Redirecting to a newer version of this post….

Vimeo:

Spotify:

TOC

1. Facts
2. Lyrics
3. Live versions

Isis is @ #21 on my list of Bob Dylan’s top 200 songs.

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Facts

Wikipedia:

“Isis” is a ballad written by Bob Dylan in collaboration with Jacques Levy, in July 1975. The song is the second track on the Bob Dylan album Desire.

The song was written and recorded during a time of separation and reunion in Dylan’s own marriage; consequently, for fans and critics the temptation to interpret it as an allegory of Dylan’s own marital difficulties is irresistible, especially since the Desire album contains the song “Sara” which is openly about their marriage and separation. Dylan was known to include autobiographical hints in his previous songs. “Isis” draws upon mythological themes of male hero separating from his wife, going on adventures, and returning to the marriage, going back to the Odyssey.

Known studio recordings:

Recording Studio
Columbia Recording Studios / Studio E, New York: July 31, 1975

Technical Team
Producer: Don DeVito
Sound Engineer: Don Meehan

Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, piano, harmonica
Scarlet Rivera: violin
Rob Stoner: bass
Howard Wyeth: drums
Sheena Seidenberg: tambourine

Live:

• First known performance: Plymouth MA October 30, 1975
  (Probably also performed @ Other End Club, NYC mid-July 1975)
• It has been performed only 43 times live
• Last known performance: Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah- 25 May 1976.
• Top year 1975 – 25 performances.

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Lyrics

<original>

I married Isis on the fifth day of May
But I could not hold on to her very long
So I cut off my hair and I rode straight away
For the wild unknown country where I could not go wrong

I came to a high place of darkness and light
The dividing line ran through the center of town
I hitched up my pony to a post on the right
Went in to a laundry to wash my clothes down

A man in the corner approached me for a match
I knew right away he was not ordinary
He said, “Are you lookin’ for somethin’ easy to catch?”
I said, “I got no money.” He said, “That ain’t necessary”

We set out that night for the cold in the North
I gave him my blanket, he gave me his word
I said, “Where are we goin’?” He said we’d be back by the fourth
I said, “That’s the best news that I’ve ever heard”

I was thinkin’ about turquoise, I was thinkin’ about gold
I was thinkin’ about diamonds and the world’s biggest necklace
As we rode through the canyons, through the devilish cold
I was thinkin’ about Isis, how she thought I was so reckless

How she told me that one day we would meet up again
And things would be different the next time we wed
If I only could hang on and just be her friend
I still can’t remember all the best things she said

We came to the pyramids all embedded in ice
He said, “There’s a body I’m tryin’ to find
If I carry it out it’ll bring a good price”
’Twas then that I knew what he had on his mind

The wind it was howlin’ and the snow was outrageous
We chopped through the night and we chopped through the dawn
When he died I was hopin’ that it wasn’t contagious
But I made up my mind that I had to go on

I broke into the tomb, but the casket was empty
There was no jewels, no nothin’, I felt I’d been had
When I saw that my partner was just bein’ friendly
When I took up his offer I must-a been mad

I picked up his body and I dragged him inside
Threw him down in the hole and I put back the cover
I said a quick prayer and I felt satisfied
Then I rode back to find Isis just to tell her I love her

She was there in the meadow where the creek used to rise
Blinded by sleep and in need of a bed
I came in from the East with the sun in my eyes
I cursed her one time then I rode on ahead

She said, “Where ya been?” I said, “No place special”
She said, “You look different.” I said, “Well, not quite”
She said, “You been gone.” I said, “That’s only natural”
She said, “You gonna stay?” I said, “Yeah, I jes might”

Isis, oh, Isis, you mystical child
What drives me to you is what drives me insane
I still can remember the way that you smiled
On the fifth day of May in the drizzlin’ rain

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Live versions

Palace Theater
Waterbury, Connecticut
11 November 1975

• Bob Dylan (vocal, guitar)
• Bob Neuwirth (guitar)
• T-bone J. Henry Burnett (guitar)
• Roger McGuinn (guitar)
• Steven Soles (guitar)
• Mick Ronson (guitar)
• David Mansfield (steel guitar, violin, mandolin ,dobro)
• Rob Stoner (bass)
• Howie Wyeth (piano, drums)
• Luther Rix (drums, percussion)
• Ronee Blakeley (vocal)

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Harvard Square Theater
Cambridge, Massachusetts
20 November 1975>/h4>

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Maple Leaf Gardens
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1 December 1975

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Maple Leaf Gardens
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
2 December 1975

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Forum de Montréal
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
4 December 1975

Vimeo:
First verse missing.

Spotify:
Full version from “Side Tracks”

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Madison Square Garden
New York City, New York
8 December 1975
Night of The Hurricane 1

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Starlight Ballroom
Belleview Biltmore Hotel
Clearwater, Florida
22 April 1976 – Evening

• Bob Dylan (guitar & vocal)
• Scarlet Rivera (violin)
• T-bone J. Henry Burnett (guitar & piano)
• Steven Soles (guitar)
• Mick Ronson (guitar)
• Bobby Neuwirth (guitar & vocal)
• Roger McGuinn (guitar & vocal)
• David Mansfield (steel guitar, mandolin, violin & dobro)
• Rob Stoner (bass)
• Howie Wyeth (drums)
• Gary Burke (percussion)

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Sources

• Bob Dylan – The Lyrics: Since 1962
• Clinton Heylin – Still on the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan Vol. 2, . 1974-2008
• Paul Williams – Bob Dylan: Performing Artist, Vol 2: The Middle Years 1974-1986
• Philippe Margotin & Jean-Michel Guesdon: Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track
• Wikipedia
• Olof’s – Still On The Road
• bobdylan.com

-Egil