“Girl From The
North Country” is an overlooked gem in Bob Dylan’s discography. The song first
appears on Dylan’s first 1963 album, The
Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. The song later appeared on the 1969 Nashville Skyline featuring Johnny Cash.
This is a critique of the original version of the song.
“Girl From The
North Country” is a song about a lost love of Dylan’s. He is speaking out to
anyone that may be travelling to the “north country” and asking the traveller
to check up on his lost love.
The song is
performed by Dylan alone, with his voice, his guitar, and his harmonica. The
guitar work is comprised of a few simplistic, repetitive, finger-picked
patterns. Harmonica is used sparingly, only twice toward the end of the song.
The song features some great lyrics sung by a unique voice, though that may be
a given with Bob Dylan.
The theme of “Girl
From The Country” is very nostalgic. Dylan is recalling details of his once
lover, and also describing the place where she lives. The song starts out very
lively, but then takes a more mellow and morose turn when Dylan starts to sing.
The only release from the melancholy tension of the lyrics, is when Dylan
chuckles when he sings, “Please see for me if her hair hangs long, if it rolls
and flows all down her breast.” He then builds up the tension with the
melancholy verse, “I’m a-wonderin’ if she remembers me at all. Many times I’ve
often prayed, in the darkness of my night, in the brightness of my day” where
it remains for the rest of the song. The song culminates in the loudest part of
the track: an excruciatingly tense harmonica note that doesn’t release until
the last second of the song.
Contrary to the
beauty of “Girl From The North Country,” the production is not so beautiful. Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan was recorded not
long after the advent of stereophonic sound on vinyl, and it’s obvious that the
engineer took quite liberal use of this new technology. Consequently, there are
a few instances sloppy or erroneous stereo panning in the song. Both the guitar
and harmonica were recorded with the same microphone so when the harmonica is
arbitrarily panned to the left, and the first harmonica solo ends, the engineer
makes a quick pan to center when Dylan starts singing again. His voice starts
off in the left and quickly moves to the center. Also, the microphone must have
been matched to the level of Dylan’s voice, because the harmonica seems to clip
and crackle. The harmonica could have used a high frequency cut, as it is quite
harsh. So harsh that I often find myself skipping to the next song when the
second harmonica solo comes in. Other than that issue, the guitar has a nice tone and spatial quality and the mix on Dylan's voice is passable.
Despite the
somewhat shoddy production, “Girl From The North Country” is worth a listen.
The song and the album remain favorites
of mine in Bob Dylan’s collection.
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