A History Of The Bob Dylan Songs Timothée Chalamet Performed On ‘SNL’

Timothée Chalamet reprised his A Complete Unknown role as Bob Dylan on Saturday Night Live this past weekend. The acclaimed actor pulled double duty as host and musical guest, the latter saw him performing a trio of Dylan deep cuts.

Chalamet’s first SNL performance kicked off with a smoking rendition of “Outlaw Blues,” a rebellious rocker on Dylan’s groundbreaking 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. Chalamet put an interesting twist on the performance by tacking on Dylan’s spoken-word-leaning “Three Angels” off his 1970 LP, New Morning, to the end of “Outlaw Blues.” For his second SNL play, Chalamet went acoustic folk hero Dylan, performing “Tomorrow Is a Long Time.” Watch:

While not officially released by Dylan until 1971 on his Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II, Bob recorded “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” very early in his career as a 1962 demo for his publishing company, M. Witmark & Sons. The version that appears on Greatest Hits Vol. II is a live rendition captured on April 12, 1963, at storied New York City venue Town Hall, a pivotal performance in Dylan’s career and a major scene in the Chalamet-starring A Complete Unknown.

The James Mangold-directed A Complete Unknown hit theaters on Christmas Day 2024 and focuses on Dylan’s early career. The film was recently nominated for an impressive eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director for Mangold, and Best Actor for Chalamet.

Chalamet’s musical performances on SNL saw the actor pretty much in character as Dylan while also showcasing his own style. His skilled portrayal of Dylan was especially on display during the performance of “Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” right down to Bob’s searching eyes and the timbre of his voice. Chalamet also learned how to play guitar and harmonica for the role. He detailed his Dylan transformation for ABC. Watch below:

As noted above, “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” was an early song for Bob that showcased his limitless potential as a songwriter. Why Bob didn’t include it on an album until 1971 is anybody’s guess. According to Dylan’s official website, he only performed “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” three times in the 1960s, with two of those performances coming at “The Home of David Whitaker” in Minneapolis in Bob’s home state of Minnesota.

Poet and radio host David Whitaker was a mentor figure for the young Dylan (Whitaker is portrayed by Michael Shannon in A Complete Unknown). He introduced Bob to the music of folk legend Woody Guthrie, a key influence on the burgeoning singer-songwriter. Dylan performed “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” twice at Whitaker’s house, once in 1962 and again in ‘63. The other ‘60s performance was at Town Hall. Listen to “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” below:

Dylan seemed to warm up to “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” in the 1970s. He included it on Greatest Hits Vol. II and brought it back into his live repertoire at Tokyo’s Budokan in 1978 (Dylan released The Complete Budokan 1978 in 2023). He has performed “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” 69 times total, with the last play coming in 2008 in NYC.

Chalamet also ripped through a performance of “Outlaw Blues” on SNL, nodding to Dylan’s electric era. A Complete Unknown is based on Elijah Wald’s 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric. Bob released his hybrid folk/rock album Bringing It All Back Home in April 1965, heralding his transformation from folk hero to rock ‘n’ roller.

Side 1 of Bringing It All Back Home sees Dylan backed by a rock band and kicks off with the legendary “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” The aptly named “Outlaw Blues” is track five. Listen to “Outlaw Blues”:

Bob demoed the song acoustically, a version that landed on the soundtrack to Martin Scorsese’s 2005 No Direction Home documentary and later on The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966, documenting Dylan at his best.

Dylan has performed “Outlaw Blues” live one time. On September 20, 2007, Dylan hit Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium, where he enlisted modern-day rock hero Jack White for the sole live “Outlaw Blues” play.

On SNL, Chalamet tacked on “Three Angels” to his “Outlaw Blues.” Appearing on Dylan’s 1970 album New Morning, Dylan has never performed “Three Angels” live. Chalamet’s performance of the song on SNL saw him accompanied by James Blake (who switched to organ for “Three Angels”). Chalamet’s inclusion of “Three Angels” is interesting as it is outside the era that A Complete Unknown covers. While pure speculation, it may have been that Timothée listened to “Three Angels” to get a feel for Dylan’s voice, as the song is basically spoken word. Listen to “Three Angels” below:

Watch Chalamet’s “Outlaw Blues”/“Three Angels” performance:

Bob Dylan recently began rolling out 2025 tour dates including a performance in his home state. Scroll down for his itinerary and ticket info.