Bob Dylan: Joey
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Though the theme is history, Dylan grasp on the specifics here is tenuous at best. When a mobster is killed, asking "Why'd they want to come and blow you away?" should probably be rhetorical. Joey Gallo, romanticized in this song, was by all accounts not the Jesse James-like figure portrayed here. He lived and died through extortion and murder; if "his closest men were black men," it was only because he knew there was money to be made. Dylan has always had a fondness for the outlaw, appearing in Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid and singing songs about the real John Wesley Hardin and the fictional Jack of Hearts. If Joey doesn't quite fit the mold, by god Bob'll make him.
So maybe this is a case where, to appreciate the song, you gotta push history aside for a little while. If you take the lyrics at their word, this Joey is a guy in a bad scene, trying only to protect his friends and family. When he sees his murderers coming, he knocks over the table he's eating to protect his family. What a guy.
A song way too long to have fit our last theme, the 11-plus minutes are made bearable by the scene setting music. Accordion and flamenco guitar put us right in the Little Italy where Joey hung out, and Emmylou Harris' backing vocals make it a less classically "Dylan" performance. So, if the historical inaccuracy of the lyrics annoy you, just enjoy the music.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
History: Joey
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4 comments:
That's a great theme-oriented-song, in my opinion.
Thugs are oftentimes glamorized by musicians. Like you say, "Dylan has always had a fondness for the outlaw...", but Bob ain't the only one.
Maybe we, as planet crawlers, are at the end of history being a malable, "through-the-mists-of-time," modification, what with absolutely everything being documented (and even posted to YouTube within minutes!)... maybe we are at the end of myth-a-bility. Maybe cold, hard, provable facts will displace folk-tale storytelling, from here on out.
Maybe. But Dylan did it well with this one, and so did you.
Great song, great post. But I´m not sure about the ´flamenco guitar putting us right in Little Italy´ bit... as flamenco is exclusively Spanish.
Haha, yeah ramone, I was hesitant about putting that in there, but I couldn't think of a better descriptor of the guitar style, strumming the high strings very quickly. It might even be a ukulele, but that's not very Italian either. But it SOUNDS like Little Italy.
Emmylou is the best.
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