If You See Her, Say Hello
"If You See Her, Say Hello" is a song by Bob Dylan released in 1975 on his 15th studio album, Blood on the Tracks, and as a single B-side. It is one of five songs on the album that Dylan initially recorded in New York City in September 1974 and then re-recorded in Minneapolis in December that year. The later recording, made on December 30, 1974, became the album track (and single).
| "If You See Her, Say Hello" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Bob Dylan | |
| from the album Blood on the Tracks | |
| A-side | "Tangled Up in Blue" |
| Released | January 1975 |
| Recorded | December 30, 1974 at Sound 80 in Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Genre | Folk rock |
| Length | 4:49 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan |
| Producer(s) | Bob Dylan |
The complete New York recording sessions of "If You See Her, Say Hello" was released on the deluxe edition of The Bootleg Series Vol. 14: More Blood, More Tracks in 2018, with the first take of the song, recorded on September 16, 1974, also included on the single-CD and 2-LP versions of that album.[1] The second take of the song, from the same September 16 session, had been released in 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991. The deluxe version of The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 also included a remix of the December 1974 master issued on Blood on the Tracks.[2]
The song describes an anonymous lost love, with whom the singer had "a falling-out" and broke up. As the song goes on, the narrator tells in a very honest and melancholic tone how hard is his struggle with the issue of their separation, but he makes it clear that "she still lives inside of him", so they've never been apart. In the final verse, he says that his old lover can see him if she's ever coming back again.
Covers and alternative versions
There is an Italian version by singer Francesco De Gregori, called "Non Dirle Che Non È Così".
Jeff Buckley covered the song in a live performance on his album Live at Sin-é.
The Brazilian singer Renato Russo covered the song changing the title and lyrics to "If you see him, say hello".
Dylan has performed alternate versions of the song in concert. His 1976 Lakeland, Florida performance has different lyrics for every verse.[3]
References in popular culture
Bob Geldof used the title as the opening line to his composition "A Gospel Song" from his 1990 album The Vegetarians of Love.[4]
It is mentioned by David Duchovny's character Hank Moody at the end of episode five of the Showtime series Californication, describing the album as a "classic heartbreak album" and begins to sing the opening verse of the song to his daughter, Becca.
In an interview with The Guardian, Ricky Gervais mentioned the song as the last he ever played while working at Xfm. He also named Blood on the Tracks as his favorite album.[5]
The song is played in the closing scene of the 19th episode, "Vesuvius" in the 9th season of How I Met Your Mother.
References
- "More Blood, More Tracks – The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 to Be Released on November 2 | The Official Bob Dylan Site". www.bobdylan.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
- "More Blood, More Tracks – The Bootleg Series Vol. 14 to Be Released on November 2 | The Official Bob Dylan Site". www.bobdylan.com. Retrieved 2018-10-21.
- Abrams, Rick. If You See Her, Say Hello Lakeland, Florida 1976. University of Southern Maine https://archive.is/20121214210156/http://web1.uct.usm.maine.edu/~rabrams/LakelandHello.html. Archived from the original on 14 December 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2011. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-08-21. Retrieved 2014-01-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Home entertainment - Friday 12 April 2002". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
External links
