Walls of Red Wing

"Walls of Red Wing" is a folk and protest song, written by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Originally recorded for Dylan's second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan,[1] it was not included, and eventually attempted for his next work, The Times They Are a-Changin', but, again, this version was never released. The version recorded for Freewheelin' eventually appeared on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991. The song describes a boys' reform school located in Red Wing, Minnesota.

"Walls of Red Wing"
Song by Bob Dylan
from the album The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991
ReleasedMarch 26, 1991
RecordedApril 24, 1963
GenreFolk
Length5:05
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Bob Dylan

Composition

Dylan based "Walls of Red Wing" on the traditional Scottish folk ballad "The Road and the Miles to Dundee", which he may have learned during his trip to London in early 1963, from other aspiring folk singers, such as Martin Carthy.[1] In his narration, Dylan goes to describe a juvenile detention center in Red Wing, Minnesota. The description is hyperbolical, and goes to describe the students there as "thrown in like bandits and cast off like criminals",[2] the walls of "barbed wire" and the fence with "electricity's sting",[2] the guards holding their clubs like they were "kings",[2] and the supposed "dungeon" of the building.[2] Despite these harrowing descriptions, Red Wing was not the impenetrable "Gothic fortress" (as John Bauldie calls it[1]) portrayed in this song.[1]

Cover versions

Joan Baez covered this song on her 1968 album Any Day Now; Ramblin' Jack Elliot covered it in 1997 on his album Friends of Mine.[3]

gollark: Nobody said "l"? Disappointing.
gollark: k
gollark: Hypothetically.
gollark: If you survey the active people here and ask "do you consider yourself depressed" or something, I think it would be quite a lot higher than the population average; maybe not the *internet* average.
gollark: ACTIVE people.

References
  1. Bauldie, John, Linear Notes to The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3
  2. Lyrics to "Walls of Red Wing" bobdylan.com. Retrieved August 23, 2010
  3. Bjorner: Walls of Red Wing Covers Bjorner's It Ain't Me Babe. Retrieved August 23, 2010
  • Lyrics at the official Bob Dylan website
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