“High Water (For Charlie Patton)” by Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan cut "High Water (For Charley Patton)" for "Love and Theft", the 2001 record that stands as his 31st studio album, where it sits at track seven. He produced it himself under his Jack Frost alias, as he has on much of his 21st-century work, while Chris Shaw recorded, engineered and mixed it, with Jeremy Welch assisting on the recording.

The dedication points straight at the bluesman: the title comes from Patton's "High Water Everywhere", and the song is intended to honor him. Just don't go looking for Patton's blueprint. Dylan scholar Tony Attwood has noted that, in both music and words, it barely touches the original, so the salute lives in the name more than the notes. The song got a second airing on the 2007 compilation Dylan.

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