Chimes of Freedom, May 17
There is so much negativity, so much bad news in the world that it’s really invigorating when you go digging through your music collection to find a song to celebrate something profoundly positive.
On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court helped remove the nation’s collective head from its enormous collective ass, striking down segregation in the famous Brown v. Board of Education case. Okay, it sucks that it took until 1954 to get that one right. It sucks that it took so many years to get enforcement of that decision. It sucks that this country continues to struggle to overcome racial divides.
The road from suckitude starts with a single step, with many more to follow. Brown v. Board of Education may not have been the first step but it was a huge one and it’s worth noting. How am I remembering the moment? By listening to three different versions of “Chimes of Freedom.”
Bruce Springsteen did a cover of it, available on a semi-rare EP. The Byrds covered it on their Mr. Tambourine Man album. If The Byrds covered it, you can pretty well bet Bob Dylan wrote it. He did. There is a version of it on the No Direction Home soundtrack, which is part of the “Bootleg” series.
Filed under: Tags: Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, The Byrds
