Covering Dylan: 5 Unique Takes on “I Threw It All Away”

“I Threw It All Away” stands out as one of the simplest songs in the Bob Dylan catalog, at least if you just look at the types of words he uses. That doesn’t keep the track, found on his 1969 country diversion Nashville Skyline, from hitting hard, thanks to the affecting melody and soulful vocal.

The song has attracted many a cover version over the years, with many of those covers coming decades down the road from the song’s release. Here are five of the best versions of “I Threw It All Away” that we discovered.

The Diva’s Take: Cher from 3614 Jackson Highway (1969)

Cher had long been an avid interpreter of Dylan’s material, including a hit version of “All I Really Want to Do.” She took on three Dylan songs on 3614 Jackson Highway in 1969. In case you’re wondering, that title is the address of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield, Alabama, where she surrounded herself with that legendary session band and top producers Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, and Tom Dowd. Recasting this song as a kind of country-soul hybrid with horns highlights the melody and puts Cher in a setting where she can really go for broke in search of the emotions in the lyrics.

The Countrypolitan Take: Lacy J. Dalton from The Jill Croston Album (1978)

Dalton originally recorded the song under her real name, Jill Croston, before she changed it to a stage name a year later, which explains the odd disconnect between artist and album title. Her career kicked off in earnest once she made the name change, and the debut album was long out of print before getting unearthed in 2023 and released on streaming services. Dalton/Croston goes at Dylan’s original with piano backing, taking the song nice and slow to tease out the prettiness of the tune. She has a very evocative voice and striking vibrato, but what matters most is how well she connects with the lyrics.

The Swirling Pop Take: Elvis Costello from Kojak Variety (1995)

Costello decided to take on an all-covers album in the middle of the ’90s, and he did so with a band of excellent guest musicians he had used sporadically in previous solo records without the Attractions. In the case of his take on “I Threw It All Away,” he focuses on the little instrumental countermelody that Dylan included on his original, something not many of the other takes do. That gives this version just a little bit more melodic punch. Costello goes all-out in emoting the lyrics as well, and the overall production casts this song in a very flattering light.

The Brooding but Beautiful Take: Scott Walker from To Have and To Hold Soundtrack (1996)

The score to the 1996 film To Have and To Hold was delivered by Australian music legend Nick Cave. Cave also enlisted Walker, who famously delivered some hits with The Walker Brothers in the ’60s and enjoyed an acclaimed solo career as well, to sing “I Threw It All Away.” Walker’s voice somehow became more resonant and momentous as he aged, which is saying something if you know his ’60s hits. There’s something unnerving about the string arrangement, which gives this the feel of a David Lynch-style cover. But Walker makes it hauntingly pretty anyway.

The Gritty Jazz Take: Madeleine Peyroux from Standing on the Rooftop (2011)

If you don’t know the name Madeleine Peyroux, you probably aren’t following the world of modern jazz all that closely. The Georgia native has the goods as a songwriter in her own right, which she displayed on Standing on the Rooftop in 2011, writing about two-thirds of the material (including a few co-writes with former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman). Her cover of “I Threw It All Away” isn’t a torch song, as you might expect, but instead boasts an earthy groove. But Peyroux’s phrasing takes the melody in unexpected places, as she lives up to her reputation as an elite interpreter.

Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns