Richard Fariña was dead by the time the song and album were released.
[citation needed] "Morgan the Pirate" itself is acerbic, and in places sarcastic: It's bye bye buddy have to say it once againI appreciate your velvet helping handEven though you never gave it I am sure you had to save itFor the gestures of the friends you understandNow you've gotten even higherAnd become your own supplierAnd the number one denier of the one or two hard feelingsOne or two hard feelingsOne or two hard feelings left behindThat Dylan was targeting Fariña in "Positively 4th Street" is not provable, and other people have been suggested, or no one single person.
Fariña's producer Maynard Solomon apparently thought so, as his liner notes for the album noted that "Morgan the Pirate" was Richard Fariña's last song and "waves farewell to Bob Dylan".
Tony Attwood also thought so,[1] as did William Lawlor[2] and Robert Christgau.
The song was also included on the Richard and Mimi Fariña compilation albums Pack Up Your Sorrows: Best Of The Vanguard Years and Vanguard Visionaries: Mimi & Richard Fariña.