Kingston Crossroads: Re: "Only A Pawn In Their Game"

Hi Ken,

Admittedly, my favorite Bob Dylan album is THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN' followed by FREEWHEELIN' which is a close second.
Both LPs are masterpieces in their own right, although Bob recorded so many great albums.

Yet there's something about EARLY BOB DYLAN which Columbia Records will be celebrating and highlighting on October 31st - official release date:

BOB DYLAN THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOW / 1956-1963

Box Set of 4 LPs (vinyl)
Box Set of 8 CDs which includes a Hardcover Book
An edited 2 CD version (for the very casual fan)

*** ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME ***

Side 2 of the LP: THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN' literally starts off with a BANG:

"A bullet from the back of a bush took Medgar Evers' blood...."

Bob Dylan wasted no time getting to the assassination of Civil Rights Activist, Medgar Evers.

Pretty much the same way Bob began "THE LONESOME DEATH OF HATTIE CARROLL" :

"William Zanzinger killed poor Hattie Carroll...."

Meanwhile ----

A 20 year old Bob Dylan wrote "ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME" in support for "African-Americans" during the American Civil Rights Movement.

Bob Dylan first performed this song at a voter registration rally in Greenwood, Mississippi (July 6, 1963) at the request of Pete Seeger.
Bob sang it again at the Newport Folk Festival, a few weeks later (on July 26th).

Yes, and Bob Dylan also performed "ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME" at the March on Washington (August 23, 1963) gathering....
where Martin Luther King gave his legendary "I Have A Dream" speech.

Bob Dylan later mentioned he received only a "scattered response" to "ONLY A PAWN IN THEIR GAME" because so many of the Marchers did NOT agree with the sentiments
of the song which, in their opinion, exonerate Medgar Evers murderer as a poor white man manipulated by race-baiting politicians and injustices of the social system:

>>> "He Can't Be Blamed....He's Only A Pawn In Their Game" <<<

Excellent Post, Ken. / Folk On

Previous Message

I feel compelled to post this Bob Dylan song on this day when someone is being canonized for spreading a message that, IMHO, seeks to divide us. May we finally one day live up to the ideals and guidelines outlined in The Constitution.

"Only A Pawn In Their Game"
Words and Music by Bob Dylan A bullet from the back of a bush took Medgar Evers’ blood
A finger fired the trigger to his name
A handle hid out in the dark
A hand set the spark
Two eyes took the aim
Behind a man’s brain
But he can’t be blamed
He’s only a pawn in their game A South politician preaches to the poor white man
“You got more than the blacks, don’t complain
You’re better than them, you been born with white skin,” they explain
And the Negro’s name
Is used it is plain
For the politician’s gain
As he rises to fame
And the poor white remains
On the caboose of the train
But it ain't him to blame
He’s only a pawn in their game The deputy sheriffs, the soldiers, the governors get paid
And the marshals and cops get the same
But the poor white man’s used in the hands of them all like a tool
He’s taught in his school
From the start by the rule
That the laws are with him
To protect his white skin
To keep up his hate
So he never thinks straight
'Bout the shape that he’s in
But it ain't him to blame
He’s only a pawn in their game From the poverty shacks, he looks from the cracks to the tracks
And the hoof beats pound in his brain
And he’s taught how to walk in a pack
Shoot in the back, with his fist in a clinch
To hang and to lynch
To hide 'neath the hood
To kill with no pain
Like a dog on a chain
He ain't a-got no name
But it ain't him to blame
He’s only a pawn in their game Today, Medgar Evers was buried from the bullet he caught
They lowered him down as a king
But when the shadowy sun sets on the one
That fired the gun
He’ll see by his grave
On the stone that remains
Carved next to his name
His epitaph plain
Only a pawn in their game #BobDylan #OnlyAPawnInTheirGame #TheTimesTheyAreAChangin