Going, Going, Gone (Bob Dylan song)

"Going, Going, Gone" is a song by Bob Dylan. It was released in 1974 on the album Planet Waves. The song is in the key of F major and deals with the themes of reflection and suicide. Bob Dylan is accompanied by The Band.

Critics have admired the interplay in the song between Dylan's desperate vocal and guitarist Robbie Robertson's lead guitar. Rock critic Tim Riley wrote that "The Band's windup pitch to "Going, Going, Gone" is a wonder of pinpoint ensemble playing: Robertson makes his guitar entrance choke as if a noose had suddenly tightened around its neck," adding that The Band's sympathetic "shaping of the song ... is so perfectly attuned to the bottomed-out quality of Dylan's mood that Robertson's guitar sounds like it's scratching the itch in Dylan's throat."^[1]

Personnel

• Bob Dylan – acoustic guitar, vocals
• Rick Danko – bass guitar
• Levon Helm – drums
• Garth Hudson – electronic organ
• Richard Manuel – piano
• Robbie Robertson – electric guitar

Cover versions

The song was covered by Richard Hell and the Voidoids on their 1982 album Destiny Street. It was also covered by Son Volt on their 1997 EP Switchback. A live version by Jerry Garcia is on the Garcia Plays Dylan Again album. Steve Howe covers the song on his Portraits of Bob Dylan album.

References