“I Want You” — That’s it, the ultimate statement you can make to anybody. What else can you say? And that’s the greatest lyric in the song, those three words, in the whole damn song! I put that on, man, and I get blown away, I get blown down the street, ’cause there’s no hoax there.
That’s Bruce Springsteen waxing poetic about Bob Dylan’s “I Want You,” to Michael Watts in Melody Maker on November 30, 1974–the day after he debuted a stunning, smoldering interpretation of Dylan’s 1966 ballad.
Dylan’s original barely cracked the Top 20 on its original release, but it captured the hearts of musicians and romantics ever since.
As for why Bruce chose to cover it at that particular early point in his career… well, let’s simply note that other than a one-off performance the year prior (which we can assume was a different arrangement, although no recording circulates to verify), he first performed it shortly after Suki Lahav joined the E Street Band in the autumn of 1974, and then regularly until Suki said farewell.
Even now, you can hear their delicate dance: Roy and Danny create a music box backdrop against which the grace of Suki’s violin and the urgency of Bruce’s vocals intertwine. Even when the band kicks in after the first chorus, our attention stays fixated on Bruce and Suki.
Those few fans old enough now and hip enough then to have caught the E Street Band during that pre-fame period recall the on-stage heat between Bruce and Suki. Regardless of whether it was for show or for real, it made for some memorable moments nightly–and “I Want You” was definitely one of them.
Sadly, when Suki Lahav said goodbye to the E Street Band, so did “I Want You.” Bruce hasn’t touched the song since.
I Want You
First performed: November 11, 1973 (Ewing, NJ)
Last performed: March 9, 1975 (Washington, DC)
I do believe I was there, then, in DC, my first time seeing Bruce. I was onstage. Producing college show. Suki had given birth recently bec the baby was with her, only a few months old. Her husband was the sound man. Beautiful, violin’s always been my favorite.