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 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

Lyrics

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 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. He sang it again at the Newport Folk Festival on 26 July.[2] Two weeks 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'.[3]

Dylan performed the song at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech.[4] Dylan stated of the experience, in the documentary No Direction Home, "I looked up from the podium and I thought to myself, 'I've never seen such a large crowd'. I was up close when King was giving that speech. To this day, it still affects me in a profound way."[5] Nevertheless he received only scattered applause for the song, reflecting that many marchers did not agree with the sentiments of the song which exonerate Medgers murderer as a poor white man manipulated by race-baiting politicians and the injustices of the social system.[6]

The lyrics actually re-iterate the claim that the murderer "can't be blamed. He's only a pawn in their game." In fact, the state twice prosecuted the murderer in 1964, but each time the all white jury failed to reach a verdict.[7] Dylan no longer played the song after October 1964.[8] In 1969 the murderer had the original indictment dismissed. However, when these first trials were shown to be held unfairly and with new evidence available the murderer was eventually found guilty on February 5, 1994.[9]

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. "Bob Dylan Setlist at Newport Folk Festival 1963". setlist.fm. Setlist FM. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  3. 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.
  4. Greenman, Ben (August 28, 2013). "Dream Songs: The Music of the March on Washington". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 28, 2013.
  5. Greene, Andy (2020-06-09). "Flashback: Bob Dylan Performs at the 1963 March on Washington". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-08-12.
  6. Jones, William P. (2013). The March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom, and the Forgotten History of Civil Rights. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-24058-0.
  7. "White Supremacist Indicted for Third Time in Shooting Death of Medgar Evers". Jet. 79 (12). January 7, 1991.
  8. Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2015). Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track New York. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal.
  9. Batten, Donna (2010). Gale Encyclopedia of American Law (3rd ed.). p. 266.


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