Girl from the North Country
Girl from the North Country is a folk song written by Bob Dylan . It was released on his second studio album The Freewheelin 'Bob Dylan in 1963 .
history
Dylan wrote the song during an extended stay in England in 1962. The content of the melancholy piece, which is about the wistful memory of an old love, led fans and biographers to speculate as to which real person the song could be about. One theory is that they could be former friends like Echo Helstrom and Bonnie Beecher from his native Minnesota , which would explain the title Girl from the North Country . The most common assumption, however, is that Dylan had Suze Rotolo in mind when composing the song. In 1963 Rotolo graced the cover of the album on which the piece appeared. It was created at a time when the two had to endure a long spatial separation and the relationship threatened to break up - which she actually did in 1964, a year after the song was released.
influence
Musically, Dylan was influenced at this time by English folk songs and ballads, especially by the songs of Martin Carthy , in this case by his interpretation of the famous English folk song Scarborough Fair , which has a similar content and a similar mood. The passage “Remember me to one who lives there, she once was a true love of mine” is taken literally from this folk song.
Versions
Live versions of the title appeared on Dylan's concert albums Real Live and The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration . One of the most famous variations comes from Dylan himself, sung in 1969 as a duet with Johnny Cash . The song became the first on Dylan's ninth studio album, Nashville Skyline . Other well-known adaptations come from artists such as Joe Cocker , Roy Harper , Jon Mark , Rod Stewart , Pete Townshend and Peter Maffay ( Hallelujah ).
literature
Colleen Josephine Sheehy, Thomas Swiss: Highway 61 revisited: Bob Dylan's road from Minnesota to the world, Minnesota Press, 2009