In one of the best scenes from the 1967 film Don’t Look Back, a classic documentary that follows Bob Dylan’s 1965 UK tour, Scottish folk star Donovan visits the poet laureate of rock in a hotel room, performs an innocuous little ditty and is then promptly upstaged by Dylan’s great “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.” The significance of the scene to Dylan’s ambitions, Donovan’s perceived humiliation, and other subjects has been debated for years, but in a new interview featured on the Blu-ray edition of the film (below), director D.A. Pennebaker reveals an intriguing bit of context to the story…
According to Pennebaker, Donovan performed a second song prior to the infamous showdown, in which he unveiled a serious adaptation he wrote of “Mr. Tambourine Man” called “My Darling Tangerine Eyes.” The awkward moment wasn’t filmed at Dylan’s request (the only time he said “don’t shoot” for the entire production), but Pennebaker says it was nearly impossible to keep a straight face during the unfortunate rendition. Author Greil Marcus then suggests that perhaps the “Baby Blue” moment was payback for Donovan’s attempt to improve upon his song.
You can watch Marcus and Pennebaker’s full discussion, which includes talk of the “Subterranean Homesick Blues” video that Okkervil River invoked for their own clip this week, alongside the original Donovan/Dylan scene below (via Flavorwire):