62 Years Ago, Bob Dylan Wrote a Protest Song That Made an Accused Murderer Furious

New York City’s Greenwich Village wasn’t prepared for the sudden arrival of Bob Dylan. Originally raised in the iron-mining town of Hibbing, Dylan had a firsthand account of what it was like living as part of the working class. However, his lofty musical ambitions, though seemingly unreachable for a small-town guy, literally drove him to New York on a 20-hour road trip. Following his move in 1961, it took only a year for Dylan to be signed under the wing of John Hammond at Columbia Records, which was followed by his self-titled debut album in 1962.

Although his rise to superstardom was meteoric, Dylan made it a point to never forget the people who were part of his humble roots. Growing up in a time when racial tensions were still at an all-time high, something in Dylan prompted him to speak up on these issues, best expressed through the one thing he knew how to use: folk music. One song in particular hits especially hard, even raising some hairs on a certain listener who had nothing but vulgarities to throw his way.

Bob Dylan Wrote “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” Based on a Racially-Motivated Murder Case

Leave it to Dylan to write a song based on an actual murder. His 1964 track, “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” recounts the killing of Hattie Caroll, a 51-year-old African-American bartender, by William Devereux “Billy” Zantzinger, a 24-year-old from a wealthy white tobacco farming family in Maryland. On February 9, 1963, Caroll was fatally assaulted at a Baltimore hotel. That night, Zantzinger reportedly arrived drunk at a whites-only elite ball, where he repeatedly used racial slurs and physically assaulted staff. The attack on Caroll occurred when he struck her with a metal-tipped cane, causing her to collapse and die from a brain hemorrhage hours later.

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However, it was not until August 29, 1963, that Dylan came across news of Carroll in The Baltimore Sun. Carroll’s case was one of two civil rights highlights in that edition, the first being Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington, D.C., while Carroll’s case appeared as a brief item on the last page of the first section. Dylan went on to record “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” on October 23, 1963. The song was written partly at the home of Joan Baez and was later released on January 13, 1964, on his third studio album, The Times They Are a-Changin’.

William Zantzinger Is Not Happy with Bob Dylan’s Song

“The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” provides a line-by-line description of how the assault went down. Apart from the obvious details, such as the names of those involved, the murder weapon used, and where the assault took place, the song also shows the class divide between Carroll and Zantzinger. Zantzinger is referred to as “who at 24 years owns a tobacco farm of 600 acres,” which speaks to the extent of his wealth. Meanwhile, Carroll is described as the one “who carried the dishes and took out the garbage.”

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However, Dylan also alters several factual details for artistic and lyrical purposes, including misspelling William Zantzinger’s name as “Zanzinger” and stating that Carroll had 10 children instead of the actual 11, likely for rhythmic reasons. The song also describes the charge as first-degree murder, whereas Zantzinger was actually convicted of manslaughter. Critics have argued that these changes and the suggestion of lenient treatment due to political connections push the song close to libel. Zantzinger himself later strongly objected when approached by a Dylan biographer, calling the singer “a no-account son of a b***h… I should have sued him and put him in jail.”

11 Years Later, Bob Dylan Wrote A Protest Song Based on Another Arrest

“The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” wouldn’t be the only time Dylan wrote about a real person’s case. In November 1975, Dylan released “Hurricane,” retelling the case of boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. The incident took place in 1966, when Carter, alongside John Artis, was accused of a late-night shooting at Paterson’s Lafayette Bar and Grill, leaving three dead. Critics have pointed out that Carter and Artis were racially profiled. Unfortunately, the two were sentenced in 1967 to two consecutive life sentences for the triple murder.

Similar to Carroll, Dylan found out about Carter’s story when he read his autobiography, The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender to Number 45472. Naysayers might say that Dylan has a knack for taking somebody else’s tragedy and using it to make art. But remembering his determination to stand up for what’s right, his intentions have always been to defend the underdogs. His reflection from his personal visit to Carter proves it: “Was I doing my bit for Rubin? I wrote that song because it was tops in my mind; it had priority in my mind at the time to get that song done.”