To Be Alone with You
Encyclopedia
"To Be Alone with You" is a song by Bob Dylan
from his 1969 album Nashville Skyline
.
"To Be Alone with You" was the first song Dylan recorded for Nashville Skyline, on February 13, 1969. It was one of four songs Dylan had written for the album in advance of the recording sessions, the others being "Lay Lady Lay
", "I Threw It All Away
" and "One More Night". The song was recorded in eight takes, during which Dylan increased the backing instrumentation to include multiple guitars in addition to a dobro
, a piano and an organ.
Before the song starts, Dylan is heard asking his producer, Bob Johnston
"Is it rolling, Bob?" The song itself is a simple love song, with lyrics that Allmusic's Thomas Ward compares to a nursery rhyme. Rather than the complex metaphors of earlier songs such as "Visions of Johanna
", the imagery of "To Be Alone with You" invokes clichés such as "mockingbirds" and the "big fat moon." Ward considers this "one of Dylan's prettiest melodies" and notes that it "is coupled with a gorgeous, traditional country
bridge
(shifting to the V of the chord
, then adding the II inversion
) and a genuinely affecting, modest vocal." Andy Gill suggests that Dylan was influenced by Jerry Lee Lewis
on this song. Gill suggests that both the arrangement and Dylan's delivery imitate Lewis' style, and that the final verse, which combines carnal and religious lyrics, is also in the style of Lewis' songs. Years after recording the song, Dylan commented that "I was trying to grasp something that would lead me on to where I thought I should be, and it didn't go anywhere."
The third verse of the song begins with the line "They say that nighttime is the right time." Music critic Michael Gray notes that "Night Time Is the Right Time" is a blues
lyric that may have been based on much older song, and that it is surprising to find such a lyric in one of Nashville Skyline's country songs.
Dylan first played "To Be Alone with You" live in concert more than 20 years after it was written, on October 15, 1989 at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia on the Never Ending Tour
. Since then, it has been played occasionally on the Never Ending Tour. In 1991 and 1992 it was frequently used to open the set. In the early 2000s it again became a frequent show opener, this time in a stirring rock and roll
arrangement. Through 2010, Dylan had played it live 124 times, most recently on November 4, 2005.
for her 1975 album Harry, by Marshall Chapman
for her 1982 album Take It on Home, by Steve Gibbons
for his 1992 album On the Loose and by Sue Foley
on her 1995 album Big City Blues.
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...
from his 1969 album Nashville Skyline
Nashville Skyline
Nashville Skyline is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's ninth studio album, released by Columbia Records in April 1969.The album marked a dramatic departure for Dylan, previously known for his groundbreaking, poetic folk music and rock and roll...
.
"To Be Alone with You" was the first song Dylan recorded for Nashville Skyline, on February 13, 1969. It was one of four songs Dylan had written for the album in advance of the recording sessions, the others being "Lay Lady Lay
Lay Lady Lay
"Lay Lady Lay" is a song written by Bob Dylan and originally released in 1969 on his Nashville Skyline album. Like many of the tracks on the album, Dylan sings the song in a low croon, rather than in the high nasal singing style associated with his earlier recordings...
", "I Threw It All Away
I Threw It All Away
"I Threw It All Away" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The track appeared on Dylan's album Nashville Skyline in 1969, and was released as its first single later that year, where it reached number 85 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number 30 on the UK Singles Chart...
" and "One More Night". The song was recorded in eight takes, during which Dylan increased the backing instrumentation to include multiple guitars in addition to a dobro
Dobro
Dobro is a registered trademark, now owned by Gibson Guitar Corporation and used for a particular design of resonator guitar.The name has a long and involved history, interwoven with that of the resonator guitar...
, a piano and an organ.
Before the song starts, Dylan is heard asking his producer, Bob Johnston
Bob Johnston
Donald William Robert 'Bob' Johnston is a noted American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson and many Nashville recording artists, as well as Simon and Garfunkel.-Early days:Johnston was born into a professional musical family...
"Is it rolling, Bob?" The song itself is a simple love song, with lyrics that Allmusic's Thomas Ward compares to a nursery rhyme. Rather than the complex metaphors of earlier songs such as "Visions of Johanna
Visions of Johanna
"Visions of Johanna" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan on his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. Dylan first recorded the song in New York City in November 1965, under the working title of "Freeze Out", but was dissatisfied with the results...
", the imagery of "To Be Alone with You" invokes clichés such as "mockingbirds" and the "big fat moon." Ward considers this "one of Dylan's prettiest melodies" and notes that it "is coupled with a gorgeous, traditional country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
(shifting to the V of the chord
Dominant (music)
In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale...
, then adding the II inversion
Inversion (music)
In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and inverted voices...
) and a genuinely affecting, modest vocal." Andy Gill suggests that Dylan was influenced by Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis is an American rock and roll and country music singer-songwriter and pianist. An early pioneer of rock and roll music, Lewis's career faltered after he married his young cousin, and he afterwards made a career extension to country and western music. He is known by the nickname 'The...
on this song. Gill suggests that both the arrangement and Dylan's delivery imitate Lewis' style, and that the final verse, which combines carnal and religious lyrics, is also in the style of Lewis' songs. Years after recording the song, Dylan commented that "I was trying to grasp something that would lead me on to where I thought I should be, and it didn't go anywhere."
The third verse of the song begins with the line "They say that nighttime is the right time." Music critic Michael Gray notes that "Night Time Is the Right Time" is a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
lyric that may have been based on much older song, and that it is surprising to find such a lyric in one of Nashville Skyline's country songs.
Dylan first played "To Be Alone with You" live in concert more than 20 years after it was written, on October 15, 1989 at the Tower Theater in Philadelphia on the Never Ending Tour
Never Ending Tour
The Never Ending Tour is the popular name for Bob Dylan’s endless touring schedule since June 7, 1988. During the past 23+ years, musicians have come and gone and the band has continued to evolve...
. Since then, it has been played occasionally on the Never Ending Tour. In 1991 and 1992 it was frequently used to open the set. In the early 2000s it again became a frequent show opener, this time in a stirring rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
arrangement. Through 2010, Dylan had played it live 124 times, most recently on November 4, 2005.
Other recordings
It has been subsequently recorded by Catherine HoweCatherine Howe
Catherine Howe is an English singer-songwriter. She is an Ivor Novello Award winner who has earned critical acclaim in dozens of music magazines both in the UK and the US, including Folk Album of the Year from the Sunday Times.Howe began an acting career in the late 1960s, and has since gained a...
for her 1975 album Harry, by Marshall Chapman
Marshall Chapman
Marshall Chapman is an American singer-songwriter and author.Chapman, the daughter of a cotton mill owner, was taken to an Elvis Presley concert in 1957 and says the experience changed her from a southern debutante to a nascent rock and roller...
for her 1982 album Take It on Home, by Steve Gibbons
Steve Gibbons
Stephen William Gibbons , Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since October 1998, representing the Division of Bendigo, Victoria...
for his 1992 album On the Loose and by Sue Foley
Sue Foley
Sue Foley is a Canadian blues singer and guitarist.-Career:Foley has been writing and playing professionally since 1984. She has recorded ten albums, for both Antone's Records and Shanachie Records. She has spent over fourteen years on the road as a bandleader, lead vocalist, guitarist and...
on her 1995 album Big City Blues.