 = Santa @-@ Fe ( Bob Dylan song ) = 
 
 " Santa @-@ Fe " ( sometimes spelled " Santa Fe " or " Santa <unk> " ) is a song that was recorded by Bob Dylan and the Band in the summer or fall of 1967 in the Woodstock area of New York State . It was recorded during the sessions that would in 1975 be released on The Basement Tapes but was not included on that album . These sessions took place in three phases throughout the year , at a trio of houses , and " Santa @-@ Fe " was likely put on tape in the second of these , at a home of some of the Band members , known as Big Pink . The composition , which has been characterized as a " nonsense " song , was copyrighted in 1973 with lyrics that differ noticeably from those on the recording itself . 
 In the decades following this collaboration , the over 100 tracks recorded at these sessions were at different stages obtained by collectors and released on bootlegs . The first batch of these leaked to the public beginning in the late 1960s ; the second in 1986 ; the third , which included " Santa @-@ Fe " , in the early 1990s ; and a fourth batch of Basement Tape tracks became public in 2014 . The song was released officially on the Columbia album The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 – 3 ( Rare & <unk> ) 1961 – 1991 . It has been subject to mixed opinions by critics and biographers , with some praising it for its expressiveness , and others regarding it <unk> , while criticizing its inclusion on The Bootleg Series at the expense of more worthy candidates . 
 
 = = Background = = 
 
 
 = = = Recording near Woodstock = = = 
 
 In 1965 and 1966 , Dylan was touring with the Hawks — Rick Danko , Garth Hudson , Richard Manuel , Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm , although Helm quit the group in late November or early December 1965 . In July 1966 , Dylan suffered a motorcycle accident and spent several months <unk> at his house in <unk> , near Woodstock , New York . By spring 1967 , all of the members of the Hawks , except Helm , had joined Dylan in the Woodstock area , with Danko , Manuel and Hudson living in nearby West <unk> in a house nicknamed Big Pink . Dylan and the four Hawks began recording informal music sessions , first at Dylan 's house in what was known as " the Red Room " , followed by the basement of Big Pink . Earlier on they recorded mostly covers and traditional music , but later moved onto original material written largely by Dylan . In total , over 100 songs and alternate takes were put on tape . Helm returned to the group in October 1967 and performed on some final Woodstock @-@ area collaborations between Dylan and the Hawks , these ones at a different house that some group members had moved to . In the fall of that year , the Hawks , who soon renamed themselves the Band , continued writing and rehearsing songs for their debut album , Music From Big Pink . 
 Dylan biographer Sid Griffin has noted that , because no written records were kept of these 1967 recording sessions , " the world will have to live with the fact that it will never know exactly which Basement Tapes tune was recorded when and where " . Nonetheless , using clues such as the sound quality of different batches of songs , and where they appear on the original reels of tapes , attempts have been made to place the songs into a rough chronology and guess the locations at which they were likely recorded . Biographer Clinton Heylin places " Santa @-@ Fe " in the summer of 1967 at Big Pink . The liner notes of The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 – 3 date it in the fall of that year . Griffin lists it among the probable Big Pink recordings , and in a group of songs from around July , but <unk> it is also " unlikely [ but ] possible " it came from the Red Room . 
 
 = = = <unk> of Basement Tape songs = = = 
 
 In late 1967 , an acetate of fourteen of Dylan 's compositions was made , from which demos circulated among music groups who might be interested in recording some of the songs . Artists including Peter , Paul and Mary , Manfred Mann and the Byrds eventually did . Dylan 's demo tapes were soon heard by music journalists , including Rolling Stone 's <unk> <unk> , who wrote a front @-@ page story in that magazine entitled " Dylan 's Basement Tape Should Be Released " . This made the general public hungry to hear the music , and in July 1969 a bootleg called Great White Wonder , which included some of the Big Pink songs , came out . Other Basement Tape bootlegs followed . 
 In 1975 , the Columbia album The Basement Tapes was compiled , mainly by Robertson and engineer Rob <unk> . Robertson and <unk> put thirty @-@ five of the songs onto composite reels of tape , and Heylin believes these represented a short list of candidates for the album . " Santa @-@ Fe " was included on these composite reels , but was not ultimately chosen for the album . The Basement Tapes included sixteen Dylan songs recorded at Big Pink in 1967 , as well as eight Band demos from various times and locations between 1967 and 1975 . One Dylan song on the album , " <unk> ' to Acapulco " , had not appeared on his 1967 fourteen @-@ song acetate or on bootlegs , and this alerted the world to the possibility that there might be more Basement Tape songs in existence . In 1986 , at least twenty @-@ five previously unknown 1967 songs by Dylan and the Band passed into collectors ' hands by way of a former <unk> of the Band 's . In the early 1990s , a third batch of songs , these ones from Garth Hudson 's archives , came to light around the time Columbia was preparing The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 – 3 ; " Santa @-@ Fe " comes from this group . In his liner notes for The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 – 3 , John <unk> commented on these second and third stages in which groups of Big Pink songs had come to light : " Despite the ... emergence [ in 1986 ] in collectors ' circles of a further couple of hours of Basement Tapes , it seems as though there 's a good deal left unheard . ' Santa @-@ Fe ' is just one example of a batch of previously <unk> Basement tracks " . By 1992 , the " Santa @-@ Fe " batch of songs had been obtained by <unk> , and almost all known Dylan Basement Tape songs were assembled onto the 5 @-@ CD bootleg The Genuine Basement Tapes . " <unk> @-@ Fe " was also included on the 2014 compilations The Basement Tapes Raw and The Bootleg Series Vol . 11 : The Basement Tapes Complete ; the latter album officially released a fourth batch of previously <unk> Basement Tape songs . 
 
 = = Personnel = = 
 
 The liner notes for The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 – 3 list the song 's personnel as Dylan , guitar and vocals ; Robertson , guitar ; Hudson , organ ; Manuel , piano ; Danko , bass ; and Helm , drums . However , Griffin argues that Helm did not arrive in Woodstock until after the song is believed to have been recorded . Furthermore , the drumming sounds to Griffin more like Manuel 's style . Heylin and biographer Greil Marcus similarly do not include " Santa @-@ Fe " among the songs they believe were recorded after Helm 's arrival . Griffin also argues that no organ is audible on the track and proposes the following musician line @-@ up as being more likely : Dylan , acoustic guitar and vocals ; Robertson , electric guitar ; Hudson , piano ; Danko , bass ; Manuel , drums . 
 
 = = <unk> and lyrics = = 
 
 Different Basement Tape songs were copyrighted in stages between 1967 and 1975 , with " Santa @-@ Fe " being registered in September 1973 ; still other songs from the sessions were not copyrighted until the 1980s . <unk> Tim Dunn indicates that in the original 1973 copyright the song was registered as " Santa @-@ Fe " with a hyphen , but that some later documents relating to the renewal of the copyright <unk> the hyphen . The liner notes of The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 – 3 print the title as " Santa @-@ Fe " , while Dylan 's official website , <unk> , spells it without the hyphen but with an accent on the e : " Santa <unk> " . 
 Heylin has noted that , as is the case with a number of other of Basement Tape tracks , Dylan 's copyrighted , published " Santa @-@ Fe " lyrics differ from what can be heard on the song . Heylin speculates that the " dramatic reworking " in the later version arose from Dylan 's " 1973 <unk> in Malibu " , where Dylan had moved to , and that new lines like " build a <unk> dome and sail away " and " My shrimp boat 's in the bay " sound like the work of " someone sitting on the dock of the bay , not up on <unk> Mountain [ in Woodstock ] " . Heylin also notes that the website maintained by <unk> <unk> , Words <unk> My Head , contains a transcription of the song as Dylan performed it . The 1973 copyrighted lyrics are printed on <unk> 
 In his notes for The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 – 3 , <unk> describes the song as " a typical combination of nonsense and fun , just for the hell of it , really ... " ; author Oliver <unk> likewise describes it as a " nonsense " song . Heylin writes that the lyrics " revolve around ' dear , dear , dear , dear , Santa Fe ' — intended to be both a woman 's name and the town in New Mexico . After five verses of rolling said words around , he moves on . " 
 
 = = <unk> = = 
 
 Opinions about the song have been mixed . AllMusic critic Thomas Ward calls it " one of the great good @-@ time songs in Dylan 's canon " . Ward comments that " Dylan sings it as if he is having the time of his life " , adding that " rarely has he sung with such expressiveness " . Anthony <unk> , author of The Bob Dylan Albums , similarly praises the song 's " breadth of feeling " and " unparalleled expressiveness " , noting that " it appears Dylan simply improvised the song on the spot , and the passion within him allows the song to flow forth naturally " . Biographer John <unk> has described the song as " delightful " , while a New York Times review rates it one of the highlights of Volume 2 of The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 – 3 , commenting that it is one of only a couple of mid @-@ 60s songs on the compilation that " live up to their vintage " . Griffin describes it as " catchy but slight " and " a slight if charming little ditty " , but criticizes the decision to include it on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 – 3 rather than the " masterpiece " composition " Sign on the Cross " . Heylin <unk> , characterizing " Santa @-@ Fe " in 1995 as a " pleasant enough <unk> " but suggesting that " Sign on the Cross " or another 1967 composition , " I 'm Not There " , would have been much better choices ( " I 'm Not There " was eventually released in 2007 on the I 'm Not There soundtrack , and both it and " Sign on the Cross " were included on The Basement Tapes Raw and The Basement Tapes Complete in 2014 ) . By 2009 , Heylin 's opinion had changed little and he writes that " of all the ' missing ' basement @-@ tape originals that appear on that three @-@ CD set , ' Santa Fe ' hardly represented an A @-@ list candidate . Just another discarded ditty , it relies on the usual wordplay and <unk> diction to obscure any <unk> to a deeper meaning " . Marcus dismisses it as no more than " a riff " , while a review in <unk> magazine calls it " the most lightweight tune on all three CDs , with <unk> lyrics " . Author Peter James , referring to Dylan and the Band 's Woodstock output , writes that " many great songs were written and recorded in [ Big Pink 's ] basement in 1967 , unfortunately ' <unk> @-@ Fe ' is not one of them . " He goes on to describe the song 's inclusion on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 – 3 as " little more than a joke " . 
 
 = = Cover versions = = 
 
 The song has been covered by Howard <unk> on his album <unk> Bob Dylan & The Band 's The Basement Tapes Live at Joe 's <unk> . <unk> played more than sixty songs from Dylan and the Band 's Basement Tape sessions over three nights , of which selected tracks were included on the CD and an accompanying DVD . " Santa @-@ Fe " has also been covered by Steve Gibbons . On November 7 , 2007 at the <unk> Theatre in New York City , J <unk> and the Million Dollar <unk> performed the song at a special concert featuring numerous music artists celebrating the release of Todd Haynes 's film I 'm Not There . Thomas Ward notes that Dylan himself has never played the song live . 
 
 