Bringing it all back home

BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME

Bob Dylan—people, places, music, and stories that orbit his world.

Don't Think Twice - Joan and Jesse

Joan Baez and Jesse Welles, November 2025

Dr Phillips Theatre

Can you name the songs here?

Hints: ⧫ binoculars ⧫ jewels ⧫ mule ⧫ 4th st ⧫ whistle ⧫ prairie ⧫ train ⧫ pawns

⧫ Pilgrim ⧫ street sign ⧫ roman kings ⧫ dogs running ⧫ pillbox hat

⧫ tambourine man ⧫ buckets ⧫ wheat field ⧫ tombstone ⧫ weight

⧫ cup of coffee ⧫ leather boots ⧫ wind ⧫ wigwam ⧫ bell tower ⧫ chess

⧫ cat ⧫ well ⧫ watchtower ⧫ green mountains ⧫ lily flower ⧫ pond ⧫ train

⧫ sun ⧫ horses ⧫ lily pond ⧫ field of lilies ⧫ lily pads ⧫ flowers

Jones Beach

Columbia, TN - April 2015

There's a story behind this photo...

I lived in Columbia, Tennessee at the time when I snapped this Easter time picture. I posted it in a Dylan forum and a short while later one of the group members messaged me. Randy went on to tell me that he frequented this church when he lived in Columbia. Small World. But the story got better when my new friend added that Donnie Herron, Bob Dylan's incredibly talented, multi-instrumentalist band member at the time also lived in Columbia, turns out a few blocks away from me! Keep in mind that Columbia is just a short drive south of Nashville.

He shared a sweet story with me about how Donnie was very approachable and had invited him to his house for coffee and good conversation.

Since then, I've wondered if Donnie Herron might have had a hand in the church's Easter message.

Coincidentally, since then, Randy and I have bumped into each other at a couple of Dylan concerts, so maybe the story is not over.

Bob, Tony, and a Pastrami Sandwich

*Tony Garnier joined Dylan’s touring band in 1989, as Dylan’s bassist. He's been described as Dylan’s musical director, helping with setlists and acting as a liaison between Dylan and the rest of the band. Garnier is Dylan’s longest-serving sideman, remaining with him for decades and becoming a central figure in the sound of Dylan’s live performances.

Me: May 22, 2015 ·This is an old RMD post from the late 90's. I get a kick out of it everytime I read it:

The following Dylan/Garnier setlist consultation transcript is unverified: Bob Dylan sits, picking the fat out of a pastrami hero, before a broken mirror in a rundown holding area away from the bustle of pre-show chaos.

<Knock on the door> Dylan holds up a dripping piece of pastrami

<another knock>.Tony (outside the door): Bob? Are you in there?

Dylan eats the pastrami and flings a green tomato slice against the door as it opens.

Tony: You gotta stop hiding on me, man –

Dylan: What is it now?

Tony: Bob, do you want to take a rundown of the setlist this time -- before they make the print-outs, or not?

Dylan: I told you, man, I don't give a flying shit anymore –

Tony: But you said –

Dylan: Can't I eat my fucking dinner in peace? If you call it dinner <laughs>.

Dylan takes a bite and scrunges it down with some Tecate Mexican beer dripping down his chin. Tony sits patiently, counting the songs with a pencil to himself.

Dylan: All I want to know is what you have for number 3 –

Tony: Number 3... Number 3... um –

Dylan: Cut the bullshit, man –

Tony: That one's called Watchtower -- remember?

Dylan: Oh, man! Not again –

Tony: Bob, it brings in the Hendrix crowd, you're the one who told me that

Dylan: I don't care what I told you. This is now. That was then. This is now.

Tony: Everybody goes wild for it --

Dylan: Haven't we played that song about a thousand times?

Tony pulls a bunch of crumpled notebook pages from his back pocket and makes a correction with his pencil.

Tony: One thousand thirty-one, if you include that Jimmy Carter thing in his living room in '76