THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

792-Bob Dylan-Subterranean Homesick Blues.

1965-Number 9 single.

Best Bit-At 0.10.It appears Dylan was doing Rap, well over a decade before anyone else.

‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ reflects certain elements of American society in the mid 1960’s. Using several slang terms the song references the drug culture, and politics of the time, the turmoil surrounding Vietnam, and the American Civil Rights Movement.Dylan (see also best songs 358-103-36 and 7) has said that inspiration for the song came from the writing technique of the ‘Beat Poets’ of the 1950’s,such as Jack Kerouac, and Allen Ginsberg.He also cited ‘Scat’ songs of the 1940’s, and the Chuck Berry song ‘Too Much Monkey Business,’from 1956 as a further influence.As for the songs title,the ‘Subterranean’ is probably a nod towards Jack Kerouac’s 1958 novel,’The Subterranean’s,’and ‘Homesick Blues,’ is Dylan telling us that even so he has made it big, he misses his past life.In one of John Lennon’s last interviews before he died in 1980, he said that on hearing the song, he was so captivated by it, that he was worried he would never be able to write anything that could compete with it.

In addition to the songs influence on future artists, it can also boast one of the most memorable, and ground breaking promotional film clips, the forerunner to what would become the music video.The clip was shot in an alley close to the Savoy Hotel, in London, with Dylan holding up cue cards with selected words and phrases from the songs lyrics. There are intentional misspellings, and puns throughout the clip,which features brief cameo’s from Allen Ginsberg, and the American Folk singer/songwriter Bob Neuwirth.

‘Johnny’s in the basement, mixing up the medicine, I’m on the pavement, thinking about the government’