"A Public Execution" is a song performed and recorded by the American band

Mouse and the Traps Mouse and the Traps is the name of an American garage rock band from Tyler, Texas, United States, that released numerous singles between 1965 and 1969, two of which, " A Public Execution" and "Sometimes You Just Can't Win", became large regional ...

, also credited simply as Mouse, written by Ronny "Mouse" Weiss ''(né'' Ronald Lon Weiss; born 1942) (music) and Knox Henderson ''(né'' Knox Holmes Henderson; 1939–2002) (words), and first released as the group's debut

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Fraternity Records Fraternity Records is a small record label based in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was started by Harry Carlson and silent partner Dr. Ashton Welsh in 1954. The first recording to be released on Fraternity was Jerri Winters' "Winter's Here". The first hit ...

in December 1965 (''see''

1965 in music List of notable events in music that took place in the year 1965. __TOC__ Specific locations *1965 in British music *1965 in Norwegian music Specific genres *1965 in country music *1965 in jazz Events *January 4 – Fender Musical Instrument ...

). The song was a big regional hit in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and peaked in the lower reaches of the ''Billboard'' charts, but has become better-known today, in large part, due to the band's uncanny imitation of ''

Highway 61 Revisited ''Highway 61 Revisited'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 30, 1965, by Columbia Records. Having until then recorded mostly acoustic music, Dylan used rock musicians as his backing band on every ...

''-era

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

. "A Public Execution" was originally a one-time studio-project by Weiss at Robin Hood Studios, owned by Robin Hood Brians, Jr. (born 1939), with no real expectations for commercial success. The song is based around a basic ascending tandem

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

riff that has a striking similarity to Dylan's "

Like a Rolling Stone "Like a Rolling Stone" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on July 20, 1965, by Columbia Records. Its confrontational lyrics originated in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted fr ...

". It's Dylanesque characteristics continue with Weiss's

lead vocal The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, described by music historian

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

as being "like vintage Dylan, a grinning, surrealistic, half-spoken rant" at a specific woman that boasted about being better-off without her. Weiss's

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

, borderline

parody A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its su ...

, to Dylan concludes with an enthusiastic yowl, again, a detail featured on "Like a Rolling Stone". Unterberger goes on to characterize "A Public Execution" as "one of the few rip-offs so utterly accurate that it could easily fool listeners into believing it was the original article". Arguably, the tune is among the most accurate Dylan imitations to emerge from the era, not even replicated by Mouse and the Traps on their later recordings. Upon release, "A Public Execution" bubbled under the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 121. It was a tremendous regional hit for the group and proved to be their most successful release. The tune has since gained wider recognition for being featured on the groundbreaking album '' Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968'' in 1972, along with other '' Nuggets'' releases ''More Nuggets, Volume 2'' and ''Nuggets: Volume 6, Punk Part 2''. In later years, the song has appeared on the

compilation albums A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for re ...

Public Execution A public execution is a form of capital punishment which "members of the general public may voluntarily attend." This definition excludes the presence of only a small number of witnesses called upon to assure executive accountability. The purpose ...

'' and '' The Fraternity Years''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Public Execution, A Mouse and the Traps songs 1965 songs