I posit Lay Lady Lay is one of, if not Bob Dylan’s most popular and accessible songs outside of ‘Dylanholic circles’. People could have been forgiven for confusing him with someone else because vocally it was in stark contrast to the raspy, nasally delivery he was known for, and musically a departure from his politically charged and folk-infused work. Sometimes I am left bemused by just how smooth his voice sounds. It’s more reminiscent of something I would expect from Johnny Cash and coincidentally it was on this record Nashville Skyline where Johnny joined Bob Dylan to sing Dylan’s early classic Girl from the North Country.
Lay Lady Lay was initially written for the soundtrack of the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy. However, due to a delay in its completion, it missed the movie’s release. Instead, it became a highlight of Nashville Skyline, an album that saw Dylan embracing a country music style, influenced by his collaborations with Johnny Cash and a shift towards a more laid-back, crooning vocal delivery. In a 2004 interview, Dylan reflected on this period: “I hadn’t realized how much you could get out of voice till I lost it in a motorcycle accident in 1966. When it came back, I had this rich, deep sound.” It also suggested this voice transformation was partly due to his decision to quit smoking, which had a significant impact on his voice.
A 2020 NBC news article below reveals Dylan wrote Lay Lay Lady for Barbara Streisand to sing — not necessarily as an homage to her. The remarks are contained in typed transcripts of 1971 conversations between Dylan and his friend Tony Glover, a blues musician who died in 2019.
[Verse 1]
Lay, lady, lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Lay, lady, lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Whatever colors you have in your mind
I’ll show them to you and you’ll see them shine
[Verse 2]
Lay, lady, lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Stay, lady, stay
Stay with your man awhile
Until the break of day, let me see ya’ make him smile
His clothes are dirty but his, his hands are clean
And you’re the best thing that he’s ever seen
[Verse 3]
Stay, lady, stay
Stay with your man awhile
[Bridge]
Why wait any longer for the world to begin
You can have your cake and eat it too
Why wait any longer for the one you love
When he’s standing in front of you
[Verse 4]
Lay, lady, lay
Lay across my big brass bed
Stay, lady, stay
Stay while the night is still ahead
I long to see you in the morning light
I long to reach for you in the night
[Outro]
Stay, lady, stay
Stay while the night is still ahead
Recorded in February 1969 at Columbia Studio A in Nashville, the song features a lush arrangement that includes a prominent steel guitar played by Pete Drake, which gives it its distinctive country flavor. The recording process for Nashville Skyline was unusually relaxed and joyful, reflecting the album’s warm and mellow sound. Dylan, who had often been known for his intense and perfectionist studio sessions, took a more spontaneous approach this time, capturing a sense of immediacy and warmth in the recordings.
Upon its release, Lay Lady Lay achieved significant commercial success, reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Peggy Day which recently appeared here was the ‘B side’ of the single. It became one of Dylan’s biggest hits of the late 1960s and has since been covered by numerous artists, including The Byrds, Duran Duran, and Ministry, showcasing its versatility across genres.
References:
1. Lay Lady Lay – Wikipedia
2. Bob Dylan reveals he wrote ‘Lay Lady Lay’ for Barbra Streisand in ‘lost’ 1971 interview
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I like this song… it’s not my favorite on the album but I do like it. I was always partial to Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You for some reason…but I liked his «new» voice…it fit the music well….and I always liked playing this song to people saying they hated his voice…I wouldn’t tell them who was singing this and they would be shocked.
As I implied at the beginning of the article, I think this song may be more appreciated outside of Dylan fan circles than within, because it sounds so unlike Dylan. I too didn’t mind his new voice for a change on NS and I could see how people would be shocked to learn this song / voice was in fact Dylan’s who had grated them up to this point.
I never understood the problem with his voice as we have talked about. Some of the same people who dislike his voice likes the Cars or other singers that don’t sound like everyone else. I think it’s powerful and warm at times.
I do like playing this to people who don’t know Dylan…just like playing “Helter Skelter” to people who don’t know it’s the Beatles….I love the shock on their faces.
I also can’t understand the problem when you consider no one can replicate Dylan’s inflection, tone and timbre of voice (in conjunction with the lyric and music) to accentuate a certain meaning and muster indescribable emotion/s in the listener.
In essence, the appreciation and opinion of ‘Music’ as in ‘art’ is mostly subjective and confined to the eyes (or ears in this case) of the beholder.
But I like your cases in point by opening people’s ears and irreverent thinking towards a certain artist or group. Nice job Max.
Thanks Matt…I think some people go in with closed minds with what normal sounds like. Is there really a normal? You are right though… it’s subjective.
I’m trying to challenge my own partiality and listening senses by listening to relatively new music which young people are falling head over backwards for and I’m starting to get it. Two artists in particular from distinctly different cultures and genres of music I’m getting my ears adjusted to and I like a lot of what I hear, namely Lana del Rey (Californian) and Nathy Peluso (Spanish Argentinian). I posted recently on Lana del Rey’s ‘Radio’ (UK Rolling Stone named her the greatest songwriter this century!!!) and I thought you have got to be f&%king kidding me. Umm, then I listened to her ‘Arcadia’, ‘Yosemite’ and ‘Wild at Heart’. They might be onto something although Perri is my fav this century so far.
I’m trying to listen to newer music myself…but most of the stuff I like…sounds old lol. Many of the bands and artists that Jeff presents I like…and also Christian as well.
Yeh, they are great sources. This came out a few days ago from Peluso. This is so Tarantino this!! There is no better way to describe the feel. The video can put a lot of people off, but by golly does the music excel to my senses:
She sounds really good…the language barrier is what is hard for me.
I’ve got a unrelated question
Go for it..
Peluso goes wait out there. I believe the video below has the English translation and it’s not for the sensitive type. Damn do I love it and it’s just so funny. Ironically she’s nothing like the character she presents here in interviews.
I’ll take a listen to it..
The question is so off the wall…but I’m doing a post tomorrow…I doubt if you have but on the off chance you did…Did you ever fly on the Concorde?
I’m making a post tomorrow about it. Just the plane…I wish I could have.
The Concorde? Haha. No buddy I never flew on it.
Yep! It was pretty amazing Matt…the trip from NY to London took 3.5 hours…now it takes 7.5
You were on it?
Oh no…I couldn’t have afforded the ticket…the tickets were crazy high….in 1996…it would cost 12,500 in todays money…that would be the reason it failed…it only held 100 people.
I look forward to reading the article Max.
Thanks Matt…I would like to do more pop culture stuff like that…I started off by doing that.
LOL…the word play I liked
Yeh, the lyrics are unbelievable. Also, her expressions I find are second to none.
Peluso’s ‘Pure Venom’ remains the song with the most ‘likes’ of any song I’ve posted this year which just bamboozles me. I think she’s got something going for her lol.
I promise this is the last one, but her mannerisms are unmatched to my visual and hearing senses:
She is a looker for sure….she has the whole package…I’m sure she will do well.
It’s more Peluso’s audacity and transparency that gets me. Also her physical timing with the music, not to mention the words. She is a true artist although I understand she’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But I remember a time when people thought the same of many now prolific artists who were censured or put in the box of ‘outcasts’ when really they were exposing the hipocrasy surrounding them. She’s a smart cookie. She’s already prolific.
Well…when I first saw Madonna on a video…I told someone…she is going to be huge. I may not like her type of music but I knew she had the package to do it. This lady seems to have everything as well… she has character and it shows.
Please don’t include ‘Madonna’ in a discussion of Nathy Peluso although I’ll allow it this once. Haha. I liked just one Madonna song and a plethora of Peluso. Peluso is across so many genres that it would make Madonna’s musical senses become nonsensical. I’m sorry man. I had to say that.
LOL…..I know man…I don’t like Madonna AT ALL. She was just an example! No I would not compare Madonna with her. She is one of the reasons I hated the 80s.
Well we have that in common…I like a grand total of ONE song by Madonna… Borderline
I regretted how I was so vehemently opposed to Madonna’s legacy, whatever that is???. I think your comparison wasn’t all that bad. But I doubt Peluso is a sell out to mainstream, although she might well end up being that. I don’t know. I got carried away. But thanks for at least taking your time to view the songs and communicating about it. It means a lot.
No problem Matt…I hate Madonna lol…I really do. I don’t like her music or politics.
I have to agree “Lay Lady Lay” is as accessible as it gets when it comes to Bob Dylan vocally speaking. While I liked many of his earlier songs from the get-go, I didn’t always love his voice. On “Lay Lady Lay,” Dylan really does sound remarkably different. I also love Pete Drake’s pedal steel guitar action.
Bob Dylan went back to a slightly crooner voice on his Sinatra cover album ‘Shadows in the Night’ which highlights some of his best singing in my opinion, especially ‘What’ll I Do’ and ‘Autumn Leaves’. I don’t know how he pulled that record off.
Along with “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”, this is the other Dylan song I most enjoy listening to because of how pleasing his vocals sound.
I don’t know how his voice on ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ or ‘Knockin’ was any different to any other song he sung which turned people off. But anyways thanks for chiming in as always Jeff.
Perhaps it’s also that I find those songs more melodic and pleasing to my ears.
One of my favorites by Dylan. Great write, Matt.
To be honest if I had to guess which of Dylan’s songs would have been one of your favourites, I would have gone with ‘Lay, Lady Lay’.
I’m going to go with another pick but this time from Dylan’s fairly recent Sinatra cover album ‘Shadows in the Night’, a song called ‘What’ll Do’. Here’s crossing fingers.
May I just say, in an amusing way, that you’re spending too much time thinking about my favorite songs! 😌
You can’t do much better than Sinatra singing this song. And Dylan covering it is pure magic. This tune has always been a sweet spot for me, written by the unforgettable Irving Berlin who, BTW, only knew how to play piano in the key of F#! He bought transposing keyboards so all his songs wouldn’t sound the same.
A delightful, sweet and lovely song with accidental notes scattered about like dust in the wind. It flows like nobody’s business and makes for some of the smoothest and most romantic easiest listening I’ve ever heard. Yeah, I love it! Thanks, Matt!
Let’s hear the original –
You could be right in thinking I am spending too much time contemplating if my music selections get the nod of approval from Nancy. Haha
I digress, but I preface in saying I do not want another can of worms to open again when I tell you I prefer Dylan’s version of ‘What’ll I Do’ over Sinatra’s or any other version I have heard. Despite all that, it’s fascinating what you wrote about Irving Berlin and describing your connection with the song..
Here’s a neat story:
My mother used to chastise me and ridicule Dylan’s voice since my adolescence. I remember my mother mocking me constantly singing ‘Congratulations’ (from the Traveling Wilburys) by accentuating Dylan’s nasal delivery. She had me in stitches. But you know what’s even funnier? Decades later when I sent ‘What’ll I do’ to her, she tore up..I mean she was a blubbering mess and in a state of absolute wonder with Dylan’s version. This is despite her being a huge Sinatra crooner fan and a very competent singer in her own right. It was as though after decades of irreverent criticism, my adoration was finally reciprocated and it was all worth it.
You know the one off the record she really loved even more than she did ‘What’ll I Do’ was this one:
Great story, Matt! You’re mom sounds like a woman who know her own mind!
I won’t debate the attributes of Dylan v Sinatra; it’s comparing bananas to brie …. both very tasty and satisfying in their own class.
BTW – Your video didn’t open for me and I don’t have a song name to look it up myself.
I think you can compare the inflections, tone of voice of the two versions and especially the ‘MUSIC’ in the Dylan version to make a valid judgement. Ok, we aren’t going there haha
The last song on the Sinatra cover record was the obscenely amazing ‘That Lucky Old Son’ by Dylan of course. Did he bring that record home?! Gee Wizz.
Wow! That was an incredible beautiful song! The perfect piece for me to hear before climbing into bed for the night. Thanks, Matt!
I can’t think of a better song to go to sleep on. I’m thrilled you liked it so.
When you wake up you have ‘Changing of the Guards’. That will make you bright eyed and bushy taled…haha
Why wait any longer…..classic