You want a hero?
Not me, try another guy.
Like Napoleon.
"Hero Blues" was recorded for the 1963 album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" but left off the album. There are various versions available, the easiest of which to find is on the Witmark Demos, released on the ninth volume on the Bootleg Series. You also can find it on the "50th Anniversary Collection," volume 1, but it's not an easy-to-find collection or recommended for all but the completist.
You can hear the seeds of "It Ain't Me, Babe" in the lyrics. Both songs are about a woman who wants her man to be things that he's not. Witness:
- She wants him to be a hero so she can tell her friends.
- She begged, cried and pleaded for him to go out and start a fight with a stranger.
- She reads too many books and watches too many movies.
- She needs a different kind of guy, perhaps Napoleon Bonaparte.
- When he's dead, she's more than welcome to call him a hero while she stands over his grave.
Not me, try another guy.
Like Napoleon.
"Hero Blues" was recorded for the 1963 album "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" but left off the album. There are various versions available, the easiest of which to find is on the Witmark Demos, released on the ninth volume on the Bootleg Series. You also can find it on the "50th Anniversary Collection," volume 1, but it's not an easy-to-find collection or recommended for all but the completist.
You can hear the seeds of "It Ain't Me, Babe" in the lyrics. Both songs are about a woman who wants her man to be things that he's not. Witness:
- She wants him to be a hero so she can tell her friends.
- She begged, cried and pleaded for him to go out and start a fight with a stranger.
- She reads too many books and watches too many movies.
- She needs a different kind of guy, perhaps Napoleon Bonaparte.
- When he's dead, she's more than welcome to call him a hero while she stands over his grave.
Another interesting Haiku from Robert. Read enough? Then come inside Bob Dylan's Music Box http://thebobdylanproject.com/Song/id/246/Hero-Blues and listen to every version of every song.
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