nmd@world.std.com (Noah M Davis):
Maybe I'm slower than the rest of you, but I still don't get what it
means . . what does dylan's response mean . . and who is Judas? Sorry .
. just satisfy a stupid person for a minute . .
jfryblair@aol.com (JfryBlair):
Obviously "Judas" is a reference to the Biblical figure. People really
felt that Dylan was *killing* the folk movement by selling it out. It
wasn't just a musical thing, but a self-righteous pseudo-religious
political thing for people back then. Not to knock it at all, after
having been through the McCarthy era etc. left-wing folkies had a reason
to feel endangered I guess... But the guy who shouted "Judas" (IMHO) was
just a closed-eared herd-follower. For one thing, the political
ramifications of switching to personal/rock from political/folk just did
not exist in England, not nearly to the same extent anyway. I take Bob's
response of "I don't beLEIVE you... you're a LIAR" to be not a song
referece *at all* but just a literal "I can't believe you would be so
petty and misguided to equate my following my personal musical muse with a
cosmic betrayal on the order of Judas!" Or maybe a pithier paraphrase
would be "Get A Life!!" And how can one say that he was definitely
responding to a front-row comment and not the shout that the whole
audience heard?? Anyway the best part of Bob's response is after those
two phrases, when he turns to the Hawks and says "Play F*CKIN' loud!!"
THEN comes the godlike thunder of Like a Rolling Stone. In closing let me
say how much it warms my heart to hear that one departing concertgoer in
"Eat the Document" countering all the naysayers with conviction in his
voice: "Bob Dylan is the best. Every time. EVERY TIME." Wherever you are
today, I take my hat off to you sir!!
HFIN011@uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu (Ken Pennington)
EDLIS Dylan & Christianity Agent:
Judas is a reference to Judas Iscariot, the apostle of Jesus Christ who
betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, turning him over to the
authorities. The identifying signal to the authorities was Judas' kiss
of Jesus, thus the familiar "betrayed by a kiss".
Dylan's move from acoustic to rock angered many fans. The "Judas" shout
is a reference to their feeling of betrayal by his new style.
eddie@edlis.org (Ed Ricardo):
In the 1960s the phrase "I don't believe you" could have the meaning
"I don't believe someone like you could exist, to run across such
a person is hard for me to believe possible". It was an idiomatic
phrase familiar to people of a certain age and interests...
Judas was a cry which got a reaction because it implied Bob Dylan
would abandon those who made him what he was, even those who had
or would die for him, in order to have a few pieces of silver, a
home in Malibu, a significant property portfolio, teams of lawyers
chasing dollars around unlikely corners, things like that.
Mr Dillon simply wished to point out the absurdity that pieces of silver
might tempt him in any way and show that such an accuser was lying.
Luckily the Judas cry was not some sort of dreadful foreshadowing,
and Mr Dillon has continued his life in the style of a Woody Guthrie,
a Medgar Evers, a...
Accountancy, who really cares, propaganda, all is phoney?
Wellll, something like that... These are not my views, I am simply
trying to relate how some felt at the time. The pressure to be
someone he was not was clearly intolerable. And he did not tolerate it.
In any degree.
Oldham Evening Chronicle - 25 May 1966: "So the knockers are all stations go again. I am referring to the fantastic performance given by Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall last Tuesday night... I think Bob put his feelings over to the knockers just great. When someone shouted out to him 'Judas!', he just calmly went to the microphone and quietly drawled 'Ya liar'..."
Between Ballad Of A Thin Man (7) and Like A Rolling Stone (8) lies this famous incident where a member of the audience yells out "Judas!". Applause and other shouts ["...sing Dylan songs?" and the like] are heard. Dylan responds, "I don't believe you... You're a LIAR... [Robbie Robertson says, "Quit talking Bob." but not audibly on the tape] Dylan turns away from his mike to face the drummer Mickey Jones and says, "Play fucking loud!" followed by a wall-of-sound no-holds-barred crashing-cymbals rendition of Like A Rolling Stone.
After Like A Rolling Stone (8) we hear a very Dylanesque "Thank you." Hmmmm. Well some say he makes it sound more like "Fuck you" but I can assure you the word is "Thank" whatever the intention...
Date: Thu, 8 Feb 1996 13:06:23 EWT
From: MCLENDIN@ESOC.ESA.DE
Subject: Contemporary answer to an old question?
Well, I finally got to listen to 'Guitars kissing and the contemporary fix'
Fully expecting to find out if Dylan was responding to the cry of 'Judas'
with 'I don't believe you' or if some other cry from the audience had
provoked him - but what do I hear? The tape has been cut compared to the RAH
version! So still no answer! - is this a Sony marketing ploy - buy bootleg
series 4 & 5 for the answer?
For info below are timings from the last drum chord of 'ballad of a thin man'
RAH GK&CT
Laughter 17
'Like You' 19 7
'Judas!' 20 8
cheers 21 9
(inaudible)
'..genius(?)...Dylan song' 29
(inaudible)
' I don't believe you!' 36 20
(inaudible)
' You're a Liar!' 47 31
' Play F-ing loud!' 53 36
so looks like 2 cuts of 12 secs and 4 secs? Mike C
Jan 23, 1999:
The man who says he made the 'Judas' shout comes forward:
Butler, Keith
John Cordwell - The quieter contender for the Judas! shout.
