Tombstone Blues: Difference between revisions
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*{{cite book|first=Mark|last=Polizzotti|title=Highway 61 Revisited|publisher=Continuum |year=2006|isbn=0-8264-1775-2}} |
*{{cite book|first=Mark|last=Polizzotti|title=Highway 61 Revisited|publisher=Continuum |year=2006|isbn=0-8264-1775-2}} |
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*{{cite book |last=Shelton |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Shelton (critic) |title=No Direction Home: the Life and Music of Bob Dylan |publisher=New English Library |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-450-04843-2}} |
*{{cite book |last=Shelton |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Shelton (critic) |title=No Direction Home: the Life and Music of Bob Dylan |publisher=New English Library |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-450-04843-2}} |
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*{{cite book |last1=Taylor |first1=Jeff |first2=Chad |last2=Israelson |title=The Political World of Bob Dylan: Freedom and Justice, Power and Sin |year=2015 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |location=New York |isbn=978-1-137-48234-1 |doi=10.1057/9781137477477 |url=https://digitalcollections.dordt.edu/faculty_work/499 }} |
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*{{cite book |last=Trager |first=Oliver |title=Keys to the Rain: the Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia |year=2004 |publisher=[[Billboard Books]] | isbn=978-0-8230-7974-2}} |
*{{cite book |last=Trager |first=Oliver |title=Keys to the Rain: the Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia |year=2004 |publisher=[[Billboard Books]] | isbn=978-0-8230-7974-2}} |
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*{{cite book|first=Sean|last=Wilentz |author-link=Sean Wilentz |title=Bob Dylan in America|publisher=Vintage Digital |edition=Kindle|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4070-7411-5}} |
*{{cite book|first=Sean|last=Wilentz |author-link=Sean Wilentz |title=Bob Dylan in America|publisher=Vintage Digital |edition=Kindle|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4070-7411-5}} |
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Revision as of 21:37, 11 September 2023
| "Tombstone Blues" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Bob Dylan | |
| from the album Highway 61 Revisited | |
| Released | August 30, 1965 |
| Recorded | July 29, 1965 |
| Studio | Columbia, New York City |
| Genre | Garage rock[1] |
| Length | 5:58[2] |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan |
| Producer(s) | Bob Johnston |
| Official audio | |
| "Tombstone Blues" on YouTube | |
"Tombstone Blues" is the second song on Bob Dylan's 1965 album Highway 61 Revisited.[3] Musically it is influenced by the blues, while the lyrics are typical of Dylan's surreal style of the period, with such lines as "the sun's not yellow, it's chicken".
Lyrics
Twelve takes were recorded on July 29, 1965. The last of these take was included on Dylan's sixth studio album, Highway 61 Revisited, which was released on August 30, 1965.[4][5][6]
The song contains several direct and indirect allusions to biblical characters as well as historical references.[7] For instance to John the Baptist, to which Dylan dedicates four lines:
John the Baptist after torturing a thief
Looks up at his hero the Commander-in-Chief
Saying, "Tell me great hero, but please make it brief
Is there a hole for me to get sick in?"[8]
In an early version, the song refers to a "blacksmith with freckles"; as the song develops in later takes, this becomes "John the blacksmith" and eventually "John the Baptist".[9] The Dylan scholar Michael Gray regards Chuck Berry as an important influence on Dylan,[10] and argues that "Dylan could never have written 'Tombstone Blues' without Chuck Berry".[11]
The critic Andy Gil describes the structure of the song as "paired four-line stanzas to the rhyme-scheme a/a/a/b, ddc/b".[7] The album take has six choruses, five of which have identical words while the other differs slightly. In the first take, all of the choruses are unique, with the characters "Mama" and "Daddy" in different combinations of situations.[12] The Dylan biographer Robert Shelton details the basic chords in the verse as "C, C7, F, and back to C", with a middle eight in which "F and C chords alternate".[13]
Shelton finds the song funny, commenting on the outlandish juxtapositions, and praises both the lyrics and the musical performances, particularly the guitar playing.[13]
Live performances
Although Dylan's official website lists the first performance as being at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium on, August 28, 1965,[14] he actually debuted the song, in an acoustic version, at the Newport Folk Festival on July 24.[15][16][5] Dylan's official site lists 169 live performances, the most recent being in October 2006.[8]
In 1994, Dylan recorded the song for his MTV Unplugged episode,[17] and it was included on his MTV Unplugged album and video release of the show in 1995.[8][18]
Personnel
Musicial credits adapted from the details for take 1 on The Bootleg Series, Vol. 12: Bob Dylan 1965–1966, The Best of the Cutting Edge, and from Olof Björner's website.[19][5] Technical credits adapted from the Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track book.[20]
Musicians
- Bob Dylan – vocals, guitar, harmonica
- Mike Bloomfield – guitar
- Paul Griffin – piano
- Al Kooper – organ
- Joe Macho, Jr. – bass
- Bobby Gregg – drums
Technical personnel
- Bob Johnston – producer
- Frank Laico – sound engineering
- Pete Dauria – sound engineering
- Ted Brosnan – sound engineering
Cover versions and cultural references
The song was performed by Marcus Carl Franklin and Richie Havens in I'm Not There, the film based on Dylan's life.[21]
Stephen King quotes from the song at the end of his first published novel Carrie,[22] He again quotes from the song with the line "You will not die, it's not poison" in chapter eleven of the novel Gerald's Game.[23]
Notes
References
- ^ Highway 61 Revisited review at AllMusic by Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Retrieved April 3, 2017.
- ^ Margotin & Guesdon 2022, p. 190.
- ^ Levy, Joe (30 August 2016). "How Bob Dylan Made Rock History on 'Highway 61 Revisited'". RollingStone.com. Rolling Stone, LLC. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ Heylin 2009, p. 246.
- ^ a b c Björner, Olof. "Still On The Road: 1965 Concerts, Interviews & Recording Sessions". About Bob. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
- ^ Williams 2004, p. 284.
- ^ a b Gill 2011, p. 118.
- ^ a b c "Tombstone Blues". Bob Dylan's official website. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
- ^ Flanagan, Bill (2015). The Bootleg Series, Vol. 12: Bob Dylan 1965–1966, The Best of the Cutting Edge (booklet). Bob Dylan. Columbia / Legacy. p. 25. 88875124422.
- ^ Gray 2000, pp. 95–97.
- ^ Gray 2000, p. 97.
- ^ Flanagan, Bill (2015). The Bootleg Series, Vol. 12: Bob Dylan 1965–1966, The Best of the Cutting Edge (booklet). Bob Dylan. Columbia / Legacy. pp. 12–13. 88875124422.
- ^ a b Shelton 1987, p. 279.
- ^ "Setlists that contain Tombstone Blues". Bob Dylan's official website. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
- ^ Heylin 2009, p. 235.
- ^ Heylin 2011, p. 207.
- ^ Nogowski 2022, p. 189.
- ^ "MTV Unplugged [Video]". AllMusic. Archived from the original on September 5, 2023. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
- ^ The Bootleg Series, Vol. 12: Bob Dylan 1965–1966, The Best of the Cutting Edge (booklet). Bob Dylan. Columbia / Legacy. 2015. p. 56. 88875124422.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Margotin & Guesdon 2022, pp. 190–191.
- ^ Perez, Rodrigo. "Clip: Richie Havens' "Tombstone Blues" Dylan Cover From 'I'm Not There'". theplaylist.net. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
- ^ King, Stephen (2000). Carrie. Simon & Schuster. p. 192.
- ^ King, Stephen (2016). Gerald's Game: A Novel. Simon & Schuster. p. 159.
Books
- Beviglia, Jim (2013). Counting Down Bob Dylan: His 100 Finest Songs. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-8824-1.
- Gill, Andy (2011). Bob Dylan: the Stories Behind the Songs 1962-1969. Carlton. ISBN 978-1-84732-759-8.
- Gray, Michael (2000). Song & Dance Man III: The Art of Bob Dylan. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8264-5150-7.
- Heylin, Clinton (2009). Revolution In The Air: The Songs of Bob Dylan, Volume One: 1957–73. Constable & Robinson. ISBN 978-1-84901-051-1.
- Heylin, Clinton (2011). Behind the Shades: The 20th Anniversary Edition. Faber and Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-27240-2.
- Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2022). Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track (Expanded ed.). Black Dog & Leventhal. ISBN 978-0-7624-7573-5.
- Marqusee, Mike (2005). Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan and the 1960s. Seven Stories Press. ISBN 978-1-58322-686-5.
- Nogowski, John (2022). Bob Dylan: A Descriptive, Critical Discography and Filmography, 1961-2022 (3rd ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-4362-5.
- Polizzotti, Mark (2006). Highway 61 Revisited. Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-1775-2.
- Shelton, Robert (1987). No Direction Home: the Life and Music of Bob Dylan. New English Library. ISBN 978-0-450-04843-2.
- Taylor, Jeff; Israelson, Chad (2015). The Political World of Bob Dylan: Freedom and Justice, Power and Sin. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1057/9781137477477. ISBN 978-1-137-48234-1.
- Trager, Oliver (2004). Keys to the Rain: the Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0-8230-7974-2.
- Wilentz, Sean (2010). Bob Dylan in America (Kindle ed.). Vintage Digital. ISBN 978-1-4070-7411-5.
- Williams, Paul (2004) [1990]. Bob Dylan, Performing Artist: The Early Years, 1960–1973. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-84449-095-0.
External links
- Lyrics at Bob Dylan's official website
- "Tombstone Blues" review at AllMusic
