gj Michelob -> RE: falseta copyright question (Jun. 25 2009 12:52:39)
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quote:
I heard a story once, that when Bob Dylan was first getting noticed and just beginning to get famous that he ripped a song off another "folkie" in "The Village" and recorded it on a new album he was bringing out and claimed it as his own. Growing up as a Dylan’s fan, I remember visiting Greenwich Village in NY more as if a pilgrimage to a holy venue, than as a tourist. I remember intransigently rejecting any allegations that “my“ Bob Dylan could ever resort to misappropriating compositions. Such a prolific composer, Dylan did not seem to need any such scheme. However, this rumor or urban legend that Dylan stole a song altogether, concerned the exceedingly notorious “blowing in the wind”, from “Freewheeling BD” [Dylan’s second album, but the one he reportedly felt as his first]. The song became the anthem of the anti Vietnam war revolutionary sentiment. Interestingly, I never liked this song, and always thought the lyrics were a bit too obvious or even cheesy for this beat generation poet. In fact, later it became an international hit when performed by “Paul Peter & Mary”. The song truly sound as if their own, with bells, jingles, flutes and Christmas lights on stage. Compare the music and lyrics of Blowing in the Wind with the lyrics of other songs from the same album (Freewheeling BD), such as “a hard rain is gonna fall” or my absolute favorite (of which I offer an audience pleasing rendition) “don’t think twice it’s alright”. From an exegetic perspective I had felt “Blowing in the Wind” –even before I had learned about the rumor- was not Dylan’s material (I respectfully disagree with HM, who I know is a learned scholar of musicology, and seems to find it consistent with the balance of Dylan’s work). What is rather consistent in Dylan’s poetry is the country-music story-telling approach to lyrics. Whether imbued with surrealism (as in “A hard rain is gonna fall” “Mr. Tamborine Man” “Shelter from the storm”) or sharply real as in “Tangled up in blue” the “Hurricane” , Dylan’s lyrics reveal a nearly rapping rhythm of rhymes and tongue-twisting lines. Blowing in the wind is still blowing me away…. As the rumor would suggest!!!
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