If You Gotta Go, Go Now
{{Short description|Song by Bob Dylan}}
{{distinguish|text="Go Now" – made popular by the Moody Blues}}
{{Infobox song
| name = If You Gotta Go, Go Now
| cover = If You Gotta Go, Go Now single cover.jpg
| caption = Dutch picture sleeve
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Bob Dylan
| album =
| B-side = To Ramona
| released = January 1967
| recorded = January 15, 1965
| studio = Columbia 30th Street, New York City
| venue =
| genre = Folk rock{{cite web|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|author-link=Richie Unterberger|title=Great Moments in Folk Rock: Lists of Author Favorites|publisher=www.richieunterberger.com|url=http://www.richieunterberger.com/turnlists.html|accessdate=May 24, 2024}}
| length = 2:32
| label = Columbia
| writer = Bob Dylan
| producer = Tom Wilson
| prev_title = Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
| prev_year = 1967
| next_title = Drifter's Escape
| next_year = 1968
}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Si Tu Dois Partir
| cover = Si Tu Dois Partir single cover.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Fairport Convention
| album = Unhalfbricking
| B-side = "Genesis Hall" (Richard Thompson)
| released = July 1969
| recorded = March 1969
| studio = Sound Techniques, London
| venue =
| genre =
| length =
| label = *Island (UK)
- A&M (US)
| writer = Bob Dylan
| producer = Joe Boyd, Simon Nicol and Fairport Convention
| prev_title = I'll Keep It with Mine
| prev_year = 1968
| next_title = If (Stomp)
| next_year = 1969
| misc = {{External music video|header=Official Audio|{{YouTube|YWI29hIqIxY|"Si tu dois partir"}}}}
}}
"If You Gotta Go, Go Now" (sometimes subtitled "(Or Else You Got to Stay All Night)") is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1964. The first released version was as a single in the US by the UK group the Liverpool Five in July 1965, but this did not chart in the US despite receiving much airplay, particularly in the Pacific Northwest. Another British band, Manfred Mann, then issued the song as a single in September 1965 and had a number 2 hit. Fairport Convention also had a chart hit, with a French version, in 1969.
Dylan's version
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.Bjorner, Olof, [http://www.bjorner.com/DSN00785%20(65).htm Still on the Road 1965], 785 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.{{cite magazine|last=Ford|first=Roger|date=January 2016|title=The Cutting Edge: Sessions For Bringing It All Back Home|magazine=Isis|issue=184|page=51|publisher=Isis Magazine Limited|url=https://www.electricdylan.net/Cutting%20Edge/Part%201%20ISIS%20184.pdf|accessdate=2021-06-09}} 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. {{cite magazine|last=Ford|first=Roger|date=January 2016|title=The Cutting Edge: Sessions For Bringing It All Back Home|magazine=Isis|issue=184|page=52|publisher=Isis Magazine Limited|url=https://www.electricdylan.net/Cutting%20Edge/Part%201%20ISIS%20184.pdf|accessdate=2021-06-09}}Bjorner, Olof, [http://www.bjorner.com/DSN00785%20(65).htm Still on the Road 1965], 800
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
Another English band, Manfred Mann, then issued the song as a single in September 1965, and that version reached number 2 on the UK charts. Billboard said of the single: "this hard beat Bob Dylan material has all the earmarks of a smash hit that will spiral the group up the charts once again."{{cite news|newspaper=Billboard|accessdate=2021-03-09|date=September 25, 1965|page=18|title=Spotlight Singles|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1965/Billboard%201965-09-25.pdf}}
Fairport Convention version
Fairport Convention also took the song onto the charts, albeit in an unusual fashion: the group translated the song into French as "Si tu dois partir". Recorded for their Unhalfbricking album, the song was issued as a single in 1969, on the Island label in the UK and on the A&M label in the US. It was the band's only charting single, reaching number 21 and staying in the British Chart for nine weeks.[https://www.officialcharts.com/artists/ Official Charts Company – The Chart Archive] Retrieved 29 June 2009).
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/if-you-gotta-go-go-now Official lyrics from BobDylan.com]
- {{youtube|OVtSHwRTqKc|"If You've Gotta Go, Go Now": Liverpool Five}}
{{Bob Dylan}}
{{Bob Dylan singles}}
{{Fairport Convention}}
{{Manfred Mann}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs written by Bob Dylan
Category:Fairport Convention songs
Category:Song recordings produced by Joe Boyd
Category:Columbia Records singles