The Love that Faded

In 2006, a janitor working for Sony/ATV Music Publishing claimed to have found Williams' unfinished lyrics inside a Sony-owned dumpster. The unfinished lyrics were later returned to Sony/ATV, which handed them to Bob Dylan in 2008 to complete the songs for an album release. Dylan completed one song; others were completed by other artists. Dylan's admiration for Williams' work is well documented. When asked about his all-time favorite singer-songwriters in interviews, Williams is nearly always mentioned, and in his autobiography Chronicles: Volume One, Dylan states, "When I hear Hank sing, all movement ceases. The slightest whisper seems sacrilege."

Dylan had recorded and performed several Williams songs before "The Love that Faded":

• He cut "(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle" during The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan sessions (which appears on the 2012 set The 50th Anniversary Collection)
• In the 1967 film Don't Look Back he sings "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and "Lost Highway" in a hotel room with Joan Baez looking on.
• During his retreat in Woodstock in 1967 with the Band he recorded "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It," "You Win Again," and "Be Careful of Stones That You Throw," all of which appear on The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete.
• "Kaw-Liga" is featured during a New York studio session in the film Renaldo and Clara.
• He cut a version of "I Can't Get You Off of My Mind" for the 2001 LP Timeless: Hank Williams Tribute.
• Dylan has performed "You Win Again" with Willie Nelson onstage several times.
• In the 2005 documentary No Direction Home he appears in archival footage sitting at a piano with a thoroughly wasted Johnny Cash singing "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry."