Many have speculated that it could be about a number of women including Suze Rotolo, Joan Baez, and Edie Sedgwick.

"[7] Australian singer-songwriter Nick Cave cited it in a 1995 interview as the one song he "wished he had written".

[8] In a 2005 poll reported in Mojo, "I Threw It All Away" was listed as the #55 all-time Bob Dylan song.

[10] Benjamin Booker and Laura Marling both cited it as their favorite Dylan song in a 2021 Stereogum article.

Marling noted, "It just feels like he opens up and shows this super vulnerable side and lets his voice soar like I haven’t really heard before.

[11] Dylan performed "I Threw It All Away" live for the first time on The Johnny Cash Show, broadcast on June 7, 1969.

[5] By 2002, the date of its final performances on the Never Ending Tour, Dylan was playing an acoustic version of the song.