"The Wicked Messenger" is a song written and originally performed by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

for his album ''

John Wesley Harding ''John Wesley Harding'' is the eighth studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on December 27, 1967, by Columbia Records. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album marked Dylan's return to semi-acoustic instrumentation and ...

''. The song was recorded at Columbia's Studio A,

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, on November 29, 1967.

Structure and instrumentation

The song's instrumentation is light, a characteristic shared with the rest of ''John Wesley Harding''. It features a repetitive descending bass line that carries the song, and the most prominent instrument used is Bob Dylan's acoustic guitar.

Lyrics

The lyrics have their origins in the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

. In his book, ''Wicked Messenger: Bob Dylan and the 1960s'',

Mike Marqusee Mike Marqusee (; 27 January 1953 – 13 January 2015) was an American writer, journalist, and political activist in London. Life and career Marqusee's first published work was the essay "Turn Left at Scarsdale", written when he was a sixteen-y ...

writes: Dylan was studying the Bible at the time, and he used many biblical reference in the songs on the ''John Wesley Harding'' album. His mother, Beatty Zimmerman, revealed in an interview at this time: The song revolves around a character, a "wicked messenger", who has been sent by

Eli Eli most commonly refers to: * Eli (name), a given name, nickname and surname * Eli (biblical figure) Eli or ELI may also refer to: Film * ''Eli'' (2015 film), a Tamil film * ''Eli'' (2019 film), an American horror film Music * ''Eli'' (Jan ...

, a priest in the

Books of Samuel The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Book of Joshua, Joshua, Book of Judges, Judges, Samuel, and Books of ...

. For the critic Andy Gill, "this eponymous messenger is, of course, Dylan himself, the bringer of harsh truths". The lyrics are somewhat opaque ("When questioned who had sent for him/He answered with his thumb/For his tongue it could not speak but only flatter"), and the song ends with a sardonic, slightly cryptic moral, "And he was told but these few words/Which opened up his heart/"If ye cannot bring good news, then don't bring any" perhaps a reference to 2 Samuel 4:10. Gill's interpretation of the song is that the high priest Eli was one of the more intellectual figures in the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

. To have been sent by Eli implies a reliance on intellect. Gill suggests that "perhaps Dylan felt he had valued rationality too highly over spirituality."

Live performances

According to his website, Dylan performed the song more than 125 times in concert between its live debut in 1987 and its most recent performance in 2021.

Cover versions

The song has been covered by over a dozen artists, notably

Faces The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect the ...

on their 1970 album

First Step First Step may refer to: * ''First Step'' (CNBLUE album), 2011 * ''First Step'' (Faces album), 1970 * First Step (Mount Everest), the first of the Three Steps, prominent rocky steps on the northeast ridge of Mount Everest * RSS ''First Step'', ...

;

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

on her 1996 album ''

Gone Again ''Gone Again'' is the sixth studio album by Patti Smith, released June 18, 1996, on Arista Records. The production of the record was preceded by the deaths of many of Smith's close friends and peers, including her husband Fred "Sonic" Smith, her ...

''; and

The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, Singing, vocals) and Patrick Carney (Drum kit, drums). The duo began as an Independent music, independent act, record ...

for the ''

I'm Not There ''I'm Not There'' is a 2007 musical drama film directed by Todd Haynes, who co-wrote the screenplay with Oren Moverman, based on a story by Haynes. An experimental biographical film, it is inspired by the life and music of American singer-so ...

'' soundtrack in 2007.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wicked Messenger 1967 songs Songs written by Bob Dylan Bob Dylan songs Faces (band) songs Song recordings produced by Bob Johnston