They sat together in the park
As the evening sky grew dark
She looked at him and he felt a spark tingle to his bones
’Twas then he felt alone and wished that he’d gone straight
And watched out for a simple twist of fate
They walked along by the old canal
A little confused, I remember well
And stopped into a strange hotel with a neon burnin’ bright
He felt the heat of the night hit him like a freight train
Moving with a simple twist of fate
“Simple Twist Of Fate” is among Dylan’s finest songs and there many fantastic live versions available.
Here are 15.
First ever live performance @ WTTW-TV Studios Chicago, Illinois 10 September 1975:
They sat together in the park
As the evening sky grew dark
She looked at him and he felt a spark tingle to his bones
’Twas then he felt alone and wished that he’d gone straight
And watched out for a simple twist of fate
No hat & plenty of smiles…
KunstRasen Gronau
Bonn, Germany
4 July 2012
Musicians:
Bob Dylan (vocal, guitar, grand piano & keyboard)
Stu Kimball (guitar)
Charlie Sexton (guitar)
Donnie Herron (violin, mandolin, steel guitar)
Tony Garnier (bass)
George Receli (drums & percussion)
They walked along by the old canal
A little confused, I remember well
And stopped into a strange hotel with a neon burnin’ bright
He felt the heat of the night hit him like a freight train
Moving with a simple twist of fate
A saxophone someplace far off played
As she was walkin’ by the arcade
As the light bust through a beat-up shade where he was wakin’ up,
She dropped a coin into the cup of a blind man at the gate
And forgot about a simple twist of fate
He woke up, the room was bare
He didn’t see her anywhere
He told himself he didn’t care, pushed the window open wide
Felt an emptiness inside to which he just could not relate
Brought on by a simple twist of fate
He hears the ticking of the clocks
And walks along with a parrot that talks
Hunts her down by the waterfront docks where the sailors all come in
Maybe she’ll pick him out again, how long must he wait
Once more for a simple twist of fate
People tell me it’s a sin
To know and feel too much within
I still believe she was my twin, but I lost the ring
She was born in spring, but I was born too late
Blame it on a simple twist of fate
They sat together in the park
As the evening sky grew dark
She looked at him and he felt a spark tingle to his bones
’Twas then he felt alone and wished that he’d gone straight
And watched out for a simple twist of fate
It’s been such a long long time
since we loved each other when our hearts were true
one time, for one brief day, i was the man for you
last night i heard you talkin in your sleep
saying things you shouldn’t say, oh baby
you just may have to go to jail someday
is there a place we can go, is there anybody we can see?
New York City, New York Beacon Theatre November 28, 2014
Bob Dylan – piano, harp
Tony Garnier – bass
George Recile – drums
Stu Kimball – rhythm guitar
Charlie Sexton on lead guitar
Donnie Herron – banjo, viola, violin, electric mandolin, pedal steel, lap steel
Lovely versions of the song. The Video is not very good but it has ok audio of this very fine performance.
