Silvio (song)
{{Short description|1988 single by Bob Dylan}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Silvio
| cover = Silviosingle.jpeg
| alt =
| caption = Cover of the 12" US promotional single.
| type = single
| artist = Bob Dylan (with the Grateful Dead)
| album = Down in the Groove
| B-side =
| released = May 1988
| recorded = June 16, 1987
| studio = Sunset Sound Studios
| genre = {{hlist|Folk rock{{cite book|author1=Philippe Margotin|author2=Jean-Michel Guesdon|title=Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iRBCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT785|date=27 October 2015|publisher=Running Press|isbn=978-0-316-35353-3|page=785}}|roots rock{{cite book|author1=Vladimir Bogdanov|author2=Chris Woodstra|author3=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|title=All Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and Soul|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1-pH4i3jXvAC&pg=PA344|year=2002|publisher=Backbeat Books|isbn=978-0-87930-653-3|page=344}}}}
| length = 3:05
| label = Columbia
| writer = {{hlist|Bob Dylan|Robert Hunter}}
| producer =
| prev_title = The Usual
| prev_year = 1987
| next_title = Everything Is Broken
| next_year = 1989
}}
"Silvio" is a folk rock song written by Bob Dylan and Robert Hunter and released by Dylan as the seventh track (or second song on Side 2) of his 1988 album Down in the Groove. Performed alongside the Grateful Dead, the song was released as the album's only single and spent eight weeks on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, peaking at #5 on July 1, 1988.{{Cite magazine|title=Bob Dylan|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/bob-dylan/chart-history/rtt/|access-date=2021-04-14|magazine=Billboard}}
The song became a staple of Dylan's live shows during the Never Ending Tour and was later anthologized on the albums Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3 in 1994, The Essential Bob Dylan in 2000 and Dylan in 2007.{{Cite web|title=Silvio {{!}} The Official Bob Dylan Site|url=http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/silvio/|access-date=2021-03-05|website=www.bobdylan.com}}
Composition and recording
"Silvio" is one of two songs co-written by Dylan and longtime Grateful Dead associate Robert Hunter on Down in the Groove (along with "Ugliest Girl in the World"). Hunter and Dylan would also later co-write most of the songs on Dylan's 2009 album Together Through Life as well as the 2012 song "Duquesne Whistle". The track was recorded the year after Dylan had toured with the Grateful Dead as his backing group and is notable for featuring three members of that band singing backing vocals: Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir and Brent Mydland.{{Cite web|title=Down in the Groove {{!}} The Official Bob Dylan Site|url=http://www.bobdylan.com/albums/down-in-the-groove/|access-date=2021-03-05|website=www.bobdylan.com}} The song is performed in the key of G major.{{Cite web|title=Silvio|url=https://www.sheetmusicnow.com/products/silvio-p389937|access-date=2021-07-03|website=Sheet Music Now|language=en}}
Critical reception and legacy
In their book Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track, authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon call the song "the gem of the album", noting that the "rhythm is irresistible, and the combination of acoustic guitar (Dylan), drums, and bass works magnificently".{{Cite book|last=Margotin|first=Philippe |title=Bob Dylan : all the songs : the story behind every track|date=2015|author2=Jean-Michel Guesdon|isbn=978-1-57912-985-9|edition=First |publisher= Running Press|location=New York|oclc=869908038}}
In Rolling Stone, critic David Fricke notes that "the song's bright, rhythmic bounce and earthy folk-rock sound - sort of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" meets American Beauty - makes you wonder what might have happened if Dylan and the Dead had followed up their '87 stadium tour with some serious studio work together".{{Cite magazine|last=Fricke|first=David|date=1988-07-14|title=Down In The Groove|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/down-in-the-groove-194225/|access-date=2021-03-05|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}
Cash Box called it a "bouncy and catchy track".{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/80s/1988/CB-1988-07-09.pdf|magazine=Cash Box|date=July 9, 1988|accessdate=2022-12-22|page=16}}
Spectrum Culture included the song on a list of "Bob Dylan's 20 Best Songs of the 1980s". In an article accompanying the list, critic Pat Padua calls it "great pop, and oddly prescient".{{Cite web|date=2020-09-04|title=Bob Dylan's 20 Best Songs of the '80s|url=https://spectrumculture.com/2020/09/03/bob-dylans-20-best-songs-of-the-80s/|access-date=2021-05-05|website=Spectrum Culture|language=en-US}}
Singer/songwriter Warren Zevon loved the song and, according to his collaborator Jorge Calderón, "wrote out every part the arrangement".{{Cite tweet |user=harryhew |number=1823389647784812745 |date= 2024-08-13|access-date=2024-08-16|title=You know who else loved "Silvio"? Warren Zevon. }}{{Better source needed|date=August 2024|reason=Preferably the original source should be found, not just a screenshot of the source on Twitter.}}
Former U.S. President Barack Obama included the song on his annual "Summer Playlist" for 2024.{{Cite web |last=Horowitz |first=Steven J. |date=2024-08-12 |title=Barack Obama Includes Charli XCX, Beyoncé and Billie Eilish on Eclectic Summer Playlist |url=https://variety.com/2024/music/news/barack-obama-summer-playlist-charli-xcx-beyonce-billie-eilish-1236104499/ |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}
Live performances
From 1988 to 2024, Dylan played the song 596 times on the Never Ending Tour.{{Cite web|title=Bob Dylan Tour Statistics |url=https://www.setlist.fm/stats/bob-dylan-1bd6adb8.html|access-date=2021-01-03|website=www.setlist.fm}} A live version performed in Tampa, Florida on January 30, 1999, was made available to stream on Dylan's official website in May 1999.{{Cite web|title=Online Performances (bobdylan.com)|url=https://searchingforagem.com/online.htm|access-date=2021-03-06|website=searchingforagem.com}} The live debut occurred at the Blossom Music Center in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio on June 21, 1988, and the last performance (to date) took place in Tinley Park, Illinois on September 7, 2024.{{Cite web |title=Setlists {{!}} The Official Bob Dylan Site |url=https://www.bobdylan.com/setlists/?id_song=26203 |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=www.bobdylan.com}}
Cultural references
The line "I'm an old boll weevil looking for a home" is a reference to the traditional folk song "Boll Weevil", which had been popularized by Lead Belly's recording in 1934.{{Cite web|title=Boll weevil|url=https://www.loc.gov/item/afc9999005.492/|access-date=2021-03-05|website=Library of Congress}}
Notable cover versions
- Grayson Capps from the compilation album Bob Dylan in the 80s: Volume One (2014){{Cite web|title=Cover versions of Silvio by Grayson Capps {{!}} SecondHandSongs|url=https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/330542/versions|access-date=2021-03-05|website=secondhandsongs.com}}
- Mello from the album Blowin' in the Wind - A Reggae Tribute to Bob Dylan (2002){{Cite web|title=Cover versions of Silvio by Mello {{!}} SecondHandSongs|url=https://secondhandsongs.com/performance/107667/versions|access-date=2021-03-05|website=secondhandsongs.com}}
- Joe Russo’s Almost Dead- 3/02/2019 Portland, ME
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.bobdylan.com/songs/silvio/ Lyrics] at Bob Dylan's official site
{{Bob Dylan}}
{{Bob Dylan singles}}
Category:Songs written by Bob Dylan
Category:Songs with lyrics by Robert Hunter (lyricist)
Category:Columbia Records singles