Not Dark Yet (2019 Version)

Did you catch a Bob Dylan show in 2019? Did you notice a new Not Dark yet?

2019 was a very special year to catch Bob Dylan live in concert. Little did we know it might be the last tour. Thankfully he came back 2 short years later with the Rough & Rowdy Ways tour. I often think about that tour and what would’ve happened had it continued. Would Rough & Rowdy Ways still have existed? Would those songs have been incorporated into the R&RW set? Or the other way around? Some standouts from that tour was the surprise Lenny Bruce (check out my episode with

Adam Selzer

- Songs of Experience - 5. Lenny Bruce for more on that), Gotta Serve Somebody, Make You Feel My Love etc (look up the setlist). But the one that haunts me to this day and I lament only seeing it twice and mourn never seeing it again is, Not Dark Yet, I call it “spooky version.” But waitaminute Henry, aren’t they all spooky versions? Yes. But this one is reaaaalllly spooky. Take the murky, Daniel Lenoisness out of it and sprinkle in some Shadow Kingdom, Jack Frostness in it. That’s the version you get.

I was completely obsessed with that guitar lick that comes at the end of “But it’s getting there.” So much so, that one of the last things I did with my guitar teacher before he retired (which he did in December 2019) was teach it to me. I had the chords and the lick scribbled out on some notes and just had to commit it to memory. I did my best, but those notes are buried somewhere. Luckily the great

Eyolf Østrem

had updated the Not Dark Yet on dylanchords.com and it’s there forever. Thank you! This site is very important to me. It’s how I first taught myself how to play guitar 20 years ago, but that’s another story. Anyway, about 2 years ago I made a little video tutorial of how that version goes with the lick. It was buried in my now deactivated twitter so I was lucky to find it in my files. Anyway, if you liked that version or were curious of how it was done, check it out. It’s about 90 seconds of your time. Someday Baby, I’ll play the whole thing.

Your Pal,

Henry