On his breakout album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan released the song, “I Shall Be Free,” which was a version of an old Leadbelly song that Dylan’s idol, Woody Guthrie, had covered, but basically, it’s just a rambling satirical talking blues song. Even this early in his career (this was 1962), Dylan was already sort of poking fun at how much he was being treated as this great political thinker because he wrote, like, one hit song about stuff blowing in the wind. So in “I Shall Be Free,” President Kennedy is asking Bob for advice on how to run the country and Bob is giving nonsense answers “My friend, Bob, what do we need to make the country grow?” I said, “My friend, John, Brigitte Bardot, Anita Eckberg, Sophia Loren”
A couple of years later, Dylan poked even more fun at how he was portrayed as such a political visionary with a song on 1964’s Another Side of Bob Dylan called “I Shall be Free No. 10.” He opened with false modesty, “I’m just average, common too
I’m just like him, the same as you
I’m everybody’s brother and son
I ain’t different from anyone
It ain’t no use a-talking to me
It’s just the same as talking to you.”
And just a bunch of nonsense. It’s a fun song, but Dylan has never played it live.
Anyhow, this has no bearing on tonight’s game, so I have no idea why I brought it up.
The Phoenix Suns come to town after being handled by the Harden-less Nets last night, so hopefully they’re tired.
Let’s go Knicks, go be free #10!