Freewheelin’
July 12, 2008 2 Comments
Just read and very much enjoyed “A Freewheelin’ Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties,” written by Suze Rotolo — who was the young woman seen walking arm-in-arm down Jones Street with her young boyfriend in the cover photo of “Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan,” his second album.
Suze Rotolo and her then-boyfriend
Lots of colorful and very specific memories of the folk-music and art scene in the Village of the early 1960s, lots of very warm and human anecdotes about her several years living with the very young Dylan and the heartbreaking end of their love affair. And lots of interesting trivia and esoterica. I didn’t know Gerde’s Folk City was first called The Fifth Peg. I did know that Dylan played at Cafe Lena in Saratoga Springs, New York (my friend Christian Bauman, the novelist, was a traveling folkie in an earlier incarnation and played at Cafe Lena — and just a few weeks ago I ate lunch at a restaurant across the street from Cafe Lena — and will the circle be unbroken?…Apparently not). I didn’t know the Bill Lee, bass player for the legendary singer Odetta, was the father of filmmaker Spike Lee!
Rotolo drops names like breadcrumbs. Her list of friends and acquaintances includes John Lee Hooker, Dave van Ronk, Phil Ochs, Richard and Mimi Farina, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot, Wavy Gravy, the Fugs, Carolyn Hester, Bill Cosby, Jose Feliciano, Odetta, LeRoi Jones…the list goes on and on and on — after all, she was Bob Dylan’s girlfriend and a full-fledged member of that downtown bohemian community in her own right.
Anyway, reading “A Freewheeling Time” also reminded me of my proudest moments as a father. A few years ago, my son and I were walking along Bleecker Street in the West Village and I stopped at a corner, pointed up a side street, and asked “OK, what happened here?” He looked for a few seconds and replied with a grin: “This is where they shot the photo for “Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan,” right? Yes, that’s right. And my guitar-playing son was barely in high school and already could identify this cultural landmark. Stand on Jones Street with Bleecker Street behind you and looking toward West Fourth Street. There go the freewheelin’ ghosts of young Bob and young Suze, shivering in the cold and strolling into the future.
Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea
Back to the Garden whence we came
Back to the spring of your sweet refrain
“All the way to freedom land…
All the way to freedom land”
Across the skies and back through time
Back to the cradle of humankind
Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea
She¹s a force of nature, second to none
Earth, wind and fire rolled into one
Rolling thunder across the sky
Sweet Black Angel from on high
Mighty river crisscrossin’ our land
Inviting everyone to stand hand-in-hand
To gather ’round and sing a song
Of hope and redemption–it won¹t be long
Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea
You can trace her song to the heart of the South
One New Year¹s Eve and the cry from a mouth
Of a big baby girl, strong and sweet
To a tear of joy on a Mama¹s cheek
What¹s in a name? Father Time do tell
So her folks made sure to choose a name well
The name Odetta, once akin to melody,
Foretold a future–a destiny
Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea
Odetta, she could sing before she could talk
Odetta, she could dance before she could walk
The gift of music flows through her veins
And bursts at the seams like a runaway train
Classically trained right from the start
Along came the music that stole her heart
Music of the people, music of the land
Pure and simple–noble and grand
Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea
Straight from the “Bam” she moved out to L.A.
Then it was on to the ‘Frisco Bay
She joined a theater, and started to sing
Then picked up a guitar and let it ring
Her Fate was sealed when she was still young
A folk musician she would become
To souls of the past she¹d lend her voice
May their spirits arise–and may they rejoice
Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea
With an Afro like a halo, she could be seen
All decked out like an African Queen
And just about the time she was being discovered
The glory of her people was recovered
People flocked in to catch the new sound
As it traveled by train from town to town
Guided by a spirit that beamed a light
Black Is Beautiful–Right Is Might
Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea
Arriving in the Village, she was given the keys
And greeted with bows on bended knees
Within weeks she was proclaimed
The Queen of Folk, and to this day she remains
The Mother Hen of folk musicians
The guardian angel of a sacred tradition
Casting her spell both day and night
Bridging the gap between black and white
Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea
One fine hour back in ‘63
Odetta sang her famous Freedom Trilogy
By her side stood Martin Luther King
His “I Have A Dream” speech about to take wing
And to the whole world she sang with pride
Of freedom sought and freedom denied
As centuries of trials, troubles and tribulations
Gave rise to the dream of a… United Nation!
Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea
Oh Odetta, sing for me
Take me across that deep blue sea
Back to the Garden whence we came
Back to the spring of your sweet refrain
“All the way to freedom land…
All the way to freedom land”
Across the skies and back through time
Back to the cradle of Humankind
…Humankind
…Humankind
And before I¹ll be a slave
I¹ll be buried in my grave.
— “Ode To Odetta”
Words and music by Stephen Alcorn ©2008
We love you, Odetta.
Be better soon!
Stephen and family
The Alcorn Studio & Gallery
112 West Main Street
Cambridge, New York 12816
Telephone: (518) 677-5798
e-mail: stephen.alcorn@verizon.net
http: http://www.alcorngallery.com
Actually you need to FACE Bleecker Street with West 4th at your back to get the perspective repreesented on the album cover.