Description
Book SynopsisBob Dylan's iconic 1962 song A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall stands at the crossroads of musical and literary traditions. Alessandro Portelli explores the power and resonance of the song, considering the meanings of history and memory in folk cultures and in Dylan's work.
Trade ReviewHard Rain is a rich and genre-busting meditation on oral history, on culture, on folklore, on poetry, on music, on Bob Dylan, and on many other things besides. Portelli, like Bob Dylan, brings to life many voices that are often not heard, and his book radiates critical acumen, encyclopedic knowledge and a bracing freshness of vision. -- Mitchell Duneier, author of
Ghetto: The Invention of a Place, the History of an IdeaWhile it is common knowledge that Dylan modeled 'Hard Rain' after 'Lord Randal,' Portelli treats the two songs equally. Neither is a footnote in the history of the other. Offering a wonderful analysis of orality and memory,
Hard Rain represents a great contribution to our understanding of oral cultures by analyzing a 1960s classic song along with a seventeenth-century ballad. Captivating. -- Yolanda Chávez Leyva, University of Texas at El Paso
Hard Rain is a tapestry of autobiographical essay, music criticism, and pop culture reflection. The style is lovely, and Portelli addresses everything from innocence and apocalypse to lyric structure and oral tradition mnemonic devices through his comparison of Bob Dylan’s 'Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall' to the traditional folk song 'Lord Randal.' -- Mary Larson, Oklahoma State University
Dylan fans, and they are legion, will appreciate the backstory and long history that influenced the style, structure, and content of one of his most powerful songs. * Library Journal *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Memory, Voice, and the Global Bob Dylan
1. Songs of Innocence and Experience
2. The Text and the Voice
3. Talking Atomic Blues
4. Which Way History?
Appendix: History’s Lessons Unlearned
Notes
Index of Names
Index of Albums
Index of Songs
