This is Dylan mimicking his idol Woody Guthrie's talking blues style, there are several examples of this in his early years. Dylan has quite a lot of fun with them and they are among his most humorous songs. Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues is a great example.
Dylan was actually able to sing beautifully. I think he used unusual voices to keep people talking. You know the old Hollywood adage "all publicity is good publicity" or "keep them talking" ?? *Chimes of Freedom* is my favorite track from this album - very beautifully written.
In Dylan's early years he took on the persona of a grizzled old hillbilly folk singer and tried to make his voice match. If you listen to Alan Lomax's recordings of folk music (which Dylan listened to) you'll see what he's mimicking. Dylan has a decent voice with good breath control, but I wouldn't call him a good singer. He is, however, a great vocalist, whose phrasing and tone and ability to project various emotions through his singing is truly excellent and why he can keep listeners' attention for long songs with no choruses. Must have learned these tricks by going up constantly in front of live audiences at small venues in the early years.
There are a lot of tracks on this album that you need to listen to. My Back Pages and Chimes of freedom come to mind. The funny thing about this particular track is that it runs through my mind more than just about any other song that I know. When we were locked down and the hairdressers were shut, my hair grew down to my shoulders and the verse (10 I think) which goes "I'm gonna grow my hair down to my feet so strange" etc was constantly running through my head. Always loved Dylan from the time I discovered him around 1963. Good video, thoroughly enjoyed it. Please keep going with the Bob Dylan stuff.
Syed, I hope you consider reacting to "A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall". It's early Dylan, 1963 and still stands with his very best work. I've been hoping you'd share your insight on it eventually. I've always thought of it as a kindred spirit to the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" and Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks". That Dylan was able to write a song of this magnitude so early in his career is incredible. Every line could be the best line in most songs.
Motorpsycho Nightmare! Fantastic mashup of Psycho--the movie--with a farmer's daughter joke! No spare $ to offer for the reaction, but please somebody hit Syed up. Treat yourself to this classic Syed.
I love it when Bob Dylan does talking blues like this. Another Side of Bob Dylan is where he makes a point of moving on from being a protest singer. Before he goes electric, but making clear he isn't going to be typecast as the voice of a generation or anything else. My Back Pages on this album is a manifesto of where he is and why he's moving on. An absolute must listen of a song. It Ain't Me Babe does the same in a more oblique way and is another song that must be heard from this album.
This is part of Dylan's random "stream of consciousness" period. He has a bunch of songs that are basically word salad. They're great rambling masterpieces.
Thanks for another great Dylan reaction! As others have said, Barry Goldwater was the Republican candidate for President of the U.S. in '64. He made waves at the Republican national Convention when he said that extremism in defense of liberty is no vice and moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue. He lost the race to LBJ, in no small part because Goldwater, as a Senator in the U.S. govt, had voted against the Civil Rights act of '63. That was a very unpopular move from him at the time, especially among other Republicans. Of course, him voting against the Civil Rights Act made a lot of people (incorrectly) think that he was a racist and didn't like black people, and it ultimately tanked his political career. He later said that he regretted doing so, even though he had some very valid reasons for it.
Funny thing is the phrasing: "I am liberal....but wouldn't let him marry my daughter". Which is a common phrasing many opponents of the Civil Rights Act would argue ("I am not racist, I want everyone to be free, but I don't want Black folks moving in next door and marrying my daughter"). Dylan turns it around.
One of the funniest Dylan records imo. Check out Motorpsycho Nightmare. The melody ended up being more or less reused for Bob Dylan's 115th Dream on Bringing It All Back Home, another one of the funniest Dylan tracks
Barry Goldwater was an arch conservative senator from Arizona who ran unsuccessfully for president in 1964. He scared the hell out of folks by, seemingly, condoning nuclear war.
Barry Goldwater was a a conservative Republican nominee who ran against the liberal Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson, in 1964. Love this Dylan, it's sly humor is delightful.
My favorite song on this album is… wait for it… To Ramona. A beautiful and touching song prefacing a more mature songwriter to come. The other great song on this album is Ballad in Plain D. These songs IMO are hugely underappreciated and far more mature and interesting than anything else on the album, including Chimes of Freedom (which is more like an overwrought prototype that he revisited more successfully in later songs like Ring Them Bells) or My Back Pages.
I highly recommend "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" for some funny storytelling about him and Captain Arab discovering America when they come here on the Mayflower, then getting busted, escaping from jail, and adventuring.
Dylan recorded this album in one all night session and a couple bottles of wine. All I Really Want To Do and My Back Pages were hits for the Byrds. It Ain't Me Babe was a hit for The Turtles. Chimes of Freedom was recorded by a host of artists. Great songs all including I Don't Believe You, Spanish Harlem Incident and Black Crow Blues. For some reason Dylan came to admire Barry Goldwater in his later years.
I always loved this song. My dad got me into it. Dylan has recent material that's quite good. But I think the 60's were his best decade. Because I'm far left and I sing protest songs
Glad to see you react to this song. You have a keen ability to analyze Dylan's work and seem to be able to put it into proper perspective. Another tune performed in nearly an identical style as this one is Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues, which is a superb example of Dylan's humor. It was recorded in 1962 and is available on The Bootleg Series, Vol 1 - 3. Two others that'll serve you a good laugh is Talkin' World War III Blues (Freewheelin', 1963) and Bob Dylan's 115th Dream (Bringing It All Back Home, 1965). Always look forward to whatever Dylan tunes you have in the queue.
Hey there! Thanks for reminding me of this one. -- I remember when this album was released, the album title looked pretty scary. Back in his early days, Dylan would not have had any control over that. It would have been some marketing exec. -- In the early 60's, any rock star who released an album title "The Other Side Of ... " meant a disc full of Moon in June type ballads instead of rock. What a huge relief it was to hear Bob in full force control of the actual tracks! - Great stuff! - Keep up the good work.
There are a lot of great ones on that album. My Back Pages actually might be of the most interest to you just because of the lyrical complexity and self-reflexivity regarding his career
Yeah. My Back Pages best explains his move away from his judgemental "protest" songs - illustrated by the line "fearing not I'd become my enemy in the instant that I preach".
Thanks. Check out Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues. This is the song that Dylan wanted to play on the Ed Sullivan show on TV, but the censors and management at CBS would not allow it, and he left and never appeared on the show that launched the Beatles in the USA. ☮
The Freewheelin’ line about “make love to Elizabeth Taylor/catch hell from Richard Burton”;was the first Dylan line I heard. Within a week I owned six Dylan albums. Now maybe 50. And to top it off, in the 80s Dylan may have realized his dream about Elizabeth Taylor.
Probably My Back Pages or Chimes of Freedom from this album would be more rewarding for you. BTW, i'm glad you're doing this Dylan dive. Though Dylan did not have lavished upon himself the Pop worship so many others enjoyed, he was right there through the thick and the thin of all those decades. Maybe a mooring point for many of us. Peace -
Ain't Bobby so cool! There is not a bad album, but his earliest albums are a total blast. "I don't know, but I've been told" one of his greatest commentary lines on human stances on an issue.
If your looking for great examples of funny Dylan, check out Motorpsycho Nightmare or Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues. Loving your Dylan journey.
The opening lyrics may be saying: don't count on me for any life changing enlightenment that you couldn't find on your own! Whatever Dylan had in mind, we are thinking about it in a creative way.
Barry Goldwater, senator from Arizona, ran against LBJ for the presidency in 1964. He was, for the time, very right wing. He advocated for the use of nuclear weapons in Vietnam, among other things.
I believe this style was referred to as ‘talking blues’ and he’s not the only one that used this style but of course Dylan is always unmistakably Dylan regardless.
*Reporter:* How many people who labor in the same musical vineyard in which you toil - how many are protest singers? That is, people who use their music, and use the songs to protest the, uh, social state in which we live today: the matter of war, the matter of crime, or whatever it might be. *Bob Dylan:* Um…how many? *Reporter:* Yes. How many? *Bob Dylan:* Uh, I think there's about, uh…136. *Reporter:* You say about 136, or you mean exactly 136? *Bob Dylan:* Uh, it's either 136 or 142.
Barry Goldwater was a conservative senator from Arizona. He ran for president against Lyndon Johnson and lost. A lot of people thought he was a war monger. In today's world, he wouldn't be considered that conservative. But yeah, he was pretty right-wing.
Dylan sounded restless on this album trying to break out of the mold folks were trying to keep him in. It Ain't Me Babe, Chimes of Freedom, My Back Pages, I Don't Believe You.
Dylan's cadence here sounds very much like Johnny Cash who Dylan was a big fan of. I think the only variety TV show performance Dylan ever gave was on Cash's show, Dylan also did a duet with Cash on the show. Dylan turned down Ed Sullivan and all other variety shows but not Johnny Cash.
This is Dylan mimicking his idol Woody Guthrie's talking blues style, there are several examples of this in his early years. Dylan has quite a lot of fun with them and they are among his most humorous songs. Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues is a great example.
"Black Crow Blues" is awesome. Especially as it's so tossed off.
Bob Dylans 115th Dream. You'll love it
Dylan was actually able to sing beautifully. I think he used unusual voices to keep people talking.
You know the old Hollywood adage "all publicity is good publicity" or "keep them talking" ??
*Chimes of Freedom* is my favorite track from this album - very beautifully written.
In Dylan's early years he took on the persona of a grizzled old hillbilly folk singer and tried to make his voice match. If you listen to Alan Lomax's recordings of folk music (which Dylan listened to) you'll see what he's mimicking. Dylan has a decent voice with good breath control, but I wouldn't call him a good singer. He is, however, a great vocalist, whose phrasing and tone and ability to project various emotions through his singing is truly excellent and why he can keep listeners' attention for long songs with no choruses. Must have learned these tricks by going up constantly in front of live audiences at small venues in the early years.
Thanks!
There are a lot of tracks on this album that you need to listen to. My Back Pages and Chimes of freedom come to mind. The funny thing about this particular track is that it runs through my mind more than just about any other song that I know. When we were locked down and the hairdressers were shut, my hair grew down to my shoulders and the verse (10 I think) which goes "I'm gonna grow my hair down to my feet so strange" etc was constantly running through my head. Always loved Dylan from the time I discovered him around 1963. Good video, thoroughly enjoyed it. Please keep going with the Bob Dylan stuff.
The two tracks chimes of freedom and my back pages are great
Syed, I hope you consider reacting to "A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall".
It's early Dylan, 1963 and still stands with his very best work. I've been hoping you'd share your insight on it eventually.
I've always thought of it as a kindred spirit to the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" and Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks".
That Dylan was able to write a song of this magnitude so early in his career is incredible. Every line could be the best line in most songs.
Motorpsycho Nightmare! Fantastic mashup of Psycho--the movie--with a farmer's daughter joke! No spare $ to offer for the reaction, but please somebody hit Syed up. Treat yourself to this classic Syed.
Barry Goldwater was a conservative politician and the Republican candidate for President in 1964 (the year this was released).
You're going all the way down the Dylan rabbit hole and I'm here for it.
I love it when Bob Dylan does talking blues like this. Another Side of Bob Dylan is where he makes a point of moving on from being a protest singer. Before he goes electric, but making clear he isn't going to be typecast as the voice of a generation or anything else. My Back Pages on this album is a manifesto of where he is and why he's moving on. An absolute must listen of a song. It Ain't Me Babe does the same in a more oblique way and is another song that must be heard from this album.
This is part of Dylan's random "stream of consciousness" period. He has a bunch of songs that are basically word salad. They're great rambling masterpieces.
Good part of our minds think in symbols and abstractions. The unconscious or superconcious if you will.
Couldn't disagree more. Don't think I know a single Dylan song that was random word salad.
Thanks for another great Dylan reaction!
As others have said, Barry Goldwater was the Republican candidate for President of the U.S. in '64. He made waves at the Republican national Convention when he said that extremism in defense of liberty is no vice and moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue. He lost the race to LBJ, in no small part because Goldwater, as a Senator in the U.S. govt, had voted against the Civil Rights act of '63. That was a very unpopular move from him at the time, especially among other Republicans. Of course, him voting against the Civil Rights Act made a lot of people (incorrectly) think that he was a racist and didn't like black people, and it ultimately tanked his political career. He later said that he regretted doing so, even though he had some very valid reasons for it.
Funny thing is the phrasing: "I am liberal....but wouldn't let him marry my daughter". Which is a common phrasing many opponents of the Civil Rights Act would argue ("I am not racist, I want everyone to be free, but I don't want Black folks moving in next door and marrying my daughter"). Dylan turns it around.
Dylan is the master of the perfect rhyme without calling attention to the rhyme. Ya hafta reach for it -- it is there.
One of the funniest Dylan records imo. Check out Motorpsycho Nightmare. The melody ended up being more or less reused for Bob Dylan's 115th Dream on Bringing It All Back Home, another one of the funniest Dylan tracks
Barry Goldwater was an arch conservative senator from Arizona who ran unsuccessfully for president in 1964. He scared the hell out of folks by, seemingly, condoning nuclear war.
Barry Goldwater was a a conservative Republican nominee who ran against the liberal Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson, in 1964. Love this Dylan, it's sly humor is delightful.
Au-H2O
My favorite song on this album is… wait for it… To Ramona. A beautiful and touching song prefacing a more mature songwriter to come. The other great song on this album is Ballad in Plain D. These songs IMO are hugely underappreciated and far more mature and interesting than anything else on the album, including Chimes of Freedom (which is more like an overwrought prototype that he revisited more successfully in later songs like Ring Them Bells) or My Back Pages.
I highly recommend "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" for some funny storytelling about him and Captain Arab discovering America when they come here on the Mayflower, then getting busted, escaping from jail, and adventuring.
Dylan recorded this album in one all night session and a couple bottles of wine. All I Really Want To Do and My Back Pages were hits for the Byrds. It Ain't Me Babe was a hit for The Turtles. Chimes of Freedom was recorded by a host of artists. Great songs all including I Don't Believe You, Spanish Harlem Incident and Black Crow Blues. For some reason Dylan came to admire Barry Goldwater in his later years.
I always loved this song. My dad got me into it. Dylan has recent material that's quite good. But I think the 60's were his best decade. Because I'm far left and I sing protest songs
Glad to see you react to this song. You have a keen ability to analyze Dylan's work and seem to be able to put it into proper perspective. Another tune performed in nearly an identical style as this one is Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues, which is a superb example of Dylan's humor. It was recorded in 1962 and is available on The Bootleg Series, Vol 1 - 3. Two others that'll serve you a good laugh is Talkin' World War III Blues (Freewheelin', 1963) and Bob Dylan's 115th Dream (Bringing It All Back Home, 1965). Always look forward to whatever Dylan tunes you have in the queue.
I really enjoyed your reaction!
Classic Dylan just messing around.
Hey there! Thanks for reminding me of this one. -- I remember when this album was released, the album title looked pretty scary. Back in his early days, Dylan would not have had any control over that. It would have been some marketing exec. -- In the early 60's, any rock star who released an album title "The Other Side Of ... " meant a disc full of Moon in June type ballads instead of rock. What a huge relief it was to hear Bob in full force control of the actual tracks! - Great stuff! - Keep up the good work.
There are a lot of great ones on that album. My Back Pages actually might be of the most interest to you just because of the lyrical complexity and self-reflexivity regarding his career
Chimes of Freedom is another incredibly written track from this album - a classic from young
Bob ✨
Yeah. My Back Pages best explains his move away from his judgemental "protest" songs - illustrated by the line "fearing not I'd become my enemy in the instant that I preach".
Thanks. Check out Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues. This is the song that Dylan wanted to play on the Ed Sullivan show on TV, but the censors and management at CBS would not allow it, and he left and never appeared on the show that launched the Beatles in the USA. ☮
The Freewheelin’ line about “make love to Elizabeth Taylor/catch hell from Richard Burton”;was the first Dylan line I heard. Within a week I owned six Dylan albums. Now maybe 50. And to top it off, in the 80s Dylan may have realized his dream about Elizabeth Taylor.
Probably My Back Pages or
Chimes of Freedom
from this album would be more rewarding for you.
BTW, i'm glad you're doing this Dylan dive. Though Dylan did not have lavished upon himself the Pop worship so many others enjoyed, he was right there through the thick and the thin of all those decades. Maybe a mooring point for many of us.
Peace -
He recorded this album in one three hour session with a couple of bottles of wine!
Barry Goldwater was an ultra conservative American politician in the early 60's. Ran for president against Lyndon Johnson
"I learned over in England" -- "The Beatles" had just hit the US.
Not much of a Dylan fan myself, but I do love Nashville Skyline.
next one to do from that album: Motorpsycho Nightmare"
I believe this style is either ‘talking blues,’ which Dylan did a lot of in early days, or a derivative thereof.
Ain't Bobby so cool! There is not a bad album, but his earliest albums are a total blast. "I don't know, but I've been told" one of his greatest commentary lines on human stances on an issue.
If your looking for great examples of funny Dylan, check out Motorpsycho Nightmare or Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues. Loving your Dylan journey.
He has his own syncopation and always manages to resolve the beat at the end
This is an "in between" album. Recorded quickly he was ready for an electric band
Talking Blues
The opening lyrics may be saying: don't count on me for any life changing enlightenment that you couldn't find on your own! Whatever Dylan had in mind, we are thinking about it in a creative way.
Barry Goldwater, senator from Arizona, ran against LBJ for the presidency in 1964. He was, for the time, very right wing. He advocated for the use of nuclear weapons in Vietnam, among other things.
I believe this style was referred to as ‘talking blues’ and he’s not the only one that used this style but of course Dylan is always unmistakably Dylan regardless.
Keep it up Syed.
Much love
*Reporter:* How many people who labor in the same musical vineyard in which you toil - how many are protest singers? That is, people who use their music, and use the songs to protest the, uh, social state in which we live today: the matter of war, the matter of crime, or whatever it might be.
*Bob Dylan:* Um…how many?
*Reporter:* Yes. How many?
*Bob Dylan:* Uh, I think there's about, uh…136.
*Reporter:* You say about 136, or you mean exactly 136?
*Bob Dylan:* Uh, it's either 136 or 142.
Barry Goldwater was a conservative senator from Arizona. He ran for president against Lyndon Johnson and lost. A lot of people thought he was a war monger. In today's world, he wouldn't be considered that conservative. But yeah, he was pretty right-wing.
Dylan sounded restless on this album trying to break out of the mold folks were trying to keep him in. It Ain't Me Babe, Chimes of Freedom, My Back Pages, I Don't Believe You.
Caccias Clay predicted in which round he'd knock out the opponent. And then he'd do that.
This is very much like John Prine.
Barry Goldwater was the Republican presidential candidate in 1964. He was extreme.
you could do this one with some nice Hip Hop Bumpin' beats .... !!!
Def. a Woody Guthrie influenced song.
His "singing" during this period is "Woody Guthrie".
Goldwater was a very conservative Republican, who ran for president
Dylan's cadence here sounds very much like Johnny Cash who Dylan was a big fan of. I think the only variety TV show performance Dylan ever gave was on Cash's show, Dylan also did a duet with Cash on the show. Dylan turned down Ed Sullivan and all other variety shows but not Johnny Cash.
Barry Goldwater was a former United States 5 term Republican senator, and a former Air Force major general and a bit of a prick.
Barry Goldwater was a right-wing politician, from the Republican Party
Goldwater got robbed
Dylan mad a decision to leave overt politics, for the most part. "My Back Pages" is a song about that move, explains himself.
The song is 1964 not 1962 lol 🏴😄🎸
Barry ran against lbj
He sings offbeat is that what you mean it works for him though.
You should really do some Van Halen! Tips: Panama, Jump, Runnin with the devil, Drop dead legs, etc.
I have this album. Loads of good songs, but I don’t really love this one compared to most of the other songs on this early album.
The something I learned over in England, I think, is a reference to Donovan playing the harmonica. Donovan sucked.
Republicans provided most of the votes for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Southern Democrats opposed it.
Bar5ry Goldwater was a Republican politician. Very right wing, believed in segregation.
Heavy Alan Ginsberg influence here I think.
Barry Goldwater was extremist right-wing.