Oxford Town

"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
Writer	Bob Dylan
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan track listing
"Blowin' in the Wind" "Girl from the North Country" "Masters of War" "Down the Highway" "Bob Dylan's Blues" "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" "Bob Dylan's Dream" "Oxford Town" "Talkin' World War III Blues" "Corrina, Corrina" "Honey, Just Allow Me One More Chance" "I Shall Be Free"

"Oxford Town" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan in 1962. It was recorded in Columbia's Studio A on 6 December 1962 for his second album, The Freewheelin' 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 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 #17.^[3]

"Oxford Town" does not mention either Meredith or the university by name, but 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. 'Why doesn't somebody 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 ten other Dylan songs) in 1965 on his LP "Aufray chante Dylan." Pat Wictor recorded Oxford Town on his album "Heaven is so High" in 2006, a unique and stirring version with slide guitar.

Notes

1. ^ "The Battle of Mississippi". Broadside. October 1962. http://www.broadsidemagazine.com/All/14.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-13. 
2. ^ Ochs, Phil (November 1962). "Ballad of Oxford, Mississippi". Broadside. http://www.broadsidemagazine.com/All/14.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-13. 
3. ^ Dylan, Bob (December 1962). "Oxford Town". Broadside. http://www.broadsidemagazine.com/All/17.pdf. Retrieved 2010-12-13. 
4. ^ The Bootleg Series Volume 9—The Witmark Demos: 1962-1964. bobdylan.com. http://www.bobdylan.com/#/early-demos-and-mono-recordings. Retrieved 2010-12-13. 
5. ^ Bjorner, Olof. "Still on the Road: Recording sessions & concerts, 1963". http://www.bjorner.com/still.htm#y63. Retrieved 2010-12-13. 

References

• Clinton Heylin, 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