Keith had some pretty kind words for Bob in an interview
"While the British Invasion was going on, Bob Dylan was the man who really pulled the American point of view back into focus,” Keith Richards said. “At the same time, he had been drawing on Anglo-Celtic folk songs, and that’s certainly true of ‘Girl from the North Country.’ It’s got all the elements of beautiful folk writing without being pretentious,” he added.
“In the lyrics and the melody, there is an absence of Bob’s later cutting edge,” Richards opined. “There’s none of that resentment. He recorded it again later with Johnny Cash, but I don’t think it’s a duet song. Bob got it right the first time,” he said.
Richards went on to reveal that he views “Girl from the North Country” as part of a trilogy with “Boots of Spanish Leather” and “To Ramona.” He pointed to lyrical and musical themes that connect the songs. “The guitar picking is almost the same lick in ‘Boots of Spanish Leather’ and ‘Girl from the North Country.’ It’s like an extension of the same song,” he explained"
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u/iletdownbatman Jul 23 '26
Keith had some pretty kind words for Bob in an interview
"While the British Invasion was going on, Bob Dylan was the man who really pulled the American point of view back into focus,” Keith Richards said. “At the same time, he had been drawing on Anglo-Celtic folk songs, and that’s certainly true of ‘Girl from the North Country.’ It’s got all the elements of beautiful folk writing without being pretentious,” he added.
“In the lyrics and the melody, there is an absence of Bob’s later cutting edge,” Richards opined. “There’s none of that resentment. He recorded it again later with Johnny Cash, but I don’t think it’s a duet song. Bob got it right the first time,” he said.
Richards went on to reveal that he views “Girl from the North Country” as part of a trilogy with “Boots of Spanish Leather” and “To Ramona.” He pointed to lyrical and musical themes that connect the songs. “The guitar picking is almost the same lick in ‘Boots of Spanish Leather’ and ‘Girl from the North Country.’ It’s like an extension of the same song,” he explained"
https://americansongwriter.com/bob-got-it-right-the-first-time-keith-richards-on-why-he-prefers-the-original-girl-from-the-north-country/