Боб Диланның "Lay Lady Lay" әні

1969 song by Bob Dylan

"Lay Lady Lay", sometimes rendered "Lay, Lady, Lay", is a song written by Bob Dylan and originally released in 1969 on his Nashville Skyline album. Like many of the tracks on the album, Dylan sings the song in a low croon, rather than in the high nasal singing style associated with his earlier (and eventually later) recordings. The song has become a standard and has been covered by numerous bands and artists over the years.

"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."

[[File:Chromatic descending 5 6 sequence. png|thumb|right|350px|Chromatic descending 5 6 sequence (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.

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."

The song has become a standard and has been covered by numerous bands and artists over the years, including the Byrds, Ramblin' Jack Elliott, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Guy and Anthony Hamilton, Melanie, the Isley Brothers, Bob Andy, Duran Duran, The Flaming Lips, Magnet, Hoyt Axton, Angélique Kidjo, Ministry, Malaria!, Lorrie Morgan, Minimal Compact, and Pete Yorn.

The Byrds' recording of "Lay Lady Lay" was released as a single on May 2, 1969, and reached number 132 on the Billboard chart but failed to break into the UK Singles Chart. The song was recorded as a non album single shortly after the release of the Byrds' seventh studio album, Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde. The Byrds decided to cover the song after Bob Dylan played the band his newly recorded Nashville Skyline album at band leader Roger McGuinn's house. The Byrds recorded "Lay Lady Lay" on March 27, 1969, but producer Bob Johnston overdubbed a female choir on to the recording on April 18, 1969, without the Byrds' consent. The single was then released and it was only after it had been issued that the band became aware of the addition of the female choir. The Byrds were so upset at Johnston's tampering with the song behind their backs, that they never again worked with him. This alternate version, without the female choir, was included as a bonus track on the remastered Dr. Byrds & Mr. Hyde CD in 1997.

Duran Duran recorded a pop rock version of the song, appearing as track five on their 1995 covers album, Thank You. Nick Rhodes has stated on the band's official website (answering an Ask Katy question in 2008 about the second single taken from Thank You) "I seem to remember my concern at that time was, in fact, our record label's—Capitol in America and EMI for the rest of the world—deciding to split their decision on their choice for the first single, "White Lines" in the US and "Perfect Day" for the rest of the world. Hence, there was no worldwide focus and both territories forced to use the other track as their second single, so it didn't really work out to be an ideal situation for anyone. I'm not sure what I would've chosen for a second single, possibly "Lay Lady Lay", but then I am still very happy with the way "Perfect Day" turned out."