A Brief Introduction to Bob Dylan’s the Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll

Abstract

In 1964, Bob Dylan published a narrative poem called The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, which has been collected in Bob Dylan’s album The Times They are a Changin’. It narrated a murder case that a young white man killed an aged black bar maid cruelly in a bar and received a light sentence. Once released, the album attracted the attention of all walks of life. At a time when racial segregation was still on its day, the poet used a sharp tone to attack the remnants of post-colonialism. This poem is of great reference value to the study of minority identity in the United States, the study of civil rights movement in the United States, and the formulation of ethnic policies around the world.