Sara (Bob Dylan song)

"Sara" is a song from Bob Dylan's 1976 album Desire.[1] It is the closing song on the album.[2] Unlike many of the songs on the album, which were written by Dylan and Jacques Levy, "Sara" was written solely by Dylan, as an autobiographical account of his estrangement from then-wife Sara Dylan. It was recorded on July 31, 1975.[3]

For other songs by the same name, see Sara (song).

"Sara"
Song by Bob Dylan
from the album Desire
ReleasedJanuary 5, 1976
RecordedJuly 31, 1975
GenreFolk rock
Length5:29
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Bob Dylan
Producer(s)Don DeVito
Desire track listing
9 tracks
Side one
  1. "Hurricane"
  2. "Isis"
  3. "Mozambique"
  4. "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)"
  5. "Oh, Sister"
Side two
  1. "Joey"
  2. "Romance in Durango"
  3. "Black Diamond Bay"
  4. "Sara"

Background and recording

The song is named after Dylan's wife at the time, and the song alludes to their earlier relationship, including the couple's children together.[4] In his book Down The Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan, Howard Sounes quoted Jacques Levy's account of the recording of the song, stating that Sara was present at the studio and listened "from the other side of the glass" as Dylan played the song.[4][5] According to Larry Sloman, Dylan turned to Sara just before beginning the song, and stated, "This one's for you."[6]

The song contains the line "Staying up for days in the Chelsea hotel / Writing 'Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands' for you,"[7] a reference to the Hotel Chelsea, where Dylan had resided in the 1960s.[8][9] It is also the only instance of Dylan deliberately quoting one of his own song titles in the lyrics of another song.

That first take of the song, recorded on July 31, 1975 in New York City, at Columbia Recording Studios, Studio E.,[3] is reportedly the one featured on the album.[5] Bob and Sara reconciled after the recording of the song but would divorce in 1977.[10][11]

Reception

"Sara" has been called one of Dylan's best love songs. The Irish Times stated the song was "as beautiful an expression of the preciousness and frailty of human love as has ever been put on a record."[12] Rolling Stone called the song perhaps his most personal song in his career.[13] "Sara" was also featured at No. 48 on Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Bob Dylan Songs.[14]

Other versions

In 2002, a live version of the song from the 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour was featured on The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue.[15] In 2019, that recording and four other live performances of the song from the tour were released on the box set The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings.

In 2004 researcher Kim Beissel claimed that "Sara" was the basis for Nick Cave’s 1997 song "Where Do We Go Now, But Nowhere?"[16]

Personnel

References
  1. "Sara | The Official Bob Dylan Site". www.bobdylan.com. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  2. Kirell, Andrew (January 31, 2016). "'Desire': Bob Dylan's Sloppiest Masterpiece Turns 40". The Daily Beast. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  3. Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (October 27, 2015). Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Running Press. pp. Sara. ISBN 9780316353533.
  4. "Bob Dylan: Stories of the songs". The Independent. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  5. Sounes, Howard (2001). Down The Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan (New York, Grove, 2001). New York: Grove Press.
  6. Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions by Clinton Heylin, p. 114.
  7. Gill, Andy (1998). My back pages : classic Bob Dylan, 1962–1969. London: Carlton. pp. 106–107. ISBN 1858684811. OCLC 42406935.
  8. "Future of New York's Chelsea Hotel hangs in the balance". Daily Telegraph. August 2, 2011. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  9. Hoby, Hermione (December 19, 2010). "The 10 best Chelsea hotel moments". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  10. Gray, Michael (2006). The Bob Dylan encyclopedia. New York: Continuum. pp. 198–201. ISBN 0826469337. OCLC 67346197.
  11. Reiff, Corbin. "With Blood on the Tracks, Bob Dylan bid an angry, ragged farewell to his wife". Music. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  12. "A taste of Bob Dylan: 10 songs to beat The Band". The Irish Times. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  13. Doyle, Patrick (January 5, 2016). "Bob Dylan's 'Desire': An 'Exotic' Masterpiece Turns 40". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  14. "100 Greatest Bob Dylan Songs". Rolling Stone. May 24, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  15. "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975 – The Rolling Thunder Revue – Bob Dylan | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  16. Original Seeds Vol. 2: Songs that inspired Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, Kim Beissel, CD liner notes, Rubber Records Australia, 2004
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