| "Ophelia" | |
|---|---|
 Japanese single cover | |
| Single bythe Band | |
| from the albumNorthern Lights – Southern Cross | |
| B-side | "Hobo Jungle" |
| Recorded | 1975 |
| Genre | |
| Length | 3:32 |
| Label | Capitol Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Robbie Robertson |
| Producer(s) | The Band |
"Ophelia" is a song written byRobbie Robertson that was first released byThe Band on their 1975 albumNorthern Lights – Southern Cross. It was the lead single from the album. It has also appeared on several of the group'slive andcompilation albums, and has been covered by such artists asVince Gill andMy Morning Jacket.
The lyrics tell of the singer's attempt to find the heroine Ophelia.[1][2] The relationship between the singer and Ophelia is never made explicit. Author Craig Harris refers to her as the singer's old friend, while music critic Nick DeRiso considers her his lover.[2][3] But he finds out that Ophelia has left town, apparently in a hurry.[2][4] According to Band biographerBarney Hoskyns, the name Ophelia for the song did not come fromShakespeare'sHamlet but rather fromMinnie Pearl's real name.[1] But Shakespeare scholar Stephen M. Buhler sees some Shakespearean echoes in "Ophelia," particularly related toOthello.[4] In particular, Buhler sees hints that perhaps Ophelia is a black woman in a Southern town who was forced to flee because of Southern attitudes at the time towards interracial relationships with the white singer.[4] Lyrics Buhler uses to support this view include the following, suggesting that the relationship between Ophelia and the singer was illegal:[4]
Lines such as the singer asking Ophelia to "please darken my door," suggest to Buhler that the issue may be the color of Ophelia's skin.[4] But according to Harris' interpretation, nostalgia is the key theme to the song.[2]
"Ophelia" is an uptempo song with similarities to earlier Band songs "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show" fromStage Fright and "Life Is a Carnival" fromCahoots.[1][5] The song has aDixieland flavor.[1][3][5] DeRiso hears a combination of rustic and modern elements in the music.[3]Levon Helm sings the lead vocal.[1][2][3] According to Hoskyns, the song has "the same good-humoured regret with which [Helm] infused "Up on Cripple Creek."[1]Garth Hudson plays multiple instruments, includingsynthesizer and multiplebrass andwoodwind instruments, which contributes significantly to the Dixieland flavor.[1][2][3] As a result of the success of Hudson's playing, DeRiso regards "Ophelia" as "Hudson's triumph, his musical testament, his masterpiece."[3] Robertson plays a more prominent guitar part than he had typically played on earlier Band songs.[3]
According to Robertson, "The chord progression on 'Ophelia' was something that could have come out of the 1930s. The storytelling was ancient and modern in the same breath. The full-on modernism in the sound, in the arrangement, was paramount in Garth’s experimentation. It is unquestionably one of his greatest feats, in my opinion, on any Band song."[3]
Credits are adapted from the liner notes ofA Musical History.[6]
According toThe New Rolling Stone Album Guide critic Mark Kemp, "Ophelia" is one of three songs onNorthern Lights – Southern Cross, along with "Acadian Driftwood" and "It Makes No Difference," on which "Robertson reclaims his reputation as one of rock's great songwriters."[7]Cash Box called it a "funky shuffle in the Band's best found-and-lost woman tradition," and said "Levon Helm's floppy drums kick the piece along, and his vocal is impeccably mournful" and that "Robbie Robertson plays an absolutely steaming guitar solo."[8]Record World called it "a festive sounding tune chock full ofBayou funk."[9]
"Ophelia" appeared on many Band live and compilation albums. It appeared on the compilations albumsThe Best of the Band (1976),To Kingdom Come: The Definitive Collection (1989) andGreatest Hits (2000).[10] It was also included on the box setsAcross the Great Divide (1994) andA Musical History (2005).[10] A live version was included in the film and album versions ofThe Last Waltz[2][10] Another live version was included onLive in Tokyo 1983.[10]
My Morning Jacket covered "Ophelia" on the 2013 tribute albumLove for Levon.[11]Vince Gill covered the song on thesoundtrack to the 1994 filmMaverick.[12]ALO also recorded a version for the bonus disc to the 2007 tribute albumEndless Highway: The Music of the Band.[13]
"Ophelia" was one of the songs performed during the first (and so far only) live performance byDr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem at theOutside Lands Festival in 2016.[14]
"Ophelia" was also recorded by Texas singer/songwriter Randy Brown and released on his 2007 albumHard Face to Face.
"Ophelia" is featured on theGibson Brothers' 2006 albumLong Way Back Home.
Widespread Panic covers the song regularly.
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