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anartist's avatar

Who is "The Girl from North Country" in the Dylan song?

Asked by anartist (14813points) July 9th, 2013

Bob Dylan’s “Girl from North Country” might just be a girl from Hibbing MN where he came from and “where the winds hit heavy on the border line.” Anybody know if true and, if so, who she is?

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4 Answers

tups's avatar


In this song, Dylan sings of a lost love who was from the North Country: “Well, if you’re travelin’ in the north country fair/Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline/Remember me to one who lives there/She once was a true love of mine.” Debate continues to rage as to who this song is referring to. Some fans believe it to be about Echo Helstrom or Bonnie Beecher, Dylan’s sweethearts before he left Minnesota for New York. Others claim it is about Suze Rotolo, who is pictured walking arm in arm with Dylan on the cover of The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.” – Qoute

It’s an amazing song!

anartist's avatar

I wonder if he ever looked back and wondered if he had made a mistake?
I knew someone who knew him when he was playing in Village coffee houses for “pass the hat”—my friend thought he had a horrible voice and so did a lot of others back then. It was the brilliant imagery that made him great [and a good harmonica didn’t hurt]

But while he was grubbing for a living in NYC I wonder if he wished he could go back and undo it all.

tups's avatar

I don’t know Bob Dylan personally, so I can’t really answer that for you.

I for one actually love his voice.

Strauss's avatar

I actually tend to think that it may just have been a styling of “Scarborough Fair”. That is an traditional English folk ballad that goes back hundreds of years and has many versions. (Need I say anything about Simon and Garfunkel?)

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