“Lay Lady Lay” by Bob Dylan

"Lay Lady Lay" is the velvet heart of Nashville Skyline, Bob Dylan's 1969 album, and the voice is the shock: gone is the nasal bark, replaced by a low, honeyed croon that sounds like a different man. Bob Johnston produced it, and the song glides along, patient and seductive, an invitation rather than an argument.

It was meant for the Midnight Cowboy soundtrack but wasn't handed in on time, and the stories of who it was really written for don't agree. Released as a single in July 1969, it climbed to number seven on the Hot 100, his fourth and last top 10 hit in the States. It has since become a standard, covered by all sorts of artists.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.