John Brown (Bob Dylan song)
"John Brown" is an anti-war song written and composed by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Written in October 1962, the song was never included on any of Dylan's official studio albums.[1]
| "John Brown" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Bob Dylan | |
| Recorded | February 1963 at Broadside Records, New York City (original studio version) |
| Genre | Folk, Anti-war song |
| Length | 4:21 (original studio version) |
| Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan |
Releases
A rough demo of the song performed for publishing company M. Witmark & Sons in August 1963 was eventually given an official release in 2010 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 – The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964.[2]
However, a studio version of the song had already been released under the pseudonym "Blind Boy Grunt" in 1963 on a compilation album entitled Broadside Ballads, Vol. 1 (one of five Dylan compositions on the release). This performance was later included in The Best Of Broadside 1962–1988 box set released in 2000. A pseudonym was employed due to contractual issues regarding Dylan performing on non-Columbia Records releases.
Three live versions are officially available: one of Dylan's earliest recorded performances of the song on Live at the Gaslight 1962 (released in 2005), a 1963 performance on Live 1962–1966: Rare Performances From The Copyright Collections (released in 2018), and a 1994 performance on MTV Unplugged (released in 1995).
Song lyrics
"John Brown" consists of twelve verses written in a straightforward manner.[3] The song, composed in Dylan's protest song period, tells a story about a mother who sends her son John Brown to war on some foreign land, and he returns blinded and injured. Thematically, the song is very similar to the old Irish folk-song "Mrs. McGrath".
References
- Bjorner, Olof. "The Yearly Chronicles: Bound for Glory, 1962". Retrieved December 1, 2010.
- Corbett, Ben (October 22, 2010). "Album Reviews: Bob Dylan, Bootleg Series Vol. 9, The Witmark Demos 1962–1964 and The Complete Mono Recordings". Crawdaddy. Archived from the original on December 25, 2010. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- "John Brown" Lyrics
