The Influence of Scottish and Irish Traditional Music on the Work of Bob Dylan

The Influence of Scottish and Irish Traditional Music on the Work of Bob Dylan

Presenter(s)

Bryce Russell

Comments

3:00-3:20, Kennedy Union 310

Description

“Jean Redpath sung a song here a while ago, which I heard Liam Clancy sing about two years ago,” Bob Dylan told the crowd huddled around him on July 26, 1963, at the Newport Folk Festival. “I was listening to her sing it, and I thought I wrote this song called ‘With God on Our Side,’ and it must have somewhere stayed in the back of my mind hearing Liam Clancy sing ‘The Patriot Game.’” The connections between Bob Dylan and the American folk music tradition have been studied since the beginning of his career. However, the folk music of Ireland and Scotland have been important catalysts of Dylan’s work as well, spanning his early folk career to his most recent album. Through numerous covers of Irish / Scottish folk songs like “The Roving Blade” and “Easy and Slow,” among others, we can see Dylan’s appreciation and knowledge for this strand of folk music. For example, he seems to have a lasting affinity for “Wild Mountain Thyme,” having played it in 1965 at the Savoy Hotel with Joan Baez, at his return at the Isle of Wight festival in 1969, and on both the 1975 and 1976 legs of the Rolling Thunder Revue.In taking a deeper look into songs like “With God on Our Side,” “Walls of Red Wing,” and others, we can see how Dylan adapted not just the melody of multiple Irish / Scottish tunes, but also the lyrical elements of rebellion and self-reflectiveness.

Publication Date

4-23-2025

Project Designation

Independent Research

Primary Advisor

John P. McCombe

Primary Advisor's Department

English

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

Institutional Learning Goals

Scholarship

The Influence of Scottish and Irish Traditional Music on the Work of Bob Dylan

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