<P> "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1967 in Woodstock, New York, during the self - imposed exile from public appearances that followed his July 29, 1966 motorcycle accident . A recording of Dylan performing the song in September 1971 was released on the Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II album in November of that year, marking the first official release of the song by its author . An earlier 1967 recording of the song, performed by Dylan and The Band, was issued in 1975 on the album The Basement Tapes . </P> <P> The Byrds also recorded a version of the song in 1968 and issued it as a single . The Byrds' version is notable for being the first commercial release of the song, predating Dylan's first release by three years . A later cover by Byrds members Roger McGuinn and Chris Hillman reached the top 10 of the Hot Country Songs charts in 1989 . The song has also been covered by many other artists, including Joan Baez, Unit 4 + 2, Earl Scruggs, Old Crow Medicine Show, Phish, Counting Crows, The Dandy Warhols, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Glen Hansard with Markéta Irglová . </P> <P> Starting in June 1967 and ending in October 1967, Bob Dylan's writing and recording sessions with the Band (then known as the Hawks) in Woodstock, New York, were the source of many new songs that were circulated as demos by Dylan's publisher for fellow artists to record . "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" was written and recorded during this period and features lyrics that allude to the singer waiting for his bride to arrive and possibly, a final premarital fling . The original version found on 1975's The Basement Tapes album was recorded with the Band (minus Levon Helm who had temporarily left the group at this point) in the basement of their house in West Saugerties, New York, called "Big Pink". A first take recorded during the Basement Tapes sessions includes improvised nonsense lyrics such as "Just pick up that oil cloth, cram it in the corn / I don't care if your name is Michael / You're gonna need some boards / Get your lunch, you foreign bib". This alternate take was released in 2014 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (1971 version)" The 1971 version of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere", recorded with Happy Traum and released on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Problems playing this file? See media help . </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Meaning of you ain't going nowhere lyrics