Subterranean Homesick Blues
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
"Subterranean Homesick Blues", a song written by Bob Dylan, was originally released on the album Bringing It All Back Home in 1965. It was re-released on numberous other Dylan albums such as Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits.
- [The song] was, in fact, an extraordinary three-way amalgam of Jack Kerouac, the Guthrie/Pete Seeger song 'Taking It Easy' ('mom was in the kitchen preparing to eat/sis was in the pantry looking for some yeast') and the riffed-up rock'n'roll poetry of [Chuck] Berry's 'Too Much Monkey Business' (uncut.co.uk (http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/bob_dylan/special_features/27))
Influence
"Subterranean Homesick Blues" has had a profound impact not only on music and the visual arts (see "Video" below), but on American culture and politics as well. The widespread use of LSD, and the opposition to the Vietnam War were both starting to take hold of the nation, and Dylan's song reinforced these sentiments. The song's first line is a reference to the production of LSD and the politics of the era: "Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine / I'm on the pavement thinkin' about the Government". Dylan's prophetic words were even enough to inspire a radical group (which broke away from the Students for a Democratic Society); they named themselves The Weathermen after the line "You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows". (madison.com (http://www.madison.com/tct/books/topic/politics/index.php?ntid=3601&ntpid=))
The song has been proven to be very popular among other bands as well. It has been covered by numerous recording artists including both Harry Nilsson and The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The title of Radiohead's song Subterranean Homesick Alien is taken in part from the title of Dylan's song. It is even reported that John Lennon was so amazed after hearing Dylan's song that he wondered how he could ever compete. In 2003 the Rock band Jet was inspired to name their very popular album Get Born after the lyrics from the last verse ("Ah get born, keep warm / short pants, romance, learn to dance"). Additionally, by reviving beat poetry through music, Dylan's song contributed to the development of Rap.
Video
In addition to the song's influence on music (see "Influence" above), the song was used in what became one of the first "modern" music videos. The "video" was actually a segment from D. A. Pennebaker's film, "Don't Look Back" (a documentary on Bob Dylan's first tour of England in 1965), and was likely intended only for use in the film. In the film, Dylan holds up cue cards for the audience with words from the song on them. While staring at the camera, he flips the cards as the song plays. The presentation aims to involve the viewers, for the song belongs to those who listen. Interestingly, there are errors (probably intentional) throughout the video. For instance, the song's lyrics say "eleven dollar bills," but the poster says "20 dollars". The segment takes place in an alley behind a London hotel, and Poet Allen Ginsberg makes a cameo (imdb.com (http://imdb.com/title/tt0061589/trivia)).
"Subterranean Homesick Blues" continues to affect music videos even today.
- The 1987 INXS track "Mediate" was likely inspired by the Dylan tune, and its video duplicated the format of the Dylan video, even its use of apparently deliberate errors.
- The very popular German band Wir sind Helden adapted and enhanced the concept of dropping cue cards in the video for their 2005 single "Nur ein Wort" ("Just one word"). The song deals with the admiration for a sapient but reticent man. (See Real Player High (http://www.emiextranet.com/Stream/6497/50695.ram), Real Player Low (http://www.emiextranet.com/Stream/6497/50696.ram), Windows Media Player High (http://www.emiextranet.com/Stream/6497/50697.asx) or Windows Media Player Low (http://www.emiextranet.com/Stream/6497/50698.asx))
External links
- Lyrics and sound clips (http://bobdylan.com/songs/subterranean.html)
