Every song Bob Dylan mentions in ‘Murder Most Foul’
Of all the elements in his arsenal, a keen sense of time and place is the one that sets Bob Dylan apart. His melodies are magical, but then there’s always The Beatles. His poetry is astounding, but Joni Mitchell is no slouch in that department either. His tracks might be complex and pushed beyond pop standards, but folks like Tom Waits have reinvented a few wheels, too.
But did any of their words spear the zeitgeist in the manner of ‘Like a Rolling Stone’? Did any of them kickstart a genuine revolution, the sort the FBI would actively try to neutralise, quite like ‘Masters of War’? Did any of them prompt 250,000 upstanding citizens to march on Washington as ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ did? No—and that is why Dylan is the greatest.
Over the years, he hasn’t just written great songs, he has written songs that mattered. In 2020, when the world was reflecting, he decided to deliver another timely masterpiece in the form of ‘Murder Most Foul’. As the lyrics hint when he croons, “For the last 50 years we’ve been searching for that,” the song was written almost ten years prior to its release. As ever, Dylan simply left his epic stewing. If, indeed, he did write it in 2013, that’s a bold move in itself for a then-72-year-old man to make.
Alas, rather than rush it to the stands, the oracle of modern music waited for the right time—waited for the moment when perusing the past and declaring the deliverance of music was most apt, most in need by the masses. It landed in the midst of the pandemic, and over the course of 16 meditative minutes, it felt like a great weight was being lifted. For all the dower history contained within, at the end of it all, you start to sing, play some Bob Dylan and pour me a gin. It’s a song that simply celebrates music, and in the dark days of lockdown, it slid hope therein.
While the final verses simply toss up a playlist like a radio request hour, the early stanzas are also littered with subtle nods to songs and musical heroes, too. The line, “Wait a minute, boys,” throws up a fitting call back to his previous rally against injustice with ‘Hurricane’ and the classic line, “Wait a minute boys, this one’s not dead”.
Likewise, he throws in an ultra-subtle nod to the uber-fans of his lauded oeuvre with the line “The man who fell down dead like a rootless tree,” which harks back to his memoir’s obituary for Hank Williams: “It was like a great tree had fallen.” It is an archive of American musical history, Dylan’s place within it, and how great songs are perhaps America’s proudest component—many of which were stirred up by “a dark day in Dallas” and the counterculture revolution that followed.
From the subtle to the straightforward, we’ve done our best to wade through the lyrics and offer up a playlist of every song and artist that Dylan mentions throughout. Where the words get ambiguous, we’ve used our knowledge of his taste to try to fill in the gaps and pump for renditions he’d like the most.
As Nick Cave wrote back when the anthem became a balm to lubricate the wheels of society once more in 2020: “Dylan’s relentless cascade of song references points to our potential as human beings to create beautiful things, even in the face of our own capacity for malevolence.” It is a beautiful thing in itself, and we’re honouring it with a playlist below.
Every reference in the lyrics has been highlighted in bold, we’ve then compiled a list of the corresponding songs in order below, and we’ve wrapped them up in a playlist too. It was painstaking so please be forgiving if I have missed any.
‘A Murder Most Foul’, the lyrics:
Twas a dark day in Dallas, November ’63
A day that will live on in infamy
President Kennedy was a-ridin’ high
Good day to be livin’ and a good day to die
Being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb
He said, “Wait a minute, boys, you know who I am?”
“Of course we do, we know who you are”
Then they blew off his head while he was still in the car
Shot down like a dog in broad daylight
Was a matter of timing and the timing was right
You got unpaid debts, we’ve come to collect
We’re gonna kill you with hatred, without any respect
We’ll mock you and shock you and we’ll put it in your face
We’ve already got someone here to take your place
The day they blew out the brains of the king
Thousands were watchin’, no one saw a thing
It happened so quickly, so quick, by surprise
Right there in front of everyone’s eyes
Greatest magic trick ever under the sun
Perfectly executed, skillfully done
Wolfman, oh Wolfman, oh Wolfman, howl
Rub-a-dub-dub, it’s a murder most foul
Hush, little children, you’ll understand
The Beatles are comin’, they’re gonna hold your hand
Slide down the banister, go get your coat
Ferry ‘cross the Mersey and go for the throat
There’s three bums comin’ all dressed in rags
Pick up the pieces and lower the flags
I’m goin’ to Woodstock, it’s the Aquarian Age
Then I’ll go to Altamont and sit near the stage
Put your head out the window, let the good times roll
There’s a party goin’ on behind the Grassy Knoll
Stack up the bricks, pour the cement
Don’t say Dallas don’t love you, Mr. President
Put your foot in the tank and step on the gas
Try to make it to the triple underpass
Blackface singer, whiteface clown
Better not show your faces after the sun goes down
I’m in the red-light district, like a cop on the beat
Livin’ in a nightmare on Elm Street
When you’re down in Deep Ellum, put your money in your shoe
Don’t ask what your country can do for you
Cash on the barrelhead, money to burn
Dealey Plaza, make a left-hand turn
I’m goin’ down to the crossroads, gonna flag a ride
The place where faith, hope, and charity died
Shoot him while he runs, boy, shoot him while you can
See if you can shoot the invisible man
Goodbye, Charlie, goodbye, Uncle Sam
Frankly, Miss Scarlet, I don’t give a damn
What is the truth, and where did it go?
Ask Oswald and Ruby, they oughta know
“Shut your mouth, ” said the wise old owl
Business is business, and it’s a murder most foul
Tommy, can you hear me? I’m the Acid Queen
I’m riding in a long, black Lincoln limousine
Riding in the backseat next to my wife
Heading straight on in to the afterlife
I’m leaning to the left, I got my head in her lap
Hold on, I’ve been led into some kind of a trap
Where we ask no quarter, and no quarter do we give
We’re right down the street from the street where you live
They mutilated his body and they took out his brain
What more could they do? They piled on the pain
But his soul’s not there where it was supposed to be at
For the last fifty years they’ve been searchin’ for that
Freedom, oh freedom, freedom over me
I hate to tell you, mister, but only dead men are free
Send me some lovin’, tell me no lies
Throw the gun in the gutter and walk on by
Wake up, little Suzie, let’s go for a drive
Cross the Trinity River, let’s keep hope alive
Turn the radio on, don’t touch the dials
Parkland hospital, only six more miles
You got me dizzy, Miss Lizzy, you filled me with lead
That magic bullet of yours has gone to my head
I’m just a patsy like Patsy Cline
Never shot anyone from in front or behind
Got blood in my eye, got blood in my ear
I’m never gonna make it to the new frontier
Zapruder’s film, I’ve seen that before
Seen it thirty-three times, maybe more
It’s vile and deceitful, it’s cruel and it’s mean
Ugliest thing that you ever have seen
They killed him once and they killed him twice
Killed him like a human sacrifice
The day that they killed him, someone said to me, “Son
The age of the Antichrist has just only begun”
Air Force One comin’ in through the gate
Johnson sworn in at 2:38
Let me know when you decide to throw in the towel
It is what it is, and it’s murder most foul
What’s new, pussycat? What’d I say?
I said the soul of a nation been torn away
And it’s beginning to go into a slow decay
And that it’s thirty-six hours past Judgment Day
Wolfman Jack, he’s speaking in tongues
He’s going on and on at the top of his lungs
Play me a song, Mr. Wolfman Jack
Play it for me in my long Cadillac
Play me that, “Only The Good Die Young”
Take me to the place Tom Dooley was hung
Play, “St. James Infirmary” and, “The Port of King James”
If you want to remember, you better write down the names
Play Etta James, too, play “I’d Rather Go Blind”
Play it for the man with the telepathic mind
Play John Lee Hooker, play “Scratch My Back”
Play it for that strip club owner named Jack
Guitar Slim going down slow
Play it for me and for Marilyn Monroe
Play, “Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”
Play it for the First Lady, she ain’t feeling any good
Play Don Henley, play Glenn Frey
Take it to the limit and let it go by
Play it for Carl Wilson, too
Looking far, far away down Gower Avenue
Play, “Tragedy” play, “Twilight Time”
Take me back to Tulsa to the scene of the crime
Play another one and, “Another One Bites the Dust”
Play, “The Old Rugged Cross” and, “In God We Trust”
Ride the pink horse down that long, lonesome road
Stand there and wait for his head to explode
Play, “Mystery Train” for Mr. Mystery
The man who fell down dead like a rootless tree
Play it for the Reverend, play it for the Pastor
Play it for the dog that got no master
Play Oscar Peterson, play Stan Getz
Play, “Blue Sky”, play Dickey Betts
Play Hot Pepper, Thelonious Monk
Charlie Parker and all that junk
All that junk and, “All That Jazz”
Play something for the Birdman of Alcatraz
Play Buster Keaton, play Harold Lloyd
Play Bugsy Siegel, play Pretty Boy Floyd
Play the numbers , play the odds
Play, “Cry Me A River” for the Lord of the gods
Play Number Nine, play Number Six
Play it for Lindsey and Stevie Nicks
Play Nat King Cole, play, “Nature Boy”
Play, “Down In The Boondocks” for Terry Malloy
Play, “It Happened One Night” and, “One Night of Sin”
There’s twelve million souls that are listening in
Play, “Merchant to Venice” play, “Merchants of Death”
Play, “Stella by Starlight” for Lady Macbeth
Don’t worry, Mr. President, help’s on the way
Your brothers are coming, there’ll be hell to pay
Brothers? What brothers? What’s this about hell?
Tell them, “We’re waiting, keep coming”
We’ll get them as well
Love Field is where his plane touched down
But it never did get back up off the ground
Was a hard act to follow, second to none
They killed him on the altar of the rising sun
Play, “Misty” for me and, “That Old Devil Moon”
Play, “Anything Goes” and, “Memphis in June”
Play, “Lonely At the Top” and, “Lonely Are the Brave”
Play it for Houdini spinning around his grave
Play Jelly Roll Morton, play, “Lucille”
Play, “Deep In a Dream” and play “Driving Wheel”
Play, “Moonlight Sonata” in F-sharp
And, “A Key To The Highway” for the king of the harp
Play, “Marching Through Georgia” and, “Dumbaroton’s Drums”
Play, “Darkness” and death will come when it comes
Play, “Love Me Or Leave Me” by the great Bud Powell
Play, “The Blood-stained Banner” play, “Murder Most Foul”
All the songs references in ‘Murder Most Foul’:
- ‘It’s a Good Day to Die’ – Robbie Robertson
- ‘Hurricane’ – Bob Dylan
- ‘Smokestack Lightnin’’ – Howlin’ Wolf
- ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’ – The Beatles
- ‘Ferry Cross the Mersey’ – Gerry & The Pacemakers
- ‘Dress Rehearsal Rag’ – Leonard Cohen
- ‘Aquarius / Let Sunshine In’ – The 5th Dimension
- ‘Altamont’ – Aphrodite’s Child
- ‘Let the Good Times Roll’ – Shirley & Lee
- ‘There’s a Party Going On’ – Wanda Jackson
- ‘Money to Burn’ – George Jones
- ‘Cross Roads Blues’ – Robert Johnson
- ‘The Invisible Man’ – Queen
- ‘The Wise Old Owl’ – Kay Thompson
- ‘Tommy Can You Hear Me?’ – The Who
- ‘The Acid Queen’ – The Who
- ‘Long Black Limousine’ – Elvis Presley
- ‘In the Backseat’ – Arcade Fire
- ‘On the Streets Where You Live’ – John Michael King
- ‘Oh, Freedom’ – Joan Baez
- ‘Send Me Some Lovin’’ – Little Richard
- ‘Walk on By’ – Burt Bacharach
- ‘Wake Up Little Susie’ – The Everly Brothers
- ‘Dizzy Miss Lizzy’ – Larry Williams
- ‘Crazy’ – Patsy Cline
- ‘New Frontier’ – Donald Fagen
- ‘What’s New, Pussycat?’ – Tom Jones
- ‘Wolfman from the Sunset Strip’ – Wolfman Jack
- ‘Only the Good Die Young’ – Billy Joel
- ‘Tom Dooley’ – The Kingston Trio
- ‘St James Infirmary’ – Cab Calloway
- ‘I’d Rather Go Blind’ – Etta James
- ‘Tupleo’ – John Lee Hooker
- ‘Scratch My Back’ – Otis Redding
- ‘Down Through the Years’ – Guitar Slim
- ‘I Wanna Be Loved By You’ – Marilyn Monroe
- ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ – Nina Simone
- ‘Take it to the Limit’ – The Eagles
- ‘Heaven’ – Carl Wilson
- ‘Far, Far Away’ – Slade
- ‘Tragedy’ – Norah Jones
- ‘Twilight Time’ – The Platters
- ‘Take Me Back to Tulsa’ – Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
- ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ – Queen
- ‘The Old Rugged Cross’ – Johnny Cash
- ‘That Lonesome Road’ – James Taylor
- ‘Mystery Train’ – Elvis Presley
- ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’ – Hank Williams
- ‘Blue and Sentimental’ – Oscar Peterson
- ‘The Girl from Ipanema’ – Stan Getz
- ‘Blue Sky’ – The Allman Brothers Band
- ‘Time to Roll’ – Dickey Betts
- ‘Hot Pepper’ – Floyd Cramer
- ‘Straight, No Chaser’ – Thelonious Monk
- ‘Summertime’ – Charlie Parker
- ‘All That Jazz’ – Eliza Minnelli
- ‘Birdman of Alcatraz’ – Rick Wakeman
- ‘Pretty Boy Floyd’ – Woody Guthrie
- ‘Cry Me a River’ – Dinah Washington
- ‘If 6 was 9’ – Jimi Hendrix
- ‘Dreams’ – Fleetwood Mac
- ‘Nature Boy’ – Nat King Cole
- ‘Down in the Boondocks’ – Billy Joe Royal
- ‘One Night of Sin’ – Elvis Presley
- ‘Stella by Starlight’ – Chet Baker
- ‘Love Field’ – Elvis Costello & The Attractions
- ‘House of the Rising Sun’ – Dave Van Ronk
- ‘Misty’ – Ella Fitzgerald
- ‘That Old Devil Moon’ – Chet Baker
- ‘Anything Goes’ – Cole Porter
- ‘Memphis in June’ – Hoagy Carmichael
- ‘Lonely at the Top’ – Randy Newman
- ‘King Porter Stomp’ – Jelly Roll Morton
- ‘Lucille’ – Little Richard
- ‘Deep in a Dream’ – Frank Sinatra
- ‘Driving Wheel’ – Al Green
- ‘Moonlight Sonata’ – Ludwig van Beethoven
- ‘Key to the Highway’ – Muddy Waters
- ‘Blue and Lonesome’ – Little Walter
- ‘Marching Through Georgia’ – Tennessee Ernie Ford
- ‘Dumbarton’s Drums’ – The Corries
- ‘Darkness at the Edge of Town’ – Bruce Springsteen
- ‘Love Me or Leave Me’ – Billie Holliday
- ‘You Go To My Head’ – Bud Powell
- ‘Murder Most Foul’ – Bob Dylan
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