Only a Pawn in Their Game

"Only a Pawn in Their Game" is a song written by Bob Dylan about the assassination of civil rights activist Medgar Evers in Jackson, Mississippi, on June 12, 1963. Showing support for the African Americans during the American Civil Rights Movement, the song was released on Dylan's The Times They Are a-Changin' album in 1964.

"Only a Pawn in Their Game"
Song by Bob Dylan
from the album The Times They Are a-Changin'
ReleasedJanuary 13, 1964
RecordedAugust 7, 1963
GenreFolk, blues
Length3:33
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Bob Dylan
Producer(s)Tom Wilson

The lyrics attribute blame for the killing and other racial violence to the rich white politicians and authorities who manipulated poor whites into directing their anger and hatred at black people.[1] The song suggests that Evers's killer does not deserve to be remembered by name in the annals of history, unlike the man he murdered ("They lowered him down as a king"), because he was "only a pawn in their game."

Recording and initial performances

Dylan first performed "Only a Pawn in Their Game" at a voter registration rally in Greenwood, Mississippi on July 6, 1963 at the request of Pete Seeger. A month later, on August 7, he recorded several takes of the song at Columbia's studios in New York City, selecting the initial attempt for release on The Times They Are a-Changin'.[2]

Dylan sang the song at the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963 at which Martin Luther King gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.[3]

See also

References
  1. NPR Staff (June 12, 2013). "Bob Dylan's Tribute To Medgar Evers Took On The Big Picture". npr.org. NPR. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  2. Margotin, Phillipe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (October 27, 2015). Bob Dylan: All the Songs. New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. pp. 96–97. ISBN 9781579129859.
  3. Greenman, Ben (August 28, 2013). "Dream Songs: The Music of the March on Washington". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 28, 2013.


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