Joey (Bob Dylan song)
Encyclopedia
"Joey" is a song from Bob Dylan
's 1976 album Desire. It was written by Dylan and Jacques Levy
, who collaborated with Dylan on most of the songs on the album. In a 2009 interview with Bill Flanagan
, Dylan claimed that Levy wrote all the words to this song. Like another long song on the album, "Hurricane
", "Joey" is biographical. The song is about the life and death of mobster Joey Gallo
, who had been killed on his birthday at Umberto's Clam House
in Little Italy
, on April 7, 1972.
harshly criticized Dylan and the song. Bangs described it as "repellent romanticist bullshit." However, Dylan claims that he always thought of Gallo as a kind of hero and an underdog fighting against the elements. Besides his status as an outsider, Dylan was likely also drawn to the fact that Gallo's best friends in prison were black men. In addition Gallo was able to gain sympathy in artistic circles by passing himself off as a cultured person victimized by the "system".
The song has been described as including a demonstration of "the weak view of providence" in Dylan's songs. That is, a view that God
usually allows humans to act as they want, but occasionally intervenes when a grave injustice has been done or a special plan needs to be carried out. In "Joey", this is demonstrated in the lines:
, "Joey" was rated the 74th most popular Bob Dylan song of all time. Dylan rarely plays the song live and the song has rarely been covered by other artists, perhaps due to the questionable moralizing it contains. A concert version of the song does appear on the live album Dylan and the Dead.
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's 1976 album Desire. It was written by Dylan and Jacques Levy
Jacques Levy
Jacques Levy was an American songwriter, theatre director, and clinical psychologist.Levy was born in New York City in 1935, and attended its City College. He received a doctorate in psychology from Michigan State University. Levy was a trained psychoanalyst, certified by the Menninger Institute...
, who collaborated with Dylan on most of the songs on the album. In a 2009 interview with Bill Flanagan
Bill Flanagan
Bill Flanagan is an American author and television executive. He was born in Rhode Island in 1955 and graduated from Brown University in 1977. His books include Written in My Soul , Last of the Moe Haircuts , U2 at the End of the World , and the novels A&R , New Bedlam and Evening's Empire .As...
, Dylan claimed that Levy wrote all the words to this song. Like another long song on the album, "Hurricane
Hurricane (song)
"Hurricane" is a protest song by Bob Dylan co-written with Jacques Levy, about the imprisonment of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. It compiles alleged acts of racism and profiling against Carter, which Dylan describes as leading to a false trial and conviction....
", "Joey" is biographical. The song is about the life and death of mobster Joey Gallo
Joe Gallo
Joseph Gallo , also known as "Crazy Joey" and "Joe the Blond", was a celebrated New York City gangster for the Profaci crime family, later known as the Colombo crime family...
, who had been killed on his birthday at Umberto's Clam House
Umberto's Clam House
Umberto's Clam House is a restaurant located in Little Italy, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Originally located on Mulberry Street, it has since moved to Broome Street.-History:...
in Little Italy
Little Italy, Manhattan
Little Italy is a neighborhood in lower Manhattan, New York City, once known for its large population of Italians. Today the neighborhood of Little Italy consists of Italian stores and restaurants.-Historical area:...
, on April 7, 1972.
Meaning
The song treats Gallo sympathetically, despite his violent history. Gallo had been accused of at least two murders and had been convicted of several felonies. But in the song he is given credit for distrusting guns, being reluctant to kill hostages and for shielding his family when he was being killed, and makes him appear to be an unwilling participant in the crimes of his henchmen, thus not deserving his fate. As a result of the sympathetic treatment, critics such as Lester BangsLester Bangs
Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, author and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock 'n' roll criticism....
harshly criticized Dylan and the song. Bangs described it as "repellent romanticist bullshit." However, Dylan claims that he always thought of Gallo as a kind of hero and an underdog fighting against the elements. Besides his status as an outsider, Dylan was likely also drawn to the fact that Gallo's best friends in prison were black men. In addition Gallo was able to gain sympathy in artistic circles by passing himself off as a cultured person victimized by the "system".
The song has been described as including a demonstration of "the weak view of providence" in Dylan's songs. That is, a view that God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
usually allows humans to act as they want, but occasionally intervenes when a grave injustice has been done or a special plan needs to be carried out. In "Joey", this is demonstrated in the lines:
- And someday if God's in heaven, overlookin' His preserve
- I know the men that shot him down, will get what they deserve.
Other
In a readers' poll conducted by MojoMojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
, "Joey" was rated the 74th most popular Bob Dylan song of all time. Dylan rarely plays the song live and the song has rarely been covered by other artists, perhaps due to the questionable moralizing it contains. A concert version of the song does appear on the live album Dylan and the Dead.