Seen the arrow on the doorpost
Saying, “This land is condemned
All the way from New Orleans
To New Jerusalem”
I traveled through East Texas
Where many martyrs fell
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell
Dylan’s “Blind Willie McTell” @ the 17th Annual Critics’ Choice Movie Awards ceremony – 12 January 2012 – was performed as a tribute to Martin Scorsese.
And what a Great performance it was..
I Seen the arrow on the doorpost
Saying, “This land is condemned
All the way from New Orleans
To New Jerusalem”
Well I traveled through East Texas
Where many martyrs fell
I can tell you one thing
nobody can sing
the-blues-like-Blind-Willie-McTell
–
“Blind Willie McTell” was the most interesting performance of the night.
It used to be like that:
“No-one can sing the blues …
like Blind Willie McTell”
but tonight it went like this:
“I’ll tell you one thing …
nobody can sing …
the-blues-like-Blind-Willie-McTell”
The more astute amongst you will have noticed that the third line of this new version is quite long and doesn’t fit too well. Several times I thought the line wouldn’t fit but Bob managed to squeeze it in, just in time.
~Andy Jenkins (from the archives over @ boblinks.com)
Continue reading Watch: Bob Dylan Performing Blind Willie McTell in Manchester 2002
Seen the arrow on the doorpost
Saying, “This land is condemned
All the way from New Orleans
To Jerusalem”
I traveled through East Texas
Where many martyrs fell
And I know no one can sing the blues
Like Blind Willie McTell
Continue reading August 24: Bob Dylan – Blind Willie McTell, Vienna, Virginia 1997 (video)
I Seen the arrow on the doorpost
Saying, “This land is condemned
All the way from New Orleans
To New Jerusalem”
Well I traveled through East Texas
Where many martyrs fell
I can tell you one thing
nobody can sing
the-blues-like-Blind-Willie-McTell
–
“Blind Willie McTell” was the most interesting performance of the night.
It used to be like that:“No-one can sing the blues …
like Blind Willie McTell”but tonight it went like this:
“I’ll tell you one thing …
nobody can sing …
the-blues-like-Blind-Willie-McTell”The more astute amongst you will have noticed that the third line of this new version is quite long and doesn’t fit too well. Several times I thought the line wouldn’t fit but Bob managed to squeeze it in, just in time.
~Andy Jenkins (from the archives over @ boblinks.com)
Continue reading May 9: Bob Dylan Blind Willie McTell, Manchester 2002
Kurt Loder: I heard an outtake from the Infidels sessions called Blind Willie McTell. Is that ever going to come out? It’s a great song.
Bob Dylan: I didn’t think I recorded it right. But I don’t know why that stuff gets out on me. I mean, it never seems to get out on other people.
~Bob Dylan (Kurt Loder interview 1984)
[Blind Willie McTell] He was just a very smooth operating bluesman. His songs always reminded me of… As trains, but that ‘s just my hang up, you know, trains. And his vocal style, and his sound seems to fit right in with that lonesome sound. His kinda, you know, Ragtime… kinda thing on a 12 string guitar, so it made everything he did sound, you know, give it a little higher pitch. You know, you could probably call… You could probably call… you could probably say he was the Van Gogh of Blues. You could probably say he was the Van Gogh of the country Blues.
~Bob Dylan (Eliot Mintz Interview, March 1991) Continue reading Bob Dylan’s Blind Willie McTell 5 great versions