Sara (1976) – Bob Dylan

Sara Lownds (now Sara Dylan) and Dylan became romantically involved in 1964; soon afterwards, they moved into separate rooms in New York’s Hotel Chelsea to be near one another. Dylan biographer Robert Shelton, who knew Dylan and Lownds in the mid-1960s, writes that Lownds “had a Romany spirit, seeming to be wise beyond her years, knowledgeable about magic, folklore and traditional wisdom”…

In September 1965, Dylan commenced his first “electric” tour of the United States, backed by the Hawks (later the Band). During a break in the tour, Dylan married Lownds – now pregnant with Jesse Dylan on November 22, 1965.
– Sara Dylan Wikipedia

They had four children, but the marriage broke down and they divorced in 1977.

Sara stands as one of the most powerful and naked songs of Dylan’s entire output. I would include other odes to Sara: Abandoned Love, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands and Wedding Song in that short list as well. Dylan had written plenty of songs about the women he was romantically linked with – including Suze Rotolo and Joan Baez – but the characters in his songs always appeared under pseudonyms, sung under a false persona. Sara is written autobiographically, showing Dylan at his most vulnerable.

Desire co-writer Jacques Levy said that Dylan played Sara for his wife in 1975, during their estrangement. Sara was present at the studio and listened “from the other side of the glass” as Dylan played the song. According to Larry Sloman, Dylan turned to Sara just before beginning the song, and stated, “This one’s for you.”

“It was extraordinary. You could have heard a pin drop. She was absolutely stunned by it.”

[Verse 1]
I laid on a dune, I looked at the sky
When the children were babies and played on the beach
You came up behind me, I saw you go by
You were always so close and still within reach

[Chorus]
Sara, Sara
Whatever made you want to change your mind?
Sara, Sara
So easy to look at, so hard to define

[Verse 2]
I can still see them playing with their pails in the sand
They run to the water their buckets to fill
I can still see the shells falling out of their hands
As they follow each other back up the hill

[Chorus]

[Verse 3]
Sleeping in the woods by a fire in the night
Drinking white rum in a Portugal bar
Them playing leapfrog and hearing about Snow White
You in the marketplace in Savanna-la-Mar

[Chorus]

[Verse 4]
I can still hear the sounds of those Methodist bells
I’d taken the cure and had just gotten through
Staying up for days in the Chelsea Hotel
Writing “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” for you

[Chorus]

[Verse 5]
How did I meet you? I don’t know
A messenger sent me in a tropical storm
You were there in the winter, moonlight on the snow
And on Lily Pond Lane when the weather was warm

[Chorus]

[Verse 6]
Now the beach is deserted except for some kelp
And a piece of an old ship that lies on the shore
You always responded when I needed your help
You give me a map and a key to your door

[Chorus]

Sara is the closing song on the 1976 album Desire. Sara and One More Cup Of Coffee are the only songs on Desire not co-written by Jacques Levy. The first take of the song, recorded on July 31, 1975 in New York City, at Columbia Recording Studios, Studio E., is reportedly the one featured on the album. Bob and Sara reconciled after the recording of the song but would divorce in 1977.

References:
1. Sara (Bob Dylan song) – Wikipedia
2. Sara – Genius Lyrics