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The Byrds — All I Really Want To Do
Album: Younger Than Yesterday
Avg rating:
7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1227









Released: 1967
Length: 2:00
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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I ain't lookin' to compete with you
Beat or cheat or mistreat you
Simplify you, pacify you
Deny, defy, or crucify you
All I really want to do
Is baby be friends with you

No, I ain't lookin' to fight with you
Frighten you or uptighten you
Drag you down or bring you down
Chain you down or bring you down
All I really want to do
Is baby be friends with you

I don't want to fake you out
Take or shake or forsake you out
I ain't lookin' for you to feel like me
See like me or be like me

I don't want to meet your kin
Make you spin or do you in
Or select you or dissect you
Or inspect you or reject you
All I really want to do
Is baby be friends with you
Baby be friends with you
Baby be friends with you
Comments (87)add comment
Goodbye, David Crosby.  Passed January 19, 2023.

https://tinyurl.com/23hrft7e
Posted 1 year ago by kingart    [ Reply ]
Super......super.....super.....group!  A TWENTY!
Posted 2 years ago by BlackBetty    [ Reply ]
If he really just wanted to be friends, he wouldn't have written a song.
Posted 2 years ago by Hippostar    [ Reply ]
Life Pro Tip: When wooing a potential girlfriend, itemize in lengthy detail all the ways you could hurt her, but you are choosing not to.
 
Also 1:59 playtime?  Holy crap, that's shorter than Del Amitri's "Roll To Me" at 2:12.
Posted 2 years ago by timmus    [ Reply ]
fucking awful
Posted 3 years ago by Stetsonman    [ Reply ]
The Byrds / One of Tom Petty's Major influences 
Posted 3 years ago by surfrider4life    [ Reply ]
 nance wrote:
great song.....I like the Byrds but seems like their biggest hits were Bob's songs
 

It's not a bad business plan.  When you recognize that your generation has one of the greatest songwriters of all time, and that said songwriter is pretty commonly disregarded for poor singing (not my opinion, just the common perception in pop culture), recycling his songs to sound... ahh... easier on the ears... is a great idea!  It worked for them, for sure.
Posted 3 years ago by zinzarin    [ Reply ]
Would rather hear Bob's.
Posted 3 years ago by peterlawmusic    [ Reply ]
 nance wrote:
great song.....I like the Byrds but seems like their biggest hits were Bob's songs
 

Not completely true.  Yes, many of their best sellers were a la Dylan. (Which amused Dylan a lot, since he and the song publishers made more money on the covers than they did...) But  Turn Turn Turn originated in the Bible (and the song is a classic in its own right, a high point of the '60s tune scape).  So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star was theirs/McGuinn, as was Eight Miles High.   And if you mean that their best songs were Dylan's, no, they wrote quite a good inventory of great and well known tunes in-house. 
Posted 4 years ago by kingart    [ Reply ]
 ExploitingChaos wrote:
Man do I love the Byrds...

That style of guitar playing must have WOWED people back then, I know it WOWS me now 
 

It did!
I think the pictured album (Greatest Hits)  was my first album purchase.
Posted 4 years ago by stevesaw    [ Reply ]
 michaelc wrote:
you just got moved to the friend zone.
 
hahahahaha
Posted 4 years ago by egeffy1    [ Reply ]
 wgsu_1978 wrote:
The Byrds could do bubblegum with the best of them.
 
here's some bubble
Posted 5 years ago by RabbitEars    [ Reply ]
It's good that he reassured the "baby" about all the nasty shit he doesn't want to do. Seems like the basis of a solid friendship!
Posted 5 years ago by mdnlsn    [ Reply ]
Man do I love the Byrds...

That style of guitar playing must have WOWED people back then, I know it WOWS me now 
Posted 5 years ago by ExploitingChaos    [ Reply ]
you just got moved to the friend zone.
Posted 5 years ago by michaelc    [ Reply ]
Dylan cover band?
Posted 8 years ago by Sweet_Virginia    [ Reply ]
"All I really want to doooooOOOOOO0000000 is play something different...."
Posted 8 years ago by Ahnyer_Keester    [ Reply ]
great song.....I like the Byrds but seems like their biggest hits were Bob's songs
or ones with Gram Parsons
Posted 8 years ago by nance    [ Reply ]
 wgsu_1978 wrote:
The Byrds could do bubblegum with the best of them.
 
I think some of the others did it better, but most other bubblegum bands thought better of doing covers of about twenty different Dylan songs.
Posted 9 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
The Byrds could do bubblegum with the best of them.
Posted 9 years ago by wgsu_1978    [ Reply ]
'login' worthy
Posted 9 years ago by blkstd    [ Reply ]
 hippiechick wrote:
Another great Dylan tune covered by a great band. Don't we love the jangly 6-string? If I am not mistaken, I believe the Turtles covered this as well. 

 
Well, Roger played a 12-string Rickenbacker, acquired shortly after the group saw A Hard Day's Night. (And Lennon had bought his after seeing a photo of "Toots" Thielemans holding his, when the latter was with the George Shearing Orchestra.)

I don't know about the Turtles, but Sonny & Cher covered this song. 
Posted 10 years ago by jagdriver    [ Reply ]
Their harmony was incredible, and whether you like him as a person or not, David Crosby looms huge in making that harmony what it is.
Posted 10 years ago by pinem    [ Reply ]
 kcar wrote:
Sounding a little too earnest and twee at 4 am...

 
Too sincere?  It doesn't sound that way to me, more the opposite.


Posted 10 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
Ah...thanks for the nostalgia ...a cute and jingly of the great Bob's work
Posted 10 years ago by Jannne    [ Reply ]
WOW--that takes me back to junior high, when I spent a lot of hours listening to my transistor radio!
Posted 10 years ago by ginniet    [ Reply ]
 ChrisInSeattle wrote:
Wow, before today I've only known the version by World Party on Private Revolution. Never knew it was a cover.

 
Everything old is new again. 
Posted 11 years ago by kingart    [ Reply ]
Sounding a little too earnest and twee at 4 am...
Posted 11 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
Another great Dylan tune covered by a great band. Don't we love the jangly 6-string? If I am not mistaken, I believe the Turtles covered this as well. 
Posted 11 years ago by hippiechick    [ Reply ]
Wow, before today I've only known the version by World Party on Private Revolution. Never knew it was a cover.
Posted 11 years ago by ChrisInSeattle    [ Reply ]
This should totally be reworked as "God's Response" for Monty Python's prayer song from Meaning Of Life:

I ain't lookin' to burn you / Grill you or toast you or barbecue you / Bake you or boil you or fricasse you or roast you / Simmer you or braise you without fat / All I really want to do is, baby, sa-a-a-ave you

Posted 11 years ago by timmus    [ Reply ]
 tinamarie wrote:
Did Sonny Bono write this, Or did Cher just happen to record it alongside The Byrds?
 
My pal Google says Dylan wrote and recorded it first. This is a cover.
Posted 13 years ago by The_Enemy    [ Reply ]
Very cool. 
Wish you could have been there too then you would understand.
Posted 13 years ago by gjones    [ Reply ]
15

Posted 13 years ago by Jeff09    [ Reply ]
How does new music enter the playlist if there are just using play listes from years ago?? Does anyone know?
Posted 13 years ago by CMax    [ Reply ]
Nina Simone - I Shall Be Released   ==>    
Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs. Robinson   ==>    
The Byrds - All I Really Want To Do   ==>  
Solas - Dignity   ==>  
Ian Brown - Time Is Everything   ==> 
Calexico - Sirena   ==>  
Bob Marley - Forever Loving Jah  ==> 
Jackson Browne - For Everyman   ==>  
Pops Staples - World In Motion   ==>  
War - Slippin' Into Darkness   ==>  
Benise - Samba Samba   ==>  
Super Furry Animals - Moped Eyes   ==>  
Mazzy Star - I've Been Let Down   ==>  
Antje Duvekot - Dandelion   ==>  
Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue.  

how old is this play list from 2009??

Posted 13 years ago by CMax    [ Reply ]
Nice set this morning!
Posted 13 years ago by helgigermany    [ Reply ]
 midreaming wrote:
or not.. ok, how a bout Sonny Bono song?
 
Heard "The Beat Goes On" the other day...hard to believe that Sonny and Cher were regarded as hippies when they first came up...From Wikipedia: "The two became a quick sensation, dressed in animal skins with Bono wearing knee high caveman boots and Cher going barefoot."
Posted 14 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
 midreaming wrote:

omg.. did sonny bono write this.? geessh, nevermind.. hey bill, why doncha just play a Dylan song by Dylan and get it over with?

  or not.. ok, how a bout Sonny Bono song?


Posted 14 years ago by midreaming    [ Reply ]
 tinamarie wrote:
Love it - I'm 12 years old again! Did Sonny Bono write this, Or did Cher just happen to record it alongside The Byrds?
 
omg.. did sonny bono write this.? geessh, nevermind.. hey bill, why doncha just play a Dylan song by Dylan and get it over with?

Posted 14 years ago by midreaming    [ Reply ]
Love it - I'm 12 years old again! Did Sonny Bono write this, Or did Cher just happen to record it alongside The Byrds?
Posted 14 years ago by tinamarie    [ Reply ]
And suddenly I'm transported back to high school!

{#Confused}
Posted 14 years ago by ginniet    [ Reply ]
Great song! Not their best, but a good'n!
Posted 14 years ago by sirdroseph    [ Reply ]
 Exene wrote:
Me too - I'm a sucker for that every time! More jangle!

"In my opinion, the Byrds' sound would have been impossible without the invention of the Rickenbacker twelve string electric guitar." — Roger McGuinn.

Rickenbacher

Posted 14 years ago by peter_james_bond    [ Reply ]
 peter_james_bond wrote:
I love the birds jangly Rickenbacher guitar sound...awesome!
 
Me too - I'm a sucker for that every time! More jangle!

Posted 14 years ago by Exene    [ Reply ]
Nina Simone - I Shall Be Released   ==>    
Simon & Garfunkel - Mrs. Robinson   ==>    
The Byrds - All I Really Want To Do   ==>  
Solas - Dignity   ==>  
Ian Brown - Time Is Everything   ==> 
Calexico - Sirena   ==>  
Bob Marley - Forever Loving Jah  ==> 
Jackson Browne - For Everyman   ==>  
Pops Staples - World In Motion   ==>  
War - Slippin' Into Darkness   ==>  
Benise - Samba Samba   ==>  
Super Furry Animals - Moped Eyes   ==>  
Mazzy Star - I've Been Let Down   ==>  
Antje Duvekot - Dandelion   ==>  
Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue.  



Posted 15 years ago by calypsus_1    [ Reply ]
Nina Simone's I Shall Be Released - Wonderful version of one of the best Bob tune's ever

Byrds version of All I Really Want to Do - Dated version of one of the least Bob tune's ever
Posted 15 years ago by lemmoth    [ Reply ]
Sorry, but this is so cleanwashed in comparison to the original.
Posted 15 years ago by TanteJensen    [ Reply ]
I love the birds jangly Rickenbacher guitar sound...awesome!
Posted 15 years ago by peter_james_bond    [ Reply ]
love their Dylan covers, especially My Back Pages.
Posted 15 years ago by thewiseking    [ Reply ]
{#Daisy}

Posted 15 years ago by Candela    [ Reply ]
Not their best, but no-one could do jangly guitar quite like the Byrds.
Posted 15 years ago by kaybee    [ Reply ]
 ndad47 wrote:
cheese takes time to age.  these lyrics were really relevant when they were written.  we have made them trite over time.  it's kind of like Frankenstein.  Frankenstein was really scary when the movie first came out.  over time the monster has become an object of ridicule.
 

Up With People!   Context matters, for sure.  {#Yes}
Posted 15 years ago by DeeCee1109    [ Reply ]
cheese takes time to age.  these lyrics were really relevant when they were written.  we have made them trite over time.  it's kind of like Frankenstein.  Frankenstein was really scary when the movie first came out.  over time the monster has become an object of ridicule.
Posted 16 years ago by ndad47    [ Reply ]
This song and style fit in perfectly in the time period and the pop songs. Great early Byrds.
Posted 16 years ago by Ericac    [ Reply ]
Did The Who rip off this song with Mary Ann With the Shaky Hand?
Posted 19 years ago by lizardman_tcs    [ Reply ]
This one never did it for me. Just too cloyingly sweet a rendition. If they weren't wearing the cool shades, they might have been mistaken for Harper's Bizarre. The Byrds broke new ground and had great harmonies, but "My Back Pages" is the only Dylan cover of theirs I've ever felt had any real bite.
Posted 19 years ago by radiojunkie    [ Reply ]
Not the best song on the album. Other's more worthwhile dipping into... Overall, one of the best albums as a whole - This song equates to me like Aerosmith's Big 10" :P - It gets all the play, but the rest of the stuff on the collection's much better... Yep, it's the worst on the album... I had a Rickenbacher 12 that I used as a 6. Very thin necks for the time, using 2 rods, not one - Nice guitar - thinnest for the era. Older style pickups eventually worn out. The new stuff's much better, but I did not replace them with modern pickups - I'd use a fuzz box & a Crybaby to modify the sound & fill it out... Believe it or not, I did use a Treble booster on it for some leads! Screech your ears off. Take the simple trebly sound here, & boost it! :headache.gif:
Posted 19 years ago by Rakski    [ Reply ]
trekhead wrote:
Cool. Like WP.
Cool indeed...
Posted 19 years ago by tomnam    [ Reply ]
tomnam wrote:
World Party does a pretty niffty version of this song....
Cool. Like WP.
Posted 19 years ago by trekhead    [ Reply ]
World Party does a pretty niffty version of this song....
Posted 19 years ago by tomnam    [ Reply ]
Eul0gy wrote:
cheese is cheese no matter whos mind it originated from. listening to this makes me want to find a random hippie (past or present) and punch him/her in the face.
Hmmm . . . I think you need to change your location to read: "A little bit to the right." P.S. Better make it "A little bit to the far right"
Posted 20 years ago by steeler    [ Reply ]
I've just got to say, for all those Dylan-bashers out there, that this song is the palest of comparisons to the original. Dylan conveys so much more energy and brightness with his young voice than all the tinny treble of the Byrds. They remain a gaping hole in my appreciation of classic rock.
Posted 20 years ago by namesbenny    [ Reply ]
lily34 wrote:
Yeah, i can kind of see why you say that... i like both songs. they both remind me of the same past love.
I wonder if that connection might be in the sound... I see it, and I believe it might have something to do with Rickenbacher guitars.
Posted 20 years ago by sharkartist    [ Reply ]
Hummingbird wrote:
Hold it there. You can call Dylan's lyrics many things, but not cheesy! ;-)
cheese is cheese no matter whos mind it originated from. listening to this makes me want to find a random hippie (past or present) and punch him/her in the face.
Posted 20 years ago by Eul0gy    [ Reply ]
Sicamic wrote:
Does this remind anyone else of that track off of the WHo Sell Out Mary Anne with the Shaky Hand? Perhaps the other way around...
Yeah, i can kind of see why you say that... i like both songs. they both remind me of the same past love.
Posted 20 years ago by lily34    [ Reply ]
Platypus wrote:
easily the cheesiest lyrics i have ever heard in my entire life its like a nightmarish pickup line from a bad 70s movie.
Hold it there. You can call Dylan's lyrics many things, but not cheesy! ;-) The Byrds version is fine but the one that really blew me out of my socks was the original, with Dylan yodeling "All I really wanna do-ooo". One of the many highlights from Another Side!
Posted 21 years ago by Hummingbird    [ Reply ]
a sixties classic
Posted 21 years ago by Drunkenlilacwine    [ Reply ]
Posted 21 years ago by beelzebubba    [ Reply ]
Joyfulchristine wrote:
Huh. This is my first time hearing this song, and I was waiting for them to sing, "All I wanna do is make love with you." What a pleasant surprise that they just want to be friends! :)
Oh, you are so young, aren't you...
Posted 21 years ago by n4ku    [ Reply ]
easily the cheesiest lyrics i have ever heard in my entire life its like a nightmarish pickup line from a bad 70s movie.
Posted 21 years ago by Platypus    [ Reply ]
Huh. This is my first time hearing this song, and I was waiting for them to sing, \"All I wanna do is make love with you.\" What a pleasant surprise that they just want to be friends! :)
Posted 21 years ago by Joyfulchristine    [ Reply ]
Originally Posted by red: BYRDS!
no red, it's THE BYRDS
Posted 21 years ago by KurtfromLaQuinta    [ Reply ]
ok the byrds man...yeah the byrds...YEAH THE BYRDS!
Posted 21 years ago by epod34    [ Reply ]
BYRDS!
Posted 22 years ago by red    [ Reply ]
the byrds are the best. all their music is great. truly a ground breaking band.
Posted 22 years ago by KurtfromLaQuinta    [ Reply ]