40 50 years ago Bob Dylan recorded the Ballad of Hollis Brown (August 7, 1963), the story of a South Dakota farmer out of work and desperate. It is a story as contemporary today as it was then, with 25% (or more) of children in this country in poverty and going hungry
This interpretation of the conditions of the working class by a 22 year old kid from the North country is unmatched in its simplicity, two chords and the setup of each verse by repeating the first line.
When I was much younger I learned this song from my Bob Dylan Songbook (which I still have), and as I recently got a banjo and was flailing around on it learning chords and scales, the tune emerged out of my muscle memory. So I am relearning it.
Below are the verses with my own tidbits of commentary.
In the first and second verses we are introduced to Hollis Brown and his situation.
Hollis Brown
He lived on the outside of town
Hollis Brown
He lived on the outside of town
With his wife and five children
And his cabin fallin’ down
You looked for work and money
And you walked a rugged mile
You looked for work and money
And you walked a rugged mile
Your children are so hungry
That they don’t know how to smile
The third and fourth verses reinforce the pressures that are fueling his desperation.
Your baby’s eyes look crazy
They’re a-tuggin’ at your sleeve
Your baby’s eyes look crazy
They’re a-tuggin’ at your sleeve
You walk the floor and wonder why
With every breath you breathe
The rats have got your flour
Bad blood it got your mare
The rats have got your flour
Bad blood it got your mare
If there’s anyone that knows
Is there anyone that cares?
Fifth verse Hollis does what all God fearing people fall back on.
You prayed to the Lord above
Oh please send you a friend
You prayed to the Lord above
Oh please send you a friend
Your empty pockets tell yuh
That you ain’t a-got no friend
Sixth and seventh verses the pressure mounts
Your babies are crying louder
It’s pounding on your brain
Your babies are crying louder now
It’s pounding on your brain
Your wife’s screams are stabbin’ you
Like the dirty drivin’ rain
Your grass it is turning black
There’s no water in your well
Your grass is turning black
There’s no water in your well
You spent your last lone dollar
On seven shotgun shells
Eighth and ninth verses he sees a solution (not unlike what we are seeing today)
Way out in the wilderness
A cold coyote calls
Way out in the wilderness
A cold coyote calls
Your eyes fix on the shotgun
That’s hangin’ on the wall
Your brain is a-bleedin’
And your legs can’t seem to stand
Your brain is a-bleedin’
And your legs can’t seem to stand
Your eyes fix on the shotgun
That you’re holdin’ in your hand
Tenth verse
There’s seven breezes a-blowin’
All around the cabin door
There’s seven breezes a-blowin’
All around the cabin door
Seven shots ring out
Like the ocean’s pounding roar
Eleventh verse gives us a coda that nothing is going to change.
There’s seven people dead
On a South Dakota farm
There’s seven people dead
On a South Dakota farm
Somewhere in the distance
There’s seven new people born