Watch now (4 min) | Born, partly, from a Bob Dylan collaboration that almost was  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

	Open in app or online White Wooden Cross (demo) Born, partly, from a Bob Dylan collaboration that almost was Jeff Tweedy | Starship Casual Mar 9   Save   A few years ago you may remember a record, Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes, which T. Bone Burnett produced by pairing unused Basement Tapes-era Bob Dylan lyrics with new music written by Elvis Costello, Marcus Mumford, Jim James, Taylor Goldsmith, and Rhiannon Giddens. Well, when that project was being put together, I was approached about jumping aboard. I was pretty into the idea. Mermaid Avenue was a very similar project, and I loved the challenge of writing music to accompany finished lyrics that border on holy writ. I asked if I could see some of the lyrics before I made my decision, and I ended up getting about 20 pages of Dylan-penned lyrics in various stages of completion. Super cool! Unfortunately this was all happening around the same time Susie was getting her cancer diagnosis and beginning treatment. There was no way I was going to leave home for the required month of Big Pink-inspired recording in California. But since I had the words in front of me and I love Dylan, I couldn’t resist writing and recording a whole album with the lyrics I had access to, even if they wouldn't end up being used on the album. I still had a great time doing it. All of this is to say I have a whole album of Dylan lyrics set to my tunes that might never come out. But I got to do it, and today, I have fun listening to it. Why am I telling you this now? Because the music here was originally written to support one of the Dylan pages. But the words you’ll hear are mine. At some point I just liked the tune and was bummed I didn’t get to share it anywhere, so I wrote some new words. And to add yet another layer of cannibalistic song craft, most of these words were recast against different music on Ode to Joy. Hear the song in the video above. Songs are usually behind the paywall. Consider subscribing to access the full archive and future releases. Upgrade to paid White Wooden Cross (demo) A white wooden cross By the side of the road Once someone lost I did not know I thought about what would I do If a white wooden cross meant I’d lost you I asked myself how would I let go A thought appeared like morning dew And all the blood in my heart ran cold As these sad ideas passed through Now tell me, tell me, tell me no lies Is it stranger to live or stranger to die? I thought I knew the perfect truth The moment we’re in no thicker than skin For a fire to never burn or a world to never end One would never love or ever jump in And for all the space where I am not So much more out there than where I am I stand in my place and take one shot And blow my horn for the whole band I could say this a new Wilco band photo. But it’s not. I don’t know these people. This Week In Wilco, Etc. 1999 / March 9: Summerteeth is released on Reprise Records. Wilco plays the Roseland Ballroom in New York City the same evening. 2021 / March 11: On The Tweedy Show episode #157, Jeff debuts a new song titled “Tunnel at the End of the Light.” 2001 / March 12: Gary Louris from the Jayhawks is a guest in Jeff’s solo set at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN for two songs, “Please Tell My Brother” and “Radio King.”    Like Comment Share   Read Starship Casual in the app Listen to posts, join subscriber chats, and never miss an update from Jeff Tweedy | Starship Casual. © 2023 Jeff Tweedy | Starship Casual P.O. Box 18381 Chicago IL, 60618 Unsubscribe