Percy's Song
Encyclopedia
"Percy's Song" is a song written by Bob Dylan
. It was an outtake from the 1963 sessions for Dylan's third album, The Times They Are A-Changin'
. It was not officially released until 1985, on the compilation Biograph
. In the notes to that album, Dylan credits Paul Clayton for the song's "beautiful melody line." He had played "The Wind and the Rain" to him, a variant of "The Twa Sisters
", Child ballad
10.
Dylan wrote the song from the point of view of a narrating character. The song relates the story of a fatal car crash and a subsequent manslaughter conviction and 99-year sentence in Joliet Prison
that is handed down to the driver (a friend of the first-person narrator). The narrator goes to ask the sentencing judge to commute his friend's sentence which he considers too harsh. The sentence stands.
Joan Baez
performs "Percy's Song" in the film Dont Look Back
.
The song is also available on The Genuine Bootleg Series: the Third One Now
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
. It was an outtake from the 1963 sessions for Dylan's third album, The Times They Are A-Changin'
The Times They Are a-Changin'
The Times They Are a-Changin opens with the title track, one of Dylan's most famous songs. Dylan's friend, Tony Glover, recalls visiting Dylan's apartment in September 1963, where he saw a number of song manuscripts and poems lying on a table. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" had yet to be recorded,...
. It was not officially released until 1985, on the compilation Biograph
Biograph (album)
Biograph is a 53-track compilation spanning the career of Bob Dylan, from his 1962 debut album to the 1981 LP Shot of Love. Released in 1985 by Columbia Records, on both a 5-LP and a 3-CD Box set, it was one of the earliest and most successful examples of the CD Box set...
. In the notes to that album, Dylan credits Paul Clayton for the song's "beautiful melody line." He had played "The Wind and the Rain" to him, a variant of "The Twa Sisters
The Twa Sisters
"The Twa Sisters" is a murder ballad that recounts the tale of a girl drowned by her sister. It is first known to have appeared on a broadside in 1656 as "The Miller and the King's Daughter." At least 21 English variants exist under several names, including "Minnorie" or "Binnorie", "The Cruel...
", Child ballad
Child Ballads
The Child Ballads are a collection of 305 ballads from England and Scotland, and their American variants, collected by Francis James Child in the late nineteenth century...
10.
Dylan wrote the song from the point of view of a narrating character. The song relates the story of a fatal car crash and a subsequent manslaughter conviction and 99-year sentence in Joliet Prison
Joliet Prison
Joliet Correctional Center was a prison in Joliet, Illinois, United States from 1858 to 2002. It is featured in the motion picture The Blues Brothers as the prison from which Jake Blues is released at the beginning of the movie...
that is handed down to the driver (a friend of the first-person narrator). The narrator goes to ask the sentencing judge to commute his friend's sentence which he considers too harsh. The sentence stands.
Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
performs "Percy's Song" in the film Dont Look Back
Dont Look Back
Dont Look Back is a 1967 documentary film by D.A. Pennebaker that covers Bob Dylan's 1965 concert tour in the United Kingdom.In 1998, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically...
.
The song is also available on The Genuine Bootleg Series: the Third One Now
Cover versions
- Fairport ConventionFairport ConventionFairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
, UnhalfbrickingUnhalfbrickingThe band's male vocalist Iain Matthews left during the recordings for Unhalfbricking to make his own album Matthews' Southern Comfort, after recording just one track, "Percy's Song". Sandy Denny sang lead vocals on all the other songs, including her own compositions, "Autopsy", and "Who Knows Where...
(1969) - Arlo GuthrieArlo GuthrieArlo Davy Guthrie is an American folk singer. Like his father, Woody Guthrie, Arlo often sings songs of protest against social injustice...
, Washington CountyWashington County (album)Washington County is a 1970 album by American folk singer Arlo Guthrie.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Arlo Guthrie; except where indicated#"Introduction" - 3:22#"Fencepost Blues" - 3:11#"Gabriel's Mother's Highway Ballad #16 Blues" - 6:23...
(1970) - Dave Waite & Marianne SegalJade (UK band)Jade were an English folk rock band founded in 1970 by Dave Waite & Marianne Segal who had been performing as a folk duo since the mid 1960s. In the United States the group was known as Marianne Segal and Silver Jade...
, Paper Flowers (1968) - Michael Moore, Jewels & Binoculars: the Songs of Bob Dylan