"Dreamin' of You": Friday Bob Dylan

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"Dreaming of You" is a fantastic song off of Tell Tale Signs, a 2008 release of bootlegs, throwaways, and alternate versions of songs from 1997-2006. This particular tune is basically an alternate version of "Standing in the Doorway", which was released on 1997's Time out of Mind.

At it's best, the Bootleg series (which Tell Tale Signs is a part of) helps peel the onion and discover Bob's creative process, and it certainly does that here.

Stand "Dreaming' of You" and "Standing in the Doorway" next to each other and they'd be two sides of a coin, the altering dynamics of the same feeling, the wholeness of emotion regarding love lost. . .the same play in a different setting.

"Dreaming of You" is a dusty, searching tune, with hard hitting drums, anxious keys, and mournful but fighting vocals. "Standing in the Doorway" echos the same theme lyrically, and in fact even used many of the same exact lyrics. However, the scene is transported from the desert to the city, late night, in the summer. It is more Sinatra-like, wistful, sweet, and brooding. Taken together, both of these songs are the same but different, as Bob explores one small world through two different avenues. I bet he could've done it in a dozen other.

Regarding the lyrics: Bob sings in "Dreamin' of You" that "the light in this place/is really bad/like being on the bottom of a stream" whereas in "Standing in the Doorway" he sang "the light in this place/is so bad/making me sick in the head". In "Dreaming of You" he sings "Maybe they'll get me/ maybe they won't/but whatever it won't be tonight", and right on cue, in "Standing in the Doorway" Bob sings "maybe the'll get me/ maybe they won't/ not tonight and it won't be here". Then there's the verbatim "I'll eat when I'm hungry/Drink when I'm dry/ Live my life on the square"  used in both songs.

Watch the video to see a big truck riding through the desert tracking, ready to track down a mystery in wide open space of land. It fits the song like a glove. To hear "Standing in the Doorway", see below:


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