As much as I love you, Bob, George Harrison owned this song. George always brought a lucid, sunny disposition to whatever he touched, and that’s absolutely the case with his rendition of Absolutely Sweet Marie. He channels pre Dylan – 1950s rock ‘n’ roll energy here – especially in his vocal delivery and the rhythmic bounce of the music. It’s pure Gene Vincent & The Blue Caps – Be Bop A Lula spirit. This really was a perfect song for George.
There aren’t many covers of Dylan songs that surpass the originals, but in my estimation (as aforementioned), George’s Absolutely Sweet Marie is one of them. From the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden, there are only three other performances I’d call true “keepers”: Lou Reed’s Foot of Pride, Neil Young’s Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues, and Nanci Griffith’s Boots of Spanish Leather.
I grew up on the music of John Lennon, and since his life was tragically cut short, my musical appreciation gradually leaned more towards George Harrison in recent years. My parents didn’t own any of George’s solo records, and it wasn’t until the Traveling Wilburys burst onto the scene that I really heard Harrison outside of the Beatles. Even then, for years I remained largely unfamiliar with his solo work – until I started this blog. It was thanks to other people’s music articles that I finally discovered just how wonderful George’s solo output truly is. George is the gift that keeps on giving since I’m yet to hear a bad song by him. It’s crazy to think how talented the Beatles were when this guy is considered their third best songwriter.
Now, some Dylan purists might get a bee in their bonnet over what I’m about to say, but if there’s one criticism I have of that “thin, wild mercury sound” record – Blonde on Blonde, from which Absolutely Sweet Marie appears – it’s that Dylan sometimes veers into parody. The stretched-out nasal phrasing and that bubblegum organ (thanks to Al Kooper) give it a kind of spaced-out, drug-fueled feel – similar to Rainy Day Women #12 & 35, a song I never particularly cared for. My point is, when you hear all those countless wannabes doing bad Dylan impressions, this is the sound they’re imitating. Songs like Absolutely Sweet Marie (Dylan’s original) – and Blonde on Blonde in general – are where they source their shtick.
The following was abridged from the Wikipedia reference below:
Absolutely Sweet Marie was recorded at around 1:00 am on March 8, 1966, at Columbia Studio A, Nashville. Some commentators have interpreted the song as being about sexual frustration. It was written by Dylan in the studio. The song has received critical acclaim; Rolling Stone placed the track 78th in their 2015 ranking of the 100 greatest Dylan songs. Dylan first performed “Absolutely Sweet Marie” live in concert on the first night of his Never Ending Tour, in Concord, California, on June 7, 1988.
I have presented below the superior original audio from the concert and the video performance below that. Cheers and thanks for reading.
Well, your railroad gate, you know I just can’t jump it
Sometimes it gets so hard, you see
I’m just sitting here beating on my trumpet
With all these promises you left for me
But where are you tonight, sweet Marie?
Well, I waited for you when I was half sick
Yes, I waited for you when you hated me
Well, I waited for you inside of the frozen traffic
When you knew I had some other place to be
Now, where are you tonight, sweet Marie?
Well, anybody can be just like me, obviously
But then, now again, not too many can be like you, fortunately
Well, six white horses that you did promise
Were fin’lly delivered down to the penitentiary
But to live outside the law, you must be honest
I know you always say that you agree
Well, where are you tonight, sweet Marie?
Well, I don’t know how it happened
But the river-boat captain, he knows my fate
Ev’rybody else, even yourself
Just gonna have to wait
Well, I got the fever down in my pockets
The Persian drunkard follows me
And I can take him to your house but I cannot unlock it
You see, you forgot to leave me with the key
Yeah, where are you tonight, sweet Marie?
Yeah, where are you tonight, sweet Marie?
References:
1. Absolutely Sweet Marie – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
We always said “Sweet Marie” was about a Canadian candy bar that was scrumptious. Originally made by Willard’s, a Toronto candy shop & later by the National brand Cadbury’s, it was a chocolate-covered peanut & a fudgy center ~ it was discontinued in 2013. I remember ALWAYS buying a bunch of them whenever I went up to Canada. I loved them. Coffee Crisp was another favorite.
Harrison did a lot Dylan covers in his career & he always did a great job.
Your ‘Sweet Marie’ (Not sugaree haha)- How mouth watering.. Yummy!
How far away are you from the Canadian border? Not far I imagine.
Re. Harrison – it still perplexes me just how frickin’ good his voice is. What he does with it on ‘Absolutely Sweet Marie’ is nothing short of spectacular. He effortlessly turns a revered experimental rock-changing mid sixties song, into a slick late 50’s track.
I’m 20 minutes from the border from where I’m sitting right now.
That’s just a stone’s throw away. Is their much difference across the border?
Well, the weather is the same, although they use Celsius instead of Fahrenheit ~ most of us around here know what Celsius readings mean. They also use meters instead of miles ~ so you need to know that when you’re driving. Again, most of us know what the difference is ~ I haven’t driven in a long time but I remember that cars always had both miles per hour & meters per hour on your dash. I’m sure that’s all computerized now.
The scenery is mostly the same. You have to go way up north for it to change.
There’s differences in food ~ there’s things you can get in Canada that you can’t get in the States. The beer is better, even beer that’s imported to the States. We used to go up to Canada & go to the brewery, just to buy beer.
They have single-payer healthcare, which we do NOT. I think they have a better system of government. Ours is dysfunctional & I think it was planned that way ~ so the rich would have all or most of the power.
I always loved it up there. I haven’t been there in years, because I have had several DUIs ~ arrests for “drinking under the influence” ~ a lesser charge than DWI ~ “drinking while intoxicated” ~ but with either one, you’re not allowed into Canada whatsoever. It doesn’t matter if you’re driving or not or how many years ago the arrests were made or if, in my case, the charges were dismissed.
So I don’t go there, since I can’t.
You definitely went the whole nine yards identifying those subtle yet fascinating differences. I don’t blame you for buying their better brewskies either — though I completely overdid it on your (US) Miller Lite during my later drinking binges. I had a couple of DUIs back in Australia and got taken off the road for about six months at one point. Those were some pretty rough days. It’s wild that you can’t even travel to Canada now because of the DUIs.
Australia and Colombia both use Celsius, metres, and kilometres, and I’ve never quite wrapped my head around Fahrenheit or pounds. Miles I can manage — sort of. Don’t even get me started on the spelling differences between American and British English — Australia basically sticks with the British style.
As for healthcare, pretty much any system in the Western world seems better than the U.S. version. Australia’s Medicare system is genuinely solid and very affordable — around a thousand dollars a year added to your taxes, if you’re working and you’re covered. I believe Canada and Australia have somewhat similar political structures too — both constitutional monarchies within the British Commonwealth, with moderate, mixed-market economies. Cheers.
absolutely wonderful post..I can’t judge..really love them all..
I can’t blame you.