Lay Across My What?………

It may be surprising to people who know me to find out I’m a big Bob Dylan fan. I generally hate everything, but I am quite enamored with Mr. Zimmerman’s work. As a present to myself for my birthday, I got “The Definitive Bob Dylan Songbook”….(on sale at Amazon)….
I like to lock myself and my cat Ginger in my room and play me some Dylan on my guitar! I really suck, so I don’t subject
Eileen to it; when Ginger starts screeching in a high soprano to be let out of the room, I just pretend she’s Joan Baez…. ANYWAY, this is an awesome song collection and it has just about everything he has ever written, including his arrangements of some traditional songs. The other night I was playing “Lay Lady Lay” because I love the opening chord progression. It dawned on me that an entire book could be written on Dylan’s song meanings and trivia….like a story about this song….
As you know Dylan wrote a lot of songs which were recorded and became hits by other artists. “Lay Lady Lay” was original intended to be in the movie “Midnight Cowboy”, but it wasnt finished in time to be included. It ultimately became one of Dylan’s top US and UK singles….but he almost gave the song to someone else….
The story goes that Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers was performing with Dylan at the Bottom Line in New York. Phil asked Dylan if he had any songs that the Everly Brothers might record. So, Dylan picked up his guitar and sang:

“Lay lady lay…..lay across my big brass bed…….” The Brothers Everly politely declined; because they thought it went:

“Lay lady lay….lay across my big breasts babe” They thought it was a song about lesbians…….