Who Killed Davey Moore

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Who Killed Davey Moore was a song written in 1963 by American folk singer/songwriter Bob Dylan. Though the song was not commercially released on Dylan's several studio albums in the 60s, it was popular in his repertoire for live shows during that era. It would later be released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991 in 1991, and on The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall, released in 2004.

1 Davey Moore
2 Criticism of Boxing
3 Song Structure and Implications
4 Who Killed Davey Moore?
5 References

[edit] Davey Moore

Davey Moore was an American boxer whose career spanned from 1953-1963. (A second boxer named Davey Moore also competed in the 1980s.) Known as 'The Little Giant' Moore stood only 5 feet and 2 inches. On March 18, 1959 Moore won the World Feathweight Title from Hogan Bassey. Moore held the title for 4 years and 3 days, defending it 5 times before losing it to Cuban Sugar Ramos on March 21, 1963. During the fight with Ramos in Dodgers Stadium Moore was knocked down into the ropes during the 10th round. Moore lost by technical knockout at the end of the 10th round and Ramos took the title. Moore walked back to his dressing room and conducted post-fight interviews, stating his desire to fight Ramos again and regain the title. After reporters left he complained of headaches and fell unconscious. He was taken to White Memorial Hospital where he was diagnosed with inoperable brain damage. Moore never regained consciousness and died as a result of the affliction on March 25, 1963.

[edit] Criticism of Boxing

Following Moore's death the morality of Boxing was debated by politicians and religious leaders alike. Folksinger Phil Ochs' song Davey Moore offered a harsh criticism of the sport and those affiliated with it^[1]. However Dylan's song delivered a more indirect message and a message that transcended the arena of boxing to include the enveloping society. In his typically ironical fashion, when Dylan introduced Who Killed Davey Moore during his October 31, 1964 show, he addressed the crowd-

"This a song about a boxer...
It's got nothing to do with boxing, it's just a song about a boxer really.
And, uh, it's not even having to do with a boxer, really.
It's got nothing to do with nothing.
But I fit all these words together...
that's all...
It's taken directly from the newspapers,
Nothing's been changed...
Except for the words."^[2]

[edit] Song Structure and Implications

Dylan's song borrows the structure of the children's rhyme Cock Robin. As Dylan takes the perspective of the referee, the crowd, the manager, the gambling man, the boxing writer, and Sugar Ramos he ends each line in the first person with the refrain

It wasn't me that made him fall.
No, you can't blame me at all.

Before the chorus, from most likely an objective voice

Who killed Davey Moore,
Why an' what's the reason for?^[3]

In each verse, the defensive party gives their the reasons why they are free from culpability while ironically showing their inhumanity and guilt. As their defenses each prove transparent and incriminating, the sum total of their arguments implies that the blame belongs to them all- the constituent parts of the boxing industry. In the final verse, Sugar Ramos- the man whose fists, laid him in a cloud of mist- concludes his defense- it was God's will. These were the words of Moore's wife Geraldine on learning of her husband's death.

[edit] Who Killed Davey Moore?

Whether Bob Dylan knew it or not, his song would gain a greater sense of irony by the autopsy of Davey Moore. With the aid of the videotape of Moore's final fight, doctors determined that the cause of death was Moore's fall against the ropes in the 10th round. In a "million to one accident" the bottom rope hitting Moore's head had caused the fatal injury^[4]. So who killed Davey Moore? Medically speaking it was the boxing ring, the inanimate and immobile ropes used to separate the fighters from the crowd, either to help them up or pin them against.