Notes

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Jim Jones (Trad.) - the 31 live versions by Bob Dylan (all from 1993)

All sourced from RTM pre-board series except -
disc 1 - 2 & 3
disc 2 - 4
disc 3 - 1, 5, 6 & 7

stewART remaster -
disc 1 - 1, 2, 8
disc 2 - 5, 12
disc 3 - 1, 3, 4, 5. 6

DISC 1 - 75.39
1 Dublin, Ireland 1993-02-05
2 London, UK 1993-02-07
3 London, UK 1993-02-08
4 London, UK 1993-02-09
5 London, UK 1993-02-11
6 London, UK 1993-02-12
7 London, UK 1993-02-13
8 Utrecht, Netherlands 1993-02-15
9 Utrecht, Netherlands 1993-02-16
10 Eindhoven, Netherlands 1993-02-17
11 Hannover, Germany 1993-02-18
12 Wiesbaden, Germany 1993-02-20

1 - 'Thanks everybody, that was off my new record - it's hard to play that song....'

DISC 2 - 77.56
1 Petange, Luxembourg 1993-02-21
2 Paris, France 1993-02-23
3 Belfast, Ireland 1993-02-25
4 Louisville, Kentucky 1993-04-12
5 Nashville, TN 1993-04-13
6 Nashville, TN 1993-04-14
7 Radford, VA 1993-04-16
8 Knoxville, TN 1993-04-17
9 Asheville, NC 1993-04-18
10 Huntsville 1993-04-19
11 Monroe, LA 1993-04-21
12 New Orleans, LA 1993-04-23

6 - "anyone here believe in reincarnation ....? "
8 - brief intro of the (never-played) 'Arthur MacBride' !


DISC 3 - 43.54
1 London, UK 1993-06-12
2 Tel Aviv, Israel 1993-06-17
3 Beersheba, Israel 1993-06-19
4 Athens, Greece 1993-06-23
5 West Palm Beach, FL 1993-09-23
6 Los Angeles, CA 1993-10-02
7 New York, NY 1993-11-17 - late


Jim Jones - (also known as 'Botany Bay', 'Jim Jones at Botany Bay' & 'The Shores of Botany Bay' - The melody is also known as 'Skibbereen' and 'Irish Mollie-Oh').

According to legend, the song was written by a convict transported to Australia from England in the early 1800s. Poaching is said to have been Jim Jones' offence and many English and Irish poachers were transported, along with other types of criminals and political offenders.
Between 1788 and 1868, 165,000 convicts made the arduous journey to this unknown land now known as Australia.
If the song is to be taken literally, it may be dated between 1828, when 'bold Jack Donahoe' first emerged as a bushranger, and 1830 when troopers shot him dead in the Bringelly scrub.
Botany Bay is the place where Lieutenant James Cook landed in April 1770 and has long survived as the supposed destination of convicts, but it seems the first British governor took one look at the place and sent the Navy to find somewhere better.
Port Jackson & Sydney Harbour were found nearby to the north and became the actual location of the first colony.
Recorded or written versions are known from A.L.Lloyd, The Bushwackers, Martin Wyndham-Lewis, Trevor Lucas and Lawrence Hoy.
Dylan may have based his on John Kirkpatrick's version from 1976.

Jim Jones - Dylan's version -

1. Come and listen for a moment, lads,
And hear me tell my tale.
How across the sea from England (How I crossed the sea...)
I was condemned to sail.
Now the jury found me guilty,
Then says the judge, says he,
"Oh, for life, Jim Jones, I'm sending you
Across the stormy sea.
But take a tip before you ship
To join the iron gang.
Don't get too gay in Botany Bay,
Or else you'll surely hang.
Or else you'll surely hang," says he.
"And after that, Jim Jones,
It's high above on the gallows tree
The crows will pick your bones."

2.
And our ship was high upon the sea
When pirates came along,
But the soldiers on our convict ship
Were full five hundred strong.
For they opened fire and somehow drove
That pirate ship away.
But I'd rather have joined that pirate ship (....gone on that pirate ship)
Than gone to Botany Bay.
With the storms ragin' round us,
And the winds a-blowin' gale,
I'd rather have drowned in misery
Than gone to New South Wales.
There's no time for mischief there they say,
Remember that says they
Oh they'll flog the poaching out of you
Down there in Botany bay

3.
Now it's day and night and the irons clang,
And like poor galley slaves
We toil and toil, and when we die
Must fill dishonoured graves,
And it's by and by I'll slip my chains,
Well, into the bush I'll go
And I'll join the brave bush rangers there
Jack Donohue and co.
And some dark night, when everything
Is silent in the town
I'll shoot those tyrants one and all,
I'll gun the flogger down. (I'll gun them floggers down.....)
Oh, I'll give the Law no little shock,
Remember what I say,
And they'll yet regret they've sent Jim Jones
In chains to Botany Bay.


'Botany Bay' version 1 -

Come, all young men of learning good,
A warning take by me.
I'll have you quit night walking
And shun bad company;
I'll have you quit night walking
Or else you'll rue the day,
And you will be transported
And go to Botany Bay.

I was brought up in London town,
A place I knew full well;
Brought up by honest parents,
The truth to you I'll tell.
Brought up by honest parents,
Who loved me tenderly,
Till I became a roving blade
To prove my destiny.

My character was taken,
And I was sent to gaol.
My parents tried to clear me
But nothing would prevail.
'Twas at our Rutland sessions
The Judge to me did say:
The Jury's found you guilty,
You must go to Botany Bay.

To see my poor old father
As he stood at the bar;
Likewise my dear old mother
Her old gray locks she tore.
And in tearing of her old gray locks
These words to me she did say:
O son! O son! What hast thou done?
Thou art bound for Botany Bay

'Botany Bay' version 2 -

Farewell to old England the beautiful!
Farewell to my old pals as well!
Farewell to the famous Old Baily
Where I used to cut such a swell.

Chorus
My Too-ral li Roo-lal li Laity
Too-ral li Roo-lal li Lay
Too-ral li Roo-lal li Laity
Too-ral li Roo-lal li Lay!

It's seven long years I been serving,
It's seven I got for to stay,
For beatin' a cop down our alley
An' takin' his truncheon away.
Chorus
There's the captain what is our commander,
The bos'n an' all the ship's crew,
The married and also the single ones
Knows what us poor convicts goes through.
Chorus
It ain't that they don't give us grub enough,
It ain't that they don't give us clothes;
It's all 'cause we light-fingered gentry
Goes about with a chain on our toes.
Chorus
O had I the wings of a turtle dove,
I'd spread out my pinions and fly
Into the arms of my Polly love
And on her soft bosom I'd lie.
Chorus
Now all you young viscounts and duchesses
Take warning by what I do say,
And mind it's all yours what you touches-es
Or you'll land down in Botany Bay


from gopherstick's 1993 reviews -
http://www.gopherstick.com/Righteous%20To%20Me.htm

Dublin - Dig Tony's small bass solo in Jim Jones. After the song Bob muses that it's a tough tune to play, so maybe that's why it sounds cool...Bob had to focus
London 09 - Ah...Jim Jones, maybe...just maybe...okay, okay...nice...almost sweet. Good enough, folks, we may have an official and genuine Sign Of Life!
London 11 - Jim Jones is so studly Elvis that Errol Flynn and James Dean all ran out the back door, hiding their blushing mugs. Bob is the portrait of confidence here, stretching out each line, singing the old high tale to himself, and to hell with the audience. Are they even there? Is anybody around? Doesn't sound like it to me, Bob, sing on, man, screw 'em.
London 12 - Tomorrow Night is a gem, and Bob leans into the mic afterwards and thanks the crowd for allowing him to play his "...latest hit." He's a pistol, that one.
Here's a game: you tell your pal to pick out the "best ever" Little Moses or Tomorrow Night they can find in 1993, and meanwhile you stand pat with this solid version of Jim Jones and I bet it'll stomp the guts of anything your buddy brings to the stereo.
London 13 - Bob is trying to "bust into another world..." in Shooting Star, and he nearly does, great vocal twists. It's like he was waiting for this song to come up, he nails it. The acoustic set is a cheery little funeral. Bob ain't got a friend in the whole wide world and he's got nothing to do but sing, poor guy. The band plays like footsteps, slow and heavy. And once again I insist we're so much the better for Bob's mood, otherwise we'd never get the lovely Jim Jones, careless Tambourine Man or the shrugging Don't Think Twice (I feel like I'm writing a children's book, Jesus!), rusty harp aside.
Utrecht 15 February - Tomorrow Night and Jim Jones are a pair of sublime creatures, superbly crooned, and nifty. These are among my favorite songs from 1993, and they are, in my estimation, consistently beautiful, show after show. They're simple tunes, but that they're sung so well is simply a testament to how much respect and seriousness Bob applies to them as he sings. No matter what bad things happens to his own songs on a given night, it's almost as if he'll be damned if these songs he didn't write are going to suffer. He tries harder singing covers sometimes, and he tries hard tonight, you bet.
Utrecht 16 February - "...oh, what a wonderful feeling / just to know you really exist / sets my heart a-reelin' / just to think it could ever be like this!". Wow, when you sing it like that Bob I gotta go along with you. Strong vocal night, he's doing well, finishing nearly everything on his plate. Check out Mobile, upon first listen it may seen he's locked into this lame monotone delivery, but subsequent spins reveal a subtle shifting that's kind of cool. The one recurring trait here is that on almost every tune he keeps stretching out lines until he runs out of music and is forced to move on. And it's deliberate, his timing is right on, he's not just playing catch-up. He's like a prisoner in some old war flick like Stalag 17 or The Great Escape; he's quietly, discreetly probing for openings. Only difference is he does it in the middle of a live show in front of thousands of people staring right at him. A throw back voice for sure. This just in: Tomorrow Night rules and there's nothing any mortal can do about it. Jim Jones hits with the weight of a meaty Masters Of War, only it's got like, pirates and other cool crap in it. Tambourine Man takes Bob's reluctance to sing within the current arrangements a step further. Listen to how he sings just a word or two or three where he would normally sing an entire line. He keeps letting the beat circle around and back, adding a few more words each time it comes back around; it's either extremely thoughtful toying or extreme boredom, I can't say.
Eindhoven - Bob's vocals are getting ragged tonight, and that the recording buzzes when he hits the slightest high note doesn't help, but it's not hard to hear that he needs to refuel. Jim Jones is outstanding
Wiesbaden, Germany 20 February - This might be one the best versions of Jim Jones I've heard. Bob is nailing every single word and his solo is passable, this is fantastic. Man, one song after another, and they're all played aggressive as hell. Shades of 1988, or just a night where they all happened to be in the same mood?
Petange - Tomorrow Night is functional, but Jim Jones gets up and goes to the prom. Pirates, pick your bones, raging storms, blowing gales, hell yeah, get down with your folk self, arrrrrrr! Excuse that, but it's a pretty good tune
Paris - The acoustic set is loud and in charge, but not even things like Jim Jones or Tomorrow Night can slow down Bob this evening, he's got a bus to catch and damned if he's got time to slow down and think these things through.
Belfast 25 February - Now the Civil War is in town, and either Ken Burns snuck in swapped my show with one of his soundtracks, or this is Bob giving us a neat version of Jim Jones. Three parts Dixie, one part folk standard, this is a shuffling mover, sung and played much faster than his usual stark acoustic arrangement. The drums are the narrator this time, and Mr. Watson lays it down beautifully. Bob's feeling it too, listen to the little spine-tickling moaning yell he tosses out at the 3:45 mark; he usually never does that on an acoustic song, let alone an old cover. He usually saves that for maybe a Just Like A Woman or the like, but, all I can say is Go, Bob, Go!
Nashville, TN 13 April - Jim Jones is beautiful, proof that he subconsciously focuses more on songs he didn't write; no matter how loose he is with his own stuff, when it comes to somebody else's he recovers a bit professionally. Tomorrow Night is a minor revelation, Bob should liquor up more often, I think this staggering comedian is growing on me. Oh yeah, but don't think he sobered up, he tells the crowd in a hilariously gay lilt in part that "...Lonnie Johnson wrote that song."
Nashville TN 14 April - Highlight of the night? Bob asking the crowd if anybody believes in reincarnation after playing Jim Jones. It would be worth it to track down the audience source of this, at least for this Tomorrow Night, if there is a way to marry better vocals to this sound...well! And just what in the hell is going on with Tambourine Man!? Bob is turning it into a mini Dark Star. Listen to 3:00 - 5:00, and you tell me where they're going with that. Whatever it is, I'm liking it. Anyway, the last 5 songs are cut off, but that's okay, I think I've heard enough anyway.
Radford, Virginia - Kudos of the first half? Well, it might go to an outstanding Jim Jones, and Bob get the gold star up on the big board for singing this song simply, as a storyteller, and keeping his shouting, over-dramatic and painfully affected garbage far away. Yes, his guitar playing is clunky, but he sings this one well. The crowd erupts, presumably over the sight of Bob grabbing the harmonica for Tomorrow Night. And I'll be dipped if this isn't sung better than Jim Jones, hold up that gold star, and move it on over here
Knoxville, Tennessee 17 April - (NOTE at intro - the melody of Arthur MacBride seems to feature before they actually go into Jim ! ) The acoustic set is amazing, I know I have a soft spot for these tunes, but I'm not going to apologize for it, these are outstanding versions.Only Bob can make the words "Botany Bay" sound this cool.
Huntsville - Jim Jones is the most standard rendition I've heard in a while and not even the always welcome harmonica bookending an otherwise ordinary Tomorrow Night can pull us out of this tailspin.
Monroe - Ah, the acoustic set. Yes sir, you got to love the early 1990s for their acoustic sets. Jim Jones kicks ass: it is no longer Bob Dylan singing: no, he's now some ageless, odd folk mouse, twirling out lines that spin a dozen times before they get from your ear to your brain. So please, shoot those pirates down, folk mouse, shoot every last bastard down, you grand old folkie, you. And that he thanks the audience afterwards is the height of irony: after a superb little job like that they're too busy thanking him to notice.
New Orleans - He starts with a few cool turns of the tongue in River Flow and flips the switch for a beautiful Jim Jones
Athens - Bob purrs out Jim Jones........