It recounts the 1963 killing of Hattie Carroll, a Black barmaid, by William Zantzinger, who received a six-month sentence.
The words
A cool, exact account of a wealthy man's killing of a hotel worker and the light sentence that followed.
The song tells how William Zantzinger, a rich young man with powerful family connections, killed Hattie Carroll, a Black woman who served tables, by striking her with a cane at a hotel gathering in Baltimore. The verses set his wealth beside her life of hard work. The refrain tells listeners to hold back their tears for now, and the last verse reveals why: the court gave him only six months. Dylan sings it calmly and precisely, and the restraint makes the anger hit harder.
Lyrics on bobdylan.com ↗Listen and watch
The words
A cool, exact account of a wealthy man's killing of a hotel worker and the light sentence that followed.
The song tells how William Zantzinger, a rich young man with powerful family connections, killed Hattie Carroll, a Black woman who served tables, by striking her with a cane at a hotel gathering in Baltimore. The verses set his wealth beside her life of hard work. The refrain tells listeners to hold back their tears for now, and the last verse reveals why: the court gave him only six months. Dylan sings it calmly and precisely, and the restraint makes the anger hit harder.
Lyrics on bobdylan.com ↗Connections
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