Reaction: Subterranean Homesick Blues by Bob Dylan

Hip-hop fan reacts to his first Bob Dylan song. Is this a precursor to rap? DJ hears this unusual song and sees the ground-breaking video from the 60's.
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Johnny's in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
Thinking about the government
The man in the trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he's got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid
It's somethin' you did
God knows when
But you're doing it again
You better duck down the alley way
Lookin' for a new friend
A man in the coonskin cap, in the pig pen
Wants eleven dollar bills, you only got ten
Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin' that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the D.A. Look out kid
Don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don't tie no bows
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows
Oh, get sick, get well
Hang around a ink well
Hang bail, hard to tell
If anything is goin' to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the army, if you fail
Look out kid
You're gonna get hit
But losers, cheaters
Six-time users
Hang around the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool
Lookin' for a new fool
Don't follow leaders, watch the parkin' meters
Oh, get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance
Learn to dance, get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don't steal, don't lift
Twenty years of schoolin'
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Don't wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don't want to be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump don't work
'Cause the vandals took the handles

[@resilientrecoveryministries]

It's called a talking blues. He gave it a 60's artistic update. But it has its roots in what are called talking blues.

[@kevinmccarthy4088]

Truth. One of Dylan's primary inspirations was Woody Guthrie who did a fair amount of them. Dylan might have been the first one to put it to a jangly rock beat with electric guitar, bass, drums, piano, and tambourine all blaring on the groove.

[@resilientrecoveryministries]

@@kevinmccarthy4088 like a lot of Dylan's stuff, this song has deep roots and is also a quantum leap forward. That's part of the reason I keep listening...lots to consider and connect.

[@NondescriptMammal]

arguably an early forerunner to rap

[@Diecastclassicist]

Exactly. Woody Guthrie was Bob’s prime source for talkin’ blues, but others have done it just as well, for example John Lee Hooker.

[@AndrewVelonis]

Yes, that's exactly what I was going to say. Thank you.

[@robertzimmerman3980]

Dylan was rapping before we knew what rap was !

[@debjorgo]

Beatles Lennon and McCartney were actually hearing this for the first time together. John looked at Paul and said "How the hell are we going to compete with that?"

[@MarlboroughBlenheim1]

In fact Lennon said he could ever write anything as good as that. And he never did.

[@debjorgo]

@@MarlboroughBlenheim1 I don't think I'd go that far. Strawberry Fields, Happiness is a Warm Gun, Imagine, Tomorrow Never Knows....

[@Hexon66]

None even as good as George, must less Dylan.

[@MarlboroughBlenheim1]

@@debjorgo not even close lyrically to this one, not even close, in terms of original imagery, wordplay, tight rhyming scheme and innovation. Musically, yes, the Beatles with Epstein did some new stuff I agree. But they did that as a group with heavy input from their producer. And they did it later in their careers. Dylan wrote this on his own, in his early 20s. It was the first rap song.

[@debjorgo]

@@MarlboroughBlenheim1 I think you mean Martin. Epstein was the manager; never went into the studio. The Beatles were still in their twenties when they split. The songs I mentioned were far better than anything Dylan ever did. By the time of Rubber Soul (1965, only a year after their debut on Sullivan), the Beatles, not their producer, were the ones changing the direction of music. "Can you give us this horn sound, George? Can you sync these two takes together?" Their lyrics got progressively better too. )Hell, they were influenced by Dylan.) People talk about Dylan's influence on the Beatles. Dylan had to change his whole act when the Beatles came along. (Why did he ditch his Folk style and go electric in '65?) But listen, I have about 30+ Bob Dylan albums. I know how good he is. I like his version of Things we Said Today, a Beatles' song from '64.

[@matthewzuckerman6267]

I spoke to Martin Carhy a few years ago, and he said he, Dylan and Donovan wrote up the cards in their hotel room the night before. And yes, it was Bob's idea.

[@skzcnt]

In the documentary during the UK tour, you see him and his pals drawing them up in the hotel room. I can't remember which documentary though, maybe Don't Look Back

[@matthewzuckerman6267]

@@skzcnt There was a bonus dvd of outtakes released with Don't Look Back a few years ago. I think it was in that.

[@Newfie-zc7ug]

Thank you for that little tid bit ....I'm a BIG Donovan fan.

[@matthewzuckerman6267]

@@Newfie-zc7ug Martin said Donovan's cards were three most artistic.

[@Sumotori.]

That was the first ever music video . Rap rock before rap was a thing. Kick ass song. Thanks❤

[@dylanthompson8511]

Dylan, Joan Baez, Donovan, and Bobby Neuwirth all did the cards together one day.

[@madams6198]

"Suckcess"

[@jeffmartin1026]

Early amphetamine NYC Bob - what can be said about his early days? A master of lyrics from the very start. His flow on this song is considered by many to be the original seed of Rap - but who knows. The line "you don't need a weathervane to know which way the wind blows" was the inspiration for the name of the radical left wing political group The Weathermen in the 1960's. "Stay away from those who carry a fire hose" is a reference to the Civil Rights movement, people being hit with water hoses to break up the protesters/marchers. Dylan has a huge catalog but I would suggest Tangled Up In Blue. And you have heard a Dylan song before when you listened to All Along The Watchtower. For other caustic views of early 1960's reality give a listen to Trouble Every Day or Brown Shoes Don't Make It by Frank Zappa or Mothers Little Helper by The Rolling Stones. And Crown of Creation by Jefferson Airplane - just 'cuz it's a great, sadly overlooked song. Carry On!!

[@debjorgo]

The rock band Jet named their album "Get Born" after a line in this. INXS' Mediate uses the flash cards a la Dylan.

[@TommiBrem]

Trouble Every Day, definitely.

[@Dan-eh4tg]

Not Weathervane, weatherman.

[@kalishakta]

​@@TommiBremAlso Hungry Freaks, Daddy by Zappa.

[@hippiejane2683]

My daughter loves him. Wasn’t until she bought a book about his lyrics that I fully appreciated him. Only musician to win the Nobel prize for Literature. Introduce him to Blowin’ in the Wind or The Times They are A-Changin’.

[@robertzimmerman3980]

He won a academy award for the song things have changed in the movie Wonder Boys

[@scottsmith1712]

And Allen Ginsberg and Bobby Neuwirth standing in the background.

[@D45VR]

The bearded man on the left is famous poet Allen Ginsberg, one of the Beat Generation.

[@blackeyedlily]

I see a lot of people react to this song and especially this video version of it. One thing I’m always curious about is how much people who aren’t from the generation where this came out catch on to the significance of some of the lyrics, and the phrases and catch words contained within them. One of the most famous being, “You don’t need the weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”

[@russellkaplan1818]

In London 1965 (with poet Alan Ginsburg) He did write out the cards

[@debjorgo]

Yeah, Ginsburg is in the video. I think Bob just looked at some of the cards funny so you'd notice they were different from the lyrics.

[@warrenhughes911]

It's now called RAP

[@Bends95]

Great song by Bob Dylan,still very new to him after quite a few years but he's got great music and he's an icon!

[@lettucekisses]

Best rapper of the 60s

[@enchantedwooddesigns3462]

My favorite Dylan song!!!!

[@FenderTele]

Greetings from the UK, it would be cool for you to react to highway 61 revisited or Maggies farm

[@shanenolan8252]

Ok he wrote all along the watch tower so technically you have covered his work .

[@GetSidewaysReacts]

True

[@phillipharrison2836]

Great idea!! Have a go at the Weird Al Yankovic version of this called 'Bob'. Everything on the cards is palindromic as is the title. So talented and extremely funny - classic Al.

[@shanenolan8252]

Classic. Tangled up in blue , it aint me babe or like a rolling stone ( apparently it was voted best written song ever by critics)

[@dyl-annfan6]

Also listen to "It's Alright Ma I'm Only Bleeding" similar fast delivery of amazing lyrics.

[@spencergwin9454]

One of my most favorite Dylan tracks. The seemingly random stream of consciousness lyrics, the iconic cinema verite video that opens "Don't Look Back."

[@RR-rk5gj]

1965. Listen to "It's Alright Ma" by Dylan. Rap in the 60's.

[@donnabruhn6907]

Brought back and made popular by the movie Love Actually

[@GrogMindwhip]

Too few people noticed Allen Ginsberg in the background, but I''m sure he was cool with that.

[@gregcable3250]

Similarly, try Its alright, Ma (I'm only Bleeding)

[@thorsluter7835]

That may very well be Dylan's greatest song, and given the long list of great songs he has penned, that;s saying something...

[@personampauperis7595]

So, what I remember about this song is hearing it on the lonely Texas plains on AM radio. For you youngsters, this is where you first heard music then (and before FM was a thing), only this was NOT what you were hearing on AM radio till Bob Dylan brought it--most especially in Texas.

[@martineldritch]

That's the poet Allen Ginsberg talking with someone in the background. (Ginsberg wrote the poem "Howl" and horrified a lot of uptight people in the day )

[@rolandosarabia810]

And Alan Ginsburg just hanging out in the background

[@raymeedc]

~ Signs may have been created by poet Allen Ginsburg, who’sseen here lurking around the background of the video ~

[@benhinds2971]

35 years after first hearing this it just occurred to me: this is the first rap song.

[@gregcable3250]

The one and only lyricist to win a Nobel Prize for Literature.

[@filthyphillyboy]

Dylan was going for the Street sound so the vocal flow imitates the feel of hopscotch songs: "...3-6-9, the goose drank wine, the monkey chewed tobacco onna streecar line..." He puts you right there in the inner city. Also check out Chuck Berry's Too Much Monkey Business for similar vocal flow. Dylan certainly wasn't the first to employ such an application.

[@agentjonburrows9595]

Bob Dylan was the first rapper

[@warrenhughes911]

Do Dylan..Lily Rosemary,and Jack of ahearts

[@markcasserly3992]

Hi sometime it would be great if you could react to Bob Dylan's 'Murder Most Foul' which was released in 2020!!!!

[@TheSchuyler75]

learning to keep up with the lyrics to this with no mistakes is on my bucket list. been working on it a long time! LOVE Dylan!!

[@TheSchuyler75]

you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows…great line

[@TheSchuyler75]

also love The Beatles so I’ll be checking out more reaction from this jewel of a channel 🙏🦋🌈🌞🌻💜

[@SwampCityRadio1974]

Does it owe to the beat generation and the drone delivery, the groove or trance like flow of Allan Ginsberg and co?

[@peggylovato8720]

First music video as well!

[@cathy8964]

He won the Noble prize for literature!

[@peterhughes4767]

The thing about the rythmic pattern of rap is that it is very simple and has the same pattern as a childs nursery rhyme , this is why dylan never did anything like this again .

[@bradcarroll5834]

First music video and first rap song

[@rosslynemrys5829]

They do the card thing in Love Actually 🥰 Woody Guthrie did Talking Blues songs, similar to this but Bob perfected it.

[@dougca7086]

He's the only singer ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize for literature what you did in 2016 the Nobel Committee in Sweden City change the generation with his songs his songs have been covered over 5000 times in other recordings by other artists and groups

[@deanwimbridge9318]

Wouldn’t be my first choice from Dylan but still good thanks . This was one of the first music videos made .👏

[@deanwimbridge9318]

If you try It’s alright ma (I’am only bleeding) I suggest the live speed up version. A bit harder to hear the lyric but many fans may not have seen this version. It shows of his skill on the guitar 👏 Thanks Bobs a legend

[@bigdaddypiggy]

I encourage ANY music lover to at least give Dylan a chance cuz man….😳🤯🤤🖤🤘🏻

[@robertzimmerman3980]

Check out Hurricane by Dylan

[@jnagarya519]

Try "Pawn in The Game," "Mister Tambourine Man," "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll," "Like a Rolling Stone".

[@hymanocohann2698]

Talkin' blues try "Wise Country jail"

[@jillk368]

You guys are so mellow.

[@GetSidewaysReacts]

Come back tomorrow (07/18) for our Led Zeppelin series. We made some changes.

[@gravyjohn]

From the documentary 'Don't Look Back'.

[@nelsonx5326]

Masterpiece.

[@mysteriousplankton]

Some say his style came from an old song by Chuck Berry called Too Much Monkey Business. kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXOThpl6f6mojLs

[@davidkirk6572]

Bob shuffling the cards means he's "going off script".....

[@stephaniebaldwin7645]

Masters of War

[@MrButch8844]

The poet Alan Ginsburg is the bald headed guy in the background

[@jnagarya519]

Dylan is uninformedly said to have originated "Rap". Actually his idol Woodie Guthrie did what was called "talking blues". And Woodie Guthrie probably didn't originate it either.

[@dougca7086]

React to The Times They Are A-Changin Like a Rolling Stone Tangled Up In Blue and many more by Bob Dylan

[@gastrickbunsen1957]

Was this the first rap song?

[@anfieldarcher8545]

Nobody was doing stuff like that at the time, you think he had a lot to say in this song listen to it's Alright Ma' I'm only bleeding. IMO best song he's written. And the man can write

[@arrow5599]

ginsberg wrote some of the signs

[@nevetszinodas6654]

BARS!

[@chaunceyhill7907]

Is this the precursor of RAP??

[@kevincarrigan6348]

comes outta the Beat Poetry tradition, which morphed into Rap........

[@cadlac55]

Filmed behind the Savoy Hotel. London

[@joannevincent2035]

talkin' blues

[@dougca7086]

He just sold the rights to his music portfolio 4 over 340 million dollars he had his first number one hit 2 years ago you should react to it it's called Murder most foul he wrote and performed it at 79 years old

[@norbertzillatron3456]

There is something like it. ;) Please do a reaction to Weird Al's take on this video. Different melody, but of course capturing the typical style of Bob Dylan. Aptly named "Bob". I especially would love to see you find the weird way his lyrics (completely on the cards) make sense. They really do! E.g. it starts with: "I, man, am Regal, a German am I" "Never odd or even" "If I had a Hi-Fi" ... kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXLJepyhe9Opq6s

[@madams6198]

INXS "Mediate" does the cards years later

[@readdeeply9278]

I always say this was the first rap song lol I mean, how not?

[@buckleymordecai9605]

The first rap song.

[@friendlyfelon]

This is the very first music video.....1965

[@johnmacgregor8545]

You’re listening to thee very first rap song

[@willynilly2545]

INXS also copied this on their video MEDIATE

[@stephaniedescoteaux4759]

He needs to Maggie's farm.

[@Twilight-cl3zc]

Nah that would be Dylan who wrote the placards..trust me. I can forgive our man in the green top, but you sir Mr Grey hair should be ashamed you big dosser!

[@cadlac55]

Still looks the exact same