| NAME | Joe | |
COMMENTS |
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| DATE | Sunday, June 18th 2006 - 08:49:04 PM | |
| NAME | reid | |
COMMENTS |
this is an essay i wrote for a class last year. iwouldnt reccommend copying it, im just an ignorant student and the research isnt very thorough. its mostly intuitive. if i got something wrong, please email me at reedsayre(AT)yahoo!dot!com. thanks.
This Essay is Dedicated to Frankie Lee Sims By Reid Sayre Frankie Lee Sims was born in New Orleans in 1917. Until he died in 1970, he was unheard of to most, or known only as (blues great) Lightnin’ Hopkins’ less talented cousin. Heavy drinking and trouble with the law prevented Sims from profiting off the folk and blues revival in the 1960s. He died unknown and poor, and was buried in an unmarked grave. This was the fate of most early blues musicians, to whom making money meant making a deal with the devil; signing a record contract meant sacrificing your creative freedom for moderate regional fame and a meager fortune. Bob Dylan’s “Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest” uses the story of Frankie Lee Sims’ struggle with the recording industry to describe his own doubts about his choices as a musician1 . Dylan endured much criticism from his fan base when he traded his acoustic guitar for an electrical one for his album “Highway 61 Revisited,” which, as a result of this switch had a less folky, more rock and roll tone. Dylan saw this change as a method of reaching more listeners with his poetry and social commentary. His fans accused him of abandoning his roots and selling out in an attempt to cash in on the rock and roll phenomenon. Making a deal with the devil is a recurring theme in folk and blues music; the most famous example of this theme is the story of Robert Johnson, one of the most well known blues musicians, who is said to have sold his soul to the devil for the ability to play guitar perfectly. In “Ballad,” Frankie Lee is driven by financial problems to make a deal with the devil; he is not so much motivated by greed as by necessity: “So when Frankie Lee needed money one day/Judas quickly pulled out a roll of tens/And placed them on a footstool/Just above the plotted plain/Sayin’ ‘take your pick, Frankie boy/My loss will be your gain’.” Recognizing the Biblical references in “Ballad” is crucial to the listener’s understanding of the song. The name Dylan has chosen for the character of Judas is important because of its religious connotations. Judas Iscariot was one of Jesus’ twelve apostles and one of his most trusted friends. Because of his skills with money management, he was entrusted as the keeper of the disciples’ funds. Succumbing to greed, Judas betrayed Jesus to the Jews for a payment of 12 silver coins. In Dylan’s “Ballad,” Judas represents a record producer who offers a struggling Frankie Lee help in exchange for his soul: “’Eternity?’ said Frankie Lee/With a voice as cold as ice/’That’s right,’ said Judas Priest, ‘Eternity’/Though you might call it paradise.” The consequences of this deal are observed by Dylan, who is the omniscient narrator of this story. Frankie Lee’s integrity is compromised by his newfound fortune: “Well Frankie Lee, he trembled/He soon lost all control/Over ev’rything which he had made/While the mission bells did toll.” The reality which makes Frankie Lee lose control is the vices that usually accompany fame: substance abuse, sexual addiction, etc. “He just stood there staring/At that big house as bright as any sun/With four and twenty windows/And a woman’s face in ev’ry one” becomes Frankie Lee’s reality. Judas tempts his “friend” into this house of prostitution with the promise of immortality2 and belonging: “’What kind of house is this,’ he said/’Where I have come to roam?’/’It’s not a house,’ said Judas Priest/’It’s not a house...it’s a home.” Dylan places himself into the end of the story to defend Frankie Lee: “No one tried to say a thing/When they took him out in jest3 /Except of course the little neighbor boy/Who carried him to rest/And he just walked along, alone/With his guilt so well concealed....” Dylan is guilty because he is struggling with the same decision Frankie Lee had made, yet his decision is made no easier by witnessing his downfall: “And muttered underneath his breath/’Nothing is Revealed.’ Dylan ends the tragic story of Frankie Lee with advice to his listeners which aspire to become, or already are, musicians: “Well, the moral of this story/The moral of this song/Is simply that one should not be/Where one does not belong/So when you see your neighbor carryin’ something/Help him with his load4 /And don’t go mistaking paradise/For that home across the road.” This verse warns that folk music by definition excludes fame and fortune. It is a medium which relies on it’s ability to connect with the common man, and an artist can lose touch with his roots when he/she achieves widespread popularity and riches. “The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest” is one of the most complicated songs Dylan has ever written5 . “No one tried to say a thing/When they took him out in jest /Except of course the little neighbor boy/Who carried him to rest/And he just walked along, alone/With his guilt so well concealed/ And muttered underneath his breath/’Nothing is Revealed’” is probably one of the most confounding verses in all of his poetry. Nevertheless, this song is invaluable and timeless because of the lesson Dylan teaches us, and touching because Dylan pours his emotions and concerns into the song, allowing the listener a glimpse at the mind of a brilliant poet. | |
| DATE | Tuesday, October 25th 2005 - 01:17:30 AM | |
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