November 4, 1971, Bob Dylan Wrote The Song, "George Jackson!" - NSF

November 4, 1971, Bob Dylan Wrote The Song, “George Jackson!”

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Bob Dylan – “George Jackson” a song Bob Dylan, 1971 – Frontlines of Revolutionary

https://vimeo.com/190017298

Bob Dylan – George Jackson acoustic

“George Jackson” is a song by Bob Dylan, written on November 4, 1971, and it was quickly released as a 45 rpm single, Columbia 4-45516, on November 12, 1971. The single consisted of a “Big Band version” of the song on Side A and an “Acoustic version” on Side B. Upon hearing the news of George, Bob wrote this song in tribute to the Black Panther leader, George Jackson, who had been shot and killed by guards at San Quentin Prison on August 21, 1971, during an attempted escape from prison. The event indirectly provoked the Attica Prison riot.

George Jackson
I woke up this mornin’
There were tears in my bed
They killed a man I really loved
Shot him through the head
Lord, Lord
They cut George Jackson down
Lord, Lord
They laid him in the ground
Sent him off to prison
For a seventy-dollar robbery
Closed the door behind him
And they threw away the key
Lord, Lord
They cut George Jackson down
Lord, Lord
They laid him in the ground
He wouldn’t take shit from no one
He wouldn’t bow down or kneel
Authorities, they hated him
Because he was just too real
Lord, Lord
They cut George Jackson down
Lord, Lord
They laid him in the ground
Prison guards, they cursed him
As they watched him from above
But they were frightened of his power
They were scared of his love.
Lord, Lord,
So they cut George Jackson down.
Lord, Lord,
They laid him in the ground.
Sometimes I think this whole world
Is one big prison yard
Some of us are prisoners
The rest of us are guards
Lord, Lord
They cut George Jackson down
Lord, Lord
They laid him in the ground