Bob Dylan’s 1961 handwritten lyrics for his unreleased song entitled “N.Y.C. Blues,” in pencil, on one 5 x 8 lightly lined page. When he first came to New York City, Dylan stayed at the Greenwich Village apartment of Mac and Eve McKenzie. It was here that Dylan slept on their couch, participated in their sing-alongs, and wrote songs into the night at their kitchen table. As Dylan was making the rounds in a number of Greenwich Village clubs, singing his interpretations of mostly Country Blues and traditional folk songs, he was also developing as a songwriter himself. It was during this period that Dylan wrote this never-released song in one of his notebooks. Dylan writes: “1. You even been walking down the streets in NY town 2. Walking down east fourth st 3. Call for the Mayor to fix the trouble there Mayor’ll say there ain’t no trouble, it’s all down in Wash-S, 4. Standing on the corner of Broadway an 49th Seen so many people I never saw in my life 5. I went to sleep at nite clean as I could be When I awoke in the morning dirt all over me 6. Now I don’t mind dirt cause there’s dirt on the land But did you ever see dirty – that’s one thing I can’t stand 7. I” Unbelievably, this along with several other original Dylan manuscripts, were left behind at the McKenzie home. Of course, no one at that time knew that Dylan was destined to become one of America’s greatest songwriters. Mac and Eve’s son, Peter McKenzie, later inherited this and other handwritten lyrics when Dylan's original manager, Kevin Krown died. Lyrics are accompanied by a letter of provenance from Peter McKenzie, stating “This handwritten lyric by Bob Dylan for the song ‘NYC Blues’…is authentic and comes from my collection. Bob Dylan lived with my family during the early 1960s,” and also accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Signed, Sealed, Delivered. In fine condition. An incredibly rare piece by a then still unknown Dylan which provides wonderful insight into the development of his early song writing, and also pre-dates his initial recording contract with Columbia Records. COA Roger Epperson/REAL and R&R COA.
