One night, long ago, I found myself on the back of a snowmobile riding through the back alleys of Hibbing and Gilbert, Minnesota. Somebody had stolen a snowmobile, and we were looking for it. I saw the ramshackle garages and the backs of old houses. I noticed a lot of “cardboard filled windows”—dimly lit in the winter night. The iron mine had closed again, and these houses doubtlessly housed unemployed people.
“North Country Blues” by Bob Dylan tells a story told from the point of view of a single mom in Hibbing MN. Who else was writing songs like this in the early 60’s? Rolling Stone magazine does not include this song in its ranking of Dylan’s top 100 songs. I put it in my personal top 10. The song develops a novel-like plot through beautiful poetic language with rich character development.
Consider the verse:
The mining gates locked and the red iron rotted And the room smelled heavy from drinkin’
And the sad silent song made the hour twice as long As we waited for the sun to go sinkin’
I think it is one of Dylan’s best among a vast rich array of “bests.” The “sad song” is the core of the song and a beautiful line of poetry. Tom and I recorded this version live 2 years ago. I recently rediscovered it and added the other parts to spice it up a bit. I think this is one of Dylan’s best songs and that is saying a lot. It is part of our ongoing list of Dylan covers.
Tom Daddesio plays bass, Mike on guitar and vocals also produced this track and added percussions, organ and slide guitar
Mike Opitz Song Writing and Theory Project 