Mississippi (Bob Dylan song)
Encyclopedia
"Mississippi" is the second song on Bob Dylan
's 2001 album "Love and Theft". The song was originally recorded during the Time Out of Mind
(1997) sessions, but was ultimately left off the album; Dylan rerecorded the song for "Love and Theft" in May 2001. Three outtakes (two versions on two general discs and one on the bonus disc) of this song from Time Out Of Mind sessions were included in Dylan's "official" bootleg
album Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Rare and Unreleased. Described as having beauty and gravitas, the song features a pop chord progression
and with a riff and lyrical theme similar to "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
".
Dylan offered the song to Sheryl Crow
, who recorded it for her The Globe Sessions
, released in 1998, before Dylan revisited it for Love and Theft. Crow's version reworked the song's melody, phrasing, and arrangement, and has been described contrastingly as "remarkable" and as "forgettable, head-bopping pop".
Subsequently, the Dixie Chicks
would make it a mainstay of their Top of the World
, Vote for Change
, and Accidents & Accusations Tour
s, in an approach that substantially followed Crow's. They began including the song after their political controversy and their backing arrangement includes on keyboard a guitar riff
from The Who
's "Won't Get Fooled Again
".
In 2009, Rolling Stone
named "Mississippi" the 17th best song of the decade, calling it "A drifter's love song that seems to sum up Dylan's entire career, and a rambling classic that ranks up there with 'Tangled Up in Blue
'."
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's 2001 album "Love and Theft". The song was originally recorded during the Time Out of Mind
Time out of Mind
Time Out of Mind is the 30th studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on September 30, 1997 on Columbia Records. It is his first double studio album since 1970's Self Portrait...
(1997) sessions, but was ultimately left off the album; Dylan rerecorded the song for "Love and Theft" in May 2001. Three outtakes (two versions on two general discs and one on the bonus disc) of this song from Time Out Of Mind sessions were included in Dylan's "official" bootleg
The Bootleg Series
The Bootleg Series is a collection of albums by Bob Dylan, all featuring rare and unreleased material. To date, nine volumes have been released: the first three volumes as a contiguous set; Vol. 4 Live 1966; Vol. 5 Live 1975; Vol. 6 Live 1964; Vol. 7 No Direction Home; Vol. 8 Tell Tale Signs, and...
album Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Rare and Unreleased. Described as having beauty and gravitas, the song features a pop chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
and with a riff and lyrical theme similar to "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
"Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" is a song written by Bob Dylan that appears on his 1966 album Blonde on Blonde. The album version also appears on 1971's Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. II. A live version of this song appears on the 1976 album Hard Rain; and was also released as...
".
Dylan offered the song to Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, folk, hip hop, country and pop...
, who recorded it for her The Globe Sessions
The Globe Sessions
The Globe Sessions is the third studio album by American singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow, released in 1998 . It was nominated for Album of the Year, Best Rock Album and Best Engineered Non-Classical Album at the 1999 Grammys, winning the latter two awards...
, released in 1998, before Dylan revisited it for Love and Theft. Crow's version reworked the song's melody, phrasing, and arrangement, and has been described contrastingly as "remarkable" and as "forgettable, head-bopping pop".
Subsequently, the Dixie Chicks
Dixie Chicks
The Dixie Chicks are an American country band which has also successfully crossed over into other genres. The band is composed of founding members Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison, and lead singer Natalie Maines...
would make it a mainstay of their Top of the World
Top of the World Tour
Top of the World Tour was the 2003 concert tour by American country music trio Dixie Chicks. It was in support of their album Home, and named after the song "Top of the World" on that album.-History:...
, Vote for Change
Vote for Change
The Vote for Change tour was a politically-motivated American popular music concert tour that took place in October 2004. The tour was presented by MoveOn.org to benefit America Coming Together. The tour was held in swing states and was designed to encourage people to register and vote...
, and Accidents & Accusations Tour
Accidents & Accusations Tour
The Accidents & Accusations Tour was a 2006 concert tour by the Dixie Chicks. It was their first tour where tickets were sold after the scandal which ensued in 2003 when lead singer Natalie Maines publicly criticized President George W. Bush at Shepherds Bush Empire in London during the Top of the...
s, in an approach that substantially followed Crow's. They began including the song after their political controversy and their backing arrangement includes on keyboard a guitar riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
from The Who
The Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in 1964 by Roger Daltrey , Pete Townshend , John Entwistle and Keith Moon . They became known for energetic live performances which often included instrument destruction...
's "Won't Get Fooled Again
Won't Get Fooled Again
"Won't Get Fooled Again" is a song by the rock band The Who which was written by Pete Townshend The original version of the song appears as the final track on the album Who's Next...
".
In 2009, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
named "Mississippi" the 17th best song of the decade, calling it "A drifter's love song that seems to sum up Dylan's entire career, and a rambling classic that ranks up there with 'Tangled Up in Blue
Tangled Up in Blue
"Tangled Up in Blue" is a song by Bob Dylan. It appeared on his album Blood on the Tracks in 1975. Released as a single, it reached #31 on the Billboard Hot 100...
'."