If Not for You

"If Not for You" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his October 1970 album New Morning. It was issued as the A-side of a single in Europe in early 1971. The song is a love song to Dylan's first wife, Sara Dylan. He recorded it several times in 1970; the session for the released version took place in New York in August. He also recorded the song with George Harrison on May 1, soon after the break-up of the Beatles, a session that attracted much speculation in the music press. The May recording remained unreleased until its inclusion on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) in 1991.

In November 1970, Harrison released a version of "If Not for You" on his triple album All Things Must Pass. Another well-known cover was recorded by Olivia Newton-John in 1971, using Harrison's arrangement of the song. Newton-John's version became her first hit single, peaking at number 7 on the UK Singles Chart, as well as the title track to her debut album, If Not for You. That same year, Harrison and Dylan rehearsed the song for possible inclusion in the Concert for Bangladesh shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Footage of this rehearsal appeared early in the 1972 documentary film The Concert for Bangladesh and the complete performance was included in the 2005 DVD release.

Bob Dylan wrote "If Not for You" as a love song to his wife Sara. It was one of several songs he wrote in 1970 that conveyed his contentment with family life and celebrated the simple pleasures of nature. Music journalist Thomas Ward describes it as "a song of rustic charms, heavily indebted to the simplest of country music". He says that the lyrics favor "concise, economical descriptions" over "elegant poetry", a quality he finds most evident in the bridge lines "If not for you, my sky would fall / Rain would gather too / If not for you, I'd be nowhere at all / I'd be lost, if not for you."

Commenting on the track in the 1980s, Dylan said: "It seemed simple enough, sort of Tex-Mex. I would never explore all the possibilities of instrumentation in the studio, add parts and so forth, change the beat around, so it came off kind of folky."

Dylan first recorded "If Not for You" in March 1970, late in the sessions for his Self Portrait double LP, although it was never intended for that album. He then recorded a new version on May 1 with George Harrison at Columbia Records' Studio B in New York. Charlie Daniels, who played bass at the session, with Russ Kunkel on drums, described it as "a day I'll never forget", adding: "It wasn't Bob Dylan and George Harrison. It was four guys in the studio making music ... It was such a nice thing, such a great day, hour after hour." News of the collaboration between Dylan and Harrison caused considerable excitement in the music press, even though Columbia made a point of announcing that neither artist deemed the results worthy of release.

According to biographer Clinton Heylin, the May 1 session was "the true starting point" for Dylan's New Morning album. The remake of "If Not for You" was under consideration for the album, although Dylan recorded a new version in early June, and Al Kooper, Dylan's co-producer, preferred the March recording. Overdubs were added to one of these versions at Columbia's studio in Nashville on July 23.

Citing Kooper's frustration with Dylan at this time, Heylin says that the singer's indecisiveness led to him re-recording "If Not for You" once more, as well as "Time Passes Slowly", on August 12. Guitarist Buzz Feiten was among the musicians at the session, which took place at Columbia's Studio E in New York. It was the only song on New Morning to include Dylan playing harmonica. After Kooper and Dylan fell out, Bob Johnston was credited as sole producer.

The August 1970 version of "If Not for You" was sequenced as the opening track of New Morning. Columbia released the album on October 21. It was viewed as a return to form by many music critics after the poorly received Self Portrait. Reviewing for Rolling Stone, Ed Ward described "If Not for You" as "a kind of invocation to the muse, if you will", and said that in contrast to Dylan's 1966 love song "I Want You", "He's celebrating the fact that not only has he found her, but they know each other well, and get strength from each other, depend on each other." Geoffrey Cannon of The Guardian likened the song to "Let It Be Me" from Self Portrait, adding: "except that it's not lush. It's clipped and sceptical ... his voice is harsher than it has been lately; and he plays a lacerating harmonica."