"I Threw It All Away" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The track appeared on Dylan's album Nashville Skyline in 1969, and was released as its first single later that year, where it reached number 85 on the BillboardHot 100, and number 30 on the UK Singles Chart. It is considered to be one of the best and most popular songs on the album.
Music and lyrics
"I Threw It All Away" was one of the first songs written for Nashville Skyline and one of only two new songs that were definitely written prior to the recording sessions. Dylan played the song for George Harrison and his wife Pattie in November 1968, and Harrison was apparently impressed enough with the song to learn it himself. It was the second song recorded for Nashville Skyline, after "To Be Alone with You", on February 13, 1969. Dylan is singing about a love that he has lost by being cruel and angry. There has been some speculation on whom Dylan is referring to in the song. Many have speculated that it could be about a number of women including Suze Rotolo, Joan Baez, and Edie Sedgwick. Unlike many songs Dylan wrote about failed relationships, such as "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", "It Ain't Me, Babe" and "One of Us Must Know ", Dylan takes responsibility for the failure in this song. The song has also been interpreted as a portrait of Dylan's muse.
Dylan performed "I Threw It All Away" live for the first time on The Johnny Cash Show, broadcast on June 7, 1969. It was the second song in Dylan's set with The Band at the Isle of Wight Festival on August 31, 1969 and is included on Isle of Wight Live, part of the 4-CD deluxe edition of , released in 2013. Dylan performed "I Threw It All Away" in the spring of 1976 during the Rolling Thunder Revue. The May 16, 1976 performance would later be included on the live albumHard Rain. The Rolling Thunder rendition of the song was a raging rock song with strident lyrics, in contrast to the original version. Dylan also played the song on his 1978 tour, but did not play it again live until 1998 during his Never Ending Tour. By 2002, still on the Never Ending Tour, Dylan was playing an acoustic version of the song.
Critical acclaim
In a 2005 poll reported in Mojo, "I Threw It All Away" was listed as the #55 all time Bob Dylan song. In 2002, Uncut listed "I Threw It All Away" as the #34 all time Bob Dylan song.
