Oxford Town: Bob Dylan's Tribute to James Meredith

Now, there's no way I can effectively hide my man-love for Bob Dylan, so, every once in a while, to get my fix, I'm going to have to post some Dylan material on here.

This song is called Oxford Town and was written by Dylan about James Meredith's enrollment into the University of Mississippi; Meredith was the first black student enrolled in the school and his acceptance and entry only happened through a direct order from President Kennedy.

There was rioting and beatings leading up to the first day of class as civil-rights workers poured into Oxford and clashed with the cities segregationists and racists.

When the dust cleared many were injured and two of those civil-rights workers were dead. This is Dylan's tribute to the ordeal. It is only 1:50 long, but, in my opinion, it is extremely effective. This is one of my favorite Dylan songs and I think it's a shame that not many people have ever heard it. What may be most impressive is that he was only 21 when he wrote this.