Dylan Song by Song: "Positively 4th Street" Quiz

Answer: true

"Positively 4th Street" was released as a single on September 7, 1965, between the release of the albums "Highway 61 Revisited" and "Blonde on Blonde." The single had "From a Buick 6" on the B-Side. "Positively 4th Street" peaked at number seven on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number one on Canada's RPM chart.

Answer: no

The working title of the song was "Black Dalli Rue," but it became "Positively 4th Street" by the time it was released. Critics have argued over the meaning of the song for decades. In Rolling Stone magazine, Lucinda Williams says the song is about "jealousy over artistic success," and many critics suggest it is leveled at Dylan's critics on the folk scene who lambasted him for going electric and not sticking with the protest movement.

Answer: The Old Town School of Folk Music

The Old Town School of Folk Music opened in Chicago in 1957 on 333 west North Avenue and is now located on North Lincoln Avenue. Dylan's first apartment in New York City was located at 161 West 4th Street. The original location of the famous Greenwich village music venue, Gerde's Folk City, was 11 West 4th Street. Dylan spent a semester at the University of Minnesota, where fraternity row was located on 4th Street S.E. in Minneapolis. Thus, the title "Positively 4th Street" may be meant to elicit images of his critics both back in his college days of playing bars and on the Greenwich Village folk scene.

Answer: Izzy Young

Israel Goodman Young, better known as Izzy Young, opened the Folklore Center in 1957 in Greenwich Village. The store sold books, records, and other items related to folk music. Izzy Young also wrote for the folk music journal "Sing Out!" and served on its advisory board.

In the 1987 book "All Across The Telegraph: A Bob Dylan Handbook" by Michael Gray and John Bauldie, Izzy Young is quoted as saying that hundreds of people came into the Folklore Center asking if "Positively 4th Street" was about him. He said the accusations were "unfair" and that Dylan took advantage of "my resources, then he leaves and he gets bitter. He writes a bitter song." But, Young points out, "he was the one who left."

Many other figures have been suggested as the potential object of this song, including "Sing Out!" editor Irwin Silber, American protest singer Phil Ochs, socialite Edie Sedgwick (who is often posited as the subject of "Like A Rolling Stone" as well), and ex-girlfriend Suze Rotolo.

Answer: friend

"You got a lotta nerve
To say you are my friend
When I was down
You just stood there grinning."

On the "Untold Dylan" blog, Tony Atwood writes, "The message is exquisitely simple: there is a morality in friendship and in love affairs. You stand by your friends and have time for your friends and do all you possibly can for your friends. If you don't you are not a friend."

Answer: A helping hand

"You've got a lotta nerve to say you got a helping hand to lend
You just want to be on the side that's winnin'."

According to the Official Bob Dylan website, Dylan played "Positively 4th Street" live 359 times between October 1, 1965 and November 7, 2013. The song was covered in 1966 by Living Voices on their album "Positively 4th Street and Other Message Folk Songs."

Answer: faith

"You say I let you down, ya know its not like that
If you're so hurt, why then don't you show it?
You say you've lost your faith, but that's not where its at
You have no faith to lose, and ya know it."

In "Chronicles Volume One," Bob Dylan noted that his favorite cover version of "Positively 4th Street" was by Johnny Rivers, who included it on his album "Realization." Rivers is perhaps better known for his covers of Chuck Berry's "Memphis," the Four Tops' "Baby I Need Your Lovin'," Harold Dorman's "Mountain of Love," and Willie Mabon's "The Seventh Son."

Answer: surprised

"I know the reason, that you talked behind my back
I used to be among the crowd you're in with
Do you take me for such a fool, to think I'd make contact
With the one who tries to hide what he don't know to begin with?
You see me on the street, you always act surprised."

In this verse, the singer lambasts his gossiping critics after leaving the crowd he "used to be among."

American folk punk rock band the Violent Femmes covered "Positively 4th Street" on their eighth studio album "Freak Magnet," which was released in 2000.

Answer: paralyzed

Here, paralyzed rhymes with surprised of the previous line. The singer's backstabbing critic, when meeting him on the street, acts amicable but secretly wishes the singer harm.

British pop soul band Simply Red released a cover of "Positively 4th Street" on their eighth studio album "Home," which was released in 2003.

Answer: heartbreaks

"No, I do not feel that good when I see the heartbreaks you embrace
If I was a master thief perhaps I'd rob them."

"Positively 4th Street was ranked at number 206 on Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list. American Songwriter, however, did not include the song on it's "30 Best Bob Dylan Songs of All Time" list. "Positively 4th Street" peaked at number eight on the U.K. Singles Chart in 1965.

Answer: It's not my problem

"And tho I know you're dissatisfied with your position and your place
Don't you understand, its not my problem?"

Here, professional jealousy is suggested as the reason for the dissatisfaction of the singer's critics, who never rose to Dylan's level of fame, and are therefore dissatisfied with their position and place.

A version of "Positively 4th Street" is included on Bryan Ferry's tribute album "Dylanesque," which reached the top ten on the Swedish album charts.

Answer: drag

"I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time you could stand inside my shoes
You'd know what a drag it is to see you."

Lucinda Williams covered "Positively 4th Street" on "In Their Own Words," a live compilation album. In Rolling Stone magazine, she said of these last two lines, "Those lines feel so good to sing. I've heard that Dylan wrote the song when he started getting famous . . . nobody knows anything about what it's really like to be Bob Dylan. There's only one of him. And he's so damn good at that."

Answer: Mike Bloomfield

Mike Bloomfield was included on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time," ranking number 22 in 2003 and number 42 in 2011. Dylan's backing band in the studio also included Al Kooper on organ, Paul Griffin on piano, Robert Gregg on drums, and Harvey Brooks on bass.

Answer: Biograph

"Biograph" was released on November 7, 1985 by Columbia House as a box set containing three LPs, three CDs, or three cassette tapes with a total of 53 tracks, including "Positively 4th Street." Versions of the song may also be found on "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits," released in 1967, "The Essential Bob Dylan" (a double-CD released in 2000), "Bootleg Series Volume 12", released in 2015, "Dylan," released in 2007, and "Masterpieces," a triple-LP compilation album released in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan prior to Dylan's 1978 tour.

Answer: The Beatles

"Let It Be" was the Beatles' final studio album. Although they rehearsed Dylan's songs during the recording sessions, they never recorded a complete version of the song and it was not released on the album. The Byrds recorded a live cover of the song on their nineth album, released in 1970. A cover of the song is also featured on "The Very Best of Jerry Garcia."