On June 19, 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were executed in the electric chair for conspiracy to commit espionage, for allegedly passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union. Many argued that the two were innocent and not given a fair trial in the face of anti-Soviet paranoia at the time.
The Bob Dylan song “Julius & Ethel” is an outtake that was recorded during Dylan’s Infidels (1983) sessions with Dire Straits’s Mark Knopfler. The song recounts the story of the Rosenbergs, capturing the persecution atmosphere of the times. For example, the line “Senator Joe was king” refers to Sen. Joe McCarthy, who led a witch hunt for communists.
Dylan, not surprisingly, takes the position that a societal injustice occurred, putting the case in the context of its time period: “Someone says the fifties was the age of great romance / I say that’s just a lie, it was when fear had you in a trance.” Thus, he concludes that the Rosenbergs were not given a fair trial.
Now that they are gone, you know, the truth it can be told; They were sacrificial lambs in the market place sold — Julius and Ethel, Julius and Ethel
Today, most conclude that Julius had some involvement in the passing of information to the Soviets, although many also debate whether the information was significant. Still, a large number of people continue to maintain that Ethel was innocent. Either way, the prejudices of the times affected the fairness of the trial. And the arguments about the use of the death penalty against innocent defendants continues in the U.S. to this day.
As for Dylan’s song, around the Internet many fans of the song argue that Dylan should have included it on the album. What do you think?
On May 8, 1541, explorer and conquistador Hernando de Soto became one of the first Europeans to reach the Mississippi River. A little more than a year later on May 21, 1542, still on a search for silver and gold in what would become the southern U.S., de Soto died from a fever on the banks of the Mississippi River. His men, not wanting the Native Americans to discover that de Soto was not divine, buried his body in the river.
Blinded by his search for precious metals, the Spaniard could not have foreseen the real value of the water with a name that came from an Ojibwe word for “Great River.” And de Soto could not have predicted that a state would take its name from the river. And he would not know that it all eventually would lead one of the land’s greatest songwriters, born in a state that hosts the headwaters of the mighty river, to use “Mississippi” as the title of one of his late career classics.
Bob Dylan’s “Mississippi”
We continue our series on Bob Dylan’s Late Career Classics with a listen to “Mississippi,” from Love and Theft (2001). Dylan continues to write outstanding songs, but in this series we consider songs that are classics in the sense they are not only identified with Dylan but appear in excellent cover versions, much like many songs from his early catalog.
I am not the only fan of Dylan’s “Mississippi.” Rolling Stone has proclaimed that “Mississippi” is the seventeenth best song of the 2000s, comparing it favorably with Dylan’s “Tangled Up in Blue.” Further, the magazine ranks it 260th out of the greatest songs of all time.
Dylan must have sensed something special in the song because he made several versions of the song while trying to get it right. He initially recorded it for Time Out of Mind (1997). But he eventually left it off that album because he did not like Daniel Lanois’ arrangement.
So “Mississippi” first appeared on an official release several years later on Love and Theft. Here is Bob Dylan performing the song live in 2002.
Sheryl Crow’s Cover
Because of the delay in Dylan releasing his own version, someone else released a cover version of “Mississippi” before Dylan released the song. Dylan first gave it to Sheryl Crow, who recorded it for her 1998 album The Globe Sessions.
Sheryl Crow in interviews explained how Dylan contacted her to ask if she wanted to record the song. Below is her version.
Dylan’s Slow Acoustic “Mississippi”
Dylan has released alternate versions of “Mississippi.” For my money, the best version is Dylan’s slower acoustic performance of “Mississippi.” This version leads off Dylan’s 2008 album of late-career lost songs and alternate takes, Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8, which as a 2-CD set included two versions of the song and as a 3-CD expensive deluxe version included three “Mississippi’s.”
There are a few good covers of this slower version, including one from “Blues From a Hammock.” And in this cover, Scottish singer-songwriter Rob Naokes does nice job covering the wonderful acoustic version.
Other artists have performed the song too. The Dixie Chicks, like Crow, make a rocking version of the song:
What is “Mississippi” Really About?
Many have speculated about the meaning of Dylan’s “Mississippi.” One writer claimed the song is influenced by the poetry of Henry Rollins. Rolling Stone claims it is “both a romantic promise and a hint of doom.”
The lyrics reveal past regrets (“So many things that we never will undo / I know you’re sorry, I’m sorry too”). But at the same time, there are moments of humor and hope (“I know that fortune is waiting to be kind / So give me your hand and say you’ll be mine”).
The singer recalls there is only one thing he did wrong, he “stayed in Mississippi a day too long.” Yet, what happened in Mississippi remains a mystery to the listener.
Dylan knows that sometimes it is best to let the listener fill in the blanks. “Mississippi’s” magic is in one’s imagination, more powerful than the imaginary gold and silver that led de Soto to his grave in the great river. What do you think “Mississippi” is about? Leave your two cents in the comments.
The arrest and conviction of former boxer Ruben “Hurricane” Carter inspired one of Bob Dylan’s great protest songs and an award-winning performance by Denzel Washington.
Ruben “Hurricane” Carter, who had been suffering from prostate cancer, passed away on April 20, 2014 at the age of 76. Carter, who was born on May 6, 1937 in New Jersey, was a former boxer who was accused of murder in 1966.
Carter spent 19 years in prison in New Jersey before a court reversed his conviction in 1985 and set him free. His story inspired a great Bob Dylan song and a movie starring Denzel Washington. While both the song and the movie took some liberties with Carter’s story, they both captured truths about the criminal justice system.
Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane”
Carter’s case became a rallying cry for the Civil Rights Movement. Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy wrote a song about the wrongful conviction. And then Dylan released “Hurricane” as a single in November 1975.
Dylan played what many fans consider his last great protest song during almost every performance of the 1975 Rolling Thunder tour. “Hurricane” went on to become a top 40 hit, despite its length and level of detail in telling a story.
Denzel Washington’s Hurricane
Ruben Carter’s life appeared in a major film too. In 1999, Denzel Washington portrayed Carter in the movie Hurricane, which was directed by Norman Jewison.
Washington gave a wonderful performance as Carter, winning a Golden Globe and earning a nomination for the Best Actor Academy Award. In this scene near the end of the film, Denzel Washington as Carter makes a final plea to the court.
The Real Story
The movie and the song took some dramatic license with the facts of Carter’s life. For example, many noted that Dylan’s song overstated Carter’s ranking in the boxing world (“He could-a been/ The champion of the world”).
Ultimately, the federal judge who reversed Carter’s conviction noted the unjust role of race in the case. And, like all folk songs, the message of Dylan’s song became important on its own. Although the singer tells a story about one man, the song told the truth about wider problems in the criminal justice system.
Chrysler has corralled some big names for its commercials advocating for beleaguered Detroit, Michigan. After Eminem and Clint Eastwood in past ads, this year’s Chrysler Super Bowl commercial featured the somewhat elusive Bob Dylan, who asks, “Is there anything more American than America?” Check it out.
If you are wondering about the music playing in the background of the commercial, it is Dylan’s “Things Have Changed,” even though an underlying theme of the commercial might be that things have not changed. The song first appeared in the movie Wonder Boys (2000), which starred Michael Douglas.
Dylan is not new to commercials, and the Chrysler television ad was not even Dylan’s only appearance on a Super Bowl commercial this year. His song “I Want You” played in the background of a Chobani yogurt commercial.
What did you think of this year’s Super Bowl commercials? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Bob Dylan recently performed in London at the famous Royal Albert Hall for three nights on November 26-28, 2013. Below is a stream of his concert on the last night, beginning with “Things Have Changed” and running through such classics as “She Belongs to Me” and “Tangled Up in Blue” before closing with “Blowin’ in the Wind.” Check it out.
What is your favorite Bob Dylan concert? Leave your two cents in the comments.
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