"Oxford Town" is a song written by American singer-songwriter

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

in 1962. It was recorded in Columbia's Studio A on December 6, 1962, for his second album, ''

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his self-titled debut album ''Bob Dylan'' had contained only two original songs, this album ...

''. The song was composed in response to an open invitation from '' Broadside'' magazine for songs about one of the top news events of 1962: the Ole Miss riot triggered by the enrollment of a black student,

James Meredith James Howard Meredith (born June 25, 1933) is an American civil rights activist, writer, political adviser, and Air Force veteran who became, in 1962, the first African-American student admitted to the racially segregated University of Missi ...

, in the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...

on October 1. Among other submissions was Phil Ochs' song "Ballad of Oxford, Mississippi". The lyrics and music from Dylan's song were printed December 1962 in ''Broadside'' issue No. 17. Except that the University of Mississippi is located in

Oxford, Mississippi Oxford is a city and college town in the U.S. state of Mississippi. Oxford lies 75 miles (121 km) south-southeast of Memphis, Tennessee, and is the county seat of Lafayette County. Founded in 1837, it was named after the British city of Ox ...

, "Oxford Town" does not mention either Meredith or the university by name. Later, in an interview with Studs 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 the ''Freewheelin'' release, Dylan recorded a version of "Oxford Town" for Broadside Sessions in November 1962. He also recorded a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

of the song for his

music publisher A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers started to play a role in the management of the intellect ...

M. Witmark & Sons in March 1963. This version was released in October 2010 on '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 – The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964''.

Other notable recordings

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 band

Crooked Still Crooked Still is an American band consisting of vocalist Aoife O'Donovan, banjo player Gregory Liszt, bassist Corey DiMario, cellist Tristan Clarridge and fiddler Brittany Haas. They are known for their high energy, technical skill, unusual i ...

recorded the song for their 2006 album ''Shaken by a Low Sound''.

Hugues Aufray Hugues Jean Marie Auffray (; born 18 August 1929), better known as Hugues Aufray, is a French singer-songwriter and guitarist. Aufray is known for French language covers of Bob Dylan's songs. Aufray knew Dylan and his work from his time in Ne ...

released a French version of this (and 10 other Dylan songs) in 1965 on his LP ''Aufray chante Dylan''. He re-recorded it in 1995 for his ''Aufray Trans-Dylan'' album. Pat Wictor recorded Oxford Town on his album ''Heaven is so High'' in 2006.

Notes

References

* Heylin, Clinton, ''Revolution in the Air : The Songs of Bob Dylan'' Vol. 1:1957–1973.

External links

"Oxford Town" Lyrics
BobDylan.com
"Oxford Town" Music & Lyrics
'' Broadside'', December 1962, p. 6 1962 songs Songs written by Bob Dylan Bob Dylan songs Protest songs Songs against racism and xenophobia Songs based on actual events Civil rights movement in popular culture Songs about Mississippi {{civil-rights-movement-stub

Other notable recordings

See also

Notes

References

External links