Hear Bob Dylan Cash In 1st ‘Big River’ Cover Since 2000

Bob Dylan threw a curve ball into the setlist last night during his show at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, Florida. Dylan honored his old friend and collaborator the late Johnny Cash by dusting off a cover of “Big River” for the first time in nearly 24 years towards the end of the concert.

Wednesday’s performance capped a two-night stand in Clearwater, the latest stop on Dylan’s Rough And Rowdy Ways Tour 2024. The legendary singer-songwriter began the leg last Friday in Fort Lauderdale with the first of eight shows in Florida. “Big River” replacing a cover of Jimmy Rogers’ “Walking By Myself” debuted in Fort Lauderdale was the only change to the setlist from Tuesday to Wednesday night at Ruth Eckerd Hall.

Johnny Cash wrote “Big River” and originally released the song as a single in 1958. The Grateful Dead frequently covered “Big River” over the course of their 30-year career from 1965 – 1995. Bob Dylan debuted his version of the song on August 7, 1988 in Santa Barbara. He then shelved “Big River” until November 8, 1999. While Dylan last played the tune on July 31, 2003 in Atlanta with post-Jerry outfit The Dead, he hand’t covered “Big River” at one of his own shows since March 16, 2000.

“Big River” was one of the compositions Bob Dylan wrote about in his 2022 book The Philosophy Of Modern Song. “The key element to this song is the chain-gang thump of the acoustic rhythm guitar. You can’t really cover this song properly leaving that behind” explained Dylan. “The released recording is maybe the biggest thing Johnny has ever done. The song is built on the call-and-response guitar part played on acoustic guitar. The guitars are doing this kind of chomping along with the beat. There’s a shadow pgrase and an echo phrase like a chain-gang thump. Like somebody chomping a piece of wood.”

Bob Dylan along with bandmates guitarist Doug Lancio, bassist Tony Garnier, drummer Jerry Pentecost, guitarist Bob Britt and multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron fittingly worked acoustic guitar into their “Big River” cover last night. The song was played in the 14-slot as rest of the concert was devoted to a mix of classics and cuts from Dylan’s 2020 LP, Rough And Rowdy Ways.

Stream audio of Bob Dylan’s “Big River” cover from Clearwater below: