On this sad day, the 61st anniversary of the JFK Assassination, can think of no better memorial than the song by Bob Dylan's memorial song about JFK, namely, "Murder Most Foul" (2020).
To go along with that, I present also James Day's reflections on Dylan's lyrics -- line by line -- from Day's post today on Medium.com.
--Paul
Bob Dylan’s Mournful Anthem to the JFK Assassination: “Murder Most Foul”
by James Day (11/22/2024)
Released on March 27, 2020, The Bard’s epic poem — his longest released song, clocking in at nearly 17 minutes — about the Kennedy assassination and the decline it inaugurated was overshadowed by the pandemic sweeping the globe.
I first heard the song driving along California State Route 46, site of actor James Dean’s death in 1955. Dylan’s artistic allusions throughout are vast; his knowledge of the incident that took the president’s life clearly indicates that for Dylan the assassination is not simply a passing event of American history, but an integral, cruel and deliberate act, a spectacle, Kennedy an example to be made of.
Twas a dark day in Dallas, November ‘63. A day that will live on in infamy
In his opening verses Dylan equates November 22, 1963 with December 7, 1941, the day Pearl Harbor was bombed, and shaped the course of a generation.
President Kennedy was a-ridin’ high. Good day to be livin’ and a good day to die
JFK survived nearly three years of crises and was gearing up for an anticipated route in the 1964 re-election.
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
Dylan seemingly demolishes the lone gunman theory: “Wait a minute, boys”, “They blew off his head”. Also, “being led to the slaughter like a sacrificial lamb” evokes not only the Dallas motorcade leading to the ambush in Dealey Plaza, but that JFK’s murder was a message to what he stood for: “a sacrificial lamb.”
Dylan also graphically refers to the fatal head shot, depicted in Zapruder’s Frame 313, and the source of much controversy.
Shot down like a dog in broad daylight. Was a matter of timing and the timing was right
Dylan further supports the notion of conspiracy: just a matter of time.
You got unpaid debts, we’ve come to collect. We’re gonna kill you with hatred, without any respect
It occurred to me that if indeed the president was taken out by a government entity like the CIA, FBI or ONI, there are plenty of clandestine ways to do so: a convenient heart attack, a plane crash, or simply an embarrassing scandal. Or any of the ingenious strategies ZRRIFLE, JMWave and the CIA/Mafia plots to kill Castro cooked up.
Instead, the noontime execution in the city square was a deliberate act out of hate: something deeper than JFK himself. Something about the country he represented as a president. Perhaps, even, the religion to which he subscribed.
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
Dylan seems to be speaking of the whole Kennedy clan here, who never really recovered the aura of Camelot. Also, we meet LBJ, JFK’s successor, who appears here not as a conspirator per se, but himself a stooge or patsy to the needs of the murderous cabal.
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.
Again a reference to the fatal head shot. And indeed, how is it no one saw the shooters? We have testimony of seeing a purported rifleman from the sixth floor of the book depository, or smoke emitting from the grassy knoll, or Ed Hoffmann seeing someone toss a rifle to someone else, but nobody saw the shooting(s)?
“Greatest magic trick ever under the sun” is not just an empty phrase — it reveals an understanding about the mystical and occultic nature of the assassination, the strange hovering of hypnosis — even the Dealey Plaza bystanders seem frozen in a kind of mesermism as the motorcade passes.
One wonders if a source for Dylan was James Selby Downard, who essayed “King Kill/33°” on what he saw were occultic symbolism in the assassination and the chosen locale of Dealey Plaza. Downard:
“The ultimate purpose of that assassination was not political or economic, but sorcerous; for the control of the dreaming mind is the underlying motive in this entire scenario of lies, cruelty and degradation.”
Downard goes on to describe the trident-shaped layout of Dealey Plaza, a “Sun Temple,” the site of the original Mason building in Dallas — a city near the 33rd latitude and on the 33rd north parallel — designed as a pyramid with its capstone missing, where Jim Marrs and other researchers are convinced multiple assassins were planted to take out the president in a “triangulation crossfire” arrangement before his motorcade vanished under the “triple underpass.”
From the landmark 1968 work Farewell America by the pseudonymous James Hepburn: “President Kennedy’s assassination was the work of magicians. It was a stage trick, complete with accessories and false mirrors, and when the curtain fell on the actors, and even the scenery, disappeared.”
Wolfman, oh Wolfman, oh Wolfman, howl. Rub-a-dub-dub, it’s a murder most foul
Dylan’s narrator is talking in threes again: three wolfmen, perhaps, or is someone crying “wolf”? The next verse begins with the children’s song “Rub-a-dub-dub,” and our memories fill in the blanks: “three men in the tub.” Is Dylan building on the tripartite idea of a triangulation crossfire?
Hush, little children, you’ll understand. The Beatles are comin’, they’re gonna hold your hand
Dylan now introduces us to the musical references that will permeate throughout the rest of the song, here referencing the post-JFK phenomenon of the Beatles arriving to great fanfare in America.
Slide down the banister, go get your coat. Ferry ‘cross the Mersey and go for the throat
Here we have perhaps the slyest reference to actual possible conspirators: Guy Banister and David Ferrie, two men from New Orleans who were largely responsible for handling accused assassin Lee Oswald. Dylan weaves in a reference to Gerry and the Pacemakers’ 1964 song “Ferry Cross the Mersey” while simultaneously evoking the shot to JFK’s throat.
There’s three bums comin’ all dressed in rags
A nod to the infamous “three tramps” paraded for the cameras by Dallas police; later released and never identified.
“The three tramps,” briefly detained after the president was shot. Far left, the most dashing “tramp” in human history, replete with popped-collar
The symbolism of these three individuals is also significant in regards to ritual and esotericism. When Walter Cronkite told the nation on CBS that “three shots were fired at President Kennedy’s motorcade,” was he aware of the connotations with the Masonic tale of Hiram Abiff? In the story, Abiff was chief architect (master mason) for King Solomon, who is ambushed by other masons wanting know his secrets. Hiram Abiff refuses to say anything, and three times Abiff is struck by a different mason’s tool. He is killed by the last blow.
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.
Dylan weaves in autobiography here referencing Woodstock; incredibly, among the Old Catholic “priests” and “bishops” who seemed particularly invested in the Kennedy assassination was was one William H.F. Brothers, a member of Old Catholic Benedictines living in Illinois. Later, Bishop Brothers wound up in upstate New York, where he became known as Father Francis of Woodstock, the Hippie Priest. Dylan counted him as a friend and confidant.
And with “There’s a party goin’ on behind the Grassy Knoll,” any suspicion that “Murder Most Foul” doesn’t argue for conspiracy is put to rest.
Stack up the bricks, pour the cement
An allusion to Edgar Allan Poe’s tale of cruel revenge “The Cask of Amontillado”…
Don’t say Dallas don’t love you, Mr. President
Just before shots rang out, Governor Connally’s wife is said to have turned back to JFK and remarked, “Dallas loves you, Mr. President.”
Put your foot in the tank and step on the gas. Try to make it to the triple underpass.
Secret Service agent Bill Greer inexplicably slowed the presidential limo down as he set a world record for a number of head swivels just in time for the fatal head shot to the president. He sped up out of Dealey Plaza to the triple underpass, yet another reference in the area to the number three.
Blackface singer, whiteface clown. Better not show your faces after the sun goes down
Was Dallas a sundown town? Here Dylan recognizes that one cannot isolate the hit on JFK from the racial tension that dominated not only the South, but was a catalyst for his damning civil rights agenda.
I’m in the red-light district, like a cop on the beat. Livin’ in a nightmare on Elm Street.
“To me, it was where the innocent world ended.” — Wes Craven, writer and director of A Nightmare on Elm Street, acknowledging the 1984 classic horror film’s title was derived from JFK’s assassination on Elm St.
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
Deep Ellum, originally called Deep Elm, is an area near Dealey Plaza where former slaves settled after the Civil War. Allusion to JFK’s famous exhortation in his only Inaugural Address.
“Cash on the Barrelhead” is a 1956 song by Ira and Charlie Louvin; equated with the motorcade’s turn off Houston St. onto Elm suggests there was a price on JFK’s head with payment due immediately.
I’m goin’ down to the crossroads, gonna flag a ride. The place where faith, hope, and charity died.
Another tripartite reference — the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity.
Shoot him while he runs, boy, shoot him while you can. See if you can shoot the invisible man.
Ralph Ellison published The Invisible Man in 1952. It is a novel that explores white supremacy from the point-of-view of a black protagonist.
Goodbye, Charlie, goodbye, Uncle Sam. Frankly, Miss Scarlet, I don’t give a damn.
Goodbye, Charlie was a 1964 comedy with a plot that on reflection in light of the JFK killing and later the 1964 murder of Mary Pinchot Meyer sounds quite unfunny; Gone with the Wind receives a mention — continuing the recurring theme of white supremacy and the Lost Cause of the South.
What is the truth, and where did it go? Ask Oswald and Ruby, they oughta know
The only reference to accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald and the Jewish nightclub owner and bagman for the Dallas PD, Jack Ruby. Whatever they knew died with them: Oswald at the hand of Ruby on November 24; Ruby of cancer in 1966.
“Shut your mouth, “ said the wise old owl. Business is business, and it’s a murder most foul.
Another children’s rhyme — “A Wise Old Owl” — is followed two lines later by two 1969 songs by The Who. “Shut your mouth” also implies Ruby’s unspoken words as he gunned down Oswald.
Tommy, can you hear me? I’m the Acid Queen. I’m riding in a long, black Lincoln limousine
The song shifts to JFK’s point of view, told from his place in the presidential car where he will mee the fatal bullets.
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.
Dylan is drawing on visuals from the Zapruder film now, describing JFK’s body movements upon being shot. If he wasn’t so paralyzed by the neck shot, might he have been able to duck in time and avoid the 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
The narrator cites the extremely odd scenario that JFK’s brain is missing; another casualty from that weekend, this one from the botched autopsy in Bethesda.
But his soul’s not there where it was supposed to be at. For the last fifty years they’ve been searchin’ for that
Possibly the most provocative line in the song — “For the last fifty years they’ve been searchin’ for that” — is now 61 years, and the quest for the truth in the JFK case is tantamount to easing the tortured soul of JFK.
Freedom, oh freedom, freedom over me. I hate to tell you, mister, but only dead men are free
Another allusion to post-Civil War black freedom songs: Oh, freedom, oh, freedom, oh, freedom over me. And before I’d be a slave I’ll be buried in my grave, and go home to my Lord and be free.
Send me some lovin’, tell me no lies
Little Richard recorded “Send Me Some Lovin” in 1957; “tell me no lies” is a direct lyric from Dylan’s 1983 “Tell Me”: “Tell me the truth, tell me no lies”.
Throw the gun in the gutter and walk on by
It is tempting to consider this line is a wink to mobster Johnny Roselli’s uncredited produced movie He Walked By Night.
Wake up, little Suzie, let’s go for a drive. Cross the Trinity River, let’s keep hope alive
Again, three: Trinity River, just on the other side of Dealey Plaza, cuts through Dallas.
Turn the radio on, don’t touch the dials. Parkland hospital, only six more miles
The musical references are increasing now, as Dylan’s narrator references Parkland Hospital — where both JFK and Oswald were declared dead that weekend.
You got me dizzy, Miss Lizzy, you filled me with lead. That magic bullet of yours has gone to my head.
Arlen Specter’s magic bullet theory that sealed Oswald’s fate for the Warren Commission is here mentioned from JFK’s point-of-view…
I’m just a patsy like Patsy Cline. Never shot anyone from in front or behind
…and suddenly shifts to Oswald: “I’m just a patsy!” he proclaimed loudly and angrily while in Dallas police custody.
Got blood in my eye, got blood in my ear. I’m never gonna make it to the new frontier
Back to JFK now, weaving in the president’s New Frontier initative.
Zapruder’s film, I’ve seen that before. Seen it 33 times, maybe more. It’s vile and deceitful, it’s cruel and it’s mean. Ugliest thing that you ever have seen
Again, Dylan’s thirty-three evokes the Masonic, occultic nature of both Dealey Plaza and the assassination. Zapruder himself was a Mason.
They killed him once and they killed him twice. Killed him like a human sacrifice
Three mentions of “killed” in these two verses again reiterates that JFK was a sacrificial victim….
The day that they killed him, someone said to me, “Son, The age of the Antichrist has just only begun”
…reinforced here by invoking the Antichrist.
In Ceremonial Chemistry Thomas Szaz wrote, “When the ancients saw a scapegoat, they could at least recognize him for what he was: a pharmakos, a human sacrifice. When modern man sees one, he does not, or refuses to, recognize him for what he is; instead, he looks for ‘scientific’ explanations — to explain away the obvious.”
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
The rest of the song calls upon early twentieth century works of art and other cultural references.
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
….an insightful reference to the brainwashing and hypnosis that hovers over the assassinations of JFK, MLK and RFK.
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
Within this long sequence is a very chilling reminder that the conspirators remained at large after killing JFK and were now targeting the other Kennedys:
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
Here it is worth quoting David Icke: “He was the sacrifice in the ancient ritual of the Killing of the Sun King: the ‘Ceannaideach’ which is Gaelic for Wounded Head. Kennedy, of course, was shot in the head.”
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”
It’s not a mere coincidence that Dylan couples “Blood-stained Banner” with “Murder Most Foul.” It’s a Gospel song, the blood-stained banner of Jesus Christ triumphant in death. It was also the name of the national banner for the Confederate States of America in the final months of the war.
In his own unique way, Dylan’s pursuit of truth in the event that changed American destiny leads him into the swamps and fields of the South, where the dying light of the Southern Way of Life was still stoked by rebels who would rather cowardly lynch the king behind their white hoods than go quietly into the night of the past.
Comments