| "Oxford Town" | |
|---|---|
| Song byBob Dylan | |
| from the albumThe Freewheelin' Bob Dylan | |
| Released | May 27, 1963 |
| Recorded | December 6, 1962 |
| Genre | Folk |
| Length | 1:50 |
| Label | Columbia |
| Songwriter | Bob Dylan |
"Oxford Town" is a song written by American singer-songwriterBob Dylan in 1962. It was recorded inColumbia's Studio A on December 6, 1962, for his second album,The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.
The song was composed in response to an open invitation fromBroadside magazine for songs about one of the top news events of 1962: theOle Miss riot triggered by the enrollment of a Black student,James Meredith, in theUniversity of Mississippi on October 1.[1] Among other submissions wasPhil Ochs' song "Ballad of Oxford, Mississippi".[2] The lyrics and music from Dylan's song were printed December 1962 inBroadside's issue No. 17.[3]
Except that the University of Mississippi is located inOxford, Mississippi, "Oxford Town" does not mention either Meredith or the university by name. Later, in an interview withStuds 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. 'Somebody better investigate soon' that's a verse in the song."
Besides theFreewheelin' release, Dylan recorded a version of "Oxford Town" for Broadside Sessions in November 1962. He also recorded ademo of the song for hismusic publisherM. Witmark & Sons in March 1963. This version was released in October 2010 onThe Bootleg Series Vol. 9 – The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964.[4][5]
The song has been performed live only once on October 25, 1990, when Dylan appeared in Oxford at theTad Smith Coliseum on the Ole Miss campus as part of theNever Ending Tour.[6]
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 bandCrooked Still recorded the song for their 2006 albumShaken by a Low Sound.Hugues Aufray released a French version of this (and 10 other Dylan songs) in 1965 on his LPAufray chante Dylan. He re-recorded it in 1995 for hisAufray Trans-Dylan album.Pat Wictor recorded Oxford Town on his albumHeaven is so High in 2006.
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