
fourth track of side B of The Times They Are a-Changin ', master's third album released in January 64, this song tells of an incident that occurred a year earlier in Maryland. Zanzinger William, son of master planter alcoholic, angry that his insult bourbon comes with delay, then pack a black servant, Hattie Carroll. She died in hospital. The ruling condemns Zanzinger just six months in prison for the unfortunate suffering from high blood pressure and would have died instead of a brain hemorrhage due to abuse dealt out by Zantzinger under the weight of his blows.
Dylan insists that the trial would have been different if the criminal had not been rich with political connections (high office relations in The Politics of Maryland) and the victim of a poor woman "who just Cleaned up all The Food From The Table ". Dylan ends up full of irony: justice, fully egalitarian imposes the same sentences for all ("even get Properly Handled The Nobles"), severely condemns ("Strongly handed out") to six months in jail the culprit.
The melody is captivating and the lyrics of accuracy and lucidity to make you shiver and have enclosed a link to this post allowing to read the French translation.
The document below is exceptional, Dylan performed this song during the "Steve Allen Show . This excerpt gives to see the Dylan quintessential early sixties. The camera ventures timidly to observe the reactions of young audiences, just as captivated by the work embarrassed by the subject it addresses. Dylan forces them to revisit their convictions and the vision they relate to the contradictions of a country with an open mind and pretend reformer is still a chimera.
Didier Boudet
PS: I suggest you read the interview by jazzman Hank Jones with the newspaper Le Monde on music and American society.