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Bob Dylan’s Dream  (Bob Dylan)

by Stewart Grant & Jürgen Kloss

Links The lyrics to “Bob Dylan’s Dream” from Bob Dylan.com More 19th century Broadsides: Lady Franklin’s Lament For Her Husband (n.d., Bodleian Library) Lady Franklin’s Lament For Her Husband (David Murray Collection, University Of Glasgow) The Croppy Boy (ca. 1850, Bodleian Library) More about Lord Franklin: LordFranklin.com The Plight of Lord Franklin and the Efforts of Lady Franklin (Christopher Hudson)

I. “Bob Dylan’s Dream” & “Lord Franklin”

Recorded on 24 April 1963 and released on "Freewheelin'", 27 May 1963. An early unreleased version is from a session at Gerde's Folk City, New York, 8 February 1963 and it also appears on the Witmark Studio demos from April 1963. The first concert performance was probably at Town Hall, New York City, 12 April 1963. 52 live performances are documented: 6 in 1963 and 46 in 1991.

The song is based on 'Lord Franklin' (also known as 'Franklin the Brave', 'Lady Franklin's Lament', 'The Franklin Expedition' and others), an English 19^th century ballad about the British Admiral Sir John Franklin and his disappearance while attempting to find the Northwest Passage of the Arctic in 1845, written around 1852. Songs about this topic were widely available on broadsides in Britain in the second half of the 19^th century. The Bodleian Library collections include this ballad as well as prints of two more different songs, one also called “Lady Franklin’s Lament”(n.d.), the other one called “Lament On The Fate Of Sir Franklin And His Crew” (ca. 1860), printed besides the original ballad.

According to the Traditional Ballad Index variants from oral tradition were collected in Britain and in Canada. The first recorded versions were by Canadian singers Wade Hemsworth and Alan Mills for Folkways in 1955 and 1956. Paul Clayton – an expert for maritime songs – also recorded it in 1956 on his Tradition – LP “Whaling & Sailing Songs from the Days of Moby Dick” and reported as the source for his lyrics the book Eighteen Months On A Greenland Whaler (1878) by Joseph Faulkner. The first British recording obviously was by A. L. Lloyd ca. 1956 on “The Singing Sailor” for Topic.

Also a particular thing of note is that  according to Nicholas Carolan, the tune of the song is "the oldest dateable Irish melody" (16th century) and appears to originate from the Irish "Cailin o cois t'Siure me" or "Cailín Óg a Stór" (I am a girl from beside the river Suir). A variant of the melody was also used for “The Croppy Boy”, printed on broadsides and songsheets in Britain and the USA since 1813, recorded by John McCormack in 1906 and mentioned by James Joyce in “Ulysses”. It is also closely related to the tune used for "McCaffery".

Though Dylan might have known “Lord Franklin” from the recordings mentioned above or from Paul Clayton personally he only wrote “Bob Dylan’s Dream” after listening to Martin Carthy – whose version most likely came from the traditional music collector and singer A. L. Lloyd -  performing this song during his first visit to London in late 1962.

Interview with Martin Carthy 1991 (Dave Brazier, The Telegraph 42) Q - Dylan based some of his songs on things he'd learned from you -- "Girl From The North Country," for example, came from your "Scarborough Fair." Did he tell you at the time that that's what he was aiming at doing? MC - Oh yes. He would always ask me to sing it, that one and Lord Franklin. And when he came back from... erm, I thought he went to Portugal but somebody told me he went to Italy, but anyway he went away, because there was a screw up with the filming on Madhouse On Castle Street, a strike, actually. At nine o'clock the technicians pulled the plugs and because they hadn't finished filming, they had to start all over again. So he went away for a while and then came back and filmed it again. And when he came back, he'd written Girl From The North Country, he came down to The Troubadour and said, "Hey, here's Scarborough Fair" and he started playing this thing. And he kept getting the giggles, all the time he was doing it. It was very funny. I think he sang about three or four verses and then he went. ''Ah man ah,'' and he burst out laughing and sang something else. So yeah, l knew what he was doing. It was delightful, lovely. 'cos I mean he... he made a new song. Q - It's part of the folk tradition, isn't it, to base one song on another song? MC - Well, I don't know whether it is a folk tradition or not, but I took it as an enormous compliment, to the song and, if you like, to me. You know, I thought he was a tremendously honourable bloke. Still do. It was a great thing to have done. quoted from www.bobdylanroots.com

Dylan keeps the melody intact – in fact it is nearly identical to Lloyd’s and Carthy’s versions – and “references the older text and retains its central theme, reflection upon loss […] His most fervent wish, like Lady Franklin’s, is to be reunited with departed companions and to relive the fond memories they represent” (Harvey, p. 19).

II. Lyrics

All available texts are very similar and can be traced back to the broadside text that is identical on all three prints I know.  I don’t doubt that the original words of this song were written by a professional but now anonymous street poet and songwriter. A contemporary print (1855) of “Barbara Allen” from the David Murray collection at the University Of Glasgow offers the typical poet’s PR of that time: “Songs, Parodies And Epitaphs written by the Poet on the shortest notice, and on the most reasonable terms”.

Later versions tend to be shorter, especially if they were taken from field recordings, like A. L. Lloyd’s variant collected on the Falkland Islands. The original version has 12 verses, Lloyd has only 6. The two basic motifs, the dream scenery and the the idea of giving lot of money - “Ten thousand pounds I would freely give”- are used in “Bob Dylan’s Dream”. In fact Dylan’s lyrics are built on this motives and he connects them with the typical 19th century style idea of “longing for the lost youth” that he also uses for “Girl From The North Country”, a song written at the same time.

1 - Lady Franklin’s Lament (from 19th century broadside sheets)

You  seaman bold, that have long withstood Wild storms of Neptune’s briny flood. Attend to these few lines which I now will gain. Will put you in mind of a sailor's dream. As homeward bound one night on the deep Swang in my hammock I fell asleep, I dreamt a dream, which I thought was true Concerning Franklin and his brave crew. I thought as we neared to the Humber shore, I heard a female that did deplore, She wept aloud and seemed to say, Alas! my Franklin is long away. Her mind it seemed in sad distress, She cried aloud I can take no rest, Ten thousand pounds I would freely give, To say on earth that my husband lives. Long time it is since two ships of fame Did bear my husband across the main, With one hundred seamen with courage stout, To find a north western passage out With one hundred seamen with hearts so bold, I fear have perished in frost and cold, Alas, she cried, all my life I’ll mourn, Since Franklin seems never to return. For since that time seven years are past, And many a keen and bitter blast, Blows o’er the grave where poor seamen fell, Their dreadful sufferings no tongue can tell. To find a passage by the North Pole Where tempests wave and wild thunders roll,, Is more than any mortal man can do, With hearts undaunted and courage true. There's Captain Austen of Scaboro town, Brave Granville and Penny of much renown With Captain Ross and so many more, Have long been searching the Arctic shore. They sailed east and they sailed west, To Greenland's coast they knew best, In hardships they have vainly strove, On mountains of ice where their ships were drove. In Baffin's Bay where the whale fish blows The fate of Franklin nobody knows, There's many a wife and child to mourn, In griefeous sorrow for their return. These sad forebodings they give me pain, For the long lost Franklin across the main, Likewise the fate of so many before, Who have left their homes to return no more

2 - Lord Franklin - (Traditional: Collected by A. L. (Bert) Lloyd ; arr. Stan Kelly).

“This version was collected from Edward Harper, a whale-factory blacksmith of Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands, by Bert Lloyd, who sings the ballad with nobility and splendour on a Topic record”.

I was homeward bound one night on the deep, Swinging in my hammock I fell asleep, I dreamed a dream and I thought it true Concerning Franklin and his gallant crew. I dreamed we neared the English shore, I heard a lady weep and deplore, She wept aloud and she seemed to say: Alas, that my husband is so long away. With a hundred seamen he sailed away To the frozen ocean in the month of May, To seek the passage around the Pole, Where we poor seamen do sometimes roll. Through cruel hardships they vainly strove, Their ship on mountains of ice was drove, Where the Eskimo in his skin canoe Was the only ones that ever came through. Now my sad burden it gives me pain, For my long-lost Franklin I'd cross the main. Ten thousand pounds I would freely give To say on earth that my Franklin do live. In Baffin's Bay where the whalefish blow, The fate of Franklin no man may know,   The tale of Franklin no tongue can tell, Lord Franklin along with his sailors do dwell.

3 - Lady Jane Franklin's Lament - (collected & arranged by Fred Johnston)

" I have what I have worked out is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, version of Lady Jane Franklin's Lament, and I found it on a vinyl of sea-songs; it is recorded on my album, "Get You". It's quite long and contains no real information about the expedition, save to say it is lost - I wrote a play on Franklin's voyage subsequently, which was performed in Galway, Ireland. Franklin was dead before the doomed trek across the ice, led by William Crozier of Banbridge, Co Down, Ireland, took place. Franklin died of heart failure." - Fred Johnston -

While homeward bound one night on the deep Slung in my hammock, fast asleep I had a dream which I thought true Concerning Franklin and his bold crew - 'Twas as we neared the English shore I heard a lady sadly deplore She wept aloud and seemed to say "Alas my Franklin, he's so long away - "It's seven years since that ship of fame First bore my husband across the main With hearts undaunted and courage stout To seek a North-west passage out - "To seek a passage 'round the Pole With a hundred seamen brave and bold. With hearts undaunted and courage true It's what no man on earth may do. "There's Captain Osborne of Scarb'rough Town Brave Perry and Winslow of high renown There's Captain Ross, and many more In vain they cruised round the Arctic Shore - They saild East and they saild West Off Greenland's coast where they thought the best Mid hardships and dangers they vainly strove On mountains of ice their ships was hove. "In Baffin's Bay where the whale-fish blow The fate of Franklin no man may know Ten thousand pounds would I freely gave To say on earth my husband still do live. "And bring him back to the land of life Where once again I could be his wife I'd give all the wealth that I e'er shall have But I fear, alas, he has found a grave, "A voice within that I can't control Is assurance to me of his peace of soul Oh Arctic seas, what you have seal'd On Judgement Day, will be revealed".

III. The Story

Sir John Franklin set out to find the Northwest Passage in 1845, one of many expeditions sponsored by the British Royal Navy - the disappearance of the ship and entire 128 crew sparked huge interest at the time and led to as many as 50 further expeditions. See the book by Owen Beattie 'Frozen in time' (1987)

Notes on Lord Franklin's expedition
from http://www.solarhaven.org/franklin.htm

British Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin (1786-1847), discovered the Northwest Passage, but disappeared in the course of the exploration. Entering the Royal Navy in 1800, he saw service in the battles of Copenhagen, Trafalgar, and New Orleans. His seamanship, courage, and resourcefulness led to his appointment to command an overland exploring expedition from York Factory on Hudson Bay to the Arctic. Between 1819 and 1822, Franklin followed the Coppermine River and traced the shoreline east of Coronation Gulf, covering about 8,930 km (5,550 miles). In a second expedition (1825-27) he descended the Mackenzie River and explored the region west of the river's mouth. In recognition of these services, he was knighted in 1829.

After serving (1836-43) as governor of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), Franklin was sent in search of the Northwest Passage in 1845. His ships, Erebus and Terror, were last seen in Baffin Bay on July 25 or 26, 1845. When nothing was heard from the party, no fewer than 40 expeditions were sent to find him. In 1854, Dr. John Rae of the Hudson's Bay Company found the first proof that Franklin's vessels had sunk. In 1859, Leopold McClintock, commanding Fox, a search vessel outfitted by Lady Franklin, discovered a cairn that revealed Sir John had died on June 11, 1847, in King William's Land and had, in fact, found the Northwest Passage. Further expeditions were sent to the Arctic, but they simply confirmed the earlier discoveries.

Not until the 20th century did a ship traverse the Northwest Passage. Roald Amundsen sailed from Oslo on the Gjoa in 1903, spent almost two years on King William Island, and then followed the Canadian coast westward. He reached Cape Nome, Alaska, in August 1906 and sailed on to San Francisco.

From "The Whale Hunters" by Robert Smith -

"In April, 1854, while surveying the Boothia Peninsula, John Rae (from Orkney) found the first key to the Franklin mystery - and put himself in line for an award worth £10,000.
At Pelly Bay he met an Eskimo, Innook-po-zhee-jook, who said he had heard stories from other natives of thirty-five or forty white men who had starved to death some years earlier, about twelve days' journey away. Later that year, it was established that the bodies had been found near the estuary of the Great Fish River. The Eskimos brought a mass of relics to Rae at Repulse Bay - one of Franklin's decorations, a small plate with his name on it, silver forks and spoons, a surgeon's knife, a gold watch, and other items. They also told Rae that Franklin's starving men had committed acts of cannibalism.
When this news reached Britain the reaction was shock and disbelief. The writer Charles Dickens, while obviously believing that the 'treacherous and cruel' Eskimos might eat each other, thought it was 'in the highest degree improbable' that Englishmen would eat Englishmen. Doubt was cast on both Rae's discovery and on the cannibalism report, but the Orkney explorer held his ground. He got his £10,000, with £2,000 of it going to his men."

IV. Recordings

Lord Franklin/Lady Franklin’s Lament etc

The Croppy Boy -

Sources:

Addendum: From the magazine The Living Age, USA 1860

Feel free to use this thread in the MoreRootsOfBob - Blog for any comments etc

© Stewart Grant
StewartGrant@morerootsofbob.com
www.morerootsofbob.com/ballads/ballads.html
2007