"Lay Lady Lay" was originally written for the
soundtrack of the film
Midnight Cowboy but wasn't submitted in time to be included in the finished film.
Joel Whitburn said instead that the song was "written for his wife Sarah Lowndes". In a 1971 interview for which transcripts were auctioned in 2020, Dylan said the song was written for
Barbra Streisand, with Streisand later adding that Dylan wanted to sing a duet with her. Dylan's recording was released as a
single in July 1969 and quickly became his fourth and last top 10 U.S. hit, peaking at #7 on the
Billboard Hot 100 for the consecutive weeks of September 6 and 13. The single did even better in the United Kingdom where it reached #5 on the
UK Singles Chart. Like many of the tracks on
Nashville Skyline, the song is sung by Dylan in a warm, relatively low sounding voice, rather than the more abrasive nasal singing style with which he had become famous. Despite a popular story that the Everly Brothers rejected the song due to misunderstanding the lyrics as sexual in nature, Everly continued "He sang parts of it, and we weren't quite sure whether he was offering it to us or not. It was one of those awestruck moments." The Everly Brothers later covered the song on their
EB 84 album, 15 years after Dylan's release. Dylan first played the song to group of singer-songwriters including Joni Mitchell, Graham Nash, and Kris Kristofferson at Cash's house outside of
Nashville when they were passing a guitar and singing a song. Drummer
Kenny Buttrey has said that he had a difficult time coming up with a drum part for the song. Dylan had suggested
bongos, while producer Bob Johnston said
cowbells. In order to "show them how bad their ideas were", Buttrey used both instruments together.
Kris Kristofferson, who was working as a janitor in the studio at the time, was enlisted to hold the bongos in one hand and the cowbell in the other. Buttrey moved the sole overhead drum mic over to these new instruments. When he switches back to the drums for the choruses the drumset sounds distant due to not being directly miked. The take heard on the album is the first take and is one of Buttrey's own favorite performances. The song was also a favourite of popular singer
Madonna, "I used to listen to that one record, 'Lay Lady Lay', in my brother's bedroom in the basement of our house," she recalled. "I'd lie on the bed and play that song and cry all the time. I was going through
adolescence; I had hormones raging through my body. Don't ask me why I was crying – it's not a sad song. But that's the only record of his that I really listened to."
Music and lyrics features a descending
chromatic line in the upper voice: \hat 8–\hat 7–\hat 7–\hat 6. () (
I-
V-
VII-
IV) from which "Lay, Lady, Lay" sequence is derived, the song's
chord progression features a descending
chromatic line and Dylan's voice occupies a
range from F#2 to D4. The bass is most often based on the chromatic descent or otherwise emphasizing the modal center of A. The chief
hook in "Lay Lady Lay", a song with far more hooks than is typical for Dylan, is a recurring four-note
pedal steel guitar riff. Lyrically the song speaks of romantic and sexual anticipation as the singer beseeches his lover to spend the night with him.
Reception Billboard described "Lay Lady Lay" as an "Infectious and appealing folk number with a country flavor."
Record World said it was a "lovely and winning number."
Cash Box called it a "strong sales prospect to break onto best seller charts."
Personnel •
Bob Dylan - guitar, harmonica, keyboards, vocals •
Pete Drake -
pedal steel guitar •
Charlie Daniels - guitar •
Charlie McCoy - bass •
Kenny Buttrey - drums, cowbell, bongos •
Bob Wilson - organ, piano • Charlie Bragg -
engineer • Neil Wilburn - engineer
Charts Weekly charts Year-end charts Certifications ==Other recordings==