music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Oxford Town" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in 1962. It was recorded in Columbia's Studio A on December 6, 1962, for his second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.

"Oxford Town"
Song by Bob Dylan
from the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Released	May 27, 1963
Recorded	December 6, 1962
Genre	Folk
Length	1:50
Label	Columbia Records
Songwriter(s)	Bob Dylan

The song was composed in response to an open invitation from Broadside magazine for songs about one of the top news events of 1962: the Ole Miss riot triggered by the enrollment of a black student, James Meredith, in the University of Mississippi on October 1.[1] Among other submissions was Phil Ochs' song "Ballad of Oxford, Mississippi".[2] The lyrics and music from Dylan's song were printed December 1962 in Broadside's issue No. 17.[3]

Except that the University of Mississippi is located in Oxford, Mississippi, "Oxford Town" does not mention either Meredith or the university by name. Later, in an interview with Studs Terkel, Dylan said, "It deals with the Meredith case, but then again it doesn't... I wrote that when it happened, and I could have written that yesterday. It's still the same. 'Somebody better investigate soon' that's a verse in the song."

Besides the Freewheelin' release, Dylan recorded a version of "Oxford Town" for Broadside Sessions in November 1962. He also recorded a demo of the song for his music publisher M. Witmark & Sons in March 1963. This version was released in October 2010 on The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 – The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964.[4][5]

Other notable recordings

Richie Havens recorded "Oxford Town" in 1966 for his second album, Electric Havens. Tim O'Brien featured the song on his 1996 release of Dylan covers, Red on Blonde. The alternative bluegrass band Crooked Still recorded the song for their 2006 album Shaken by a Low Sound. Hugues Aufray released a French version of this (and 10 other Dylan songs) in 1965 on his LP Aufray chante Dylan. He re-recorded it in 1995 for his Aufray Trans-Dylan album. Pat Wictor recorded Oxford Town on his album Heaven is so High in 2006.

See also

• Civil rights movement in popular culture

Notes

References

• Heylin, Clinton, Revolution in the Air : The Songs of Bob Dylan Vol. 1:1957–1973. ISBN 978-1-84901-296-6

External links

• "Oxford Town" Lyrics, BobDylan.com
• "Oxford Town" Music & Lyrics, Broadside, December 1962, p. 6

На других языках

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- [en] Oxford Town

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[es] Oxford Town

"Oxford Town" es una canción escrita por Bob Dylan en 1962. Se grabó en el Estudio A de Columbia Records el 6 de diciembre de 1962 para su segundo álbum The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan .

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[ru] Oxford Town

Oxford Town (городок Оксфорд) — песня, сочинённая американским музыкантом и поэтом Бобом Диланом в 1962 году и впервые записанная на его альбоме The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Сюжет посвящён беспорядкам, разразившимся на территории кампуса Университета Миссисипи после того, как 20 сентября 1962 года это учебное заведение по прямому указанию президента Джона Кеннеди и под защитой Службы Маршалов США было вынуждено зачислить в ряды студентов афроамериканца Джеймса Мередита. В столкновениях несколько студентов были ранены, двое погибли. Название песне дал городок Оксфорд, на территории которого расположен студенческий кампус.

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