Girl from the North Country

Girl from the North Country is a folk song by Bob Dylan. He was released in 1963 on his second studio album The Freewheelin 'Bob Dylan.

History

Dylan wrote the song during a prolonged stay in England in 1962. The content of the melancholic piece that deals with the lingering memory of an old love, led among fans and biographers to speculate regarding the question of which real person would act in the song. One theory is that it could be either former girlfriends as Echo Helstrom and Bonnie Beecher from his native Minnesota, which would explain the title Girl from the North Country. The most common, however, is the assumption that Dylan Suze Rotolo thought of while he composed the song. Rotolo graced the 1963 cover of the album on which the song appeared. It was created at a time, in which the two a long spatial separation had to endure and to break up the relationship threatened - which they then actually did in 1964, a year after the release of the song.

Influence

Musically, Dylan was influenced at this time by English folk songs and ballads, especially the songs of Martin Carthy, in this case the interpretation of the well-known English folk song Scarborough Fair, which has a similar content and in which prevails a similar mood. The passage Remember me to one who lives there, she once was a true love of mine is taken verbatim from this folk song.

Versions

Appeared on the Dylan concert albums Real Live and The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration live versions of the title. One of the most famous variations is from Dylan himself, sung in 1969 as a duet with Johnny Cash. The song was the first to Dylan's ninth studio album Nashville Skyline. Other well-known adaptations are by artists such as Joe Cocker, Roy Harper, Pete Townshend and Rod Stewart.