Bob Dylan Liked This Porter Wagoner Song So Much, He Recorded It Twice

In 1955, Porter Wagoner released “A Satisfied Mind”. The song is Wagoner’s second single and first No. 1 hit. “A Satisfied Mind” is the title track of Wagoner’s freshman album. It was written by Joe “Red” Hayes and Jack Rhodes.

“A Satisfied Mind” says in part, “Once I was waiting in fortune and fame / Everything that I dreamed for to get a start in life’s game / But suddenly it happened, I lost every dime / But I’m richer by far with a satisfied mind.”

Several years after Wagoner’s version became a hit, Bob Dylan decided to record his own version of “A Satisfied Mind”. Dylan first put his own spin on this song in 1967. Surprisingly, that version was not released until 2014, on his The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete.

Although the song became one of Wagoner’s early hits, he isn’t the first artist to record “A Satisfied Mind”. Hayes actually first released the song, followed by Mahalia Jackson, whose version came out in 1954. But it’s Wagoner’s version that became the most well-known, at least initially.

Still, Dylan did release a version of “A Satisfied Mind” before 2014. In 1980, Dylan included “A Satisfied Mind” on Saved. Saved is the second of three records in a religious trilogy that Dylan released. Saved comes between Slow Train Coming and Shot Of Love.

The Story Behind “A Satisfied Mind” by Porter Wagoner and Bob Dylan

Hayes later credits his own childhood as the inspiration for “A Satisfied Mind”.

“The song came from my mother,” Hayes explains. “Everything in the song are things I heard her say over the years. I put a lot of thought into the song before I came up with the title. One day my father-in-law asked me who I thought the richest man in the world was, and I mentioned some names. He said, ‘You’re wrong; it is the man with a satisfied mind.’”

Although “A Satisfied Mind” is not exactly a religious song, the song was still used in spiritual settings.

“It has been done a lot in churches,” Hayes says. “I came out of the Opry one night, and a church service was going on nearby. The first thing I hear was the congregation singing ‘Satisfied Mind’. I got down on my knees.”

Both Wagoner and Dylan found success with “A Satisfied Mind”, but they are far from the only artists who put their own spin on this song. Count Jean Shepard, Ella Fitzgerald, Joan Baez, Glen Campbell, and Sonny James as some of the many artists who also recorded “A Satisfied Mind”.

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