Thread · 12 songs
Borrowed tunes
Old melodies he made new: each song and the tune it came from.
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Trad.Greenwich Village
1 of 12Lord Franklin
traditional
The source: A ballad lamenting Sir John Franklin's lost Arctic expedition, sung in the voice of his widow.
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Trad.Greenwich Village
2 of 12Lord Randal
traditional
The source: An old Child ballad in which a mother questions her son, who has been poisoned.
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Trad.Greenwich Village
3 of 12No More Auction Block
traditional
The source: A spiritual sung by formerly enslaved people, it was in Dylan's early repertoire.
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Trad.Greenwich Village
4 of 12Nottamun Town
traditional
The source: An English-derived folk song of topsy-turvy riddles, popularized in the folk revival by Jean Ritchie.
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Trad.Greenwich Village
5 of 12Pretty Polly
traditional
The source: An old murder ballad from Britain and Appalachia.
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Trad.Greenwich Village
6 of 12Scarborough Fair
traditional
The source: An English ballad of impossible tasks set for a former lover, which Martin Carthy taught Dylan in London.
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Trad.Greenwich Village
7 of 12The Parting Glass
traditional
The source: A traditional Scottish and Irish song of farewell sung at the end of a gathering.
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Trad.Greenwich Village
8 of 12Who's Gonna Buy You Ribbons (When I'm Gone)
Paul Clayton
The source: Folk singer Paul Clayton's adaptation of an older folk song.
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1927Late Renaissance
9 of 12The Lonesome Road
Gene Austin
The source: A ballad written by Gene Austin and Nathaniel Shilkret that became a standard.
↓ 2 years later
1929Going Electric
10 of 12Down on Penny's Farm
The Bentley Boys
The source: A song about a hard-hearted landlord that was later reissued on the Anthology of American Folk Music.
↓ 2 years later
1931Late Renaissance
11 of 12Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)
Bing Crosby
The source: Bing Crosby's theme song, which he co-wrote.
↓ 5 years later
1936Basement and Country
12 of 12Joe Hill
Alfred Hayes and Earl Robinson
The source: A song about the executed labor organizer Joe Hill, set by Earl Robinson to a poem by Alfred Hayes.