The goal is always to just let it go… let it all go…
Breathe in the good… breathe out the bad…
This has always been one of my favorite songs and this is the version I love the most… In fact, I heard this one BEFORE hearing Bob Dylan’s original…
Such an amazing tune and one that makes you realize how much power there is in simplicity. It’s simply about finding the right words and the right notes. Of course, that is not nearly as easy as it sounds… but it sounds good to say… and at the very least something to try for.
The song is all Dylan, but the lyrics are a bit tweaked in The Band’s version…
The Band - “I Shall Be Released” (Written by Bob Dylan)
“They say everything can be replaced
They say every distance is not near
So I remember every face
Of every man who put me here
I see my light come shining
From the west down to the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released
They say every man needs protection
They say that every man must fall
Yet I swear I see my reflection
Somewhere so high above this wall
I see my light come shining
From the west down to the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released
Now yonder stands a man in this lonely crowd
A man who swears he’s not to blame
All day long I hear him shouting so loud
Just crying out that he was framed
I see my light come shining
From the west down to the east
Any day now, any day now
I shall be released.”
From Wikipedia:
“I Shall Be Released” is a 1967 song written by Bob Dylan.
The Band played it on their debut album, Music from Big Pink (1968), with Richard Manuel singing lead vocals, and Rick Danko and Levon Helm harmonizing in the chorus. A legendary performance of the song was performed near the end of The Band’s farewell concert, The Last Waltz, in which all the night’s performers (with the exception of Muddy Waters) plus Ringo Starr and Ronnie Woodgraced the same stage.
Dylan recorded two primary versions. The first is the Basement Tapes initial recording, recorded in 1967 and released on Bootleg Series 1-3 in 1991. Dylan recorded the song a second time in 1971, releasing this new recording on Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II.
“I Shall Be Released” has been covered many times by many different artists. It has been recorded by The Earl Scruggs Revue, The Marmalade, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary, Joe Cocker, Tremeloes, Bette Midler, The Box Tops, The Byrds, Rick Nelson, Melissa Etheridge, Coheed and Cambria, Tom Robinson Band, Nina Simone, The Slackers, Paul Weller, Jerry Garcia Band, Sting, The Deftones, The Hollies, Pearls Before Swine, OK Go, Beth Rowley, Big Mama Thornton, Chatham County Line, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Jack Johnson, Martin Harley, Kiosk, Maroon 5 and South Africa’s Mahotella Queens.
The song has been performed live by, amongst others, Jeff Buckley, Johnny Cash, Gene Clark, Jerry Garcia Band, The Magic Numbers, Martha Wainwright, Wilco, Fleet Foxes, Jack Johnson, Joe Cocker, Ben Harper, U2, Cass Elliot, Mary Travers, Joni Mitchell, The Who, Neil Young, Eddie Vedder, Chrissie Hynde, Zac Brown Band, The Band of Heathens, Mama Cass Elliot and the Wood Brothers. In addition, The Beatles performed it as an unreleased part of the Get Back/Let It Be sessions.”
An unrehearsed spur of the moment inspired recording of this song in May 1971 by Elvis Presley was released in 1995.”
Of course, I now need to track down that Elvis version… Damn.
In the meantime, let us all enjoy this one, and raise a glass to those who are no longer here… Richard, Rick and Levon… you are all missed.
Close your eyes, let it all go… breathe… and you, too shall be released.
