You Ain't Goin' Nowhere genre country rock
The Byrds' version
The Byrds' recording of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" was released as a single on April 2, 1968 and was the first commercial release of the song, coming three years prior to any release of it by Dylan.  The Byrds' single reached number 74 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number 45 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was also the lead single from the band's 1968 country rock album, Sweetheart of the Rodeo. Although it is not as famous as their cover version of Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man", the Byrds' recording of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is sometimes considered by critics to be the band's best Dylan cover.  Billboard described it as having "infectious rhythm material and good
lyric line, well performed".The song was selected as a suitable cover by the Byrds after their record label, Columbia Records (which was also Dylan's record label), sent them some demos from Dylan's Woodstock sessions.  Included among these demos were the songs "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" and "Nothing Was Delivered", both of which were recorded by the Byrds in March 1968, during the Nashville recording sessions for Sweetheart of the Rodeo. The Byrds' version of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" features musical contributions from session musician Lloyd Green on pedal steel guitar. Author Johnny Rogan has commented that despite the change in musical style that the country-influenced Sweetheart of the Rodeo album represented for the band, the inclusion of two Dylan covers forged a link with their previous folk rock incarnation, when Dylan's material had been a mainstay of their repertoire.The Byrds' recording of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" caused a minor controversy between the band and its author. Dylan's original demo of the song contained the lyric, "Pick up your money, pack up your tent", which was mistakenly altered in the Byrds' version, by guitarist and singer Roger McGuinn, to "Pack up your money, pick up your tent". Dylan expressed mock-annoyance at this lyric change in his 1971 recording of the song, singing "Pack up your money, put up your tent, McGuinn/You ain't goin' nowhere." McGuinn replied in 1989 on a new recording of the song included on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Volume Two album, adding the word "Dylan" after the same "Pack up your money, pick up your tent" lyric.Following its appearance on Sweetheart of the Rodeo, "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" would go on to become a staple of the Byrds' live concert repertoire, until their final disbandment in 1973.  The Byrds re-recorded "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" in 1971 with Earl Scruggs, as part of the Earl Scruggs, His Family and Friends television special, and this version was included on the program's accompanying soundtrack album. The song was also performed live by a reformed line-up of the Byrds featuring Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, and Chris Hillman in January 1989.  McGuinn continues to perform the song in his solo concerts and consequently it appears on his 2007 album, Live from Spain.In addition to its appearance on the Sweetheart of the Rodeo album, the Byrds' original recording of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" also appears on several of the band's compilations, including The Best of The Byrds: Greatest Hits, Volume II, History of The Byrds, The Byrds Play Dylan, The Original Singles: 1967–1969, Volume 2, The Byrds, and There Is a Season.  Live performances of the song are included on the expanded edition of the band's (Untitled) album and on Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971.
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