The Folk Revival Sounds of the Sixties

This is BBC1.

Among the aficionados of American folk music,

the name Bob Dylan, I'm told, is murmured with hushed respect.

He it was who wrote the now famous protest song, Blowing In The Wind.

He's just arrived here to sing at the Royal Festival Hall,

and his latest protest is called With God On Our Side.

# Oh, my name it ain't nothin' My age it means less

# The country I come from Is called the Midwest

# I was taught and brought up there The laws to abide

# And that land that I live in Has God on its side

# Oh, the history books tell it They tell it so well

# The cavalries charged The Indians fell

# The cavalries charged The Indians died

# Oh, the country was young With God on its side

# The Spanish-American War had its day

# And the Civil War too Was soon laid away

# And the names of the heroes I was made to memorise

# With guns in their hands And God on their side... #

Bob Dylan.

# What did you learn in school today Dear little boy of mine?

# What did you learn in school today Dear little boy of mine?

# I learned that Washington never told a lie

# I learned that soldiers seldom die

# I learned that everybody's free

# And that's what the teacher said to me

# That's what I learned in school today

# That's what I learned in school

# What did you learn in school today Dear little boy of mine?

# What did you learn in school today Dear little boy of mine?

# I learned that policemen are my friends

# I learned that justice never ends

# I learned that murderers die for their crimes

# Even if we make a mistake sometimes

# That's what I learned in school today

# That's what I learned in school

# What did you learn in school today Dear little boy of mine?

# What did you learn in school today Dear little boy of mine?

# I learned our government must be strong

# It's always right and never wrong

# Our leaders are the finest men And we elect them again and again

# That's what I learned in school today

# That's what I learned in school

# What did you learn in school today Dear little boy of mine?

# What did you learn in school today Dear little boy of mine?

# I learned that war is not so bad

# I learned about the great ones we have had

# We fought in Germany and in France And some day I might get my chance

# That's what I learned in school today

# That's what I learned in school. #

APPLAUSE

This is a protest song called No, No, No, It Ain't Me, Babe.

It's dedicated to all the married people in the audience.

And all the people who are about to get married.

I guess I'm anti-marriage.

# Go away from my window!

# Leave at your own chosen speed

# I'm not the one you want, babe

# I'm not the one you need

# You say you're looking for someone

# Never weak but always strong

# To protect you and defend you

# Whether you are right or wrong

# Someone to open each and every door!

# But it ain't me, babe!

# No, no, no, it ain't me, babe!

# It ain't me you're looking for, babe!

# Go lightly from the ledge, babe

# Go lightly on the ground

# I'm not the one you want, babe

# I will only let you down

# You say you're looking for someone

# Who will promise never to part

# Someone to close his eyes for you

# Someone to close his heart

# Someone to die for you and more

# But it ain't me, babe!

# No, no, no, it ain't me, babe!

# It ain't me you're looking for, babe!

# Go, melt back into the night, babe

# Everything inside is made of stone

# There's nothing in here moving

# And anyway I'm not alone

# You say you're looking for someone

# Who'll pick you up Each time you fall

# To gather flowers constantly

# And to come each time you call

# A lover for your life And nothing more

# But it ain't me, babe!

# No, no, no, it ain't me, babe!

# It ain't me you're looking for, babe. #

APPLAUSE

Thank you very much. Thank you.

It's very nice to be back in England again.

Tonight I'd like to sing several new songs

and a couple of familiar ones.

This familiar one is probably the best-known song I have.

It's a love song called The Last Thing On My Mind.

# It's a lesson too late for the learnin'

# Made of sand, made of sand

# In the wink of an eye My soul is turnin'

# In your hand, in your hand

# Are you goin' away with no word of farewell?

# Will there be not a trace left behind?

# Well, I could have loved you better

# Didn't mean to be unkind

# You know that was the last thing on my mind

# You've got reasons a-plenty for goin'

# This I know, this I know

# For the weeds have been steadily growin'

# Please don't go, please don't go

# Are you goin' away with no word of farewell?

# Will there be not a trace left behind?

# Well, I could have loved you better

# Didn't mean to be unkind

# You know that was the last thing on my mind

# As I lie in my bed in the morning

# Without you, without you

# Each song in my breast dies of mourning

# Without you, without you

# Are you goin' away with no word of farewell?

# Will there be not a trace left behind?

# Well, I could have loved you better

# Didn't mean to be unkind

# You know that was the last thing on my mind

# That was the last thing on my mind. #

Thank you very much.

Thank you. Thank you.

APPLAUSE CONTINUES

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

# In the early morning rain

# With a dollar in my hand

# With an achin' in my heart

# And my pockets full of sand

# I'm a long way from home

# And I miss my loved ones so

# In the early morning rain

# With no place to go

# Out on runway number nine

# Big 707 set to go

# But I'm out here in the grass

# Where the pavement never grows

# Well, the liquor tasted good

# And the women all were fast

# Well, there she goes, my friend

# She's rollin' down at last

-# Hear the mighty engine roar

-Hear the mighty engine roar

-# See the silver wing on high

-See the silver wing on high

# She's away and westward bound

# Far above the clouds she'll fly

# Where the mornin' rain don't fall

# And the sun always shines

# She'll be flyin' o'er my home

# In about three hours' time

# This old airport's got me down

# It's no earthly good to me

# Cos I'm stuck here on the ground

# Cold and drunk as I might be

# You can't jump a jet plane

# Like you can a freight train

# So I'd best be on my way

# In the early morning rain

# So I'd best be on my way

# In the early morning rain. #

APPLAUSE

Thank you. It's been quite a while since I left California and came to Europe. When I first came to Europe,

I went to a Greek island. While I was there, I met a lot of strange and interesting people.

Among them, I met a young poet from Canada, called Leonard Cohen.

After I left the island, I went my way, Leonard went his,

and we didn't see each other again until yesterday, when we decided what to do on the show.

# It's true that all the men you knew

# Were dealers who said they were through with dealing

# Every time you gave them shelter

# I know that kind of man

# It's hard to hold the hand of anyone

# Who is reaching for the sky Just to surrender

# Who is reaching for the sky Just to surrender

# And sweeping up the jokers that he left behind

# You'll find he did not leave you very much, not even laughter

# Like any dealer he was watching for the card

# That is so high and wild

# He'll never need to deal another

# He was just some Joseph looking for a manger

# He was just some Joseph looking for a manger

# And then leaning on your window-sill, he'll say one day

# You caused his will to weaken with your love and warmth and shelter

# And then taking from his wallet an old schedule of trains, he'll say,

# I told you when I came I was a stranger

# I told you when I came I was a stranger

# But now another stranger seems to want you to ignore his dreams

# As though they were the burden of some other

# You've seen that man before His golden arm dispatching cards

# But now it's rusted from the elbow to the finger

# And he wants to trade the game he plays for shelter

# Yes, he wants to trade the game he knows for shelter

# Oh, you hate to watch another tired man lay down his hand

# Like he was giving up the holy game of poker

# And while he talks his dreams to sleep

# You notice there's a highway

# That is curling up like smoke above his shoulder

# And suddenly You feel a little older

# Now you tell him to come in sit down

# But something makes you turn around

# The door is open You can't close your shelter

# You try the handle of the road It opens

# Do not be afraid

# It's you, my love It's you who are the stranger

# It is you, my love You who are the stranger

# Well, I've been waiting

# I was sure we'd meet between the trains we're waiting for

# I think it's time to board another

# Please understand I never had a secret chart

# To get me to the heart of this Or any other matter

# Well, he talks like this You don't know what he's after

# When he speaks like this You don't know what he's after

# Let's meet tomorrow, if you choose

# Upon the shore, beneath the bridge

# That they are building on some endless river

# Then he leaves the platform for the sleeping car that's warm

# You realise he's only advertising one more shelter

# And it comes to you He never was a stranger

# And you say, OK, the bridge or someplace later

# And leaning on your window-sill

# He'll say one day you caused his will to weaken

# With your love and warmth and shelter

# And then taking from his wallet An old schedule of trains, he'll say

# I told you when I came I was a stranger

# I told you when I came I was a stranger

# I told you when I came I was a stranger. #

APPLAUSE

Tim Buckley is 21. He writes some of his songs with Larry Beckett,

who he describes as a poet who is now starving in Venice, California.

But it's unlikely that Tim Buckley is starving, because, having made

a considerable name for himself in America, he's now on the way to becoming a cult over here.

His roots are in blues, country and folk music.

His songs have a plaintive, poetic quality, which reflect these roots.

Here's Tim Buckley with Lee Underwood on guitar,

Danny Thompson on bass, and Carter Collins on congo drums.

The song, composed by Tim Buckley, is called I'm Coming Home Again.

# It's a happy time inside my mind

# When a melody does find a rhyme

# And says to me I'm comin' home to stay

# Oh, comin' home to stay

# Well, now it's just the same old story

# Something about love for glory

# A nickel and a dime a dozen Fame

# Oh, it's such a shame

# The way they'll use your name

# It's only mine to sing a song Hoping that you'd cross along my way

# Before we have to move along

# Oh, we have to move along

# We'll be back some day

# It's a happy time inside my mind When a melody does find a rhyme

# Says to me I'm comin' home to stay

# Oh, comin' home to stay again

# Comin' home to stay

# So sleep late, my lady friend

# Let the mornin' breeze blow through your hair

# Sleep late, my lady friend

# Let the mornin' sun warm your bed

# Sleep late, my lady friend. #

He became a professional gospel singer at 14 and graduated to Greenwich Village,

where he taught himself the guitar. He's here to sing High Flyin' Bird.

# There's a high flyin' bird

# Flyin' way up in the sky

# And I wonder if she looks down As she goes on by?

# She's flying so free and easy in the sky

# Oh, Lord, look at me here

# I'm rooted like a tree here

# Got those sit-down, can't cry Oh, Lord, I'm gonna die blues

# Die blues

# Now the sun, it comes up and lights up the day

# And when he gets tired, Lord

# He goes on down his way

# To the east and to the west He meets God every day

# Oh, Lord, look at me here

# Hey, I'm rooted like a tree here

# Got those sit-down, can't cry Oh, Lord, I'm gonna die blues

# Die blues

# I had a woman, Lord She lived down by the mine,

# She ain't never seen the sun

# Oh, Lord, never stopped crying

# Then one day my woman up and died

# Oh, Lord, she up and died now Hey, she just up and died

# Well, she wanted to fly

# And the only way to fly is die, die, die

# Die, die

# There's a high flyin' bird

# Flyin' way up in the sky

# And I wonder if she looks down As she goes on by?

# She's flying so free and easy in the sky

# Oh, Lord, look at me here

# Hey, I'm rooted like a tree here

# Got those sit-down, can't cry Oh, Lord, I'm gonna die blues

# Got those sit-down, can't cry Oh, Lord, I'm gonna die blues

# Yeah, yeah, yeah

# Hey

# Hey

# Hey

# Yeah

# Yeah

# Yeah

# Yeah. #

APPLAUSE

That's all from Late Night Line-Up tonight. tomorrow night,

our guests will be Dennis Potter, the playwright,

and TV reporter-turned-MP, Geoffrey Johnson Smith.

Goodnight.

E-mail us at [email protected]