Research Catalog

Hard rain Bob Dylan, oral cultures, and the meaning of history

Title
Hard rain [electronic resource] : Bob Dylan, oral cultures, and the meaning of history / Alessandro Portelli.
Author
Portelli, Alessandro.
Publication
New York City : Columbia University Press, 2022.

Available Online

Available onsite at NYPL

Details

Description
1 online resource (192 pages)
Summary
"Hard Rain is an exploration of how oral culture and the ballad tradition shaped Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan's 1962 classic "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall." The song was written at the apex of the folk music revival and harkens back to the British traditional ballad "Lord Randal" and the 17th-century Italian ballad "Il testemento dell'avvelenato." Its theme is relevant to the post-nuclear nightmares and youth movements of the 1960s, prefiguring contemporary concerns about environmental crisis, racism, and mass migrations. Alessandro Portelli demonstrates how Dylan was able to use the folk tradition of the ballad combined with a modern sensibility to creatively question the meaning and direction of history. Will the future bring liberation or disaster? It is up to us"--
Series Statement
The Columbia oral history series
Uniform Title
Hard rain (Online)
Alternative Title
Hard rain (Online)
Subject
  • Dylan, Bob, 1941- > Criticism and interpretation
  • Dylan, Bob, 1941-
  • Lord Randal
  • Folk songs > History and criticism
  • Ballads > History and criticism
  • Music and history
Note
  • Includes index.
Access (note)
  • Access restricted to authorized users.
Contents
Introduction. Memory, Voice, and the Global Bob Dylan -- Songs of Innocence and Experience -- The text and the voice -- Talking Atomic Blues -- Which way history? -- Appendix. History's lessons unlearned -- Appendix 2. Lyrics.
LCCN
2021040204
OCLC
ssj0002613958
Author
Portelli, Alessandro.
Title
Hard rain [electronic resource] : Bob Dylan, oral cultures, and the meaning of history / Alessandro Portelli.
Imprint
New York City : Columbia University Press, 2022.
Series
The Columbia oral history series
Access
Access restricted to authorized users.
Connect to:
Available onsite at NYPL
View in Legacy Catalog