He Was a Friend of Mine

"He Was a Friend of Mine"
Song
Written	Unknown
Songwriter(s)	Traditional

"He Was a Friend of Mine"
Song by The Byrds
from the album Turn! Turn! Turn!
Released	December 6, 1965
Format	LP record
Recorded	November 11, 1965
Studio	Columbia, Hollywood, California
Genre	Folk rock, folk
Length	2:30
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Traditional, new words and arrangement Jim McGuinn
Producer(s)	Terry Melcher

"He Was a Friend of Mine" is a traditional folk song in which the singer laments the death of a friend. The earliest known version of the song is titled "Shorty George" (Roud 10055). A performance by African-American inmate Smith Casey, who accompanied himself on guitar, was first recorded by musicologist couple John A. and Ruby Terrill Lomax in 1939 at the Clemens State Farm in Brazoria County, Texas. Alan Lomax described the song as a "blues" that was "a dirge for a dead comrade."

The song has since been recorded by many artists, including Bob Dylan, Dave Van Ronk, The Washington Squares, Bobby Bare, Mercury Rev, The Black Crowes, The Mitchell Trio, Willie Nelson, Nanci Griffith, Cat Power, The Leaves and, in a reworded version, The Byrds. The version recorded by Willie Nelson was used in the film Brokeback Mountain and inaccurately credits Bob Dylan as the songwriter. Dylan had arranged an early version of the tune in 1961 and his version can be heard on the compilation album The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.

The Byrds included a recording of "He Was a Friend of Mine" on their 1965 album Turn! Turn! Turn! (see 1965 in music). In The Byrds' version, the song's melody is altered and the lyrics are changed to lament the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The band's lead guitarist Jim McGuinn rewrote the song's lyrics in late 1963 to give it a more contemporary slant and transform it into a eulogy for President Kennedy. McGuinn explained the origins of the song in an interview: "I wrote the song the night John F. Kennedy was assassinated. I suppose you could say it's one of the earliest Byrds songs. The arrangement used was as I'd always sung it. I just thought it was a good idea to include it on the Turn! Turn! Turn! album." Due to the extensively rewritten lyrics of The Byrds version, the officially registered songwriting credit for the song is "Traditional/new words and arrangement McGuinn".

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