A live version of the song as performed by Dylan was recorded at
Philharmonic Hall in New York on October 31, 1964, and eventually released with the rest of the concert on
The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall in 2004. Dylan began the recording for the studio version of "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" on January 13, 1965, during the first session for
Bringing It All Back Home. Of the two acoustic takes completed, neither was used. He recorded the song again on January 15, producing four takes with a full band, plus backing vocalist Angeline Butler from the folk trio The Pilgrims. Take 4 was released on
The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991 in 1991, and the sessions are available on
The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966. On May 21, 1965, producer Tom Wilson edited together composites of several takes from January 15 and brought in unidentified vocalists to overdub additional backing vocals. This version was released as a single in The Netherlands in 1967, where it failed to chart. No Dylan version was released in the US or the UK until the appearance of
The Bootleg Series, which, as noted above, featured a different version of the song from the single. The song also appears on
The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall, albeit in an acoustic, live form. Additional versions from Dylan's 1965–1966 recording sessions are included on the Deluxe and Collector's Editions of
The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966. ==Manfred Mann version==