A letter written by Grace songwriter Jeff Buckley to Bob Dylan acted as an apology for his “cynical” view of a legendary show’s crowd.
Buckley’s letter to the veteran songwriter acted as an apology and explanation of a comment which had apparently “insulted” Dylan. The Supper Club performances are legendary in the Dylan community, with bootleg tapes of the show often circulated. But Buckley’s comments to an audience at his own show a day later at A Hole in the Wall were misheard by Dylan’sc rew, who then told the veteran performer. The So Real songwriter had been defending Dylan’s current vocal style and releases, but had also aired his thoughts on the Supper Club crowd. Buckley had given fans an impression of Dylan singing I Want You while he played Grace.
He recalled: “People were shouting ‘But he’s still got it, right?’ And I’m going: ‘No. This is not Blonde On Blonde. This is him now. You guys are living in the past.’ Man, the next day I was in Tompkins Square Park, staring at the ground with the snow falling, wishing I was never born.
“My A&R man was saying, ‘Well, Bob feels dissed.’ But I really didn’t. I just loved him so much I sent him up.” Buckley would then write Dylan a letter by way of apology. The Letters of Note release, a compilation of writings deserving of a wider audience captured Buckley’s heartfelt apology.
His full letter can be read below, though it is unknown if Dylan ever did reply, or even read it.
“Dear Bob,
“I don’t know how to start.
“Last Saturday my man Steve Berkowitz broke it to me that you were told of something I’d said from the stage and that you’d felt insulted. I need for you to listen to me.
“I have no way of knowing how my words were translated to you, if their whole meaning and context were intact, but the truth is, is that I was off on a tangent, on a stage, my mind going where it goes, trying to be funny, it wasn’t funny at all, and I fucked up. I really fucked up.
“And the worst of it isn’t that your boys were at the gig to hear it — it doesn’t really bother me. It just kills me to know that whatever they told you is what you think I think of you. Not that I love you. Not that I’ve always listened to you, and carry the music with me everywhere I go. Not that I believe in you. And also that your show was great.
“It was only the Supper Club crowd that I was cynical about, and that’s what I was trying to get at when I said what I said, and I’m sorry that I’ll never get to make another first impression.
“You were really gracious to me, to even allow me backstage to meet you. I’ll never forget you, what you told me, as long as you live. You said ‘Make a good record man.’ And I’m very honoured to have met you at all. I’m only sad that I didn’t get a chance to tell you before all this intrigue. The intrigue is not the truth. Lots of eyes will read this letter before it gets to you Bob, which I accept. Some day you’ll know exactly what I mean, man to man.
Always be well,
Jeff Buckley”
