I recalled earlier that late one night in 2021 I replied to Patti Smith’s question here, about which song you would choose, and she kindly replied to my reply. It took me a while to find this, so I thought I would post a copy here. I was really glad that she enjoyed the songs that I posted a link to.
https://pattismith.substack.com/p/pop-question-2/comment/2074772 (my reply)
https://pattismith.substack.com/p/pop-question-2/comments
The original post by Patti about singing Dark Eyes with Bob in 1995
29th May, 2021
I can see why you had a sleepless night prior to deciding on Dark Eyes at the break of dawn..! I have been considering this on and off over the evening, as though I really had to tell Bob which song I had chosen.. and I'm still not sure. My initial thought was Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts, for a few different reasons — I think Bob has only played it live in concert once, in Salt Lake City, 1976 (there are soundboard or audience recordings for I think nearly all 1976 shows but for that one there is no known recording as far as I know..). The album Blood on the tracks, I can see the scene of me as a seventeen year old listening to the album for the first time, from start to finish, the chair I was sitting in, and knowing I wanted to find and listen to everything he had ever recorded, and feeling this was different, something more than the music, something more and different, an unusual feeling, in a good way. (this was back in 1999, before it was easy to find and listen to all albums, ..it took me a couple of years to find a copy of Dont Look Back.. and I was looking hard to find footage of Bob)... Getting back to the song.. Listening to Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts that first time, the scene that I saw, and this unusual feeling, on that afternoon, I see this scene and that 'gentle breeze was blowin’, you could feel it from inside' .. to this day, the character in there, the place, 'The drillin’ in the wall kept up but no one seemed to pay it any mind'. . that day I was listening, a late spring day, warm day, bright afternoon, open window. This was just the beginning, and I mention this in relation to this song. The other songs seemed different, I was only catching odd lines, the feeling of the songs, the revolution in the air, the hilltop village gambling for his clothes, the flowers on the hillside, bloomin' crazy, .. I think I saw them all or around this scene in some kind of way that the Jack of Hearts was in, and that's the song I ended up listening to on repeat initially, on that day, and into the night/ Rosemary drinkin’ hard and seein’ her reflection in the knife .. The festival was over, .. and them sitting together in the park, as the evening sky grew dark — somehow an unusual sense of something of what I wasn't sure, but I knew I wanted to listen more and more, .. ..The backstage manager was pacing all around by his chair “There’s something funny going on,” he said, “I can just feel it in the air” ..(something is happening but you don't know what it is, do you, mr jones..?) ..
I might edit this post, I'm typing quite a bit here, it's late. Or maybe I should just send it as it is. Anyway, back to the song, ...well, the album. .a while after this I saw the interview where Bob is asked is the album based on the break up of his marriage (personally I knew nothing of this, and hadn't listened to the album with any sense of this).. and Bob replied, no it's based on Chekhov short stories,.. and even though some people might disregard an answer such as this, to me it made sense, in some kind of way, in the same way that I feel when listening to Blood on the Tracks.
Some time after this ..(I know you said 'maybe a ..few.. words why..) I realised that he had only played Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts once live in concert, if ever.. and I was wondering if any specific reason, of course the length of it ..could be related, but he's played many long songs, I recall listening to few live performances of 'Highlands' .. for one.. That would be one consideration if I was picking a song to sing with Bob, would he want to sing it, is there a specific reason why he hasn't played it live previously, other than that it just hasn't come around naturally yet.. I feel like I've gone a little off track here, and not sure I've gotten back to where I wanted to be. Also I suppose there would be the details of how would we sing this.. maybe a verse each with Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts .. alternate. No, I'm not sure I could tell Bob that was my choice.. he would likely not be keen I suspect. Dark Eyes. I would pick Dark Eyes too.
I found a recording of the Philadelphia show from the 15th March, 1995. The first of the three shows. Listening to them, the video that you posted is from the second show. I posted four songs from the first show here — Mama, You Been On My Mind,.. Dark Eyes.. Tombstone Blues, and then Obviously Five Believers .. quite a run of songs!. The acoustic and then those two that follow..
moth.
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Patti Smith
May 29, 2021
Author
Thank you for your most interesting missive. And thank you for the link. I have never heard it and the recording is very good. It brought tears to my eyes.
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One (well, my actual favorite) of my very most loved lines from Dylan is in this song - "The only person on the scene missin' was the Jack of Hearts" - that line marked Dylan as a true poet forever in my mind - who else would ever think up that line?! One of my favorite Dylan songs - along with Dark Eyes. Thank you for posting this - love it!