Set You Free This Time
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“Set You Free This Time” | |||||
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Single by The Byrds from the album Turn! Turn! Turn! |
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B-side | "It Won't Be Wrong" | ||||
Released | 10 January 1966 | ||||
Recorded | 16 September 1965, Columbia Studios, Hollywood | ||||
Label | Columbia 43501 | ||||
Writer(s) | Gene Clark | ||||
Producer | Terry Melcher | ||||
The Byrds singles chronology | |||||
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"Set You Free This Time" is the third track on The Byrds' 1965 album Turn! Turn! Turn!. In January 1966, the song was released as single a-side and went to #63 (US-charts). The song is penned by Gene Clark, who also sings the lead vocal and plays the harmonica. Clark's vocal inflections and densely packed lyrics suggest the influence of Bob Dylan, though Clark's singing is far more melodic than Dylan's and his lyrics far less obscure. The song, like many pop songs, concerns the breakup of a relationship, and the tone of the song is bittersweet.
The song is also, arguably, one of the first country-rock songs: the subject matter of the song, the inflections in Gene Clark's voice, the harmonica solo, and the slight twang in Roger McGuinn's guitar recall country music. The chord progression and rhythm of the song, however, are atypical of country music. Echoes of "Set You Free This Time" can be heard throughout the careers of both The Byrds and Gene Clark. According to Clark, the song was written in just a few hours during the Byrds' 1965 British tour, after a night of hanging out with Paul McCartney.
[edit] Literature
Turn! Turn! Turn! CD booklet song notes, Johnny Rogan, c.1996 The Byrds: Timeless Flight Revisited, Johnny Rogan, Rogan House, 1997