Dignity (Bob Dylan song)

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“Dignity”
Album cover
Song by Bob Dylan
Album	Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3
Released	November 15, 1994
Recorded	1989
Genre	Folk rock
Length	5:58
Label	Columbia
Writer	Bob Dylan
Producer	Brendan O'Brien
Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3 track listing
"Jokerman" (5) "Dignity" (7) "Silvio" (8)

"Dignity" is a song by Bob Dylan, first released on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3 in 1994. It was recorded during the Oh, Mercy studio sessions, but the version released on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3 was remixed and overdubbed by Brendan O'Brien(who also played organ on the song on MTV Unplugged the same year). A new rhythm track was recorded and electrical guitar and organ were added to the mix. The slide guitar from the original mix was mixed out.

The original sparser Daniel Lanois mix has been released on later compilations. The difficulties recording it are described by Dylan in Chronicles, Vol, 1. It was originally recorded with Dylan, Stoltz, and Green. Though they managed to complete a polished performance, Lanois suggested something more ambitious with a Cajun band. Curious to see what Lanois had in mind, Dylan agreed to recut the song. The next evening, a session was held with Rockin' Dopsie and His Cajun Band, but the results were disastrous. The group experimented with different keys and tempos, but according to Dylan, everyone was frustrated with the results. Dylan still preferred the original version recorded the previous day, but it wasn't considered finished by Dylan or Lanois. As the session continued into the early morning hours, the group gave up and began playing old standards like "Jambalaya", "Cheatin' Heart", and "There Stands the Glass". The next day, they listened to every take of "Dignity" recorded with Dopsie and his band, and all of them were rejected. "Whatever promise Dan had seen in the song was beaten into a bloody mess", Dylan recalled. "Where we had started from, we'd never gotten back to, a fishing expedition gone nowhere. In no take did we ever turn back the clock. We just kept winding it. Every take another ball of confusion." "Dignity" was set aside, never to be revisited for the remainder of the sessions.

Live versions of the song can be heard on Live 1961-2000: Thirty-Nine Years of Great Concert Performances and MTV Unplugged. A 2 minute demo-version is included as part of a six-song sampler in promo editions of Chronicles Vol. 1.

[edit] External links

• Lyrics