True Blue is a brutally honest look at a relationship, but it is sung with tenderness and warmth in Lucy Dacus’ laidback voice. The phrase “true blue” means loyalty and faithfulness, not sadness. The song moves through the highs and lows of a relationship. It is not always easy, but as Lucy suggests, it feels good to be known so well.
The storytelling is strong and full of vivid images. Some lines even raise a wry smile because of how blunt they are, like “You say you’re a winter bitch” and “You f&ck around and find out.” That kind of direct language, instead of soft and overly romantic words, feels refreshing and real.
boygenius (stylized in lowercase) is an American indie rock supergroup. They first appeared with their self-titled EP in 2018, then returned after a break with their debut album The Record (2023), which includes “True Blue.”
The Record was both a critical and commercial success. It won three Grammy Awards and also received a Brit Award. The album reached number one in the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands, and peaked at number four on the U.S. Billboard chart. On March 30, 2023, boygenius released The Film, a short promotional film featuring the songs “$20,” “Emily I’m Sorry” and “True Blue.”
The group is currently on hiatus although the vocalist below Lucy Dacus currently resides in Los Angeles with her partner, fellow boygenius bandmate Julien Baker.
The video below shot by Kristen Stewart captures the mutual love and heartfelt connection between these three women. It transitions towards the end from Lucy kissing Phoebe to kissing Julien.
You said you wanted to feel alive So we went to the beach You were born in July ’95 In a deadly heat You say you’re a winter bitch But summer’s in your blood You can’t help but become the sun
When you moved to Chicago You were spinnin’ out When you don’t know who you are You fuck around and find out When you called me from the train Water freezin’ in your eyes You were happy and I wasn’t surprised
[Chorus] And it feels good to be known so well I can’t hide from you like I hide from myself
Now you’re movin’ in Breakin’ a sweat on your upper lip And gettin’ pissed about humidity And the leaky faucet You already hurt my feelings three times In the way only you could
[Chorus] But it feels good to be known so well I can’t hide from you like I hide from myself I remember who I am when I’m with you Your love is tough, your love is tried and true-blue Blue
You’ve never done me wrong, except for that one time That we don’t talk about Because it doesn’t matter anymore Who won the fight? I don’t know We’re not keeping score
In the introduction to today’s song in the video below, an older Leonard Cohen sits outside on a front patio, smoking a cigarette. He says, “I feel a lot stronger, but I am actually a lot weaker,” which is quite poignant when you consider Traveling Light comes from Leonard’s last record, You Want It Darker (image inset), released just 17 days before he passed away.
To lighten it up a bit – I was imagining myself as a local resident, right there above looking onto Cohen’s house (if it were his residence), and wondering: when playing Leonard Cohen’s music – which I often do – would I feel the need to keep it down, or instead an incessant urge to just blast it out and then go onto the front lawn yelling, “Heck Leonard, love ya man – woohoo – yeah!” I probably wouldn’t have been a very tranquil Leonard Cohen neighbour.
I love Leonard Cohen’s last album. I found myself upset for a long time when I learnt of his passing. He is one of the few artists who you think will always be around; will always be the person to whisper in your ear and then when you hear these ‘departure’ tracks, it puts a lot into perspective.
As an astute commentator put it in the video below: ‘You tried poetry, you mastered it. You tried drawing, you mastered it. You tried songwriting and making music, you mastered it again. Thank you Leonard. You are a true Master of Art. We miss you everyday‘.
One thing that also struck me is when Leonard reflected on his life as a Buddhist monk in this interview. He spoke about the simplicity of life at the monastery, describing it as “a voluptuous sense of economy.” He then distilled the writing process like this: “you have to sit there in the bonfire of that distress… and sit there till you’re burnt away… it’s like rummaging through your pockets to see what you can work with“.
Traveling Light is another goodbye song on the record – or, as he puts it, an “au revoir” on an album that is really about departure, reconciliation, and coming to terms. It’s lovely that he co-wrote this song with his son, Adam Cohen, and got to share it with him. He seems to have let go of his baggage, his hang-ups, even much of the ego – the fear of death feels diminished. That’s what comes through across the whole record: resolution and surrender, like on the title track where he says, “I’m ready, my Lord.”
Due to fractures of the spine, You Want It Darker was recorded in the living room of Leonard Cohen’s home in Mid-Wilshire, Los Angeles and then sent by e-mail to his musical collaborators. His son, Adam Cohen recalled that “occasionally, in bouts of joy, he would even, through his pain, stand up in front of the speakers, and we’d repeat a song over and over like teenagers“.
[Verse 1] I’m traveling light, it’s au revoir My once so bright, my fallen star I’m running late, they’ll close the bar I used to play one mean guitar I guess I’m just somebody who Has given up on the me and you I’m not alone, I’ve met a few Traveling light, like we used to do
[Refrain] La la la la la la la La la la la la la la la la la
[Verse 2] Good night, good night, my fallen star I guess you’re right, you always are I know you’re right about the blues You live some life you’d never choose I’m just a fool, a dreamer who Forgot to dream of the me and you I’m not alone, I’ve met a few Traveling light, like we used to do
[Refrain] La la la la la la la La la la la la la la La la la la la la la La la la la la la la la la la
[Verse 3] Traveling light, it’s au revoir My once so bright, my fallen star I’m running late, they’ll close the bar I used to play one mean guitar I guess I’m just somebody who Has given up on the me and you I’m not alone, I’ve met a few Traveling light, like we used to do
[Outro] But if the road leads back to you Must I forget the things I knew When I was friends with one or two Traveling light, like we used to do I’m traveling light
[Refrain] La la la la la la la La la la la la la la la la la
I went on a David Bowie bender yesterday, listening to and sharing some of my favourite songs. Then today’s featured track came on at the end of one of them, and I found myself wondering – how on earth is this not already in my collection? So I’m making amends and adding Starman to my music library project. Better late than never.
If you had asked me as a young adult whether I would ever immerse myself in the music of David Bowie, I would have told you – ‘you were dreaming’. But as I was telling Steve (@ Song of the Day for Today) only yesterday, I’m a real latecomer to Bowie. It’s only over the last decade or so that I’ve come to appreciate his music more and more. Now I finally understand what all the fuss was about (slaps head).
Steve, on the other hand, knew exactly what the fuss was about from the beginning. He even saw Bowie at the height of his Ziggy Stardust fame in 1973 while visiting family in Liverpool. You can read more about Steve’s experience in the comments section of this post which leads us nicely onto Starman.
Today’s song is a good example of how my musical tastes have changed, especially when it comes to Bowie. I had probably heard Starman countless times growing up, but it never really grabbed me. It has always been all over the radio and deeply rooted in pop culture, yet only now do I find myself genuinely fond of it.
When I listen to Bowie’s music, I see him more as a theatrical entertainer than a proto singer-songwriter. He played characters, and that is nowhere more evident than in his Ziggy Stardust persona.
I saw an interview documentary about him on the Film and Arts channel a few years back (twice!), and I found him to be an eloquent and articulate speaker. There are few singer-songwriters I enjoy listening to interpret their own music, but David Bowie is definitely one of the exceptions. I’ll never forget how he said, in no uncertain terms, that he didn’t consider himself much of a singer. Instead, he shaped his voice to suit the character he was portraying on stage, bringing each persona to life.
His career was defined by constant reinvention, along with a strong focus on visual style and presentation. Both his music and stagecraft have had a lasting and powerful impact on popular music in Western culture.
The following was abridged from the Wikipedia article below:
Starman was the lead single from David Bowie’s fifth studio album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The song was a late addition to the album, written as a direct response to RCA’s request for a single. The lyrics describe Ziggy Stardust bringing a message of hope to Earth’s youth through the radio, salvation by an alien “Starman“. The chorus is inspired by “Over the Rainbow“, sung by Judy Garland.
Following Bowie’s performance of the song on the BBC television programme Top of the Pops, the song reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and helped propel the album to number five. It was his first major hit since Space Oddity three years earlier. The performance made Bowie a star and was watched by a large audience, including many future musicians, who were all affected by it; these included Siouxsie Sioux, Bono, Robert Smith, Boy George and Morrissey. Retrospectively, the song is considered by music critics as one of Bowie’s finest.
[Intro] Hey now, now Goodbye, love
[Verse 1] Didn’t know what time it was; the lights were low I leaned back on my radio Some cat was layin’ down some rock ‘n’ roll, “Lotta soul,” he said Then the loud sound did seem to fade Came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase That weren’t no DJ, that was hazy cosmic jive
[Chorus] There’s a starman waitin’ in the sky He’d like to come and meet us But he thinks he’d blow our minds There’s a starman waitin’ in the sky He’s told us not to blow it ‘Cause he knows it’s all worthwhile
[Post-Chorus] He told me “Let the children lose it Let the children use it Let all the children boogie”
[Verse 2] I had to phone someone, so I picked on you Hey, that’s far out, so you heard him too Switch on the TV, we may pick him up on Channel Two Look out your window, I can see his light If we can sparkle, he may land tonight Don’t tell your poppa, or he’ll get us locked up in fright
[Chorus] There’s a starman waitin’ in the sky He’d like to come and meet us But he thinks he’d blow our minds There’s a starman waitin’ in the sky He’s told us not to blow it ‘Cause he knows it’s all worthwhile
[Post-Chorus] He told me “Let the children lose it Let the children use it Let all the children boogie”
[Chorus] Starman waitin’ in the sky He’d like to come and meet us But he thinks he’d blow our minds There’s a starman waitin’ in the sky He’s told us not to blow it ‘Cause he knows it’s all worthwhile
[Post-Chorus] He told me “Let the children lose it Let the children use it Let all the children boogie”
It’s a bit uncanny that today’s tongue-in-cheek, “curb your enthusiasm” type of song follows on the heels of another “keep your sights down low” number yesterday with the Cake’s Great Expectations. The title Cheer Down is said to come from Olivia Harrison, who would tell her husband, “All right, cheer down, big fellow,” whenever he got a little too enthusiastic.
You only have to hear Cheer Down to recognise the sound that shaped Traveling Wilburys. In fact, you could argue this track sounds even more Wilburys than some of their own songs. That’s no surprise, as Harrison co-wrote it with Tom Petty and co-produced it with Jeff Lynne, who also added backing vocals, bass, and keyboards. And of course, George’s trademark slide guitar glides beautifully throughout.
The song arrived in between the Wilburys’ Volume 1 (1988) and Volume 3 (1990), so this was very much the sound Harrison and Lynne were immersed in at the time. Lynne had already helped shape Harrison’s comeback album Cloud Nine (1987), and an early rhythm track for Cheer Down actually dates back to those sessions.
Originally, the song was offered to Eric Clapton for his Journeyman album. Instead, Clapton – who was working on the soundtrack for Lethal Weapon 2 – suggested using it for the film and encouraged Harrison to record his own version. In fact, this song was sent to me yesterday by family who had just heard it in the film’s closing credits – so here we are today.
[Verse 1] I can see by your grin That you’re trembling within It’s all over town Cheer down And the smile on your face Is sometimes out of place Don’t mind, no frowns Cheer down
[Bridge] If your hair should fall If your shares should crash You’ll get by Even without, getting a rash
[Verse 3] There’s no tears to be shed I’m going to love you instead I want you around Cheer down
[Bridge] When your teeth drop out You’ll get by Even without, taking a bite
[Verse 4] If your dog should be dead (Cheer down, cheer down!) I’m going to love you instead (Cheer down, cheer down!) The world loves a clown (Cheer down, cheer down!) Cheer down
[Outro] I want you around Cheer down! Cheer down, baby! Cheer down I want you around Down Cheer down! Cheer down Cheer down It’s all that’s had you down! Cheer down Cheer down Cheer down Cheer down Cheer down Cheer down Cheer down Cheer down Cheer down Cheer down Woo! Cheer down Cheer down
Best not have Great Expectations Keep your sights down low
My favourite band from Melbourne, Australia, My Friend the Chocolate Cake, is back again with a very upbeat, fun song that doesn’t take itself too seriously. This is the Cake’s ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm‘ in song. Great Expectations is filled with Australiana – names, images, and laid-back humour – that immediately takes me back to my home country. It’s another of the band’s songs about escapism, about mixing things up and just going for it. It sits in a similar vein to one of their most popular songs, I’ve Got a Plan. Life’s too short to get stuck in the same old rigmarole that modern living creates, and not make the most of every moment we’re given.
The band’s gypsy-like, buoyant style shows they practise what they preach. Anyone who has seen them perform would agree – they have an effervescent, freewheeling spirit that you don’t see much in music these days. They’ve always felt a little enigmatic to me, perhaps because they seem more like a travelling carnival that appears every now and then. Their shows have a baroque, festival-like atmosphere – at least as I remember them – with a flair for the flamboyant.
I also got a kick out of hearing the bright, bouncy sound of Great Expectations paired with its no-thrills, yet quirky (unofficial) video below. It looks like it was filmed at a travelling “Jesus bus” show, featuring a music group alongside gleeful, animated puppets – as a sideshow. Just like the Cake’s music, the video has that folky, wandering, itinerant feel. Then David Bridie comes in to close each chorus – and the song itself – with the line: “On with the show (on with the show).”
The song finishes with a curious little yarn – and if the captions are right, it goes like this:
´They’d run away from the circus, They just never knew what to join, And one day, single-minded like a good malt whiskey was three times as old, He let her go – knowing that in the not too distant future, she’d return to it, You know what? She never did.’
Great Expectations comes from their 2011 studio album Fiasco (image inset). The pop chamber group’s musical style could be seen as straddle the worlds of ambient and world music, with an emphasis on piano and violin-led acoustic music.
[Verse 1] As time passes us by It swoops across the bay We hope that we can be found on a little hideaway And I’ll never ride ‘cross the great sandy desert On a donkey, or a mule And I’ll never bowl like Curtly Ambrose But I’ll be a fool for you
[Bridge] And if the rainbow’s end Is not around the next two turns We’re in a heap of trouble So let’s get away from here
[Chorus] Best not have Great Expectations Keep your sights down low You’d be best avoid disappointment On with the show (On with the show)
[Verse 2] Whistle, as loud as you can All your favourite Looney Tunes You should, feel sleepy When you’re barkin’ at the moon
[Bridge] And if the rainbow’s end Is not around the next two turns We’re in a heap of trouble So let’s get away from here
[Chorus] Best not have Great Expectations Keep your sights down low You’d be best avoid disappointment On with the show (On with the show)
[Verse 3] Hop on board the red cargo plane Go far across the sea And if you do you’ll end up happy as you will ever be As happy as a Rock Mango Tree
[Verse 4] How many times have I warned you? I told you Please don’t give me the top job ‘Cause I’m much more comfortable Being the Pig Pen in the mud
[Bridge] And if the rainbow’s end Is not around the next two turns We’re in a heap of trouble So let’s get away from here
[Chorus] Best not have Great Expectations Keep your sights down low You’d be best avoid disappointment On with the show
Best not have Great Expectations Keep your sights down low You’d be best avoid disappointment On with the show (On with the show)
I felt trapped by this cover song ever since I first heard it on The Essential Bruce Springsteen released in 2003. From it’s simple guitar flicking opening to that Roy Bittan’s lamenting synthesizer overlay, Trapped builds slowly, telling the story of a person tethered and stuck in a relationship that’s beyond repair. Once it becomes clear he has been made to suffer so the other can be stronger, he realises he must escape this situation and get the hell out. It carefully unravels until, all at once in the chorus, the narrator bursts out: “Well now I’m trapped!”
Bruce’s version was first officially released on the 1985 We Are the World benefit album. Critics have often read the song beyond a personal relationship. Ken Tucker of Knight-Ridder Newspapers suggested the lyrics could be heard “in the words of a black person” railing against political oppression. Eric Thurm of The A.V. Club noted that the narrator feels personal and specific, “wearing the same old chains,” rather than speaking for a faceless crowd.
Trapped was originally written and recorded by the late reggae artist Jimmy Cliff in 1972. His version was released as a single in the UK but did not chart, and it was not included on one of his main studio albums at the time.
During the European leg of The River Tour in 1981, Springsteen bought a cassette of Jimmy Cliff’s music at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. He discovered Trapped there and soon added it to his live shows. It quickly became one of his most powerful concert staples, with many live versions circulating among fans.
Apart from the chorus, Bruce’s and Jimmy’s versions are very different. Cliff’s original has an upbeat reggae feel, while Springsteen turns it into a slower, more intense and brooding piece. In November 1989, Springsteen joined Cliff onstage at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and the two performed an extended version of Trapped that leaned closer to Cliff’s original style.
The version below included on The Essential Bruce Springsteen comes from a live performance at the Meadowlands Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on August 6, 1984, and appears on the bonus third disc of the compilation.
From Wikipedia: Regarding Springsteen’s version of the song, Cliff commented in 1988, “I look at it as a compliment. … He’s an artist in his own right and he’s written a lot of good songs, too. It’s good when an established artist does your work and does it in his way. I’ve also done other people’s work. I recorded Cat Stevens’ ‘Wild World’, a big hit in Europe, and I did it my way. From a commercial point of view, I didn’t gain from [‘Trapped’]. All the royalties were donated to the cause and I gained in the moral sense that I have done something for the cause.
[Verse 1] Seems like I’m caught up in your trap again Seems like I’ll be wearing the same old chains Good will conquer evil and the truth will set me free And I know someday I will find the key I know somewhere I will find the key Seems like I’ve been playing your game way too long Seems the game I’ve played has made you strong When the game is over I won’t walk out the loser I know I’ll walk out of here again I know someday I’ll walk out of here again
[Chorus] Well now I’m trapped Ooh yeah
[Verse 2] Seems like I’ve been sleeping in your bed too long Seems like you’ve been meaning to do me harm But I’ll teach my eyes to see beyond these walls in front of me Someday I’ll walk out of here again Someday I’ll walk out of here again
[Chorus]
[Verse 3] Seems like I’ve been playing your game way too long Seems the game I’ve played has made you strong
‘Bloodbuzz Ohio’ started as a sweet little folk song, which we transformed. But we knew that was a good one right away.”
– Matt Berninger (frontman and lyricist of indie rock band The National).
Bloodbuzz Ohio is one of the standout tracks from The National’s 2010 album High Violet, which reached No. 3 on the US charts and appeared on many “album of the year” lists. The song captures what people admire about the band: a slow, looping build that gradually comes together. The music grows in layers and only fully reveals itself near the end with that shredding guitar, man: a point drummer Bryan Devendorf has noted about their process.
The band often turns ambiguity into an art form. The writing is minimal, and the meaning comes more from the music than the words. Matt Berninger’s deep, weary voice feels almost like another instrument. He has said he wrote much of the album in a half-awake state after the birth of his daughter, which adds to the song’s drifting, uneasy mood. He said he was ‘happy but a little delirious’.
Despite its abstract feel, the sound is dense and immersive. It surrounds the listener, which has always been part of the band’s appeal to me. Their music may be vague, but the band themselves have been open about this period. Around 2009, they were burned out from touring and close to breaking up. Recording High Violet helped bring them back together, with Bryce Dessner describing it as entering “another universe.”
Lyrically, Bloodbuzz Ohio is about distance, identity, and change. Berninger has described it as a song about where you’re from, family, and a sense of dislocation. Lines like “I still owe money to the money to the money I owe” reflect the stress of the financial crisis. There is also a feeling of homesickness. The band formed in New York but came from Ohio, and the song captures that tension between past and present.
The band have always been very open with the media about their music, especially the making of their songs, their creative process, and their meaning. I highly recommend their interview below with Uncut magazine for a detailed breakdown of how Bloodbuzz Ohio came into being.
[Verse 1] Stand up straight at the foot of your love, I Lift my shirt up Stand up straight at the foot of your love, I Lift my shirt up
[Pre-Chorus] I was carried to Ohio in a swarm of bees I never married, but Ohio don’t remember me
[Verse 2] Lay my head on the hood of your car, I Take it too far Lay my head on the hood of your car, I Take it too far
[Chorus] I still owe money to the money to the money I owe I never thought about love when I thought about home I still owe money to the money to the money I owe The floors are fallin’ down from everybody I know
[Post-Chorus] I’m on a blood buzz, yes I am I’m on a blood buzz I’m on a blood buzz, God I am I’m on a blood buzz
I wrote this song after going through a difficult period. Like people have, nothing sort of madly serious or anything but just one of those days when it’s like, ‘Oh my god, what am I doing wrong here?’ you know? And sometimes that’s a good way to write a song. Because it’s coming from your soul. – Paul McCartney
I Don’t Know is a melancholic ballad from Paul McCartney. I liked its soft and restrained melody from the first time I heard it. You can really feel the sadness in his voice, and it shows he still has his natural gift for melody. Coming from a 76-year-old man who still has things to learn about life and himself, it shows humility and honesty. Listen to how he sings – it’s like an oval voice as if his mouth is almost towards circular and it’s really consuming. I haven’t really heard that singing before.
I Don’t Know is a very beautiful and tender song from the former member of The Beatles, revealing a side of him that, apart from his very early solo work, is rarely heard in his music. In fact, Paul said in an interview that John Lennon would have liked this song. It’s hard to see why not. It’s a real keeper.
The following was abridged from Wikipedia:
I Don’t Know comes from Paul McCartney’s 17th studio album – Egypt Station. It was released as a double A side single alongside Come On To Me. The hand-numbered vinyl was limited to 5,000 copies and was available at independent record stores around the world on 23 November 2018. The track was recorded at Henson Studios in Los Angeles, with additional sessions recorded at Hog Hill Mill (Sussex) and Abbey Road Studios.
[Verse 1] I got crows at my window, dogs at my door I don’t think I can take anymore What am I doing wrong? I don’t know
[Verse 2] My brother told me, “life’s not a pain” But that was right when it started to rain Where am I going wrong? I don’t know
[Chorus] But it’s alright, sleep tight I will take the strain You’re fine, love of mine You will feel no pain
[Verse 3] Well, I see trouble at every turn I’ve got so many lessons to learn What am I doing wrong? I don’t know
[Bridge 1] Now what’s the matter with me? Am I right? Am I wrong? Now I started to see I must try to be strong
[Verse 4] I try to love you best as I can But you know that I’m only a man Why am I going wrong? I don’t know
[Chorus] But it’s alright, sleep tight I will take the strain Yeah, you’re fine, little love of mine You will feel no pain
[Verse 1] I got crows at my window and dogs at my door But I don’t think I can take anymore What am I doing wrong? I don’t know
[Outro] Now what’s the matter with me? I don’t know, I don’t know What’s the matter with me? I don’t know, I don’t know What’s the matter with me? I don’t know, I don’t know
I was walking to the shops yesterday and Raspberry Beret came on in my collection. Such was my enjoyment, I wondered why I hadn’t already featured it here. I realised I had been putting it off because I thought it sounded too much, rhythmically and melodically, like another Warren Zevon rocker – Poor Poor Pitiful Me. Oh well, I decided to let Raspberry Beret have its own day in the sun because it’s just so god-dang fun, the drums are so crisp, and Zevon sings his socks off. Also, the lyrics are very much in keeping with the humour and zest of Zevon’s other songs. But guess what?
This is not a Zevon-penned song. Drum roll… Prince wrote it. So here is Zevon doing Prince in what was basically a knock-off rehearsal. I’m not complaining. It has such a crazy tight bar-band rock sound. It seems like they are having the time of their lives recording it.
This version appears on the record Hindu Love Gods by an American band called Hindu Love Gods. That was the only album they released, and it came out in 1990. The band was made up of R.E.M. players Bill Berry, Peter Buck and Mike Mills, along with Zevon, who were also recording his album Sentimental Hygiene at the time. During late-night sessions they recorded a bunch of old blues covers and decided to release them as a separate album under a different band name – Hindu Love Gods.
Wikipedia notes that, according to Zevon and Mills, Zevon’s manager decided to release the album without consulting the musicians, which created a public rift between Zevon and the band.
It’s sad to realise that both Zevon and Prince are no longer with us. Oh, and before I forget, here is Prince’s original version, which is unsurprisingly worlds apart from Zevon’s.
Rock on and enjoy every sandwich.
[Verse 1] Yeah I was working part time in a five-and-dime My boss was Mr. McGee He told me several times that he didn’t like my kind ‘Cause I was a bit too leisurely Seems that I was busy doing something close to nothing But different than the day before That’s when I saw her, ooh, I saw her She walked in through the out door, out door
[Chorus] She wore a raspberry beret The kind you find in a second-hand store Raspberry beret And if it was warm, she wouldn’t wear much more Raspberry beret, I think I love her
[Verse 2] Built like she was, she had the nerve to ask me If I planned to do her any harm So, look here, I put her on the back of my bike and, uh, we went riding Down by old man Johnson’s farm I said, now, overcast days never turned me on But something ’bout the clouds and her mixed She wasn’t too bright, but I could tell when she kissed me She knew how to get her kicks
[Chorus] She wore a raspberry beret The kind you find in a second-hand store Raspberry beret And if it was warm, she wouldn’t wear much more Raspberry beret, I think I love her
[Verse 3] The rain sounds so cool when it hits the barn roof And the horses wonder who you are Thunder drowns out what the lightning sees You feel like a movie star Listen, they say the first time ain’t the greatest But I tell you, if I had the chance to do it all again, ooh I wouldn’t change a stroke ’cause, baby, I’m the most With a girl as fine as she was then
[Chorus] (Raspberry beret) Oh! The kind you find (The kind you find) The kind you find (In a second-hand store) Oh, no, no (Raspberry beret) (And if it was warm) Where have all the raspberry women gone? (She wouldn’t wear much more) Yeah (Raspberry beret) Aah! I think I, I think I, I think I love her! (Raspberry beret) No, no, no No, no, no (The kind you find) (In a second-hand store) (Raspberry beret) Tell me Where have all the raspberry women gone? (And if it was warm she wouldn’t wear much more) (Raspberry beret) Ooh, uh, I think I love
Too Late is another magnificent outtake from Bob Dylan, recorded during the sessions for his 1983 album Infidels. Imagine writing and recording a song like this and then leaving it unreleased for nearly forty years. Its absence from the Infidels album is puzzling. But if you started worrying about all the great Dylan songs left off his official albums, you would have gone crazy long ago. On the Infidels sessions alone, he left behind other songs like Blind Willie McTell, Someone’s Got a Hold of My Heart & Foot of Pride. He rejects songs that other artists would kill for.
In Too Late, Bob Dylan moves in a feverish stream-of-consciousness style. The lyrics are packed with rapid-fire imagery – mythical, surreal, and constantly shifting. The song touches on death, but also on how people spend their time while they are alive: how they treat others and how they eventually face the consequences of their actions.
The song describes a world full of hypocrisy, selfishness, and betrayal. There’s a feeling of being emotionally shut down and unwilling to forgive or start again. The repeated idea is that the damage has already been done – whatever apology or change might come now simply arrives too late. He let slip this thing he had. It fell apart. It cannot come back together again.
Too Late was finally issued on The Bootleg Series Vol. 16: Springtime in New York 1980–1985 in September 2021. As stated in the Press Music Reviews reference below: ‘it takes in the tail end of Dylan’s Christian phase (1981’s Shot of Love), through his excellent work with Mark Knopfler (1983’s Infidels), up to one of his more criticised studio albums (1985’s Empire Burlesque)‘. That collection captures Dylan during a fascinating period indeed.
Some listeners may have been confused by the label “Band Version” thinking it meant the song was recorded with The Band. It does not. The phrase simply refers to the band demo studio recording, as opposed to the acoustic version Dylan also recorded. According to Bootleg Series co-producer Steve Berkowitz, the song developed quickly during the sessions: there was first the acoustic version, then the full band version, and within a few days the material had evolved into Foot of Pride.
The connection between the two songs is striking. Lyrically they share many of the same lines – too many to mention here – most notably in the final stanza, where Too Late and Foot of Pride contain almost identical wording. However, the focus of the songs is different. Too Late feels more reflective and dream-like, while Foot of Pride sharpens the same material into a fierce attack on hypocrisy and pride. Musically they are quite distinct as well. In that sense, Too Late offers a fascinating glimpse into Dylan’s creative workshop, where songs are not always finished pieces but living material that can transform, merge, or reappear in new forms.
On the subject of Foot of Pride, a big shout-out to one of the very few cover versions of a Bob Dylan song that I think surpasses the original – Lou Reed’s Foot of Pride at the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration.
The structure of Too Late brings to my mind two earlier Dylan compositions, Up to Me and Tangled up in Blue from the album Blood on the Tracks. Like those songs, Too Late moves along with a steady refrain, repetitive melody and a flowing storytelling style. Musically, its acoustic strumming and the gentle folk sound reminds me of Maybe by Thom Pace, known from the television series The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams.
[Verse 1] Well, whether there was a murder I don’t know I wasn’t there I was busy visiting a friend in jail There were just two women on the scene at the time Neither one of ’em saw a thing Both of ’em were wearing veils They said it was a natural situation He reached too high and tumbled back to the ground You know what they say about being nice to people on your way up You might meet ’em again on your way back down
[Refrain] But it’s too late to bring him back Too late, too late, too late, too late, too late, to bring him back
[Verse 2] He had a brother named Paul Hang out at the cafe royal Where Miss Dolly plays and the reviews have been mixed Well, he’s pretty to look at Looking for someone to throw the book at But you know that he drinks and drinks can be fixed Sing me one more song about your summer romance I know you don’t know motherless children Sing me the one about you and Errol Flynn In these times of compassion Where conformity’s a fashion Say one more stupid thing to me Before the final nail is driven in
[Refrain] But it’s too late to bring him back Too late, too late, too late, too late, too late, to bring him back
[Verse 3] Dr. Silver Spoon from the empress ballroom He’s a retired businessman Who feeds off everyone he’s touched He gives money to the church and foundations for research He’s not someone you can play around with to much But then there’s Rosetta Blake Who’s been to both sides of the lake She’s rough to look at But she’s righteously fit She’ll feed you coconut bread and spiced buns in bed You won’t have to worry about sleeping face down with your head in the plate
[Refrain] But it’s too late to bring him back Too late, too late, too late, too late, too late, to bring him back
[Verse 4] You’ll arrange to see your man tonight Who tells you some secret things you think might open some doors How to enter the gates of paradise No not really More like how to go crazy from carrying a burden that’s never meant to be yours From the stage they’ll be doing the bumps and the grinds A whore will pass the hat, collect a hundred grand and say thanks They like to take all this money from sin, and build big universities to study in And sing amazing grace all the way to the Swiss bank
[Refrain] But it’s too late to bring him back Too late, too late, too late, too late, too late, to bring him back
[Verse 5] They got some serious people out there man They can ring your bell and show you how to hold your tongue They don’t come to party man They kill babies in the crib and say only the good die young They don’t believe in mercy and judgment on them is something you’ll never see They can put your face on a postage stamp Turn your home into a armed camp Anyway they want you That’s the way you’ll be
[Refrain] But it’s too late to bring him back Too late, too late, too late, too late, too late, to bring him back
[Verse 6] Yes I loved him too I still see him in my mind climbing up that hill Or was it a wall I don’t recall It don’t matter at all honey And it never will Ain’t nothin’ left here partner Just the dust of fools that have left their mark in spades From now on this will be where you’re from Let the dead bury the dead Your time will come Feel that hot iron glowing now as your raise the shades
[Refrain] But it’s too late to bring him back Too late, too late, too late, too late, too late, to bring him back
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