 In the booklet that accompanied "The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3", Todd Harvey wrote that "Let Me Die in My Footsteps" has no clear melodic precedent and suggests that this may be the first song for which Dylan created an original melody.However, Dylan later revealed the song's origins in "", indicating it was based on an old Roy Acuff ballad.According to Dylan, the song was inspired by the construction of fallout shelters, a widespread practice in the U.S. during the cold war political climate of the 1950s when he was growing up.