Jump to content

Only a Pawn in Their Game: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
added assassination date/location to lede...addl edits (minor)
→Information: renamed section...added basic details on performances...moving addl material to new section (if I decide to keep it...redundant in one case, no source in the other]]
Line 22: Line 22:
The lyrics attribute blame for the killing and other racial violence to the rich white politicians and authorities who manipulated poor whites into directing their anger and hatred at black people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/06/12/190743651/bob-dylans-tribute-to-medgar-evers-took-on-the-big-picture|title=Bob Dylan's Tribute To Medgar Evers Took On The Big Picture|last=NPR Staff|date=June 12, 2013|website=npr.org|publisher=[[NPR]]|access-date=October 8, 2019}}</ref> The song suggests that Evers's killer does not deserve to be remembered by name in the annals of history, unlike the man he murdered ("They lowered him down as a king"), because he was "only a pawn in their game."
The lyrics attribute blame for the killing and other racial violence to the rich white politicians and authorities who manipulated poor whites into directing their anger and hatred at black people.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2013/06/12/190743651/bob-dylans-tribute-to-medgar-evers-took-on-the-big-picture|title=Bob Dylan's Tribute To Medgar Evers Took On The Big Picture|last=NPR Staff|date=June 12, 2013|website=npr.org|publisher=[[NPR]]|access-date=October 8, 2019}}</ref> The song suggests that Evers's killer does not deserve to be remembered by name in the annals of history, unlike the man he murdered ("They lowered him down as a king"), because he was "only a pawn in their game."


==Recording and initial performances==
==Information==
Dylan first performed "Only a Pawn in Their Game" at a voter registration rally in [[Greenwood, Mississippi]]. The song refers to the murder of Medgar Evers, who was the Mississippi leader of the [[NAACP]]. Civil rights activist Bernice Johnson would later tell critic Robert Shelton that "'Pawn' was the very first song that showed the poor white was as victimized by discrimination as the poor black. The Greenwood people didn't know that [[Pete Seeger]], [[Theodore Bikel]] and Dylan were well known. (Seeger and Bikel were also present at the registration rally.) They were just happy to be getting support. But they really like Dylan down there in the cotton country."<ref>Source?</ref>
Dylan first performed "Only a Pawn in Their Game" at a voter registration rally in [[Greenwood, Mississippi]] on July 6, 1963 at the request of [[Pete Seeger]]. A month later, on August 7, he recorded seven takes of the song at [[Columbia Records|Columbia's]] studios in [[New York City]], selecting the initial attempt for release on ''The Times They Are a-Changin'''<ref>{{cite book|last=Margotin|first=Phillipe|first2=Jean-Michel|last2=Guesdon|title=Bob Dylan: All the Songs|publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers|pages=96-97|date=October 27, 2015|location=New York, NY||isbn=9781579129859}}</ref>


Dylan sang the song at the 1963 [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]] on August 28, at which [[Martin Luther King]] gave his "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech.<ref>{{cite news|last=Greenman|first=Ben|title=Dream Songs: The Music of the March on Washington|url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/08/dream-songs-the-music-of-the-march-on-washington.html|accessdate=August 28, 2013|newspaper=The New Yorker|date=August 28, 2013}}</ref>
Dylan sang the song at the 1963 [[March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom]] on August 28, 1963 at which [[Martin Luther King]] gave his "[[I Have a Dream]]" speech.<ref>{{cite news|last=Greenman|first=Ben|title=Dream Songs: The Music of the March on Washington|url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/08/dream-songs-the-music-of-the-march-on-washington.html|accessdate=August 28, 2013|newspaper=The New Yorker|date=August 28, 2013}}</ref>


==Other versions==
==Other versions==

Revision as of 18:17, 8 October 2019

"Only a Pawn in Their Game"
Song by Bob Dylan
from the album The Times They Are a-Changin'
ReleasedJanuary 13, 1964
RecordedAugust 7, 1963
GenreFolk, blues
Length3:33
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Bob Dylan
Producer(s)Tom Wilson
The Times They Are a-Changin' track listing
Template:The Times They Are a-Chagin' tracks

"Only a Pawn in Their Game" is a song written by Bob Dylan about the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi, on June 12, 1963. Showing support for the African Americans during the American Civil Rights Movement, the song was released on Dylan's The Times They Are a-Changin' album in 1964.

The lyrics attribute blame for the killing and other racial violence to the rich white politicians and authorities who manipulated poor whites into directing their anger and hatred at black people.[1] The song suggests that Evers's killer does not deserve to be remembered by name in the annals of history, unlike the man he murdered ("They lowered him down as a king"), because he was "only a pawn in their game."

Recording and initial performances

Dylan first performed "Only a Pawn in Their Game" at a voter registration rally in Greenwood, Mississippi on July 6, 1963 at the request of Pete Seeger. A month later, on August 7, he recorded seven takes of the song at Columbia's studios in New York City, selecting the initial attempt for release on The Times They Are a-Changin'[2]

Dylan sang the song at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963 at which Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.[3]

Other versions

The singer Morrissey released a cover version of the song on his 2019 album California Son.

See also

References

  1. ^ NPR Staff (June 12, 2013). "Bob Dylan's Tribute To Medgar Evers Took On The Big Picture". npr.org. NPR. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  2. ^ Margotin, Phillipe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (October 27, 2015). Bob Dylan: All the Songs. New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. pp. 96–97. ISBN 9781579129859. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  3. ^ Greenman, Ben (August 28, 2013). "Dream Songs: The Music of the March on Washington". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 28, 2013.


Stub icon

This 1960s song-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Stub icon

This civil rights movement–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Only_a_Pawn_in_Their_Game&oldid=920274470"