DYLAN’S SONGS OF SOCIAL PROTEST PART TWO
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Two of Dylan’s early protest songs, John Brown and Hero Blues, focus on the evils of militarism, and in particular on the way that young men are persuaded by the women in their lives to go and fight. John Brown is a highly sombre tale. The name of the protagonist suggests a kind of ‘uber soldier’ who represents all men who are deluded by spurious promises of ‘glory’ in battle. This is another stark and polemical Brechtian drama. The melody is based on the well known folk tune 900 Miles.
No historical or geographical context is supplied, so Dylan clearly intends the song as an expose of how non-combatants can be ‘cheer leaders’ for war and how naïve young men can follow their lead, often with tragic results. The song, which was first recorded for Broadside, was never considered for inclusion on a studio album. But Dylan seems to have rediscovered it later in his career as it was played live, usually with a full band backing, around 200 times between 1990 and 2012 and was included in the live album MTV Unplugged, recorded in 1994. It certainly has the kind of dramatic structure that works well with a rock arrangement.
PROTEST….
The opening verses focus exclusively on the mother’s point of view. She smiles proudly as her son, resplendent in his uniform, sets off to war. She has clearly given no thought to the danger he will face and is far more concerned with the reflected ’glory’ that she supposes he will bring back to her. She tells him …”Do what the captain says, lots of medals you will get/ And we’ll put them on the wall when you come home”… Later she tells her neighbours …That’s my son that’s about to go/ He’s a soldier now you know… celebrating his participation in …a good old fashioned war… Dylan comments acidly that …She made well sure her neighbours understood… Then, inevitably, the narrative becomes darker. John’s letters stop arriving. After she hears that he is returning she goes to meet him from a train. But a great shock is in store for her. The description of John’s condition is uncompromisingly graphic: … His face was all shot up and his hand was all blown off/ And he wore a metal brace around his waist/ He whispered kind of slow, in a voice she did not know/ While she couldn’t even recognize his face… John is so damaged that he can hardly manage a reply. But it is clear that any idealism he may have had has gone. He tells her that while he was ..on the battleground’, you were home acting proud/ You wasn’t there standing in my shoes …
In the next two verses John gives us a harrowing description of being caught up in the madness of battle. He soon realises how futile it all is. …The thing that scared me most… he tells her bitterly …When my enemy came close/ I saw that his face looked just like mine… Perhaps we may imagine that the mother of this ‘enemy’ – who presumably John has killed – had also proudly sent her boy out to fight. John now realises that he is …just a puppet in a play… In the devastating final lines we hear that …he dropped his medals down into her hand… He has realised, far too late, that he has been manipulated.
PROTEST….
Although there is little real poetry in the song, and the outcome is arguably predictable, the song is powerful and moving, partly because of the way Dylan structures its action and dialogue. The mother’s voice dominates the early verses but it is the heart breaking riposte of the disillusioned and permanently damaged son that forms the heart of the song. This may not be a subtle message but it is delivered with great conviction.
LINKS
STILL ON THE ROAD – ALL DYLAN’S GIGS
THE CAMBRIDGE BOB DYLAN SOCIETY
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