Last Update: 04/05/2026 at 2:50 PM EST
Dylan Reworks It Takes A Lot
Coverage from Untold Dylan, David Marx:Book Reviews, and others
Articles
14
Latest Article
11/09
Active Days
1531
Executive Summary
Dylan reshaped It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry from Phantom Engineer into a slower, more cryptic Highway 61 song.
- The song began as Phantom Engineer during the Highway 61 Revisited sessions in 1965
- The final version was cut on 29 July 1965 at Columbia Recording Studio A in New York
- A slower tempo after lunch changed the song's feel and made Dylan's harmonica more prominent
- The article links the title and imagery to Casey Jones, Robert Johnson, Beat writing, and Khalil Gibran
- The lyrics are read as deliberately vague and possibly sexually suggestive
- Al Kooper is portrayed as guiding the session's slower arrangement on acoustic guitar
- The song later received a cover version on Super Session with Kooper, Bloomfield, and Stills
Quick Facts
- What: Reworking Phantom Engineer into It Takes a Lot to Laugh
- Where: Columbia Recording Studio A, New York
- Why: To find a stronger title, tempo, and lyrical shape
- Who: Bob Dylan, Al Kooper, Mike Bloomfield, and session musicians
- When: June and July 1965 during Highway 61 sessions
Coverage Timeline: 1531 Days
Featured Article
The article, published on bob-dylan.org.uk, analyzes Bob Dylan's 1965 song It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry in relation to its title, structure, and influences.
Additional Articles
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Dylan began the Highway 61 Revisited recording sessions on 15 June 1965 at Columbia Recording Studio A in New York, focusing on It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry and early takes of Like A Rolling Stone.
In this undated bob-dylan.org.uk article, the author analyzes Bob Dylan’s mid-1960s New York and Nashville studio work on It Takes a Lot to Laugh.
In this retrospective article, bob-dylan.org.uk analyzes Bob Dylan's 1965 studio and Newport performances of 'Phantom Engineer' and their role in shaping 'It Takes a Lot to Laugh'.
Dylan analyzes It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry in a series installment published on bob-dylan.org.uk.
On bob-dylan.org.uk, an article analyzes Bob Dylan's It Takes A Lot To Laugh across concerts from 1965 to 1975 in Newport, New York, Toronto, and Boston.
On 2002-08-09, Fairport Convention performed Bob Dylan's It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry at Fairport's Cropredy Convention in Cropredy, England.
David Marx:Book Reviews / Jochen Markhorst Independently Published
11-09-2025
On 2025-11-09, David Marx reviewed Jochen Markhorst's book It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry — Bob Dylan's Melancholy Blues online, highlighting detailed 1960s session analysis and archival findings.
In a recent Untold Dylan blog post, the author analyzes Ygdrassil's cover of Bob Dylan's It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.
In 2021 in Nashville, Lucinda Williams recorded Bob's Back Pages: A Night Of Bob Dylan Songs, featuring It Takes A Lot To Laugh among eleven Dylan covers.
On Nov 13, 2024, Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways tour stop at Londons Royal Albert Hall was reviewed as an improvisational, elegiac performance.
An Untold Dylan article examines Bob Dylan's song It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry, contrasting studio and concert versions on a Bob Dylan-focused website.
Bob Dylan first performed It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry during an electric set at the Newport Folk Festival in Newport, Rhode Island.
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Dylan performs Melancholy Mood for two minutes during a Tokyo show in 2023.