If You Gotta Go, Go Now


Dylan's version

Dylan began the recording for "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" on January 13, 1965, during the first session for Bringing It All Back Home. Of the two acoustic takes completed, neither was used. He recorded the song again on January 15, producing four takes. On May 21, 1965, producer Tom Wilson brought in several unidentified musicians to overdub various parts onto the takes recorded on January 15. From these overdubbing sessions, two takes were eventually released: take 5, released as a single in The Netherlands in 1967, and take 7, released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 1961–1991 in 1991.
Dylan's Netherlands single-only release failed to chart. No Dylan version was released in the U.S. or the UK until the appearance of The Bootleg Series, which, as noted above, featured a different version of the song from the single. The song also appears on ', albeit in an acoustic, live form.
Additional versions from Dylan's 1965–1966 recording sessions are included on the Deluxe and Collector's Editions of '.

Fairport Convention's version

also took the song onto the charts, albeit in an unusual fashion: the group translated the song into French as "Si Tu Dois Partir". Recorded for the Unhalfbricking album, the song was issued as a single in 1969. This was the band's only charting single, reaching number 21 and staying in the British Chart for nine weeks.

Non-charting cover versions