She might think that I’ve forgotten her/
Don’t tell her it isn’t so.
Bob Dylan is one of the biggest hard-asses of all-time. In “If You See Her, Say Hello” we see a different side of him. He seems regretful of a lost love—though he never comes right out and says that. He speaks of this woman quite tenderly, and we can tell that he misses her. Compare this with other songs about women in which is downright scornful like Just Like A Woman, You’re A Big Girl Now or It’s All Over Now Baby Blue.
In “If You See Her, Say Hello” he is speaking with a friend that he and his ex had in common. He says to say “hello” to her and to look me up, but don’t make it seem like I am too eager. Dylan was prideful. We all are.
This is from Dylan’s album Blood on the Tracks, which may be his best album. There are several different versions of this song you can check out, all of them good. The one from The Bootleg Series might be the best as it is a little faster paced and more striped down, but the album version is great too. Dylan’s voice sounds good here, and the mandolin is mixed in to make the song feel more solemn.
If You See Her Say Hello Lyrics
If you see her, say hello
She might be in Tangier
She left here last early spring
Is livin’ there, I hear
Say for me that I’m all right
Though things get kind of slow
She might think that I’ve forgotten her
Don’t tell her it isn’t so
We had a falling-out
Like lovers often will
And to think of how she left that night
It still brings me a chill
And though our separation
It pierced me to the heart
She still lives inside of me
We’ve never been apart
If you get close to her
Kiss her once for me
I always have respected her
For doin’ what she did and gettin’ free
Oh, whatever makes her happy
I won’t stand in the way
Though the bitter taste still lingers on
From the night I tried to make her stay
I see a lot of people
As I make the rounds
And I hear her name here and there
As I go from town to town
And I’ve never gotten used to it
I’ve just learned to turn it off
Either I’m too sensitive
Or else I’m gettin’ soft
Sundown, yellow moon
I replay the past
I know every scene by heart
They all went by so fast
If she’s passin’ back this way
I’m not that hard to find
Tell her she can look me up
If she’s got the time
written by Bob Dylan