"To Ramona" | |
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Song by Bob Dylan | |
from the album Another Side of Bob Dylan | |
Released | August 8, 1964 |
Recorded | June 9, 1964 |
Studio | Studio A, Columbia Recording, New York |
Genre | Folk |
Length | 3:51[1] |
Label | Columbia |
Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan |
Producer(s) | Tom Wilson |
"To Ramona" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, first released on his fourth studio album, Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964). The song was written by Dylan, and produced by Tom Wilson. The lyrics were started at the May Fair Hotel in London in May 1964, and finished during a week-long stay in the Greek village of Vernilya (possibly Vouliagmeni) later that month. Dylan recorded all the tracks for the album, including the song, in a single three-hour session on June 9, 1964, at Studio A, Columbia Recording Studios, New York. Its narrator advises Ramona, who is preparing to return to "the South", not to follow the advice of others. Critics have suggested several different people as inspirations for the song, including Joan Baez, Suze Rotolo, and Sara Lownds.
The song has received a positive critical response, and several assessments have ranked it as one of Dylan's 100 best. "To Ramona" was the B-side to "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" on a single issued in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg in 1967, and has since been included on some of Dylan's compilation albums. Several live versions have been officially released, including the first live performance, at the 1964 Newport Folk Festival, and the Isle of Wight Festival 1969 version by Dylan and the Band.