Dylan's protest songs (1 Viewer)

Black Swan

Abord the Yorikke!
William Devereux Zantzinger dies Jan. 3rd at 69.

A story that had moved Bob Dylan to write a song in 1963 about the death of Hattie Carroll, a black barmaid ( acc. to article) who had been caned by a rich 24 year old man at a Baltimore Charity ball. He had ordered a drink and had found the 51 year old waitress to be too slow. Because she died of a stroke, the next day, Mr. Zantzinger's charge was reduced to manslaughter and got 6 months .She was a mother of 11 children ( although the song said 10).
Dylan's song was a thorn in his foot. Though he longed refused interviews, he did speak to Howard Sounes, author of a Dylan bio Down the Highway 2001.
Zantzinger told Sounes " I should have sued him and put him in jail", speaking of Dylan.
http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt4R4Hai0BE&feature=related
 
Zantzinger is with Hattie Carroll now. Bringing her dinner and drinks.

I noticed in the comments under the You Tube, some guy said it was a paper mache cane. What an ass.
 
Yeah, I also read it was a toy cane. The fear she experienced had something to do with it.
I like that Dylan's song carried some justice .
 
I just watched the movie I'm Not There which features that protest song about Hattie Carroll. I have never been into Bob Dylan because he made no sense to me. I watched the whole movie and became even more confused until I read all of the Intro in the special features of the DVD. The movie and Dylan makes sense to me now. Even the goofy part about Richard Gere. If you like Dylan you'll love the movie, but read the intro in the DVD extras. It even mentions Howard Sounes.
 
I have never been into Bob Dylan because he made no sense to me.

Hmmm. We'll forgive that my friend. I was blasted with Dylan in '79 by some friends, and I didn't get it. (Not the '79 stuff, the 60s stuff.)

Then, in 1985, driving through the streets of Baltimore and listening to It's Alright, Ma on the radio, I just found it. Can't shake it now.
 
Yeah, once Dylan's music finds an appropriate receptor your brain, it never lets go. Happened to me when I was a teenager. I had heard his music through most of my late childhood and didn't much care for it... thought he had a weird voice, but at some point it just clicked and, for a while at least, his was almost the only music I would listen to.
 
Good one PS,
Hey Gerard! I am happy for you, that'll keep you out of trouble for a while.
Never too late, give this one a thought.

 
Thank you all, you are like a support group for a cult. Who shall be my sponsor?

I like that Dylan is from that state where many very intense people come from, like Jesse Ventura, Prince and mjp. I use to live in a neighboring state that looked up to Minnesota like some kind of Emerald City of fascination and accomplishment. I was there from 63' to 68' and like chronic thought his voice was weird. So here we are 40 some years later and I am finally started to get it, a little more.
A dear old friend of mine use to say "Everyone from Minnesota is crazy." to which I would say, "Aren't you from Minnesota?" and he would always say, "I know I'm crazy too." He was the best salesman I ever met and an alcoholic.
 
First time I heard Dylan ( A Hard Rain's...) it felt like an atomic bomb went off in my head! After all these years I'm still into him. Sometimes when I'm working out, I'll throw some Dylan on and figure that way I can get a physical and a mental workout at the same time.
 
Minnesota has changed a lot since I left 25 years ago. The only state that voted for Mondale over Reagan oddly turned to the right (maybe that presidential election was just too embarrassing ;)). The people have always been conservative by the real world definition of the word, but they became politically conservative, which was disappointing. Because yes, I used to think it was quite a unique place too. I'm not so sure anymore. Still a beautiful place though. And the nicest people you could ever want to meet.
 
Here's my off-on topic response, with a slant: As far as Dylan goes, Mr. Tambourine Man kills it for me.

The lyrics; the voice; the emotion; the times.

One song, a desert island, forever. Play it 1,000,000 times in a row. And it will be my next request. HST had it right, dedicating F&LILV.

Damn. The best song ever written, ever sung. Period. This belongs in the art thread, too.

MTM: It's the high-water mark.

Pax
 
F&LILV: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and MTM: Mr. Tambourine Man.

but, I don't text either. I don't even own a cellphone. ;)
 
Thanks, Hooch. You've helped me out lots today; behind the scenes and here; appreciated.

G-Love, HST dedicated the book (stated above) to Dylan, for the song Mr. Tambourine Man.

To go a step further (or farther, to be poetic, and if you were on the BUS or not), a famous HST line, i.e. high-water mark:

"You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning...And that, I think, was the handle - that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply PREVAIL. There was no point in fighting - on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave...So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark - that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back."

The man could write. Damn.

I just love those fucking lines; addicted to 'em, forever.

Pax
 
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great words indeed. also, i believe that, along with norman greenbaum's "spirit in the sky", MTM was played at the HST memorial sendoff at owl farm as the ashes and fireworks were shot off. i had one of the cocktail napkins from it but lost it in hurricane katrina. it read something like, "do not call 911. ever. this means you! hst". apparently it was a note he kept on his fridge for guests and family members...
 
Homeless if you like that line about the high water mark of the crest of a high and beautiful wave. Then you would love the discussion HsT has with some writers in his DVD Breakfast with Hunter.
 
Back to the thread....

May Zantzinger rot. He never seemed very ashamed of what he did, and instead blamed Dylan for singing about it. Yes, Dylan embellished, but for such a despicable person to get away with such a light sentence and then live in comfort later, he should have left well enough alone. He did not beat her to death, he harassed and insulted her, causing her to die. That is manslaughter, and he shoudl have received much more time. It is telling that they only sentenced him to six months to avoid him having to go to prison where he would be surrounded by (gasp) black people.

That was the justice system at the time. It probably still is to a point, which explains why cops who are convicted of murder are put in nicer jails and kept away from the general population, while child molesters are not. Both are guaranteed to be raped, but somehow, it is ok for the child molester, but not the cop (even if the cop was arrested for child molestation).

Bill
 
More Great Protest Songs by Bob Dylan

Thanks, G-Love; gonna have to check that out.

I'm not a huge texter, but don't mind it either (especially pic-texts with music; my LG Voyager - mobile device - has a qwerty board, which helps a great deal).

Back on topic. Here are some more Dylan protest songs. Early - mid '60s.

Methinks all great. Thoughts?????

The Murder of Emmitt Till "” '63
"'Twas down in Mississippi no so long ago,
When a young boy from Chicago town stepped through a Southern door.
This boy's dreadful tragedy I can still remember well,
The color of his skin was black and his name was Emmitt Till...


Only A Pawn in their Game "” '63
"A bullet from the back of a bush took Medgar Evers' blood.
A finger fired the trigger to his name.
A handle hid out in the dark
A hand set the spark
Two eyes took the aim
Behind a man's brain
But he can't be blamed
He's only a pawn in their game...


The Times They Are A-Changin' "” '64
"Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'....


Who is writing the great protest songs today???

Pax
 
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