
brings me coconuts and candy

brings me turnip greens

Belle Isle

Man in a disguise

Tempts his girlfriend to cheat, but

She proves quite faithful.

Operetta-style comedy from this song released on Dylan's 1970 album "Self Portrait." Guy spies a good-looking woman working in Scotland or Ireland or wherever Loch Eiron is (It doesn't appear to exist). He notes that she's hot, but stops short of suggestion that they get together. She says she's a poor, hard-working lass, and more's the point, she can't entertain untoward suggestions from strange men because she's promised to another and waiting for him to return from some journey somewhere. At this point, he reveals that he has come in disguise and indeed is that very same man. Naturally, he probably expects her to be overjoyed. Were I the woman in question, I would have been annoyed by this man's insistence that he could go off wherever he likes, and then be so mistrustful as to try to catch his girl out as a cheat. As it happens, we don't know how the woman responds because Dylan ends the song on the young man's removal of his disguise. That he ends the song claiming that he has been true to must have been cold comfort to the poor gal who has discovered only too late what a cretin she's been dating.

Here is the version of the song that Dylan released on the Self Portrait entry in the Bootleg Series. The version released on the 1970 album contains string orchestra overdubs, which some people complain made it saccharine. They're right, but I've grown used to it. Here is the Bootleg Series version, which is considerably stripped down.

Annie's Going to Sing Her Song

You should hear Annie.

She leaves, then begs to come back.

I always let her.

This song makes me laugh, but I always feel bad afterward. The premise to the tune, which was released on Tom Paxton's "6" album in 1970, is this: Annie leaves her fella, then she cries and begs to come back. He always takes her back. There's a voyeuristic angle that bothers me, though. Paxton introduces the song by inviting us to have a few drinks because we're going to need it as we hear about this dysfunctional relationship. Every time he describes the situation, he gives us a stage wink, the ironic detachment that says, "yeah, I know, this sucks, but what do you want me to do?" I would hate to be poor Annie.

Bob recorded this song in March 1970 during his "Self Portrait" sessions. It was released on the Bootleg Series Vol. 10, which covers that period.

Alberta #1

Bob would pay this girl

To let down her long, long hair

And improve his mood.

This is an old Leadbelly standard, and he liked it enough to record it four times. It's a fun little song, considering that all the singer wants is for Alberta to let her hair down, to the extent that he will pay her to do it (more gold, in fact, than her apron can hold). Not only that, Alberta keeps the singer worried and bothered and apparently treats him unkindly. I suppose you could read some innuendo into lines like that, especially as one of Leadbelly's versions asks Alberta to "take him down" into her rocking chair, and I suspect that rocking chairs aren't always rocking chairs.

Dylan recorded this as "Alberta #1" and "Alberta #2" for the 1970 album "Self Portrait," which is genius or a disaster, depending on how you look at it. It's from the period in which he was playing with Nashville session men and women, and I have written here before about how I like the warm, sweet sound of these times. The same goes for "Self Portrait," which for whatever else you might think of it, is erratic. There also is an "Alberta #3," but that didn't surface until the release of "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 10: Another Self Portrait (1969-1971)," which contains many outtakes from the "Self Portrait" and "New Morning" sessions.

Here's a strange, but charming cover of the song that I found on YouTube by someone called Eric Frostic.