Dylan's "Gotta Serve Somebody" Part II Quiz

Answer: Slow Train Coming

Bob Dylan's 19th studio album, "Slow Train Coming," was released in 1979. Categorized as blues, rock, Christian rock, and gospel, the record contained several songs with religious themes and was Dylan's first album since converting to Christianity. Just as Dylan had once driven away some of his former fans by "going electric," the evangelical nature of the music on "Slow Train Coming" and his subsequent albums, "Saved" and "Shot of Love," also alienated many fans.

Answer: dance

The song continues:

"You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls.
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes
Indeed you're gonna have to serve somebody.
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody."

Some critics saw Bob Dylan's 1983 album "Infidels" as representing a return to a less religious life and an exploration of his Jewish roots.

Answer: Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male

At the 22nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1980, Bob Dylan won the Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male for "Gotta Serve Somebody." Prior to winning this Grammy, he had been nominated for a Grammy award six times, but had only won once, for his contribution to "The Concert for Bangla Desh," which won Album of the Year in 1973.

He again won a Grammy in 1990 for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Traveling Wilburys Volume One."

Answer: cage

This stanza continues:

"You may be a business man or some high-degree thief
They may call you doctor or they may call you chief
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are . . ."

The recurring theme that "you're gonna have to serve somebody" is reminiscent of Jesus's pronouncement in Matthew 12:30: "Whoever is not with me is against me."

Answer: true

"Gotta Serve Somebody" was released as a single with "Trouble in Mind" on the B-Side. "Trouble in Mind" was left off of the album "Slow Train Coming." Both songs were recorded at the famous Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Sheffield, Alabama on May 4, 1979. "Trouble in Mind" can be found on "Trouble no More: The Bootleg Series, Volume 13," which was released in 2017.

Answer: some big TV network

These lines come from the following stanza:

"You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk
You may be the head of some big TV network
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame
You may be living in another country under another name
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are..."

"Gotta Serve Somebody" remained on the U.S. Billboard Top 100 for 12 weeks, where it peaked at #24.

Answer: John Lennon

John Lennon once said, "I wrote songs for the meat market, and I didn't consider them, the lyrics or anything, to have any depth at all. It was Dylan who helped me realize that." But Lennon criticized his former idol's lyrics, as well as his newfound devotion, when Bob Dylan released "Slow Train Coming." In his song "Serve Yourself," Lennon sings:

"You say you found Jesus Christ;
He's the only one. . .
Well there's somethin' missing in this God Almighty stew . . .
You got to serve yourself,
Ain't nobody gonna do it for you. . .
Well you may believe in devils, and you may believe in lords,
But if you don't go out and serve yourself, lad, ain't no room service here..."

Answer: dome

The song continues:

"You might own guns and you might even own tanks
You might be somebody's landlord, you might even own banks,
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes..."

"Gotta Serve Somebody" was ranked number 43 on "Rolling Stones" 2016 list of "The 100 Greatest Bob Dylan Songs."

Answer: Zimmy

"You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
You may call me anything but no matter what you say
Still, you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes..."

Bob Dylan was born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941. He legally changed his name to Dylan in 1962, after moving to New York.

Answer: Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin died in 1970, nine years before Bob Dylan released this song. Singer-songwriter Judy Collins covered the song in 1993 on her album "Judy Sings Dylan...Just Like A Woman." R&B and gospel legend Mavis Staples also covered the song, and her version can be found on the Bob Dylan tribute album "All Blues'd Up: Songs of Bob Dylan," which was released in 2002. Etta James included the song on her 2000 album "Matriarch of the Blues."