Dear Mr. Fantasy

"Dear Mr. Fantasy" is a rock song by Traffic from their 1967 album, Mr. Fantasy. An extended live version (10:57) of the song also appears on the 1971 Traffic album Welcome to the Canteen. The lyrics were written by Jim Capaldi, while the music was written by Steve Winwood and Chris Wood.^[1]

The song has been covered by The Grateful Dead, Big Sugar, Jimi Hendrix and by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Crosby, Stills, and Nash added two new verses to the lyrics:

Each time you choose to sing the rock & roll blues,

you take everybody's loneliness with you.

What do you lose each time you face down a room?

All of us see our changes through you.

So sing of the ocean of tears you have sailed,

Strangers and lovers that took you.

All of us sang, and all of us failed.

In one way we don't ever hear you.

The song was on the setlist of Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton's joint tour in 2009. A live recording appears on the album Live from Madison Square Garden.

In addition the song was performed on multiple occasions throughout the 1980s by the Grateful Dead with keyboardist Brent Mydland on vocals. Phish, Gov't Mule and Widespread Panic occasionally cover the song. It also appeared on The Live Adventures of Mike Bloomfield and Al Kooper in 1969, where its chord progression morphed into "Hey Jude".

The song was covered by the American rock band Tesla on the album Real to Reel (2007).

The Chicano rock band Los Lobos has played the song live, segueing into it from one of their own compositions.

Personnel

• Jim Capaldi – drums, backing vocal
• Dave Mason – harmonica, backing vocal
• Steve Winwood – guitar, bass guitar, lead vocal
• Chris Wood – organ, backing vocal
• Jimmy Miller – maracas

References

External links

• Steve Winwood new CD and tour, news.jamradio.org, March 25, 2008, Retrieved March 26, 2008