"Oxford Town" by Bob Dylan
Oxford
Town, Oxford Town
Ev’rybody’s got their heads bowed down The sun don’t shine above the ground Ain’t a-goin’ down to Oxford Town He went down to Oxford Town Guns and clubs followed him down All because his face was brown Better get away from Oxford Town Oxford Town around the bend He come in to the door, he couldn’t get in All because of the color of his skin What do you think about that, my frien’? Me and my gal, my gal’s son We got met with a tear gas bomb I don’t even know why we come Goin’ back where we come from Oxford Town in the afternoon Ev’rybody singin’ a sorrowful tune Two men died ’neath the Mississippi moon Somebody better investigate soon Oxford Town, Oxford Town Ev’rybody’s got their heads bowed down The sun don’t shine above the ground Ain’t a-goin’ down to Oxford Town Copyright © 1963 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1992 by Special Rider Music |
The story that spurred the song
In the early 60's, singer/songwriter Bob Dylan wrote a song about the riots at Mississippi State University in Oxford, Mississippi. Bob Dylan is often portrayed as writing songs to create social change, but all he was really doing was telling stories. The song was very catchy, and plainly told about the situation in Mississippi. Dylan himself was from Minnesota, and lived in New York at the time. Having not grown up in the south, hearing of the riots and Meredith probably sounded pretty ridiculous, and spurred him to write the song.
Though the federal ruling that ended legal segregation in public schools occurred in 1954, a man named James Meredith was denied admittance to Mississippi State in 1962 based on the dark color of his skin. He was an air force veteran, and had already attended a different university and performed well. The Mississippi State school officials made the decision to bar him from enrolling, which was upheld by the Governor at the time by claiming "no school will be integrated in Mississippi while I am your governor". Meredith contacted the NAACP for assistance and brought the case to the federal government. Kennedy's administration ordered the governor and school to allow Meredith's enrollment. During the few days when the federal government was negotiating with the Governor of Mississippi, riots broke out at the university from local civilians who opposed his admittance to the school (Ole' Miss Riots of 1962). From the first day he set foot on the campus in October of 1962 until he graduated in August of 1963, Meredith had hundreds of US Marshals escorting him everywhere, at all hours of the day. Can you imagine walking around with an arsenal of bodyguards just to get to your college class? "Oxford Town around the bend He come in to the door, he couldn’t get in All because of the color of his skin What do you think about that, my frien’?" |
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