"Maggie's Farm" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 15, 1965, and released on the album Bringing It All Back Home on March 22 of that year. Like many other Dylan songs of the 1965-66 period, "Maggie's Farm" is based in electric blues. A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... This article is about the recording artist. ... Bringing It All Back Home is Bob Dylans fifth studio album, released in 1965 by Columbia Records. ... A vinyl EP from Crop Circles. ... is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental musical form which evolved from African American spirituals, shouts, work songs and chants and has its earliest stylistic roots in West Africa. ... In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... This article is about the recording artist. ... This article is about the recording artist. ... is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Bringing It All Back Home is Bob Dylans fifth studio album, released in 1965 by Columbia Records. ... is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, the bass guitar , and/or the harmonica. ...

Lyrics

The lyrics of the song follow a straightforward blues structure, with the opening line of each verse ("I ain't gonna work...") sung twice, then reiterated at the end of the verse. The third to fifth lines of each verse elaborate on and explain the sentiment expressed in the verse's opening/closing lines.

Maggie's Farm is best read as Dylan's declaration of independence from the protest folk movement^[1]. Punning on Silas McGee's Farm, where he had performed "Only a Pawn in Their Game" at a civil rights protest in 1963 (featured in the film Don't Look Back), Maggie's Farm recasts Dylan as the pawn and the folk music scene as the oppressor. The middle stanzas ridicule various types in the folk scene, the promoter who tries to control your art (fining you when you slam the door), the paranoid militant (whose window is bricked over), and the condescending activist who is more uptight than she claims ("she's 68 but she says she's 54"). The first and last stanzas detail how Dylan feels straight-jacketed by the expectations of the folk scene ("It's a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor" and "they say sing while you slave"), needing room to express his "head full of ideas," and to be "just like I am" rather than "just like them."

The song, essentially a protest song against protest folk, represents Dylan's transition from a folk singer who sought authenticity in traditional song-forms and activist politics to an innovative stylist whose self-exploration made him a cultural muse for a generation. (See "Like a Rolling Stone" and influence on The Beatles, etc.) Highway 61 Revisited track listing Like a Rolling Stone (1) Tombstone Blues (2) Music sample: Bob Dylan - Like a Rolling Stone 30 seconds (of 6:10) Problems listening to the file? See media help. ...

Critical responses

The critical responses are quite confused and contradictory. The common thread is that Dylan is pointing the finger of refusal and declaring his self-possession. Combined with the difficulties critics and fans have in decoding metaphor and allusion, this message has allowed all sorts of fantastical projections of meaning onto what is a very straightforward poetic expression.

For example, "Maggie's Farm" is described by Salon.com critic Bill Wyman as "a loping, laconic look at the service industry." National Public Radio's Tim Riley described it as the "counterculture's war cry," but he also notes that the song has been interpreted as "a rock star's gripe to his record company, a songwriter's gripe to his publisher, and a singer-as-commodity's gripe to his audience-as-market." However, the All Music Guide's William Ruhlmann also notes that "in between the absurdities, the songwriter describes what sound like real problems. 'I got a head full of ideas/That are drivin' me insane,' he sings in the first verse, and given Dylan's prolific writing at the time, that's not hard to believe. In the last verse, he sings, 'I try my best/To be just like I am/But everybody wants you/To be just like them,' another comment that sounds sincere." [1] For the Roy Harper album Counter Culture, see Counter Culture. ... The All Music Guide (AMG) is a metadata database about music, owned by All Media Guide. ...

However, perhaps the most true and evocative critical response to the song is Todd Haynes'. In his Dylan biopic "I'm Not There," Dylan depicts the song's debut at the Newport Folk Festival as Dylan and his band firing machine guns at the crowd. At the conclusion of the performance, Dylan declares to the stalwart folk-protest audience: "I'm sorry for everything I've done, and I hope to remedy it soon."

Newport Folk Festival 1965

"Maggie's Farm" is well-known for being at the center of the furor that surrounded Dylan after his electric set at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival; it was that set's performance of "Maggie's Farm," much faster and more aggressive than on the Bringing It All Back Home recording and featuring prominent lead electric guitar by Mike Bloomfield, that caused the most controversy. The festival's production manager Joe Boyd claimed that "that first note of 'Maggie's Farm' was the loudest thing anybody had ever heard." It is still unknown what exactly was the biggest source of the controversy, with accounts of the event differing from individual to individual. Though Dylan's move from acoustic folk to electric rock had been extremely controversial, many accounts suggest the problem was largely due to poor sound. Pete Seeger, who is often cited as one of the main opponents to Dylan at Newport 1965, claimed in 2005^{[citation needed]}: The Newport Folk Festival is an annual folk-oriented music festival founded in 1959 by George Wein, founder of the already-well-established Newport Jazz Festival, and his partner, Albert Grossman. ... For the astronaut, see Michael J. Bloomfield Michael Bernard Bloomfield (July 28, 1943 - February 15, 1981) was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, into a well-off Jewish family on Chicagos North Side. ... Joe Boyd (born August 5, 1942) is an American record producer. ... Peter Seeger (born May 3, 1919), better known as Pete Seeger, is a folk singer, political activist, and a key figure in the mid-20th century American folk music revival. ...

Singer Eric Von Schmidt has a similar recollection of the event: "Whoever was controlling the mics messed it up. You couldn't hear Dylan. It looked like he was singing with the volume off." A Master of Ceremonies or MC (sometimes spelled emcee), sometimes called a compere or an MJ for microphone jockey, is the host of an official public or private staged event or other performance. ... Eric Von Schmidt on the cover of Tomato CD 2053 Eric Von Schmidt (May 28, 1931 - February 2, 2007) was an American singer-songwriter associated with the folk/blues revival of the 1960s and a key part of the East Coast folk music scene ([1]) that included Bob Dylan ([2...

Also, Al Kooper, Dylan's organist at the concert, claims^{[citation needed]}: This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. ...

However, the style of the music features heavily in several accounts such as that of Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman - "Backstage, Alan Lomax was bellowing that this was a folk festival, you just didn't have amplified instruments." Paul Butterfield (December 17, 1942 – May 4, 1987) was an American blues harmonica player and singer, and one of the earliest white exponents of the Chicago-originated electric blues style. ... Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, and today operates under Atlantic Records Group. ... Lomax playing guitar on stage at the Mountain Music Festival, Asheville, North Carolina, sometime between 1939 and 1950. ...

The "Maggie's Farm" performance from Newport was featured and discussed extensively in the 2005 Martin Scorsese documentary No Direction Home and released on its accompanying album, The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack. Media reviews of the soundtrack were overwhelmingly positive towards the "Maggie's Farm" performance, yielding such descriptions as "blistering" [2] and "remarkably tight, and downright spine-tingling. You can sense Dylan and the band feeding off their collective nervous energy." [3] However, Al Kooper has claimed to be very unsatisfied with the performance^{[citation needed]}: Martin Marcantonio Luciano Scorsese (IPA: AmE: ; Ita: []) (b. ... For other uses, see No direction home (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Cover versions

"Maggie's Farm," like many Dylan songs, has been widely covered. In 1971, The Residents recorded a version that opens their Warner Bros. Album, however, it was not released at the time. // In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ... For other uses, see Resident. ... The Warner Bros. ...

In 1980, The Blues Band recorded a version as a commentary on Margaret Thatcher's government[4]. The line, The Blues Band were formed in Britain in 1979 by Paul Jones, former lead vocalist and harmonica player with Manfred Mann in the 1960s, and vocalist/slide guitarist Dave Kelly, who had formerly played with the John Dummer Blues Band, Howlin Wolf and John Lee Hooker among others. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and only woman to hold either post. ...

The National Guard stands around the door

being replaced with a line about the SPG, the Special Patrol Group, the controversial unit of the London Metropolitan Police then being used to quell protests. The 2-Tone ska band The Specials also recorded a version, again relating to then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. This does not cite any references or sources. ... The Metropolitan Police Service (usually just referred to as the Metropolitan Police or the Met) are the police of Greater London, England, with the exception of the square mile of the City of London, which has its own police force, the City of London Police. ... For the record label, see 2 Tone Records. ... This article is about the genre. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and only woman to hold either post. ...

At various times the song has also been a live favorite of Uncle Tupelo (1988-89 tours), U2 (1986-87), the Grateful Dead, The Specials, Richie Havens and Tin Machine, among others. Uncle Tupelo was an alternative country music group from Belleville, Illinois, active between 1987 and 1994. ... This article is about the Irish rock band. ... This article is about the band. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Richie Havens (born January 21, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York) is an African American folk singer and guitarist. ... Tin Machine was a band, formed in 1989 and fronted by David Bowie. ...

A much harder version is Rage Against the Machine's interpretation appearing on their 2000 covers album, Renegades. Rage Against the Machine, is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1991. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Alternate Covers Renegades is the fourth studio album to date by Rage Against the Machine. ...

Muse have appropriated the principle riff from the Rage Against the Machine version of the song as a coda to many of their live performances of Map of the Problematique. For other uses, see Muse (disambiguation). ... Black Holes and Revelations track listing Supermassive Black Hole (3) Map of the Problematique (4) Soldiers Poem (5) Map of the Problematique is a song by English rock band Muse and is the fourth track on their 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations. ...

U2 performed the song at the Dublin-based benefit concert Self Aid. This article is about the Irish rock band. ... For other uses, see Dublin (disambiguation). ...

The song is performed by Stephen Malkmus and "The Million Dollar Bashers" - a supergroup, which includes members of Sonic Youth and Television - on the soundtrack of the 2007 Dylan biopic I'm Not There. Stephen Malkmus (born May 30, 1966 , Santa Monica, California) is an indie rock musician and a former member of the band Pavement. ... This article is about the term in rock music. ... Sonic Youth is an American alternative rock band formed in New York City in 1981. ... Im Not There is a Golden Globe Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated 2007 biographical film inspired by the life of iconic singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. ...

The Catalonian band Mazoni performed a version of Maggie's Farm translated into the Catalan language - La granja de la Paula - on their album Si els dits fossin xilòfons (Bankrobber, 2007). The translated lyrics follow the English version, but the name "Maggie" is changed to "Paula". Catalan IPA: (català IPA: or []) is a Romance language, the national language of Andorra, and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia, and in the city of LAlguer in the Italian island of Sardinia. ...

In 2006 Silvertide covered the song for the film Lady in the Water. Silvertide is a rock band hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ... Lady in the Water is a 2006 thriller/fantasy film written, produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and also produced by Sam Mercer and Jose L. Rodriguez. ...

Popular culture

• The Beastie Boys' song "Johnny Ryall" contains the lyrics: "Washing windows on the Bowery at a quarter to four, 'Cause he ain't gonna' work on Maggie's farm no more." [5]
• The Placebo song "Slave to the Wage" contains the lyrics: "Sick and tired of Maggie's farm. She's a bitch, with broken arms, to wave your worries, and cares, goodbye". The radio edit contains the word "witch" instead of "bitch".
• The !!! song "Shit Schiesse Merde, Pt. 1" contains the lyric: "I try my very best, to be just like I am, but everybody wants me to be just like them", a lyric from Maggie's Farm.
• On Peter Mulvey's 1995 release, Rapture, the title track contains the lyrics: "Guess we're all gonna work on Maggie's farm for a little while longer now, Not tell anyone what we have inside to give."
• "Looking for a Rainbow" by Chris Rea features the lyrics: "Yeh we're Maggie's little children; And we're looking for Maggie's farm."
• In the 1980s, "Maggie's Farm" was widely adopted as an anthem by opponents to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The many instances of the song being referenced in anti-Thatcher art or literature include:
  • the Mark Knopfler song Wye Aye Man, from the album The Ragpicker's Dream, which contains the lyric "...nae more work on Maggie's Farm." The song is about redundant British laborers having to seek work in Germany, allegedly as a result of Thatcher's economic program. [http://www.dire-straits.org/Lyrics_Wye_aye_man.html
  • Cartoonist Steve Bell's comic strip "Maggie's Farm," which appeared in the London listings magazines Time Out from 1979 and later in City Limits.
• In the 2006 movie Lady In the Water, the rock band, Silvertide, that starts to play during the party at The Cove (as a setup for Story's departure), begins playing their own, harder-rock style version of Maggie's Farm.

The Beastie Boys are a hip hop musical group from New York City consisting of Michael Mike D Diamond, Adam MCA Yauch, Adam Ad-Rock Horovitz. ... Placebo are an alternative rock band currently consisting of Brian Molko and Stefan Olsdal. ... !!! (three exclamation marks, often pronounced as chk chk chk) is an American band that formed in autumn 1996 from the former bandmembers of The Yah Mos, Black Liquorice and Popesmashers. ... Peter Mulvey is a acoustic musician based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Christopher Anton Rea (born 4 March 1951) is a singer-songwriter, from Middlesbrough, England. ... The 1980s was the decade spanning from 1980 to 1989, also called The Eighties. The decade saw social, economic and general upheaval as wealth, production and western culture migrated to new industrializing economies. ... Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, LG, OM, PC, FRS (née Roberts; born 13 October 1925) served as British Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990 and leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 until 1990, being the first and only woman to hold either post. ... Mark Freuder Knopfler OBE (born August 12, 1949, Glasgow, Scotland) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and film score composer. ... The Ragpickers Dream is Mark Knopflers third solo album, released in 2002. ... Cartoonist Jack Elrod at work. ... Steve Bell at Dundee University Steve Bell (born February 26, 1951) is an English political cartoonist, whose work appears in The Guardian and other places. ... Time-out can mean: sport time-out, a break in play that may be called by a side to formulate strategy or respond to an players injury. ... City Limits Magazine was founded in 1981 in London by former staffers of Time Out. ... Lady in the Water is a 2006 thriller/fantasy film written, produced, and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and also produced by Sam Mercer and Jose L. Rodriguez. ... Silvertide is a rock band hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

References

This article cites its sources but does not provide page references. You can improve this article by introducing citations that are more precise.

1. ^ [| Spinner.com "20 Protest Songs that Matter: No. 8"]

• Dylan: Visions, Portraits & Back Pages, ed. Mark Blake (Dorling Kindersley Adult; 2005) ISBN 0-7566-1718-9