Nowhere at All

‘If Not for You’ was written by Bob Dylan and recorded on his 1970 eleventh studio album New Morning.  This song was issued as a single, but it did not chart for Dylan.  It celebrated the simple pleasures of nature, and it was written as a love song to his first wife Sara.  Bob was telling his significant other that she means everything to him, and that without her, he wouldn’t have anything and there would be nowhere for him to go, as she has become his entire world.  Sarah after she took care of him after his motorcycle accident on July 29, 1966, and it is possible this song was a way for him to say thanks for all the time and effort that she put into helping him recover.  Dylan sang and played acoustic guitar with Charlie Daniels on bass and Al Kooper on keyboard and Russ Kunkel on drums and Ron Cornelius playing lead guitar.  Dylan has the ability to assemble simple lyrics together to create a poetic masterpiece.  Many of Dylan’s songs became big hits for other artists.

One month later, George Harrison released a version of this song on his first solo album, the triple album All Things Must Pass, which featured him singing, playing acoustic guitars, Dobros, and harmonica, with Peter Frampton on acoustic guitar, Gary Wright on piano, Billy Preston on organ, Klaus Voormann on bass, Alan White on drums, and Ringo Starr playing the tambourine.  Another well-known cover of the song was recorded by Olivia Newton-John, which was her first major hit on an international scale.  She had the only US charting version of the song which reached #25 on the Hot 100, and her 1971 cover went to #7 in the UK.  When Newton-John recorded this, she had never heard Dylan’s version, only Harrison’s.  ‘If Not for You’ was played at the 1971 NYC fundraiser for refugees from Bangladesh and that featured George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Bob Dylan, Ravi Shankar, Eric Clapton, Billy Preston.

If not for you
Babe, I couldn’t even find the door
I couldn’t even see the floor
I’d be sad and blue, if not for you

If not for you
Babe, the night would see me wide awake
The day would surely have to break
It would not be new, if not for you

If not for you, my sky would fall
Rain would gather, too
Without your love I’d be nowhere at all
I’d be lost, if not for you

If not for you
The winter would hold no spring
Couldn’t hear a robin sing
I just wouldn’t have a clue, if not for you

If not for you, my sky would fall
Rain would gather, too
Without your love I’d be nowhere at all
I’d be lost, if not for you

If not for you
The winter would hold no spring
Couldn’t hear a robin sing
I just wouldn’t have a clue, if not for you

If not for you

Written for Bee’s Love Is In Da Blog 2023 Day 5 where today is a user choice.