4. North Country Blues with Christopher Vanni

Welcome to Songs of Experience: A Bob Dylan Podcast, where we explore the man and the music one song at a time.Henry welcomes Christopher Vanni to the show to talk about Bob Dylan's North Country Blues from the 1964 album, The Times They Are A-Changin'. Listen to North Country Bluesand follow along with the lyrics:North Country BluesWRITTEN BY: BOB DYLANCome gather ’round friendsAnd I’ll tell you a taleOf when the red iron pits ran plentyBut the cardboard filled windowsAnd old men on the benchesTell you now that the whole town is emptyIn the north end of townMy own children are grownBut I was raised on the otherIn the wee hours of youthMy mother took sickAnd I was brought up by my brotherThe iron ore pouredAs the years passed the doorThe drag lines an’ the shovels they was a-humming’Til one day my brotherFailed to come homeThe same as my father before himWell a long winter’s waitFrom the window I watchedMy friends they couldn’t have been kinder And my schooling was cutAs I quit in the springTo marry John Thomas, a minerOh the years passed againAnd the givin’ was goodWith the lunch bucket filled every seasonWhat with three babies bornThe work was cut downTo a half a day’s shift with no reasonThen the shaft was soon shutAnd more work was cutAnd the fire in the air, it felt frozen’Til a man come to speakAnd he said in one weekThat number eleven was closin’They complained in the EastThey are paying too highThey say that your ore ain’t worth diggingThat it’s much cheaper downIn the South American townsWhere the miners work almost for nothingSo the mining gates lockedAnd the red iron rottedAnd the room smelled heavy from drinkingWhere the sad, silent songMade the hour twice as longAs I waited for the sun to go sinkingI lived by the windowAs he talked to himselfThis silence of tongues it was buildingThen one morning’s wakeThe bed it was bareAnd I’s left alone with three childrenThe summer is goneThe ground’s turning coldThe stores one by one they’re a-foldin’My children will goAs soon as they growWell, there ain’t nothing here now to hold them Follow Christopher Vanni @Vanni621 and check out his substack - https://christopherv.substack.com/  Follow us on Instagram @songsofbob,If you would like to support hosting my podcasts, please check out my Patreon where for $5 I will give you a shout out on the podcast of your choice. Thank you to, Rob Kelly, Roberta Rakove, Matt Simonson, and Christopher Vanni. For $10, in addition to the shout-out I'll send you a surprise piece of Bob Dylan merch! Thank you to Kaitie Cerovec who is already enjoying her merch! I have a merch shop! Check out all sorts of fun Bob Dylan (and more) items! Thank you to Mark Godfrey, & Linda Maultsby over on Substack.Email us at [email protected]: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Substack.