Roger Waters says he “stole” from a classic Bob Dylan song for his new, unreleased song.
The Pink Floyd founder and bassist suggested Dylan’s legendary closing song from Blonde on Blonde, Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, was a crucial part of his new song, The Bar. Speaking to the audience after a performance of Two Suns in the Sunset, Waters confirmed he had the veteran songwriter behind Mr. Tambourine Man and Desolation Row to thank for his latest track, which has yet to receive a studio release. The performance of Two Suns in the Sunset forms part of Waters’ recent live album release, This is Not a Drill. On the album, Waters confirmed he was moved by Dylan’s classic track, and it’s not the first time he has shared his appreciation for the Nobel Prize for Literature winner.
Waters had already shared his love for the song in an interview with Howard Stern. He told the legendary disc jockey: “When I heard that, I thought, ‘Wow, if Bob can do it, I can do it.’” True to form, Waters has seemingly tried his hand at a mighty ballad on level with Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands with the inclusion of The Bar Part II on his live album release.
He said before playing the song: “Before we sing this other verse of The Bar, I have to mention three names. The first name is Bob Dylan. Back in 1966, Bob Dylan made a great album called Blonde on Blonde. It’s a double album, a double vinyl album, and side four was a long, incredibly beautiful ballad called Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.
“I’m not ashamed to say that it crept into my head when I was writing this verse. And so I stole some of the lyrics. Well, I didn’t steal them, but I used them. I used the words ‘sad, eyed,’ and ‘lady’, and ‘big, brass,’ and ‘bed’. If you know the song, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
“So, Bob, thank you. Anyone, if you run into Bob, could you say Roger says, ‘Thank you’.” Waters would go on to share the “sad-eyed lady” in the song is his wife, Kamilah Chavis. He added: “She is the rock upon which I lean. I think she’s actually here tonight, so she’ll hear you if you do that [cheer].”
Waters’ love for Dylan’s work is long-standing, and also for Dylan’s song, Jakob Dylan. When asked for his favourite songs from the last twenty years, Waters said one from Wallflowers, the band which features Jakob, still “excites” him.
Waters told Word Magazine: “There’s been one or two songs in the last twenty years. Everybody Hurts by REM. That song is phenomenal.
“And Every Breath You Take by Sting. I loved that song One Headlight by the Wallflowers [Dylan’s son Jakob’s band]. It probably appealed to me the same way Tommy Steel’s version of Singing the Blues did when I first heard it and took up my position in the corner of the playground to defend it against the Guy Mitchell version!”
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