The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
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"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" is the title of a topical song by Bob Dylan. Recorded on 23 October 1963, the song was released on Dylan's 1964 album The Times They Are A-Changin' and gives a generally factual account of the killing of 51-year-old barmaid Hattie Carroll by the wealthy young William Devereux "Billy" Zantzinger (whom the song calls "William Zanzinger"), and his subsequent sentence to six months in jail.
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[edit] The incident
The actual incident took place February 9, 1963 at a ball at the Emerson Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. Dylan's song accurately implies, but never states, that Carroll was black and Zantzinger is white. The song incorrectly states that Zantzinger beat Carroll to death with his cane when in fact, he drunkenly assaulted Carroll and at least two others with a toy cane (a bellboy and a waitress both also reported being attacked by Zantzinger the same night). At about 1:30 in the morning of the 9th, he ordered a drink from barmaid Carroll and when she didn't bring it immediately, he cursed at her to which Carroll replied: "I'm hurrying as fast as I can." Zantzinger said: "I don't have to take that kind of shit off a nigger," and struck her on the shoulder with the cane. Carroll was heard to remark "I feel deathly ill, that man has upset me so" soon after, before collapsing and being taken to the hospital. After Carroll died the following morning, Zantzinger was charged with homicide. However, this was changed to manslaughter and assault after it was discovered that Carroll had hardened arteries (atherosclerosis), an enlarged heart, and high blood pressure, and that she had in fact probably died of a brain haemorrhage caused by the stress of Zantzinger's verbal and physical abuse, rather than the physical assault itself (the cane left no mark on her).
On August 28, 1963 Zantzinger was convicted of assault and manslaughter and was sentenced to six months. Dylan's song strongly implies that his upper-class status contributed to the brevity of the sentence. After the sentence was announced, the New York Herald Tribune conjectured that Zantzinger was not given a longer sentence to keep him out of the state prison, since the notoriety of his crime would make him a marked target among its largely black inmates (Zantzinger instead served his time in the comparative safety of the Washington county jail). Zantzinger began serving his term on September 15, 1963, and also paid to the Carroll family, of his own volition, the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars.
Dylan recorded his song on October 23, 1963, when the trial was still relatively fresh news, and incorporated it into his live repertoire immediately, before releasing the studio version on January 13, 1964. Dylan also performed the song on Steve Allen's network television program soon after its release.
Zantzinger (as of 2001) told Howard Sounes, in Down the Highway, the Life of Bob Dylan, "It's actually had no effect upon my life", but is vitriolic in his scorn for Dylan, saying, "He's a no-account son of a bitch", claiming that the song is inaccurate. "He's just like a scum of a scum bag [sic] of the earth, I should have sued him and put him in jail". He claims that the song is a total lie, but has never attempted to prevent Dylan from performing it.
Nevertheless, the song has continued to haunt Zantzinger in later controversies. Zantzinger openly rented properties in violation of unenforced county codes. In 1991, it became known that not only did he rent out properties which he no longer owned, but even won court battles against delinquent tenants on those properties. The fact that the families who rented these properties were black, coupled with Zantzinger's past, led to charges of racism. Dylan's song was invoked as an anthem for those calling for Zantzinger's prosecution.
[edit] Live
Despite the song's topical nature, Dylan continues to perform it in concert to this day. Live renditions of the song by its author can be found on the albums Live 1975 (2002) and Live 1964 (2004).
[edit] Influences and prosody
In Chronicles, Vol. 1, Dylan includes "Hattie Carroll" in a list of those of his early songs he feels were influenced by his belated introduction to the work of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, including "Pirate Jenny" ("The Black Freighter"). Dylan writes that he was impressed by how the Brecht-Weill songs wedded a complex lyrical perspective to simple folk song structures.
In part because the names Carroll and Zan(t)zinger both end on unstressed syllables, the lines of the verses all use a feminine ending, although the chorus does not.
[edit] Pop culture
An episode of Homicide: Life on the Street, set in Baltimore, mentions the song in reference to a case in which a wealthy black person is charged with the death of their white domestic.
Billy Bragg wrote a song to the same chord progression called "The Lonesome Death of Rachel Corrie".
The reggae influenced progressive rock band Rx Bandits did a cover version of the song for a compilation titled "Listen to Bob Dylan."
The reggae singer Michael Rose, formerly of Black Uhuru, also did a cover of this song for a compilation produced by Dr. Dread titled "Is It Rolling Bob?"
The comic strip Three Panel Soul (by the creators of Mac Hall) includes a strip where a City of Villains character is modeled and named after William Zanzinger[1].
[edit] References
- ^ McConville, Ian; Boyd, Matt (2006-11-15). On the City of Villains. Three Panel Soul. Retrieved on 2007-02-25.
- Carlson, Peter, "'A Regular Old Southern Maryland Boy.'" Washington Post, August 4, 1991: [1]
- Frazier, Ian, "Legacy of a Lonely Death". Mother Jones, November/December 2004, 42-47: partial version on line. Reprinted by The Guardian February 25, 2005, as "Life after a lonesome death" (full version with the full song lyrics).
- "Farmer Convicted in Barmaid's Death", New York Times Jun 28, 1963. p. 11
- "Farmer Sentenced in Barmaid's Death", New York Times Aug 29, 1963. p. 15
- Bill Bragg, "The Lonesome Death of Rachel Corrie.", Youtube [2].
