Hear Bob Dylan Debut Tender Cover Of Bob Weir’s ‘Only A River’ In Nagoya

As reported, Bob Dylan unveiled his take on Bob Weir‘s “Only A River” last Thursday, April 20 in Nagoya, Japan. An audience recording of the cover debut has surfaced and can be streamed below.

Thursday’s concert at Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater brought both a three-night stand at the venue in Nagoya and a three-city run through Japan to a close. Bob Dylan began working Grateful Dead tributes into each show starting on his second night in Tokyo, the second stop of the Japanese leg of his Rough And Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour. Dylan debuted “Truckin'” at the Tokyo Garden Theater on April 12. He then premiered “Brokedown Palace” and dusted off “Not Fade Away” in Tokyo.

Bob Dylan kept the Grateful Dead tributes to one per show until his final show in Japan. Dylan played “Truckin'” for the second time last Thursday in Nagoya and then after “Mother Of Muses” trotted out “Only A River.” His band for the tour — multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron, guitarists Bob Britt and Doug Lancio, bassist Tony Garnier and drummer Jerry Pentecost — provided the perfect accompaniment with Bob on vocals and piano for the pretty ballad Weir co-wrote with Josh Ritter and Josh Kaufman.

Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir released “Only A River” on his 2016 solo album, Blue Mountain. The lyrics were penned by Ritter, who was left “speechless” upon learning Dylan covered his song:

Bob Dylan’s voice fit “Only A River” like a glove. Herron accented the singing with beautiful work on pedal steel with Pentecost coming in with a tasteful beat after the first few verses. Listen to Dylan’s “Only A River” cover below with thanks to Ray Padgett and Sergi Fabregat for the audience recording: