Bob Dylan - Boots of Spanish Leather (1964)

Lyrically, the song below is rumored to have been inspired by the separation of Bob Dylan and his girlfriend of the time, Suze Rotolo. In June 1962, Rotolo left New York and traveled to Perugia, Italy with her mother to study art for six months at the University of Perugia. Besides the song below, the separation of the two is also said to have inspired the songs “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” “One Too Many Mornings,” and “Tomorrow Is a Long Time.”

Later in 1962, Dylan traveled to England to fulfill contractual obligations. Once his obligations had been completed, Dylan traveled to Italy, hoping to find Rotolo. Unfortunately, she had already returned to New York- to the apartment they shared together- around the same time that Dylan had left New York bound for England. It was in Italy, alone, where Dylan wrote the song below.

And although Dylan and Rotolo would be reunited in 1963, fate was not kind to their union. In 1963, Rotolo became pregnant, but had an abortion. Between this, Dylan’s affair with Joan Baez, and Dylan not getting along with Rotolo’s family (whom she was quite close with), the couple ended their relationship. The breakup resulted in Dylan’s bitter song “Ballad in Plain D.”

Musically, the song below borrows its melody from English folk singer Martin Carthy's arrangement of the traditional ballad “Scarborough Fair.” Lyrically, it tells a tale loosely inspired by the events above, in which a woman is leaving her lover; and, in an effort to cheer him up, offers to purchase him a gift from where she’s going. Her lover responds by telling her that all he’d like is for her to return to him. But, as time goes on, she informs him that she may not return. And, presumably becoming bitter, he asks her for the expensive “Spanish boots of Spanish leather.”

The first six verses of the song alternate between the dialogue of the man and the woman, beginning with the woman leaving. The last alternating verse (the sixth), as well as the seventh, eighth, and ninth verses, are all from the man who has been left.



Bob Dylan - Boots of Spanish Leather (1964)

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Lyrics:

Oh, I’m sailing away, my own true love
I’m sailing away in the morning
Is there something I can send you from across the sea
From the place that I’ll be landing?

No, there’s nothing you can send me, my own true love
There’s nothing I’m wishing to be owning
Just carry yourself back to me unspoiled
From across that lonesome ocean

Oh, but I just thought you might want something fine
Made of silver or of golden
Either from the mountains of Madrid
Or from the coast of Barcelona

But if I had the stars of the darkest night
And the diamonds from the deepest ocean
I’d forsake them all for your sweet kiss
For that’s all I’m wishing to be owning

That I might be gone a long, old time
And it’s only that I’m asking
Is there something I can send you to remember me by?
To make your time more easy passing

Oh, how can- how can you ask me again?
It only brings me sorrow
The same thing I would want today
I would want again tomorrow

Oh, I got a letter on a lonesome day
It was from her ship a’sailing
Saying, “I don’t know when I’ll be coming back again”
“It depends on how I’m feeling”

If you, my love, must think that a’way
I’m sure your mind is roaming
I’m sure your thoughts are not with me
But with the country to where you’re going

So take heed- take heed of the western winds
Take heed of the stormy weather
And yes, there’s something you can send back to me
Spanish boots of Spanish leather

The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You (1959)

This doo-wop group was originally formed in 1950 by cousins Jacob “Jake” Carey and Ezekiel “Zeke” Carey. The two had moved from Baltimore, Maryland to the south side of Chicago, Illinois and joined their church’s choir, where they met other original members. As with most doo-wop groups of the time, members of the group left, other members joined, and the lineup switched around quite a few times. The group started out under the name “The Swallowsand,” until they discovered a group in Baltimore using the name “The Swallows” had started to take off. This led them to start calling themselves “The El Flamingos,” followed by “The 5 Flamingos,” and then finally, just “The Flamingos.”

Originally performed in the 1934 movie Dames by Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler, this song was written by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Al Dubin. It had been featured in numerous films by different performers; and, at its peak, hit number two for Ben Selvin in 1934.

But it was The Flamingos who really put the song into popular culture when they recorded and released their version in 1959. Though The Flamingos’ version only reached number eleven on the national charts, it reached number one in countless local markets, and became a hit in multiple countries surrounding the globe. Since its debut, the version heard below has been used in dozens of movies, television shows, and has been sampled by numerous artists.



The Flamingos - I Only Have Eyes For You (1959)

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Lyrics:

My love must be a kind of blind love
I can't see anyone but you

Are the stars out tonight?
I don't know if it’s cloudy or bright

I only have eyes for you, dear

The moon may be high
But I can't see a thing in the sky

I only have eyes for you

I don't know if we're in a garden
Or on a crowded avenue

You are here
And so am I
Maybe millions of people go by
But they all disappear from view
And I only have eyes for you

Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1967)

This South African band first performed together in 1964 under the name The Nevadas. Later, when they were going by the name The Zombies (no, not those Zombies), they added a new lead singer, Glenys Lynne and changed their name to the one above, which is now most remembered. Besides Glenys, rounding out the band was Clive Harding on bass; Till Hanamann on guitar, trumpet, and organ; Bruce Bark on guitar, harmonica, and saxophone; and Tony Hughes on drums. The group performed together for eighteen years, sometimes recorded in the Afrikaans language, and reunited for a tour in 2000.

The band received their biggest hit to date in South Africa when their song “Timothy” rose to number eighteen in 1967. Later that same year, the band released the song heard below and topped the charts of South Africa with the number one spot. When it was released in the United States the following year, the song managed to reach number eighteen, where it would become their highest charting song stateside.



Four Jacks and a Jill - Master Jack (1967)

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Lyrics:

It's a strange, strange world we live in, Master Jack
You taught me all I know and I'll never look back
It's a very strange world and I thank you, Master Jack

You took a colored ribbon from out of the sky
And taught me how to use it as the years went by
To tie up all your problems and make them look neat
And then to sell them to the people in the street

It's a strange, strange world we live in, Master Jack
You taught me all I know and I'll never look back
It's a very strange world and I thank you, Master Jack

I saw right through the way you started teaching me now
So someday soon you could get to use me somehow
I thank you very much and though you've been very kind
But I'd better move along before you change my mind

It's a strange, strange world we live in, Master Jack
You know how I feel as if I'll never come back
It's a very strange world and I thank you, Master Jack

You taught me all the things the way you'd like them to be
But I'd like to see if other people agree
It's all very interesting the way you disguise
But I'd like to see the world through my own eyes

It's a strange, strange world we live in, Master Jack
No hard feelings if I never come back
You're a very strange man and I thank you, Master Jack

You're a very strange man and I thank you, Master Jack
You're a very strange man, aren't you, Master Jack