BOB DYLAN - THE LONESOME DEATH OF HATTIE CARROLL | REACTION 

Yes this is a true story. It happened back in 1963. Hattie was a 51yr old black lady who was just helping out the Hotel because they were understaffed that night. She had over ten children and grandchildren. She actually passed the next day at the hospital from a stroke, but it was brought on by being struck.

Bob is a stone cold genius One of a kind The world will never see his kind again

True story (with some artistic liberties). A true classic.

The message of the song is, don't cry over the circumstances of her death, don't cry over his privileged life and the fact that he was let out on bail so readily, don't cry over her hard life and the fact that she did nothing to provoke him... cry copiously at the fact that he was punished for causing her death with a paltry SIX MONTH sentence.

The video you played is from the Bob Dylan documentary called Don't Look Back. It's a must see film for any fan of Dylan, even someone who is just curious of Bob Dylan

Absolutely a true story, with some poetic license taken as to some minor details. What's worse is that Zantzinger was taking advantage of the poor and minorities well into the '90s, if I'm not mistaken: he was a slum-lord who continued to collect rents from his former residents for many years after he lost the properties for failure to pay taxes. He even had some of the residents evicted, but no one knew to ask who the real property owner was. A real piece of work, he was.

Absolutely, this song was based on a true story, Wilburn. The incidents described in this song took place, by and large, on the evening of February the 8th 1963 and in the early hours of the next day, February the 9th 1963. According to musical peers, such as Joan Baez and Noel Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul and Mary), Dylan became accustomed to reading an article in the local or national press and then turning it into a song. He did that with this song, Oxford Town, Only a Pawn in their Game and Talkin”’ Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues, amongst others. As is often the case in highly charged and emotive situations, he did get a few of the facts wrong here and there, and he also used some poetic licence. Nevertheless, the song paints what is a substantially true story., though the cane didn’t ‘come sailing through the room’: Zantzinger was drunk and right up next to Carroll when he took his anger out on her , hitting her on the head with the cane, while complaining about her work. Zantzinger was in a foul mood that evening before he even got to the Emerson Hotel in Baltimore where Hattie Carroll worked, having already assaulted members of staff at the Eager House, a plush restaurant in an upmarket area of the city. The cane in question was actually a cheap toy., nevertheless it was heavy enough to cause injury - and death. Not long after arriving and before the Carroll incident took place, he used it to assault a waitress, calling her a ‘n....r. ‘. Naturally, she became distressed and fled the room sobbing. Shortly after this, he ordered a bourbon from Carroll but he became angry because he felt that she hadn’t served him quickly enough. He struck her on the head with the cane. Zantzinger then struck her a number of times across the neck and shoulders, all the while calling her a ‘n....r’ and a black s.o.a.b. After about a minute she said, “Just a minute” and began pouring his drink but he began to rant again and struck her again with a hard blow between the point of the shoulder and the back of her neck. After he had finished assaulting Carroll, being ever the charming and sophisticated southern gentleman, he assaulted his wife, sending her reeling to the floor, after which he further assaulted her with his shoe. Within a few minutes, Carroll began leaning against a colleague, and said that she felt unwell. After complaining to colleagues that Zantzinger had upset her, her condition dramatically deteriorated and she was admitted to hospital where she died eight hours later. She was given a spinal tap which diagnosed a brain haemorrhage; the time of death was recorded ad 9 A.M. Indeed, as Dylan stated he was charged with murder, then lowered to manslaughter and assault, his defence being that he couldn’t remember anything because he was drunk and under stress at the time (poor bastard!) After a load of legalese and ballwashing he was sentenced to six months for murder but in a court in Hagerstown, the venue having been charged, the charge was reduced to manslaughter with a fine of a $125 for one of the assaults earlier in the evening. He was also fined an additional $500 for the death of Hattie Carroll. And in one surreal final twist, his sentence was deferred for two weeks to give him time to bring in his tobacco harvest (I hope that the tobacco weevils munched through it all). Speaking after the trial in The Herald in September 1963, he said, “I will just miss a lot of snow .” His then wife, Jane said, “Nobody treats his n.....s as well as Billy does around here.” As a final note, the number of Hattie Carroll’s children is confusing. Wikipedia gives the number as nine, whilst Robert Shelton, writing in his biography of Dylan, No Direction Home, says eleven. He then says that for artistic license he rounded the figure down to ten, possibly because it favoured the melody. However, as was mentioned earlier, a few minor points aside, the song gives a reasonable and fairly true reflection of the events. I hope this helps - great review! 👍👍

One Dylan story you should check out is The Ballad of Hollis Brown

Lily, Rosemary and Jack of Hearts..is a MUST...

as long as you're checking out early acoustic Dylan, I'll again recommend "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright".

Dylan began as a fairly average folk singer who mainly sang music by others . He leaped from a single original song to many in a couple of years . The folk world was amazed at what he came up with - at such a young age . He had the broad understanding of a 40 year old at 20 . And even ideas he borrowed were totally transformed into better and more interesting ideas . This is where the legend of Dylan begins .

"Love to hear BOB tell a story"...

I've thought about this song a lot in the past few years. The message of the song is that there are evil individuals who do terrible things. But the time to feel true despair is when our society's systems are failing. It's no longer an issue of one bad person. It's a corrupt and cruel system. Sound familiar?

One of my Dylan favorites. This is a true story, yes. I love performers who can stand alone and hold a crowd in their hand. The only thing he ever got booed for was when he went electric. You see videos on YT where he's being booed and this video could be from those same shows in England. Great reaction! Love your insights into the music. I love that the most here.

Check out Masters of War, too . . .lesser known but very powerful (as are most of his songs).

Thank you for playing Dylan and thank God for creating him.

Wow what a song , genius, genius, genius,

Dylan is the best lyricist in music history. He's the first musician to be awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in it's 123 year history. There has never been anyone like him, and don't hold your breath for another.

This song is so simple but so powerful…makes me tear ip every time … the way he conveys his anger at the injustice of what happened is amazing

That whole album is just chills after chills. This one, Pawn in Their Game and When the Ship Comes In. Boots of Spanish Leather and One Too Many Mornings are beautiful...but those 'protest songs' including With God on Our Side....powerful for 1964.

This is among my list of favorites by Bob Dylan (never could pick just one). You're right, there are a lot of aspects of his songs that are unusual, including his delivery, his phrasing, and his variations of tempos in his songs (which many of his contemporaries in this period commented on). He was known for playing loosely with the timing in his songs. And he also had a unique harmonica style, and the first recording of him on a released record was as the harmonica player on Harry Belafonte's recording of "The Midnight Special"!

I love his live Rolling Thunder version of this awesome song.

Dylan story telling songs. Two of his best: Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hears and Black Diamond Bay (great stories) Also "Joey", and also "Hurricane"

I've never heard this before. Great song!

Like Bob is sitting on your couch.. One man No drums No bass He's unreal!!!!!

I believe I am correct in saying that Dylan had just attended the famous civil rights rally in Washington, D.C., where he literally sat at the feet of Martin Luther King, Jr., while he gave his famous I Have a Dream speech, and he was traveling home from this event when he read the newspaper article about the Zanzinger/Hattie Carroll case and wrote this song. You are correct that Dylan’s storytelling is something special. There is a little played song of his that I first came across on one of his bootleg compilation album‘s that I fell in love with about a corrupt hanging judge. It is called Seven Curses and I would recommend giving it a listen. It brought me to tears upon my first listen. I don’t think it is based on a true story, but more of a traditional folk ballad about injustice.

Many Artist who have played with Dylan say he can drive you nuts if you play with him. Many have said he will change the song from night to night by changing the lyrics, playing it in 4/4 time one night then playing it as a waltz the next night. Basically jump on in and hang on! When you start getting into Dylan's I guess you could call them movies you will really see what others think of him. Like the BOB DYLAN 30th anniversary Concert or No Direction Home Documentary. Amazing stuff for believers. Couple of songs, Check "Positively 4th Street" and "When Ship the Ship comes In."

Shakespeare with a guitar.. The G.O.A.T.

He read about the killing in some history account in a book when he was young. It revolted him. He sang this song at the meetings of people in the deep south where they were trying to sign up people to become voters and in his eyes begin to overturn the evils of society back in his earliest days as a singer and critic of contemporary issues. There are video's of him singing just this song in front of a small audience of black sharecroppers that had gathered to see what this young kid was all about. Dylan became a rebel in the pop music community because he kept wanting to hold a mirror up to those that ignored the old shortcomings of society back then. Dylan has many sides to his life and he still does, though he is obviously lauded for his fame and artistic singularity.

First time I heard this, and first time I heard "The Ballad of Hollis Brown", I cried.

He said he wanted to be a performer like Billie Holliday. He spoke about the wanting the reaction people would have hearing "Strange Fruit" for the first time. Mesmerizing.

He wrote this while in DC while waiting to perform at MLK "I Have a Dream" speech. He's just another dude. (wink)

Absolutely, it's his gift.

By good fortune, discovered Dylan & Zappa at 14 years in the 80s. Set standards for my musical taste, many unknown still, but them great secrets.

Woody Guthrie was an early influence. His songs became more obscure when he left The Village and raised a family in Woodstock.

I have a tear....why?...dylan has way of making you feel the real thing. It's so horrible/wonderful.

One of the most powerful "protest" songs ever, delivered in Dylan's unique manner. He wrote the song after reading a newspaper article about the incident.

In this instance his delivery is "conversational". With artful pauses.

Dylan was a fucking monster. The chorus is a well balanced statement to his legendary state

What a great song!

That was a great response to this very special Dylan song, I was a couple of years too young to have heard this in 64, but I was a Dylan fan in 66 and have been one for the rest of my life. Serious thanx for this!

The chorus to me makes the song as it is so true unfortunately still today…. His unequally “justice” is dished out… the first time I listened to this years ago… I was blown away with the change in the last delivery of the chorus… and how true it was/is

Bob Dylan is 80 years old and we won't have him forever. Where is the next Bob Dylan? I haven't heard anyone even close. No one touches my heart and brain like Dylan.

Very true from MARYLAND

Glad your experiencing Dylan’s vast catalogue. Try these at some point Blind Willie Mctell, Up to me, Abandoned Love, Dignity, Series of Dreams and Every grain of Sand. What’s amazing the majority of these were songs that were outtakes and only were released as part of the bootleg series. Also give Every Grain of Sand a listen…

Have you heard ‘Hurricane’?

This is one song that was part of the civil rights movement. Another, from the same LP, was "Pawn in Their Game".

Love to hear BOB tell a story...

With God On our Side. Just in case you weren't already in awe.

Please listen to the original recording of this masterpiece. Bob likes to mess with people in his live concerts. His originals are always much better. I have discovered after about fifty five years that Mr. Dylan is trying to say something. The music and poetry are strictly secondary, so he lets atonality and mistakes go. It is the message that counts, but with studio recordings he puts it all together as perfectly as humanly possible.

I agree with you about Dylan’s phrasing and delivery making the stories memorable. One of the many revolutions in pop music he began.

he was a big fan of woody guthrie, who also used to come in late and sing off the beat etc

Yo bro. Notice how quiet the audience is!! I've seen BOB 3 times.. We GOTTA hear every word !!!

Based on what you said about the special way he delivers the lyrics off the beat, I really recommend the version of this song from the Rolling Thunder Revue concert. It’s spellbinding and takes it to a ‘whole other level’ (to use a phrase relevant to this song!)

Murder Victim. She was murdered by, William Zantzinger, a wealthy twenty-four-year-old white tobacco farmer, because she could not serve his alcoholic beverage fast enough. Living in the segregated South, Carroll was a barmaid in a Baltimore hotel. Using his "toy" cane, Zantzinger hit her shoulder and across the head. Within five minutes, she was unable to move her arm and with a slurred speech, ran to the hotel kitchen for help. At that point, an ambulance was called and she was taken to the then segregated Mercy Hospital. She died eight hours later at the hospital. She was the mother of at least ten children. According to the medical examiner's report, she suffered from chronic hardened of the arteries, enlarged heart, and the cane did not leave a mark on her, but she died from a cerebral hemorrhage. At first charged with murder, Zantzinger was eventually charged with the lesser crime of manslaughter. Zantzinger received 6 months in prison for the crime and a fine of $500, which was the subject of a 1964 Bob Dylan's song on the album "The Times They Are A' Changin". Dylan's song was "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll." According to the October of 1963 "Times" magazine article, "Deferred Sentence," the three judges over the case deferred the start of the jail sentence until September 15th, to give Zantzinger time to harvest his tobacco crop. The judge's words as he pronounced Zantzinger's sentence confirm that Carroll's death was "caused or hastened by the defendant's verbal insults, coupled with an actual assault." Her funeral was attended by 1,600 mourners. In 2017 the Charles County Maryland Board of Commission erected in honor a memorial with a portrait of her.

He did take artistic license with some details, but overall this is as it happened. William Zantzinger was a lousy excuse for a human being and I'm glad Dylan's song made sure he could not escape what he had done even if he was never properly punished by the law at the time.

One thing that’s amazing that you don’t notice about this song is he never says the race of people. Also I love the three lines that end with “table” because it shows the monotony of her work. I love that you notice how he syncopates his rhythms and his lyrics. Unless you really know the song it is difficult to sing along because he slows down and speeds up and sing on the off beat for emphasis and interest.

Hello .No el prize in Literature!!! He's a guitar player ..lol.. G.O.A.T.

He is pure class with raw talent. His phrasing and delivery and imagery are insane

Great to see someone young get exposed to Dylan.truly an artist

Also it's a protest song. Yes it was an early 60s case in Maryland. A protest against the privilege of the killer William Zanzinger

Keep Dylan going!

Try "When the Ship Comes In"

Give a Listen to Dylans “Percy”s Song” , a similar storyteller song of his and very underrated ..

How he delivers his songs was more than enough for his audience. Like looking at a portrait it was perfect. Then he changed and decided to have a band back up his new work. Boy did this piss people off.

Continued 2: Dylan wrote often about injustices as they pertained to the Civil Rights movement and being talked about in the same breath as Woody Guthrie made him a household name in white houses in rural areas. As whites hand "Only a Pawn in their Game" it awoke a social conscience in them. Without people like Bob Dylan I just don't see L.B.J signing the Civil Rights bill into law. We need a new generation of Bob Dylan's because we are seeing a new party of conservatives who see Jim Crow as "the good old days".

Great song. Yes Bob Dylan is an acquired taste. Very unique delivery. Never does a song the same way twice in concert.

Yes true

Dylan is such an amazing performer!1

Yes, it's true

Check out “A Hard Rains gonna fall!

Love this song!!

Another singer-songwriter from that era that you should listen to is Phil Ochs. A very topical and political folk singer who's flame burned out way too soon.

Tight Connection To Your Heart. From-- Empire Burlesque

Wilburn I believe you "Get" Bob Dylan.. this is a true story

Ask yourself how old he was when he wrote and performed these finger pointing song. Very early 20's. How does he have access to this insight, wisdom and knowledge 🤔

He sings on the down beat like Frank or Willie.

Hollis Brown

Yeah he struck a 52 yr old black lady working behind the bar in a Baltimore Hotel with his walking stick and afterwards she retired to the kitchen or back area of the bar saying she felt very unwell. She died later that day. She had children too and by all accounts she spoken to this gentleman very courteously and with utmost respect, he was just drunk & in a vile mood. I didn't Wikipedia this I just researched it 30yrs ago and I will not ever forget it. William's life was made such a misery by this song...karma

Check out Hurricane - both the live event honoring John Hammond and the studio versions

This song is based on an actual case.

Yes it’s true

If you're looking for something with edge but still holding optimism from his early days.... When the Ship Comes In.

If u wanna learn more about Bob I'd suggest watching Don't Look Back, Scorseses No Direction Home & reading his autobiography Chronicles volume 1

I honestly wouldn’t give Dylan credit for any special “rhythm”. It’s all about the lyrics. Snd that’s plenty enough. He won the Nobel for literature. Poetry. That’s enough for his place in history.

Man, this one always hits me hard. @Elise Richer nails it, we as a society are failing as we failed Hattie Carroll's memory.

I am not far ahead from you on what I know about Bob Dylan. I knew his name and some of the songs that were covered before all your reactions. Also, the video INXS did covering one of Dylan's videos. One song that you haven't reacted to, I think, is "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" which have been covered a lot. I remember in the 80s there was a version I really liked, and I can't recall who covered it. And no, it wasn't Guns N's Roses version.

you're doing real good with your choices chod... true story ....just like Joey...enjoy.

as a 73 year old man who first heard this song as a young teen - new guitar I am just horrified that this song could be written today and still be relatable and shocking. Just horrified thought I would see a better day

It swells my heart to see a new generation discovering Bob Dylan. History will reflect on him having been a seriously important civil rights contributor as well as a brilliant songwriter / poet What a comment.. Take away his style and hes an Average Artist ! Mate he isnt average anything and it has nothing to do with the delivery. His words could be delivered in a sealed box and they'd resonate.. Stop trying to intellectualise over Dylan..

Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues. Do it, you'll love it.

Listen to the electric version of this from the rolling thunder tour…it’s banging

Continued: Dylan doesn't write the lyrics in that fashion to be lazy but rather to impose hard truths on the listener. We learn about the crime, then the victim, then the accused, and then the justice of the Jim Crow south. Hattie is victimized for the 2nd time when Zan(t)zinger is given 6 months for 1st degree murder (Zan(t)zinger was actually charged with 2nd degree murder). By simply telling us the facts of the case and the lives of those involved we see a sad but true indictment of the Jim Crow south. Hattie: black, 9 kids who were treated as if they didn't exist by white aristocracy that their mom worked for. Zan(t)zinger: White, aristocratic, cold blooded killer released on bond 30 minutes after murdering an innocent woman. A short while later received a 6 month sentence for murder.

Also factor in that Dylan was speaking about theses topics at a time when the Establishment did not like ''We the People'' having such open opinions on certain matters ....

Search for it.

Hattie carroll had 11 children… not 10 his name was william zantzinger… not zanzinger … the rest is true He does little things that are brilliant. An example in this song is, rather than saying “hattie carrolls life was simple and routine/redundant”. He says,” never even spoke to the people at the table, never sat once at the the head of the table, just cleaned up all the food from the table” You get the same story… but now its an image… now it has depth

can you do a reaction to U.M.C (Upper Middle Class) by Bob Seger

Poolice , Police , Poooollliceeee.

Bob Dylan is a truly great man.

Only a Pawn in the Game. Where Dylan lays it on the line about the racist murder of Medgar Evers.