Bob Dylan Song #49: She Belongs To Me

I'll delve into this a bit more when I put together my 1966 special post (which I've mentioned enough times that some of you might be fooled into thinking it'll be really great or something), but the '66 version of "She Belongs To Me" was the version that I heard first. It was something of a surprise, then, to listen to the BIABH version and not only hear it electrified (although a gentle electrification - this isn't a rambunctious song like "115th Dream", after all), but to hear Dylan sing it more modestly and traditionally. And, to be honest, that's more the way that I like hearing the song. Not that I don't enjoy Dylan sneering his way through the song and snapping off vowels Blonde on Blonde style, but after enough years of having both versions in my life, the album version is my preferred one.

"She Belongs To Me" is a song that I've always enjoyed, and these days I enjoy it more because it fits into the aesthetic of the album very well, both from a lyrical and a musical standpoint. Dylan had already eschewed traditionally direct lyricism on his last album, and here is more of the same; it's not too easy to figure what Dylan's on about when he talks about hypnotist collectors and walking antiques. Is Dylan singing about what it feels like to obsessively moon over an ethereal dream woman (like, say, his soon-to-be wife Sara or ex-girlfriend Nico, both commonly described as ethereal themselves)? Or is he parodying that nature of obsession and how silly it can make you look (never mind the part about peeking through a keyhole on your knees - can you really take "the law can't touch her at all" all that seriously)? The title of the song lends credence to the latter theory - "She Belongs To Me" seems more of a wink after hearing the lyrics - but Dylan never does cross that line into the trademark sarcasm that marks a "Just Like A Woman", instead treating the woman of the song with relative respect. As usual with Dylan, you can have it both ways, depending on your own feelings when listening to the song.

I already mentioned how much props Dylan's band should receive for their work on "Subterranean Homesick Blues", but they deserve just as much praise for what they do on this song as well. There's a very gentle interplay between John Hammond Jr.'s electric guitar and Dylan's acoustic, the electric weaving its way around the acoustic rhythm and even Dylan's harmonica playing without overwhelming either, acting as a sweet harmony to the melody. And the quiet snare taps that serve as drumming on the song help to flesh things out and give the playing a backbone - the No Direction Home take, without that beat, sounds formless and incomplete. A song like this, that could blend into the rest of the album without any accompaniment, sounds all the better when the accompaniment is as strong as the one Dylan's band afforded it (while managing to be unobtrusive at the same time - no mean feat). Even the 1966 versions, although just as compelling because Dylan sics his vocal on the lyrics like an attack dog, don't have that to fall back on, and sound a little less, well, there by comparison.

Dylan, in a smart move, slotted this song in between two of the most famous electric songs on the album, "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Maggie's Farm". I think even he knew that just keeping the heat turned up by moving from one hard rocker (comparatively speaking) to another would've been too much for a listener; who wants to go from trying to process "don't follow leaders/watch your parking meters" to "the National Guard stands around his door" in successive order? Dylan, by putting this charming little gem of a song in between the two, allowed for some breathing room, and gave a few minutes of peace before the band comes back and kicks you in the gut. And his affection for the song was such that he not only slotted it into his 1966 sets, but into the 1969 Isle of Wight comeback show as well, and has thrown it into the occasional show ever since. Dylan surely has his own personal favorite songs, and it doesn't seem like a stretch to assume that "She Belongs To Me" is one of them.

Question for you readers: which seemingly "minor" song - i.e. not one of the well-known Greatest Hits that inevitably pop up on whatever Dylan compilation's being released this week - would you consider to be your favorite? I'm not looking for an obscure I'm-trumping-you-with-my-esoteric-Dylan-knowledge answer, but an honest response as to which lesser-known track just hits you in that right way. My favorite, easily, is "Mama, You Been On My Mind"; one of the reasons I want to see this blog through the end is to write a post about that amazing, amazing song. As for you all, please feel free to discourse in the comments.