List of Bob Dylan songs based on earlier tunes

This is a list of Bob Dylan songs based on earlier tunes. Throughout his career, Bob Dylan has drawn inspiration from many traditional folk sources, including the below songs written by Dylan which borrow from earlier works.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Dylan songOriginal tuneNotes and links
"Ballad in Plain D""My Last Farewell to Stirling"[1]
"Ballad of Hollis Brown" "Pretty Polly" [2]
"Blind Willie McTell""St James Infirmary Blues"[3]
"Blowin' in the Wind""No More Auction Block"[4][5][6][7][8]
"Bob Dylan's Dream""Lady Franklin's Lament"[7][9]
"Boots of Spanish Leather""Scarborough Fair"[7]
"Buckets of Rain""Bottle of Wine"[10]
"Chimes of Freedom""Chimes of Trinity"[7]
"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right""Who's Gonna Buy You Ribbons (When I'm Gone)"[7][11]
"False Prophet""If Lovin' is Believing"[12]
"Farewell" "The Leaving of Liverpool" [13]
"Farewell, Angelina""Farewell to Tarwathie"[14]
"Girl from the North Country""Scarborough Fair"[7][9]
"A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall""Lord Randall"[15][6][7][16]
"Hard Times in New York Town""Down On Penny's Farm"[17]
"I Shall Be Free""We Shall Be Free"[18]
"John Brown""Mrs. McGrath"[19]
"Lay Down Your Weary Tune" "The Water Is Wide" / "Oh Waly, Waly" [20]
"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll""Mary Hamilton", "Child Ballad 173" [21][22]
"Masters of War""Nottamun Town"[7]
"Obviously Five Believers""Me and My Chauffeur Blues"[23]
"Percy's Song""The Wind and the Rain"[24]
"Pledging My Time""It Hurts Me Too"[25]
"Restless Farewell""The Parting Glass"[26]
"Song to Woody" "1913 Massacre" [27]
"Things Have Changed" "The Observations of a Crow", "The Future" [28][29]
"The Times They Are a-Changin'" "Farewell to Sicily" [30]
"Troubled and I Don't Know Why""What Did the Deep Sea Say?"[31]
"Walls of Red Wing""The Road and the Miles to Dundee"[32]
"With God on Our Side""The Patriot Game"[33]

References
  1. Collected e.g. in "Folk Songs and Ballads of Scotland", Ed. Ewan McColl (Oak Publications, New York 1965. Library of Congress Catalogue no. 65-2295). McColl notes that "the tune appears to have been adapted from a slow strathspey".
  2. Margotin-Guesdon 2015, p. 90
  3. Attwood, Tony (November 12, 2008). "Blind Willie McTell: the meaning behind Bob Dylan's song". Untold Dylan. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  4. "No More Auction Block for Me". Smithsonian Folkways. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  5. Sung by Odetta on many albums including Odetta at Carnegie Hall
  6. Williamson 2004, p. 257
  7. Wall, Mick (2009). When Giants Walked the Earth: A Biography of Led Zeppelin. St. Martins Press. p. 66. ISBN 978-0312590390.
  8. Quoted in John Bauldie's sleeve notes for The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991
  9. Heylin 2000, pp. 106–107
  10. Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (October 27, 2015). Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal. p. 427. ISBN 9781579129859.
  11. Spitz 1991, p. 200
  12. Moon, Tom. "Trickster Treat: Bob Dylan's New Song Sounds Awfully Old ... And Familiar". NPR.org. National Public Radio. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  13. Margotin-Guesdon 2015, p. 138
  14. Margotin-Guesdon 2015, p. 177
  15. Ricks 2005, p. 340
  16. Epstein, Daniel Mark (2012). The Ballad of Bob Dylan: A Portrait (Reprint ed.). Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0061807336.
  17. Davis Inman (February 14, 2011). "'Maggie's Farm,' Bob Dylan". American Songwriter. Retrieved February 7, 2014.
  18. Harvey 2001, p. 50
  19. Heylin 2009, p. 100
  20. Margotin-Guesdon 2015, p. 107
  21. Heylin 2009, p. 166
  22. Marqusee 2004, p. 86
  23. Margotin-Guesdon 2015, p. 238
  24. Margotin-Guesdon 2015, p. 109
  25. Margotin-Guesdon 2015, p. 220
  26. Heylin 2009, p. 172
  27. Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (October 27, 2015). Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal. p. 35. ISBN 9781579129859.
  28. Gray, Michael. "OBSERVATIONS cf THINGS HAVE CHANGED". Michael Gray Outtakes. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  29. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKwr3DDvFpw
  30. Cramb, Auslan (11 April 2004). "Dylan traces his political anthem to bagpipe tune". The Telegraph. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
  31. Heylin 2009, p. 151
  32. Margotin-Guesdon 2015, p. 78
  33. Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (October 27, 2015). Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal. p. 92. ISBN 9781579129859.

Sources
  • Harvey, Todd (2001). The Formative Dylan: Transmission & Stylistic Influences, 1961-1963. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0-8108-4115-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Heylin, Clinton (2000). Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited. Perennial Currents. ISBN 0-06-052569-X. Retrieved January 8, 2011.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Heylin, Clinton (2009). Revolution in the Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan, 1957-1973. Cappella Books. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1556528439.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Marqusee, Mike (2005). Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan And the 1960s. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1583226865.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Margotin, Phillipe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (October 27, 2015). Bob Dylan: All the Songs. New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. ISBN 9781579129859.
  • Ricks, Christopher (2005). Dylan's Visions of Sin. Harper Perennial. ISBN 978-0060599249.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Spitz, Bob (1991). Dylan: A Biography (British publication ed.). W. W. Norton. ISBN 978-0393307696.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Williamson, Nigel (2004). The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan. Rough Guide Sports/Pop Culture (1st ed.). Rough Guides. ISBN 978-1843531395.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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