[I originally had this queued up for mid-June, but we just saw A Complete Unknown, which I recommend, so I decided to rearrange the schedule.]
"Girl from the North Country" is on Bob Dylan's second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, released in 1963. Unlike his eponymous debut album, Freewheelin' featured mostly original tracks, including "Blowin' in the Wind" and "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright." It was the album that really brought him to national attention – Bob Dylan had sold relatively poorly — charting at number 22.
There is evidently some ongoing debate about the identity of the north country girl. Some say it was one of his Minnesota sweethearts, others that it was Suze Rotolo, who is holding his arm on the album cover. (I wouldn't call New York the north country, but she is wearing a "coat so warm.") I'm guessing it was no one in particular, given that the introductory line — "Remember me to one who lives there/for she was once a true love of mine" — was lifted from the traditional English ballad "Scarborough Fair" (no, Paul Simon didn't write it).
Either way, it became one of Dylan's memorable collaborations with Johnny Cash.
I've always been drawn to this song about the north country because of my ancestral ties to Winnipeg, which is about 325 miles northwest of Hibbing (and 450 miles from the Twin Cities).
This is the earliest live clip I could find:
Sorry about the buzzing, but I couldn't leave this out:
The Girl from the North Country definitely wasn't Californian Joan Baez, but she and Dylan did sing it as a duet in concert. I couldn't find a clip, however, but here they are at Newport appropriately singing "It Ain't Me Babe":
Don't Think Twice may not have sold but this one was a country hit in 64 and it sure sounds like Johnny and Dylan knew each other early on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4J1GSETxmXw
Thanks, Cory. "Don't Think Twice" was actually the B-side of Dylan's release of "Blowin' in the Wind," which didn't chart as a single. It was more successful as a cut on "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan." Of course, the Peter, Paul, and Mary release of "Blowin' in the Wind" was a huge hit.
That Johnny Cash tune is a pretty obvious copycat of "Don't Think Twice," and it would probably lead to a copyright lawsuit today. Cash and Dylan first met at the Newport Festival in 1964. But contrary to the scene in "A Complete Unknown," Cash was not at the festival in 1965, when Dylan went electric.
Joni Mitchell and Jonny Cash were an unexpected pleasure; an edgy sweetness. Thanks Steve.
One of my three favourite Dylan albums (the other two being the 1965 pair). And I absolutely love the cover!