Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again

Zoo Freaks, get ready for some far-out vibes as The Zoo Crew spins Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again from Bob Dylan's iconic 1966 album Blonde on Blonde! This seven-minute gem, recorded in Nashville’s Columbia Music Row Studios on February 17, 1966, took 20 takes to nail, with the final version capturing a surreal folk-rock energy that’s pure Dylan magic. Music scholar Michael Gray points out influences from blues classics like W.C. Handy’s The Memphis Blues (1912) and Bukka White’s Aberdeen Mississippi Blues (1940), tying the song to deep musical roots. The lyrics, a kaleidoscope of bizarre characters and situations, evoke a sense of alienation, with critic Andy Gill calling each verse “an absurd little vignette illustrating contemporary alienation.” Dylan himself hinted at a biblical layer, telling author Robert Shelton that the “ragman” in the song represents Satan, adding a cryptic spiritual twist. Fun fact: the 1980s Italian design group The Memphis Group named themselves after this track, which played on repeat during their first meeting!

The song’s recording was no easy feat. Dylan and his Nashville session pros, including Al Kooper and Robbie Robertson, wrestled with the arrangement for three hours, with early takes in a faster tempo that Dylan struggled to match. The final take, slowed to a 4/4 rock groove, became a standout, later praised by Neil Spencer in Uncut as one of Blonde on Blonde’s “grand statements” alongside tracks like Visions of Johanna. Fans on Reddit’s r/bobdylan love its “romping fun” and “unbridled insanity,” with some calling the live version on the 1976 album Hard Rain their favorite for its raw intensity. George Harrison was a huge fan, citing the line “Waiting to find out what price you have to pay to get out of going through all these things twice” as one of his top Dylan lyrics. But not everyone was onboard—John Lennon parodied the song’s wordy surrealism in Satire #2, poking fun with “Stuck Inside of Lexicon with the Roget’s Thesaurus Blues Again.”

Bob Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota, kicked off his musical journey in the late 1950s as a folk-singing teenager. Growing up in Hibbing, Minnesota, he was drawn to rock ‘n’ roll, forming bands like The Golden Chords and playing piano for a local Elston Gunnn outfit. By 1959, he headed to the University of Minnesota, where he dove into the folk scene, trading his electric guitar for an acoustic and adopting the stage name Bob Dylan, inspired by poet Dylan Thomas. His early gigs in Minneapolis coffeehouses, like the Ten O’Clock Scholar, honed his craft, and by 1961, he was in New York City’s Greenwich Village, playing at Cafe Wha? and catching the eye of Columbia Records’ John Hammond. His 1962 debut album, Bob Dylan, mixed folk covers and originals, setting the stage for his rise as the voice of the ‘60s counterculture with hits like Blowin’ in the Wind.

Dylan’s official hub is bobdylan.com, where you can find tour dates, lyrics, and more. Connect with him on socials at Facebook, Instagram, and X for updates and throwback posts, like a 2015 tweet about the song’s evolution during Blonde on Blonde sessions. Fans gather at Bob Dylan Commentaries for deep dives into his work, while Expecting Rain offers news and forum discussions. On Facebook, groups like Bob Dylan Fans and Bob Dylan – The Never Ending Tour keep the community buzzing with debates and memories. So, Zoo Freaks, crank up that volume and let Dylan’s wild poetry take you on a ride!