The Times They Are a-Changin'
Encyclopedia
The Times They Are a-Changin opens with the title track
, one of Dylan's most famous songs. Dylan's friend, Tony Glover, recalls visiting Dylan's apartment in September 1963, where he saw a number of song manuscripts and poems lying on a table. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" had yet to be recorded, but Glover saw its early manuscript. After reading the words "come senators, congressmen, please heed the call", Glover reportedly asked Dylan: "What is this shit, man?", to which Dylan responded, "Well, you know, it seems to be what the people like to hear".
Dylan recalled writing the song as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change for the moment. In 1985, he told Cameron Crowe
: ""This was definitely a song with a purpose. It was influenced of course by the Irish and Scottish ballads ...'Come All Ye Bold Highway Men', 'Come All Ye Tender Hearted Maidens'. I wanted to write a big song, with short concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. The civil rights movement and the folk music movement were pretty close for a while and allied together at that time."
The climactic lines of the final verse: "“The order is rapidly fadin'/ And the first one now/ Will later be last/ For the times they are a-changin'” have a Biblical ring, and several critics have connected them with lines in the Gospel of Mark
, 10:31, ""But many that are first shall be last, and the last first."
A self-conscious protest song, it is often viewed as a reflection of the generation gap and of the political divide marking American culture in the 1960s. Dylan, however, disputed this interpretation in 1964, saying "Those were the only words I could find to separate aliveness from deadness. It had nothing to do with age." A year later, Dylan would say: "I can't really say that adults don't understand young people any more than you can say big fishes don't understand little fishes. I didn't mean "The Times They Are a-Changin'" as a statement... It's a feeling."
In 1994, Dylan licensed the "The Times They Are a-Changin'" to be used in an advertisement for the auditing and accountancy firm Coopers & Lybrand, as performed by Richie Havens
. Two years later, in 1996, a version of the song by Pete Seeger
was used in a TV advertisement for the Bank of Montreal
.
"Ballad of Hollis Brown
" was originally recorded for Dylan's previous album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
. That version was rejected and the song was eventually re-recorded for The Times They Are a-Changin. Described by Clinton Heylin
as a "'tragic tale of independence and free will' culled from the folk idiom", it is a grim, rural Gothic story of a father killing his starving family ("There's seven people dead on a South Dakota farm").
"With God on Our Side
" was first performed at New York's Town Hall
on April 12, 1963 (which also happened to be Dylan's debut appearance at that venue). Although Dylan claims it is an original composition, the melody to "With God on Our Side" bears a striking resemblance to "The Patriot Game
", the lyrics of which were written by Dominic Behan
and the melody borrowed from the traditional Irish folk song, "The Merry Month Of May". Behan called Dylan a plagiarist and a thief, in an attempt to goad Dylan into a lawsuit; Dylan made no response. "The Patriot Game" was originally introduced to Dylan by Scottish folksinger Nigel Denver. Scottish song writer Jim McLean recalls Dylan asking him in late 1962: "'What does it mean, 'Patriot Game'?'... I explained – probably lectured him – about Dr Johnson, who's one of Dominic's favourite writers, and that's where Dominic picked up [the] saying: 'Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.'" NPR's Tim Riley
writes: "'With God on Our Side' manages to voice political savvy mixed with generational naivete" as it "draws the line for those born long enough after World War I to find its issues blurry ('the reasons for fightin'/I never did get') and who view the forgiveness of the World War II Germans as a farce."
Dylan follows "With God on Our Side" with a soft, understated ballad: "One Too Many Mornings". "It's the sound of someone too smitten by love to harbor regrets, grown too independent to consider a reunion," writes Riley. One of the more celebrated songs on The Times They Are a-Changin', Dylan would dramatically rearrange it on his legendary 1966 concert tour for a full electric band.
"North Country Blues
" tells the story of a mining company's decision to outsource its operations to countries where labor costs are cheaper than in the U.S.A. ("It's much cheaper down in the South American towns/Where the miners work almost for nothing".) The song marks the first time Dylan wrote a narrative from the point-of-view of a woman: the ex-wife of a miner whose work has disappeared. This song has been described by many critics as Dylan's portrait of his home town, Hibbing, Minnesota
.
Dylan first performed "Only a Pawn in Their Game" at a voter registration rally in Greenwood, Mississippi
. The song refers to the murder of Medgar Evers
, who was the Mississippi leader of the NAACP. Civil rights activist Bernice Johnson would later tell critic Robert Shelton that "'Pawn' was the very first song that showed the poor white was as victimized by discrimination as the poor black. The Greenwood people didn't know that Pete [Seeger], Theo[dore Bikel] and Bobby [Dylan] were well known. (Seeger and Bikel
were also present at the registration rally.) They were just happy to be getting support. But they really like Dylan down there in the cotton country."
The melody for "Boots of Spanish Leather" was inspired by Martin Carthy
's arrangement of the English folk song "Scarborough Fair
" (also the melody of an earlier Dylan composition, "Girl from the North Country"). Dylan learned Carthy's arrangement during his first trip to England in late 1962. After finishing his obligations in England (including a brief appearance in a BBC
drama, Madhouse on Castle Street), Dylan traveled to Italy looking for his girlfriend, Suze Rotolo
, apparently unaware that she had already returned to America (reportedly the same time Dylan left for England). While in Italy, Dylan created an early draft of "Boots of Spanish Leather".Salon.com
critic Bill Wyman called the song "an abstract classic and one of the purest, most confounding folk songs of the time."
According to Clinton Heylin's biography of Dylan, "When The Ship Comes In" was written in August 1963 "in a fit of pique, in a hotel room, after his unkempt appearance had led an impertinent hotel clerk to refuse him admission until his companion, Joan Baez
, had vouched for his good character." Heylin speculates that "Jenny's Song" from Brecht and Weill
's Threepenny Opera was also an inspiration: "As Pirate Jenny dreams of the destruction of all her enemies by a mysterious ship, so Dylan envisages the neophobes being swept aside in 'the hour when the ship comes in'." Dylan's former girlfriend Suze Rotolo recalls that her "interest in Brecht was certainly an influence on him. I was working for the Circle in the Square Theatre
and he came to listen all the time. He was very affected by the song that Lotte Lenya
's known for, 'Pirate Jenny'."
"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
" tells the story of a hotel barmaid who died after being struck by a wealthy white man. The song was inspired by Dylan's reading a newspaper account of the incident which took place in a hotel in Maryland, in February 1963.
The closing song of the album, "Restless Farewell
" takes its melody from the traditional Irish-Scots song, "The Parting Glass
". Dylan's lyrics have an edge due to the way that Newsweek
had treated Dylan. In a profile of the singer, published in October 1963, Dylan was portrayed as someone who had lied about his middle-class origins. Furthermore, it was implied that Dylan had plagiarised the lyrics of his best-known composition, "Blowin' In the Wind
". Stung by these untrue allegations, Dylan composed a song about the pain of having "the dust of rumor" flung in his eyes. He swiftly recorded the work a few days after the Newsweek profile appeared on October 31, 1963. The album ends with Dylan's vow "I'll make my stand/ And remain as I am/ And bid farewell and not give a damn".
"'Lay Down Your Weary Tune'... along with 'Eternal Circle'... marked a new phase in Dylan's songwriting", writes Heylin. "It is the all-important link between the clipped symbolism of 'A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall' and the more self-conscious efforts to come the following year. A celebration of song itself, 'Lay Down Your Weary Tune' was also an admission that there were certain songs 'no voice can hope to hum'."
Riley describes "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" as "a hymn to music's instrumental spectrum... it's about the heightened awareness of nature and reality available to performer and listener in the course of a highly charged musical experience". The song is also rich in natural imagery, often in surreal, musical terms ("The cryin' rain like a trumpet sang/And asked for no applause"). Steven Goldberg
writes that the song depicts nature "not as a manifestation of God but as containing God within its every aspect". The Byrds
released their own celebrated version of "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" in 1965 on their critically acclaimed second album, Turn! Turn! Turn!.
"Percy's Song
" is sung from the point of view of a man who visits a judge in a futile, last-ditch attempt to save his friend from a severe prison sentence. It is based on a tune taken from "The Wind and the Rain", a song introduced to Dylan by Paul Clayton. "'Percy's Song', along with ... 'Seven Curses' and 'Moonshine Blues', showed that Dylan's command of traditional themes, housed in traditional melodies, remained undiminished by the topicality of other efforts", writes Heylin. Fairport Convention
recorded their own celebrated rendition of "Percy's Song" on their critically acclaimed third album, Unhalfbricking
.
Written some time in late 1962 or early 1963, "Only a Hobo" was also recorded during these sessions but ultimately set aside. Described by Heylin as "a superior reworking of [Dylan's earlier composition] 'Man on the Street' that took as its source the 'Poor Miner's Lament'", the song is sung from the point of view of sympathetic narrator who stumbles upon a homeless man lying dead in a gutter. Rod Stewart
later released his own celebrated version of "Only a Hobo" on the critically acclaimed Gasoline Alley
in 1970. Dylan himself re-recorded "Only a Hobo" for Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II
, only to reject that version as well. He eventually released his own version in 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991
.
Dylan also recorded demo versions for publishing purposes of several songs on the album. The demos, recorded for his first two publishing companies, Leeds Music and M. Witmark & Sons
, were available for many years as bootlegs and were officially released by Columbia Records
in October 2010 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 – The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964.
Here is a partial listing of the known outtakes from the Times sessions. Unless otherwise noted, all tracks are in circulation.
. That night, he performed eight songs from his forthcoming third album, as well as several outtakes from the same album sessions (including "Percy's Song", "Seven Curses", and "Lay Down Your Weary Tune"). Columbia recorded the entire concert, but it was decades before a substantial portion of it was officially released (in fact to date the concert in its entirety has not been released). Nevertheless, the performance was well received by the press and audience alike, but its success was to be overshadowed by the events of November 22, 1963.
On that day, at 12:30, President John F. Kennedy
was assassinated in Dallas, Texas
. Dylan's friend, Bob Fass
, was sitting with Dylan in Carla Rotolo
's apartment the day of the shooting. According to Fass, Dylan was deeply affected by it and said: "What it means is that they are trying to tell you 'Don't even hope to change things'." Dylan later claimed that Kennedy's death did not directly inspire any of his songs, but in a manuscript written shortly after the assassination, he wrote: "it is useless to recall the day once more." In another, he repeatedly wrote: "there is no right or left there is only up and down."
Three weeks to the day after Kennedy's assassination, the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee gave Dylan their annual Tom Paine award for his contribution to the civil rights movement. Dylan gave a disastrous acceptance speech at the awards ceremony held at Hotel Americana in New York, at one point claiming he saw something of himself in Lee Harvey Oswald
, Kennedy's assassin. After the ceremony, a number of eyewitnesses reported that Dylan seemed very nervous and was drinking quite heavily before giving his speech.
into someone determined to write only songs that 'speak for me'... Dylan's ambitions as a writer for the page...may have been further fed at the end of December when he met renowned beat poet Allen Ginsberg
, author of Howl
and Kaddish
." Dylan was already familiar with Ginsberg's work. By now, beat poetry and French symbolists had become an enormous influence on Dylan's work, as Dylan "passed from immediate folk sources to a polychrome of literary styles". In an interview taken in 1985, Dylan said that he didn't start writing poetry until he was out of high school: "I was eighteen or so when I discovered Ginsberg, Gary Snyder
, Philip Whalen
, Frank O'Hara
and those guys. Then I went back and started reading the French guys, Rimbaud and François Villon
."
Many critics took note of the stark pessimism on The Times They Are a-Changin', which NPR
's Tim Riley later described as "'Masters of War
' stretched out into a concept album" due to its "social preening and black-and-white moralism". Critical respect for The Times They Are a-Changin weakened as the years passed, but the overall consensus continued to be positive.
Nevertheless, by the time it was released on January 13, 1964, Dylan was already entering a new phase in his career, pulling further away from his popular image as a protest singer.
The album was re-released in 2010 with new liner notes by Greil Marcus
.
The Times They Are a-Changin' (song)
"The Times They Are a-Changin" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released as the title track of his 1964 album, The Times They Are a-Changin. The song was ranked #59 on Rolling Stones 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time....
, one of Dylan's most famous songs. Dylan's friend, Tony Glover, recalls visiting Dylan's apartment in September 1963, where he saw a number of song manuscripts and poems lying on a table. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" had yet to be recorded, but Glover saw its early manuscript. After reading the words "come senators, congressmen, please heed the call", Glover reportedly asked Dylan: "What is this shit, man?", to which Dylan responded, "Well, you know, it seems to be what the people like to hear".
Dylan recalled writing the song as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change for the moment. In 1985, he told Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
: ""This was definitely a song with a purpose. It was influenced of course by the Irish and Scottish ballads ...'Come All Ye Bold Highway Men', 'Come All Ye Tender Hearted Maidens'. I wanted to write a big song, with short concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. The civil rights movement and the folk music movement were pretty close for a while and allied together at that time."
The climactic lines of the final verse: "“The order is rapidly fadin'/ And the first one now/ Will later be last/ For the times they are a-changin'” have a Biblical ring, and several critics have connected them with lines in the Gospel of Mark
Gospel of Mark
The Gospel According to Mark , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Mark or simply Mark, is the second book of the New Testament. This canonical account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth is one of the three synoptic gospels. It was thought to be an epitome, which accounts for its place as the second...
, 10:31, ""But many that are first shall be last, and the last first."
A self-conscious protest song, it is often viewed as a reflection of the generation gap and of the political divide marking American culture in the 1960s. Dylan, however, disputed this interpretation in 1964, saying "Those were the only words I could find to separate aliveness from deadness. It had nothing to do with age." A year later, Dylan would say: "I can't really say that adults don't understand young people any more than you can say big fishes don't understand little fishes. I didn't mean "The Times They Are a-Changin'" as a statement... It's a feeling."
In 1994, Dylan licensed the "The Times They Are a-Changin'" to be used in an advertisement for the auditing and accountancy firm Coopers & Lybrand, as performed by Richie Havens
Richie Havens
Richard P. "Richie" Havens is an African American folk singer and guitarist. He is best known for his intense, rhythmic guitar style , soulful covers of pop and folk songs, and his opening performance at the 1969 Woodstock Festival.-Career:Born in Brooklyn, Havens was the eldest of nine children...
. Two years later, in 1996, a version of the song by Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
was used in a TV advertisement for the Bank of Montreal
Bank of Montreal
The Bank of Montreal , , or BMO Financial Group, is the fourth largest bank in Canada by deposits. The Bank of Montreal was founded on June 23, 1817 by John Richardson and eight merchants in a rented house in Montreal, Quebec. On May 19, 1817 the Articles of Association were adopted, making it...
.
"Ballad of Hollis Brown
Ballad of Hollis Brown
"Ballad of Hollis Brown" is a blues song written by Bob Dylan, released in 1964 on his third album The Times They Are A-Changin. The song tells the story of a South Dakota farmer, who overwhelmed by the desperation of poverty, kills his wife, children and then himself.- Structure :Musically, this...
" was originally recorded for Dylan's previous album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in May 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his debut album Bob Dylan had contained only two original songs, Freewheelin initiated the process of writing contemporary words to traditional melodies....
. That version was rejected and the song was eventually re-recorded for The Times They Are a-Changin. Described by Clinton Heylin
Clinton Heylin
Clinton Heylin is an English author who has written extensively about popular music and the work of Bob Dylan.- Education :...
as a "'tragic tale of independence and free will' culled from the folk idiom", it is a grim, rural Gothic story of a father killing his starving family ("There's seven people dead on a South Dakota farm").
"With God on Our Side
With God on Our Side
"With God on Our Side" is a song by Bob Dylan, released as the third track on his 1964 album The Times They Are A-Changin. Dylan first performed the song during his debut at The Town Hall in New York City on April 12, 1963...
" was first performed at New York's Town Hall
The Town Hall
The Town Hall is a performance space, located at 123 West 43rd Street, between Sixth Avenue and Broadway, in New York City. It seats approximately 1,500 people.-History:...
on April 12, 1963 (which also happened to be Dylan's debut appearance at that venue). Although Dylan claims it is an original composition, the melody to "With God on Our Side" bears a striking resemblance to "The Patriot Game
The Patriot Game
"The Patriot Game" is an Irish ballad about an incident during the Border Campaign launched by the Irish Republican Army during the 1950s to bring about the reunification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland. It was written by Dominic Behan, younger brother of playwright Brendan...
", the lyrics of which were written by Dominic Behan
Dominic Behan
Dominic Behan was an Irish songwriter, short story writer, novelist and playwright who wrote in both Irish and English. He was also a committed socialist and Irish Republican...
and the melody borrowed from the traditional Irish folk song, "The Merry Month Of May". Behan called Dylan a plagiarist and a thief, in an attempt to goad Dylan into a lawsuit; Dylan made no response. "The Patriot Game" was originally introduced to Dylan by Scottish folksinger Nigel Denver. Scottish song writer Jim McLean recalls Dylan asking him in late 1962: "'What does it mean, 'Patriot Game'?'... I explained – probably lectured him – about Dr Johnson, who's one of Dominic's favourite writers, and that's where Dominic picked up [the] saying: 'Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.'" NPR's Tim Riley
Tim Riley
Tim Riley is a Northwest media personality in Portland, Oregon. He is currently an Anchor/Reporter with AM 860 and KKOV, Portland Oregon. He served as News Director/Anchor for Hot Talk 1080 KOTK, Max 910 during Imus In The Morning, and KUFO during The Rick Emerson Show from 2001 until 2009...
writes: "'With God on Our Side' manages to voice political savvy mixed with generational naivete" as it "draws the line for those born long enough after World War I to find its issues blurry ('the reasons for fightin'/I never did get') and who view the forgiveness of the World War II Germans as a farce."
Dylan follows "With God on Our Side" with a soft, understated ballad: "One Too Many Mornings". "It's the sound of someone too smitten by love to harbor regrets, grown too independent to consider a reunion," writes Riley. One of the more celebrated songs on The Times They Are a-Changin', Dylan would dramatically rearrange it on his legendary 1966 concert tour for a full electric band.
"North Country Blues
North Country Blues
"North Country Blues" is a song by Bob Dylan, released on his third studio album The Times They Are a-Changin in 1964. He also performed it at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival....
" tells the story of a mining company's decision to outsource its operations to countries where labor costs are cheaper than in the U.S.A. ("It's much cheaper down in the South American towns/Where the miners work almost for nothing".) The song marks the first time Dylan wrote a narrative from the point-of-view of a woman: the ex-wife of a miner whose work has disappeared. This song has been described by many critics as Dylan's portrait of his home town, Hibbing, Minnesota
Hibbing, Minnesota
Hibbing is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 16,361 at the 2010 census. The city was built on the rich iron ore of the Mesabi Iron Range. At the edge of town is the largest open-pit iron mine in the world. U.S...
.
Dylan first performed "Only a Pawn in Their Game" at a voter registration rally in Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood, Mississippi
Greenwood is a city in and the county seat of Leflore County, Mississippi, United States, located at the eastern edge of the Mississippi Delta approximately 96 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, and 130 miles south of Memphis, Tennessee. The population was 15,205 at the 2010 census. It is the...
. The song refers to the murder of Medgar Evers
Medgar Evers
Medgar Wiley Evers was an African American civil rights activist from Mississippi involved in efforts to overturn segregation at the University of Mississippi...
, who was the Mississippi leader of the NAACP. Civil rights activist Bernice Johnson would later tell critic Robert Shelton that "'Pawn' was the very first song that showed the poor white was as victimized by discrimination as the poor black. The Greenwood people didn't know that Pete [Seeger], Theo[dore Bikel] and Bobby [Dylan] were well known. (Seeger and Bikel
Theodore Bikel
Theodore Meir Bikel is a character actor, folk singer and musician. He made his film debut in The African Queen and was nominated for an Academy award for his supporting role as Sheriff Max Muller in The Defiant Ones ....
were also present at the registration rally.) They were just happy to be getting support. But they really like Dylan down there in the cotton country."
The melody for "Boots of Spanish Leather" was inspired by Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy
Martin Carthy MBE is an English folk singer and guitarist who has remained one of the most influential figures in British traditional music, inspiring contemporaries such as Bob Dylan and Paul Simon and later artists such as Richard Thompson since he emerged as a young musician in the early days...
's arrangement of the English folk song "Scarborough Fair
Scarborough Fair
"Scarborough Fair" is a traditional ballad of the United Kingdom.The song tells the tale of a young man, who tells the listener to ask his former lover to perform for him a series of impossible tasks, such as making him a shirt without a seam and then washing it in a dry well, adding that if she...
" (also the melody of an earlier Dylan composition, "Girl from the North Country"). Dylan learned Carthy's arrangement during his first trip to England in late 1962. After finishing his obligations in England (including a brief appearance in a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama, Madhouse on Castle Street), Dylan traveled to Italy looking for his girlfriend, Suze Rotolo
Suze Rotolo
Susan Elizabeth Rotolo , known as Suze Rotolo , was an American artist, but is perhaps best known as Bob Dylan's girlfriend between 1961 and 1964 and a strong influence on his music...
, apparently unaware that she had already returned to America (reportedly the same time Dylan left for England). While in Italy, Dylan created an early draft of "Boots of Spanish Leather".Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
critic Bill Wyman called the song "an abstract classic and one of the purest, most confounding folk songs of the time."
According to Clinton Heylin's biography of Dylan, "When The Ship Comes In" was written in August 1963 "in a fit of pique, in a hotel room, after his unkempt appearance had led an impertinent hotel clerk to refuse him admission until his companion, Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
, had vouched for his good character." Heylin speculates that "Jenny's Song" from Brecht and Weill
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill was a German-Jewish composer, active from the 1920s, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fruitful collaborations with Bertolt Brecht...
's Threepenny Opera was also an inspiration: "As Pirate Jenny dreams of the destruction of all her enemies by a mysterious ship, so Dylan envisages the neophobes being swept aside in 'the hour when the ship comes in'." Dylan's former girlfriend Suze Rotolo recalls that her "interest in Brecht was certainly an influence on him. I was working for the Circle in the Square Theatre
Circle in the Square Theatre
The Circle in the Square Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre in midtown Manhattan on 50th Street in the Paramount Plaza building.The original Circle in the Square was founded by Paul Libin, Theodore Mann and Jose Quintero in 1951 and was located at 5 Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village...
and he came to listen all the time. He was very affected by the song that Lotte Lenya
Lotte Lenya
Lotte Lenya was an Austrian singer, diseuse, and actress. In the German-speaking and classical music world she is best remembered for her performances of the songs of her husband, Kurt Weill. In English-language film she is remembered for her Academy Award-nominated role in The Roman Spring of Mrs...
's known for, 'Pirate Jenny'."
"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" is a topical song written by the American musician Bob Dylan. Recorded on October 23, 1963, the song was released on Dylan's 1964 album The Times They Are a-Changin and gives a generally factual account of the killing of 51-year-old barmaid Hattie Carroll by...
" tells the story of a hotel barmaid who died after being struck by a wealthy white man. The song was inspired by Dylan's reading a newspaper account of the incident which took place in a hotel in Maryland, in February 1963.
The closing song of the album, "Restless Farewell
Restless Farewell
"Restless Farewell" is a song by Bob Dylan, released on his 3rd studio album The Times They Are a-Changin in 1964. It is based on the Irish folk song The Parting Glass. In 1995 Dylan performed the song live as part of the Sinatra: 80 Years My Way television special celebrating entertainer Frank...
" takes its melody from the traditional Irish-Scots song, "The Parting Glass
The Parting Glass
"The Parting Glass" is an Irish traditional song, often sung at the end of a gathering of friends. It was allegedly the most popular song sung in both Scotland and Ireland before Robert Burns wrote "Auld Lang Syne"....
". Dylan's lyrics have an edge due to the way that Newsweek
Newsweek
Newsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
had treated Dylan. In a profile of the singer, published in October 1963, Dylan was portrayed as someone who had lied about his middle-class origins. Furthermore, it was implied that Dylan had plagiarised the lyrics of his best-known composition, "Blowin' In the Wind
Blowin' in the Wind
"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963. Although it has been described as a protest song, it poses a series of questions about peace, war and freedom...
". Stung by these untrue allegations, Dylan composed a song about the pain of having "the dust of rumor" flung in his eyes. He swiftly recorded the work a few days after the Newsweek profile appeared on October 31, 1963. The album ends with Dylan's vow "I'll make my stand/ And remain as I am/ And bid farewell and not give a damn".
Outtakes
The sessions for The Times They Are a-Changin' produced a large surplus of songs, many of which were eventually issued on later compilations. According to Clinton Heylin, "perhaps the two best songs, "Percy's Song" and "Lay Down Your Weary Tune", would not make the final album, failing to fit within the narrow bounds Dylan had decided to impose on himself.""'Lay Down Your Weary Tune'... along with 'Eternal Circle'... marked a new phase in Dylan's songwriting", writes Heylin. "It is the all-important link between the clipped symbolism of 'A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall' and the more self-conscious efforts to come the following year. A celebration of song itself, 'Lay Down Your Weary Tune' was also an admission that there were certain songs 'no voice can hope to hum'."
Riley describes "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" as "a hymn to music's instrumental spectrum... it's about the heightened awareness of nature and reality available to performer and listener in the course of a highly charged musical experience". The song is also rich in natural imagery, often in surreal, musical terms ("The cryin' rain like a trumpet sang/And asked for no applause"). Steven Goldberg
Steven Goldberg
Steven Goldberg is a native of New York City and was president of the sociology department at City College of New York from 1988 until his retirement...
writes that the song depicts nature "not as a manifestation of God but as containing God within its every aspect". The Byrds
The Byrds
The Byrds were an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1964. The band underwent multiple line-up changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn remaining the sole consistent member until the group disbanded in 1973...
released their own celebrated version of "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" in 1965 on their critically acclaimed second album, Turn! Turn! Turn!.
"Percy's Song
Percy's Song
"Percy's Song" is a song written by Bob Dylan. It was an outtake from the 1963 sessions for Dylan's third album, The Times They Are A-Changin. It was not officially released until 1985, on the compilation Biograph...
" is sung from the point of view of a man who visits a judge in a futile, last-ditch attempt to save his friend from a severe prison sentence. It is based on a tune taken from "The Wind and the Rain", a song introduced to Dylan by Paul Clayton. "'Percy's Song', along with ... 'Seven Curses' and 'Moonshine Blues', showed that Dylan's command of traditional themes, housed in traditional melodies, remained undiminished by the topicality of other efforts", writes Heylin. Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention
Fairport Convention are an English folk rock and later electric folk band, formed in 1967 who are still recording and touring today. They are widely regarded as the most important single group in the English folk rock movement...
recorded their own celebrated rendition of "Percy's Song" on their critically acclaimed third album, Unhalfbricking
Unhalfbricking
The band's male vocalist Iain Matthews left during the recordings for Unhalfbricking to make his own album Matthews' Southern Comfort, after recording just one track, "Percy's Song". Sandy Denny sang lead vocals on all the other songs, including her own compositions, "Autopsy", and "Who Knows Where...
.
Written some time in late 1962 or early 1963, "Only a Hobo" was also recorded during these sessions but ultimately set aside. Described by Heylin as "a superior reworking of [Dylan's earlier composition] 'Man on the Street' that took as its source the 'Poor Miner's Lament'", the song is sung from the point of view of sympathetic narrator who stumbles upon a homeless man lying dead in a gutter. Rod Stewart
Rod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
later released his own celebrated version of "Only a Hobo" on the critically acclaimed Gasoline Alley
Gasoline Alley
Gasoline Alley is a comic strip created by Frank King and currently distributed by Tribune Media Services. First published November 24, 1918, it is the second longest running comic strip in the US and has received critical accolades for its influential innovations...
in 1970. Dylan himself re-recorded "Only a Hobo" for Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II
Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II
Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II , also known as More Bob Dylan Greatest Hits, was the second compilation album released by Bob Dylan. With Dylan not expected to release any new material for an extended period of time, CBS Records president Clive Davis proposed issuing a double LP compilation of...
, only to reject that version as well. He eventually released his own version in 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991
The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991
The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 is a compilation box set by Bob Dylan, issued on Columbia Records, catalogue C3K 86572. It is the first installment in the Dylan bootleg series, comprising material spanning the first three decades of his career, from 1961 to 1989...
.
Dylan also recorded demo versions for publishing purposes of several songs on the album. The demos, recorded for his first two publishing companies, Leeds Music and M. Witmark & Sons
M. Witmark & Sons
M. Witmark & Sons was a leading publisher of sheet music for the United States "Tin Pan Alley" music industry.The firm of Marcus Witmark & Sons was established in New York City in 1886...
, were available for many years as bootlegs and were officially released by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in October 2010 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 – The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964.
- Boots of Spanish Leather (unreleased)
- Eternal Circle (unreleased)
- FarewellFarewell (Bob Dylan song)Farewell, also known as Fare Thee Well, is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Dylan wrote the song in January 1963. He considered it for his third album, The Times They Are a-Changin, but only attempted a few takes during the album's first studio session...
(unreleased) - Paths of Victory (unreleased)
- Percy's Song (unreleased)
- Seven Curses (unreleased)
- Only a Hobo (unreleased)
- The Times They Are A-Changin (released on The Bootleg Series 1-3)
- When the Ship Comes in (released on The Bootleg Series 1-3)
Here is a partial listing of the known outtakes from the Times sessions. Unless otherwise noted, all tracks are in circulation.
- Bob Dylan's New Orleans Rag - Take 1 (incomplete) (unreleased)
- Bob Dylan's New Orleans Rag - Take 2 (unreleased)
- East Laredo Blues (unreleased; instrumental)
- Eternal Circle (released on The Bootleg Series 1-3)
- Farewell (unreleased)
- Hero Blues (circulating, alternate take can be found on The Genuine Bootleg Series).
- Key to the Highway (unreleased, not circulating)
- Lay Down Your Weary Tune (released on Biograph)
- MoonshinerThe MoonshinerThe Moonshiner is a folk song with disputed origins. It is believed that the song originated in America, then later was made famous in Ireland. Others believe that it was the other way around. The Clancy Brothers stated on their recording that the song is of Irish origin, but again, this is...
(released on The Bootleg Series 1-3) - Only a Hobo (released on The Bootleg Series 1-3)
- Paths of Victory (released on The Bootleg Series 1-3)
- Percy's Song (released on Biograph)
- Seven Curses (released on The Bootleg Series 1-3)
- Suze (The Cough Song) (released on The Bootleg Series 1-3)
- That's All Right (Mama)/Sally Free And Easy (unreleased)
- The Times They Are A-Changin' (Alternate version) released on bonus disc to Love and Theft.
- Walls of Red WingWalls of Red WingWalls of Red Wing is a folk and protest song, written by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Originally recorded for Dylan's second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, it was never used, and eventually attempted for his next work, The Times They Are a-Changin, but, again, this version was never...
(several versions recorded during the Times sessions, none circulating. A previous version recorded for Freewheelin was released on Bootleg Series 1-3.)
Aftermath
On October 26, 1963, three days after recording the final song for The Times They Are a-Changin' , Dylan held a concert at New York's Carnegie HallCarnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
. That night, he performed eight songs from his forthcoming third album, as well as several outtakes from the same album sessions (including "Percy's Song", "Seven Curses", and "Lay Down Your Weary Tune"). Columbia recorded the entire concert, but it was decades before a substantial portion of it was officially released (in fact to date the concert in its entirety has not been released). Nevertheless, the performance was well received by the press and audience alike, but its success was to be overshadowed by the events of November 22, 1963.
On that day, at 12:30, President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
was assassinated in Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. Dylan's friend, Bob Fass
Bob Fass
Bob Fass is an American radio personality and pioneer of free-form radio, who has broadcast in the New York region for 40 years....
, was sitting with Dylan in Carla Rotolo
Carla Rotolo
Carla Rotolo is the older sister of Suze Rotolo, one of Bob Dylan's early girlfriends in New York City.Carla was the first child of Joachim Rotolo and Mary Pezzati Rotolo who were union activists...
's apartment the day of the shooting. According to Fass, Dylan was deeply affected by it and said: "What it means is that they are trying to tell you 'Don't even hope to change things'." Dylan later claimed that Kennedy's death did not directly inspire any of his songs, but in a manuscript written shortly after the assassination, he wrote: "it is useless to recall the day once more." In another, he repeatedly wrote: "there is no right or left there is only up and down."
Three weeks to the day after Kennedy's assassination, the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee gave Dylan their annual Tom Paine award for his contribution to the civil rights movement. Dylan gave a disastrous acceptance speech at the awards ceremony held at Hotel Americana in New York, at one point claiming he saw something of himself in Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
, Kennedy's assassin. After the ceremony, a number of eyewitnesses reported that Dylan seemed very nervous and was drinking quite heavily before giving his speech.
Legacy
As Clinton Heylin wrote: "in less than six months [Dylan] had turned full circle from the protest singer who baited Paul NelsonPaul Nelson
Paul Nelson may refer to:*Paul Nelson , rock critic who worked for Rolling Stone*Paul R. Nelson, 2006 Republican nominee for Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district*Paul Nelson...
into someone determined to write only songs that 'speak for me'... Dylan's ambitions as a writer for the page...may have been further fed at the end of December when he met renowned beat poet Allen Ginsberg
Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and one of the leading figures of the Beat Generation in the 1950s. He vigorously opposed militarism, materialism and sexual repression...
, author of Howl
Howl
"Howl" is a poem written by Allen Ginsberg in 1955 and published as part of his 1956 collection of poetry titled Howl and Other Poems. The poem is considered to be one of the great works of the Beat Generation, along with Jack Kerouac's On the Road and William S. Burroughs's Naked Lunch...
and Kaddish
Kaddish (poem)
Kaddish also known as Kaddish for Naomi Ginsberg is a poem by Beat writer Allen Ginsberg about his mother Naomi and her death on June 9, 1956.-Background:...
." Dylan was already familiar with Ginsberg's work. By now, beat poetry and French symbolists had become an enormous influence on Dylan's work, as Dylan "passed from immediate folk sources to a polychrome of literary styles". In an interview taken in 1985, Dylan said that he didn't start writing poetry until he was out of high school: "I was eighteen or so when I discovered Ginsberg, Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder
Gary Snyder is an American poet , as well as an essayist, lecturer, and environmental activist . Snyder is a winner of a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry...
, Philip Whalen
Philip Whalen
Philip Glenn Whalen was an American poet, Zen Buddhist, and a key figure in the San Francisco Renaissance and close to the Beat generation.-Biography:...
, Frank O'Hara
Frank O'Hara
Francis Russell "Frank" O'Hara was an American writer, poet and art critic. He was a member of the New York School of poetry.-Life:...
and those guys. Then I went back and started reading the French guys, Rimbaud and François Villon
François Villon
François Villon was a French poet, thief, and vagabond. He is perhaps best known for his Testaments and his Ballade des Pendus, written while in prison...
."
Many critics took note of the stark pessimism on The Times They Are a-Changin', which NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's Tim Riley later described as "'Masters of War
Masters of War
"Masters of War" is a song by Bob Dylan, written over the winter of 1962-63 and released on the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in the spring of 1963. The song's melody was adapted from the traditional "Nottamun Town"...
' stretched out into a concept album" due to its "social preening and black-and-white moralism". Critical respect for The Times They Are a-Changin weakened as the years passed, but the overall consensus continued to be positive.
Nevertheless, by the time it was released on January 13, 1964, Dylan was already entering a new phase in his career, pulling further away from his popular image as a protest singer.
The album was re-released in 2010 with new liner notes by Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
.
Side one
- "The Times They Are a-Changin'The Times They Are a-Changin' (song)"The Times They Are a-Changin" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released as the title track of his 1964 album, The Times They Are a-Changin. The song was ranked #59 on Rolling Stones 2004 list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time....
" – 3:15 - "Ballad of Hollis BrownBallad of Hollis Brown"Ballad of Hollis Brown" is a blues song written by Bob Dylan, released in 1964 on his third album The Times They Are A-Changin. The song tells the story of a South Dakota farmer, who overwhelmed by the desperation of poverty, kills his wife, children and then himself.- Structure :Musically, this...
" – 5:06 - "With God on Our SideWith God on Our Side"With God on Our Side" is a song by Bob Dylan, released as the third track on his 1964 album The Times They Are A-Changin. Dylan first performed the song during his debut at The Town Hall in New York City on April 12, 1963...
" – 7:08 - "One Too Many MorningsOne Too Many Mornings"One Too Many Mornings" is a song by Bob Dylan, released on his third studio album The Times They Are a-Changin in 1964. The chords and vocal melody are in some places very similar to the song "The Times They Are A-Changin'". "One Too Many Mornings" is in the key of C Major and is fingerpicked...
" – 2:41 - "North Country BluesNorth Country Blues"North Country Blues" is a song by Bob Dylan, released on his third studio album The Times They Are a-Changin in 1964. He also performed it at the 1963 Newport Folk Festival....
" – 4:35
Side two
- "Only a Pawn in Their GameOnly a Pawn in Their Game"Only a Pawn in their Game" is a song written by Bob Dylan about the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers. It was released on Dylan's The Times They Are a-Changin album of 1964...
" – 3:33 - "Boots of Spanish LeatherBoots of Spanish Leather"Boots of Spanish Leather" is a song performed by Bob Dylan, released in 1964 on his album The Times They Are A-Changin.Dylan's recording features the artist solo on the acoustic guitar, playing the song fingerpicking....
" – 4:40 - "When the Ship Comes InWhen the Ship Comes In"When the Ship Comes In" is a folk music song by Bob Dylan, released on his third album, The Times They Are a-Changin, in 1964.Joan Baez states in the documentary film No Direction Home that the song was, more or less, inspired by a hotel clerk who refused to allow Dylan a room due to his...
" – 3:18 - "The Lonesome Death of Hattie CarrollThe Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" is a topical song written by the American musician Bob Dylan. Recorded on October 23, 1963, the song was released on Dylan's 1964 album The Times They Are a-Changin and gives a generally factual account of the killing of 51-year-old barmaid Hattie Carroll by...
" – 5:48 - "Restless FarewellRestless Farewell"Restless Farewell" is a song by Bob Dylan, released on his 3rd studio album The Times They Are a-Changin in 1964. It is based on the Irish folk song The Parting Glass. In 1995 Dylan performed the song live as part of the Sinatra: 80 Years My Way television special celebrating entertainer Frank...
" – 5:32
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | Billboard 200 | 20 |
| 1965 | UK Top 75 | 4 |
Personnel
- Bob DylanBob DylanBob 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...
– vocals, acoustic guitarSteel-string acoustic guitarA steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar descended from the classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...