I was surprised to find that this gem wasn't already on KZfaq. Here it is. Below is an amazing backstory told by Jaharana Romney (wife of Hugh Romney/Wavy Gravy), formerly Bonnie Beecher, the subject of this song. The last picture is of her and Wavy.
"He came to my apartment and said, 'It's an emergency! I need your help! I gotta go home an' see my mother!' He was talking in the strangest Woody Guthrie-Oklahoma accent. I don't know if she was sick, but it was an unexpected trip he had to make up to Hibbing and he wanted me to cut his hair.' He kept saying, 'Shorter! Shorter! Get rid of the sideburns!' So I did my very best to do what he wanted and then in the door come Dave Morton, Johnny Koerner, and Harvey Abrams. They looked at him and said, 'Oh my God, you look terrible! What did you do?' And Dylan immediately said, 'She did it! I told her just to trim it up a little bit but she cut it all off. I wasn't looking in a mirror!' And then he went and wrote that song, 'Bonnie, why'd you cut my hair? Now I can't go nowhere!' He played it that night in a coffeehouse and somebody told me recently that they had been to Minnesota and somebody was still playing that song, 'Bonnie, Why'd You Cut My Hair?' It's like a Minnesota classic! And so I've gone down in history!"
~Jaharana Romney (Bonnie Beecher)
This is one of the earliest recorded Dylan originals, only preceded by a few tracks recorded from 1958-1960.
I will be uploading the full Minnesota Party Tape (sometimes called the Minneapolis Party Tape) within the next few days. Stay tuned.
Credits to Olof Björner for information and backstory.
Peace & Love,
~SP