Watching the River Flow

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"Watching the River Flow" 45rpm single

"Watching the River Flow" is a blues song by Bob Dylan that was first released as an independent single. The single appeared during a two-year period, 1971-72, in which there was only one other wholly new song that Dylan wrote, recorded and released, that being the protest song, "George Jackson." (See the main article, Bob Dylan, and the Bob Dylan discography for details.) As such, "Watching the River Flow," is interesting for the way in which it captures Dylan's own observations of his sense of detachment and listlessness.

The song begins:

What's the matter with me,

I don't have much to say,

Daylight sneakin' through the window

And I'm still in this all-night cafe...

And later Dylan goes on to confess:

If I had wings and I could fly,

I know where I would go.

But right now I'll just sit here so contentedly

And watch the river flow.^[1]

"Watching the River Flow" was recorded during the March 16-19 sessions at the Blue Rock Studios in New York city and was produced by Bob Johnston and Leon Russell. The recording was first issued as a single (Columbia 4-45409) on June 3, 1971, backed with "Spanish is the Loving Tongue" (a traditional song). The single reached #41 in the US charts and #24 in the UK. It was included on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II double LP album compilation, which was released on November 17 of the same year.^[2]