Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

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"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"
John Hammond

"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is a song written by

B-side of the single "Blowin' in the Wind". The song was covered by several other artists, including Emilie-Claire Barlow in her 2010 album The Beat Goes On and Peter, Paul and Mary, who released it as a single, which reached the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100
.

Composition

In the liner notes to the original release,

Paul Clayton
, who had used it in his song "Who's Gonna Buy You Ribbons When I'm Gone?"

As well as the melody, a couple of lines were taken from Clayton's "Who's Gonna Buy You Ribbons When I'm Gone?", which was recorded in 1960, two years before Dylan wrote "Don't Think Twice". Lines taken word-for-word or slightly altered from the Clayton song are, "T'ain't no use to sit and wonder why, darlin'" and "So I'm walkin' down that long, lonesome road." On the first release of the song, instead of "So I'm walkin' down that long, lonesome road babe, where I'm bound, I can't tell" Dylan sings "So long, honey babe, where I'm bound, I can't tell". The lyrics were changed when Dylan performed live versions of the song and on cover versions recorded by other artists.

Releases

In addition to its original release, the song has appeared on several of Dylan's greatest hits compilations, including Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II (1971), The Best of Bob Dylan (1997), and The Essential Bob Dylan (2000). Another version of the song, recorded as a demo for Dylan's music publisher M. Witmark & Sons in 1963, was included on two releases in Columbia's Bootleg Series: Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack (2005) and Vol. 9 – The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964 (2010). In addition, live versions have been released on Before the Flood (1974; recorded February 14, 1974), as a reggae rock version[4] on Bob Dylan at Budokan (1978; recorded February 28, 1978), The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall (2004; recorded October 31, 1964), Live at The Gaslight 1962 (2005; recorded October 15, 1962), and Live 1962-1966: Rare Performances from the Copyright Collections (2018; recorded April 12, 1963).

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[5] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"
Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Bob Dylan
Producer(s)Albert Grossman
Peter, Paul and Mary singles chronology
"Blowin' in the Wind"
(1963) 		"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"
(1963) 		"Stewball"
(1963)

In 1963, the popular folk trio

Cash Box described it as "an infectious medium-paced country-styled folk item with a haunting, extremely pretty melody" that seemed destined to replicate the success the trio had with "Blowin' in the Wind".[11] AllMusic critic William Ruhlman described the Peter, Paul and Mary version as an "understated rendition" of the song.[2] Radio personality Bob Leszczak describes this version as being done "in typical fashion".[12]

The Four Seasons released a cover of the song as a single in 1965 (with the title "Don't Think Twice") under the pseudonym the Wonder Who? Their "joke" version reached number 12 on the Hot 100,[13] and eventually sold one million copies.

In 1968, Burl Ives covered the song on his album The Times They Are a-Changin'.

Several Country music artists have also covered this song. In 1965, Johnny Cash recorded a version of this song on his Orange Blossom Special album. In 1970, Waylon Jennings released his Don't Think Twice album with this song being the first track on the album. Elvis Presley recorded the song as an in-studio jam with his band in Nashville in May 1971, but it remained unreleased until the 1995 release of the box set Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential '70s Masters.[14] In 1971, Jerry Reed released an up-tempo version on his album, When You're Hot, You're Hot. In 1978, Doc & Merle Watson covered this song on their album Look Away!. Dolly Parton covered this song on her 44th Studio album Blue Smoke in 2014 and has since been a popular Bluegrass song during her concerts. Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard covered this song in their sixth and final recorded collaboration Django and Jimmie in 2016. In 1965 Australian folk/pop outfit The Seekers also recorded a version of "Don't Think Twice" and released it on their album "A World Of Our Own".

Before he became famous, Post Malone uploaded a cover version to YouTube in 2013 under his birth name, performed in an earnest folk style unlike his later work. The video was widely viewed in 2015 after his "White Iverson" video went viral on SoundCloud.[15] Lana Del Rey performed the song on her Norman Fucking Rockwell! tour in 2019, joined by Walkmen singer Hamilton Leithauser in Nashville, Tennessee.[16]

In popular culture

The song was used on the television series

Peter, Paul & Mary played over the end credits of the April 5, 2023 episode of the AppleTV+ series Ted Lasso (season 3, episode 4, "Big Week".). A Burl Ives' cover was used in the final episode (The Hook) of season one of Poker Face.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Kesha Bares All In Stellar, Stripped Down Take On Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice It's Alright"". 13 April 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2019. ["Written in 1962, Bob Dylan’s country folk classic “Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright” gets to the heart of the human condition and more than half a century later, is still one that really hits home..."]
  2. ^ a b Ruhlmann, W. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-08-23.
  3. ^ Bob Spitz, Dylan: A Biography, London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1991, p. 200.
  4. ^ Wawzenek, Bryan (7 March 2014). "Top 10 Reggae Rock Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock.
  5. ^ "British single certifications – Bob Dylan – Don't Think Twice It's All Right". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  6. ^
    ISBN 9780810889057
    .
  7. ^ "Peter, Paul & Mary: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  8. ^ "Peter, Paul & Mary: Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-09-30.
  9. ISBN 9780415966443
    .
  10. ^ Fine, Marshall (October 20, 1980). "Reunion Pleases Peter, Paul, Mary". Iowa City Press Citizen. p. 3D. Retrieved 2021-10-01 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. September 7, 1963. p. 10. Retrieved 2022-01-12.
  12. ISBN 9781442230682
    .
  13. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 238.
  14. ^ "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Jam Edit)". Elvis The Music. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
  15. ^ Servantes, Ian (May 12, 2015). "Video Surfaces of Post Malone Covering Bob Dylan's 'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right'". Complex. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
  16. ^ Shaffer, Claire (2019-11-20). "Lana Del Rey, Hamilton Leithauser Cover Bob Dylan in Nashville". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2021-03-22.
  17. ^ Stanley, Alessandra (2008-07-25). "Back to the Office, Vices in Tow". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-10.
  18. ^ "TMQ's "Twelve Days of Christmas"". ESPN. 2009-12-22. Retrieved 2010-01-14.
  19. ^ Mullin, Kyle. ""Poker Face" Music Supervisor Thomas Golubić Speaks on the Series' Music". www.undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
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