Poem written by Bob Dylan at age 16 is actually song written by a Canadian singer

[Moongirl]

MSNBC.com

Dylan ‘poem’ was actually Hank Snow song
Musician submitted ‘Little Buddy’ to camp newspaper at age 16
Reuters
updated 8:34 a.m. PT, Wed., May 20, 2009

‘Little Buddy’
Broken hearted and so sad
Big blue eyes all covered with tears
Was a picture of sorrow to see

Kneeling close to the side
Of his pal and only pride
A little lad, these words he told me

He was such a lovely doggy
And to me he was such fun
But today as we played by the way

A drunken man got mad at him
Because he barked in joy
He beat him and he’s dying here today

Will you call the doctor please
And tell him if he comes right now
He’ll save my precious doggy here he lay

Then he left the fluffy head
But his little dog was dead
Just a shiver and he slowly passed away

He didn’t know his dog had died
So I told him as he cried
Come with me son we’ll get that doctor right away

But when I returned
He had his little pal upon his knee
And the teardrops, they were blinding his big blue eyes

Your too late sir my doggy’s dead
And no one can save him now
But I’ll meet my precious buddy up in the sky


By a tiny narrow grave
Where the willows sadly wave
Are the words so clear you’re sure to find

Little Buddy Rest In Peace
God Will Watch You Thru The Years
Cause I Told You In My Dreams That You
Were Mine

— Bobby Zimmerman

NEW YORK - A “poem” purportedly written by a teenage Bob Dylan and up for auction at Christie’s is actually a song written by the late Canadian country singer Hank Snow, the auction house said on Wednesday.

Christie’s announced on Tuesday the sale of the hand-written poem believed to have been written in 1957 when Dylan was 16 and away at Jewish camp.

But Christie’s failed to detect that the words, with a few minor variations, matched those of a song previously recorded by Snow, who died in 1999 at age 85.

Reuters discovered the lyrics matched the Snow song when alerted by a reader. Reuters then informed the auction house.

“Additional information has come to our attention about the handwritten poem submitted by Bob Dylan to his camp newspaper, written when he was 16, entitled ‘Little Buddy.’ The words are in fact a revised version of lyrics of a Hank Snow song,” Christie’s said in a statement.

“This still remains among the earliest known handwritten lyrics of Bob Dylan and Christie’s is pleased to offer them in our Pop Culture auction on June 23.”

The manuscript had been expected to fetch $10,000 to $15,000.

Christie’s said Dylan, still using his given name Robert Zimmerman, signed the piece Bobby Zimmerman and submitted it to the Herzl Camp newspaper. The editor of the paper kept it for more than 50 years and recently donated it to Herzl Camp, a Jewish camp in Wisconsin, Christie’s said.

Written in blue ink on both sides of a single sheet of paper, it reads in part, “But I’ll meet my precious buddy up in the sky/ By a tiny narrow grave/ Where the willows sadly wave.” Those words and others match the Snow song.

The Hank Snow Country Music Center lists the “Little Buddy” lyrics and music as by Snow but does not provide a year. According to amazon.com, the song appeared on a compilation record “The Yodelling Ranger,” a box set of songs from 1936 to 1947. The fan site rocky-52.net says it was released in November 1948 as a 78 on RCA Victor.

Dylan’s management office had no immediate comment.

Born Clarence Eugene Snow in Nova Scotia in 1914, Snow quit school at 12 to work as a cabin boy on fishing schooners, according to the web site of The Hank Snow Country Music Center in Liverpool, Nova Scotia.

With that early income, he bought his first guitar and entertained crew and friends before getting his own radio show with a Halifax, Nova Scotia radio station in 1933.

There he changed his name to “Hank, The Yodelling Ranger” and played county fairs and local radio stations throughout Canada in the 30s and 40s.

Dylan, who was born Robert Allen Zimmerman in 1941, grew up in Minnesota and was known to be an eager young fan of many types of music including country. He went on to become a folk and rock legend and one of the greatest popular song-writers of all time.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: Dylan ‘poem’ was actually Hank Snow song - Music- msnbc.com



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[JerriBlank]

Here are the lyrics to Hank Snow's version:

Broken hearted and so sad, golden curls all wet with tears,
'twas a picture of sorrow to see.
Kneeling close to the side of his pal and only pride,
A little lad these words he told me.

He was such a lovely doggie and to me he was such fun,
but today as we played by the way
A drunken man got mad at him because he barked in joy,
He beat him and he's dying here today.

Will you call the doctor please and tell him if he comes right now,
he'll save my precious doggie 'cause I'll pray.
Then he stroked the fluffy head but his little pal was dead,
Just a shiver and he slowly passed away.

He didn't know his dog had died, so I told him as he cried
"Come with me son we'll get that doctor right away"
"But I can't leave him here alone, I must get my doggie home
So while you're gone I'll kneel beside him, sir and I'll pray."

But when I returned he had his little pal upon his knee
And the teardrops they were blinding his big blue eyes,
"You're too late, sir my doggie's dead and no help can save him now
But I'll meet my precious Buddy up in the sky."

By a tiny narrow grave, where the willows sadly wave,
are these words on a shingle of pine:
"Little Buddy rest in peace, God will watch you thru' the years,
'Cause I told Him in my prayers that you were mine."

http://http://www.lyrics007.com/Hank...20Lyrics.html#

[nana55]

Interesting that Bob Dylan let this be passed off as his writing.

[witchcurlgirl]

he was 16....bfd....

we have a plagiarist as our VP, so i won't hold it against dylan

[sputnik]

well he was 16 and at camp. he probably wasn't even aware it still existed, much less that it was being auctioned.

[nana55]

He hasn't been 16 for a long time now and he didn't say anything when it was put up for auction.

[sputnik]

^^

Christie’s said Dylan, still using his given name Robert Zimmerman, signed the piece Bobby Zimmerman and submitted it to the Herzl Camp newspaper. The editor of the paper kept it for more than 50 years and recently donated it to Herzl Camp, a Jewish camp in Wisconsin, Christie’s said.

like i said, he probably had no clue. i doubt he was told since he had nothing to do with the people who put it up for sale. rock memorabilia goes on sale all the time, without the concerned artists being informed. and dylan is known for being very closed off from the press, etc. he goes on tour, writes his books, but rarely gives interviews and never has anything to do with most of the movies and books written about him by other people. the only exception was 'i'm not there', though he didn't participate directly either.
it's as if some teacher of yours from high school kept some of your homework and sold it at auction years later.

[Chimera]

^^^your plagarized homework!

[nana55]

O.K. I'll cut him slack if that is the case. I wouldn't want to be judged on what I did when I was 16.............and at camp.

[Cali]

Bob Dylan is such an enigma. He totally fascinates me.

[sputnik]

^^^
couldn't agree more. truly one of the most fascinating figures of the last century. genius.

Originally Posted by TaffyMoon

^^^your plagarized homework!

like we haven't all done that.

[witchcurlgirl]

I have a dylan story.

I grew up in Greenwich Village, and he had a house close to ours back in the mid 70's. My dad and he knew each other casually through business, when they would run into each other on the street they would chat. he told my dad that he had repeatedly caught some nut stealing his garbage.....so would it be all right if on occasion he had someone bring a garbage bag to our pails to get rid of. He had a few people in the neighborhood helping get rid of his garbage this way to avoid this insane garbage picking fan.

the crazy shit that the famous have to put up with.

[shedevilang]

And then one time at band camp.........

Big deal so are they trying to say he didn't write all his other shit??? Has Dylan been stealing other ppls songs for 100 years and we are just now catching on? Honestly BFD the man is a wonderful writer who as a kid didn't want to do an assignment

[visitor42]

Steal a little and they throw you in jail. Steal a lot and they make you king.

[rollo]

Originally Posted by TaffyMoon

^^^your plagarized homework!

Fair point, I think!