Today’s song is ‘Lay Lady Lay’. This song was written by Bob Dylan and originally released in 1969 on his ‘Nashville Skyline’ album. Like many of the tracks on the album, Dylan sings the song in a low croon, rather than in the high nasal singing style associated with his earlier (and eventually later) recordings. The song has become a standard and has been covered by numerous bands and artists over the years, including the Birds: the Everly Brothers: Melanie: the Isley Brothers and Duran Duran to name but a few.
'Lay Lady Lay' was originally written for the soundtrack of the movie ‘Midnight Cowboy’ but wasn't submitted in time to be included in the finished film. Dylan's recording was released as a single in July 1969 and quickly became one of his top U.S. hits, peaking at Number 7 on the ‘Billboard Hot 100’. The single did even better in the United Kingdom where it reached Number 5 on the ‘UK Singles Chart’.
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While I have always liked this song, as the years have passed, I have, like many males had to review my own attitudes to women. Being 77 years old next month, I was brought up in the age where the prejudice of society was certainly against womanhood which displayed any sense of individuality. There was no doubt about the pinnacle of a young girl’s ambitions immediately post ‘Second World War’ years; it was to have feminine manners, wear feminine clothes, behave like a female was supposed to behave, and prepare for the day when some man might do you the honour of asking you to marry him, assume his surname and bear him his children and heirs. As for grown women ‘who had caught their man’; having netted their fish, their job was to cook it, and serve it up to the satisfaction of the head of the household.
I still have an old advertisement from the 1950s that shows a white-collar worker arriving home from work in his suit and tie. After entering the lounge, the man sits in front of an open fire and his wife lights up his pipe before lovingly removing his shoes and gently putting on his cosy slippers to relax and feel more at home. In an adjacent scene, is the family table, set out ready to serve the evening meal when the man of the house is ready to eat it. The strong and clear message of this advertisement was ‘to show 'woman her place’: it was in the home, serving the head of the household and seeing to his needs and the needs of all his family. In my younger day, there was no point looking for any equality between the sexes, because there wasn’t any!
Like so many of my male sex and age range, I naturally grew up with inbred discriminatory and sexist attitudes, and it took many years to slowly eradicate them. It may be that centuries of any prejudice cannot be realistically eradicated in mere decades, however willing the convert, but I genuinely do welcome the advancements that have been made in my life towards the eradication of all discrimination, especially that of inequality between the sexes. Much has happened over the past 70 years, but still not enough!
All one has to do in order to appreciate that women are still seen largely as ‘sex objects’ by many men is evident in the 'masculine' discussion and description of many a chap in the pub with their mates. Rarely will you overhear any bloke ask his mate whether this woman or that woman was ‘a good electrician’ or ‘a good neighbour’ or ‘a good partner’ or ‘a good mother to her children’ or ‘a good person?'. But you will often hear some man assess and define a woman's worth by any physical attributes he finds pleasing to the male eye. He may even ask another man if they thought that a certain woman would make ‘a good lay!’
So, although I love the melody of this song and was brought up with it, the words and message of the song merely reflect the sexist prejudices of the time that still, unfortunately, prevail in large measure.
I dedicate my song today to my Facebook friend, Rose Pradeep from Bangalore, India. A quick glance at the Facebook page of Rose reveals her to be a sensitive and humorous person. Have a nice day, Rose and thank you for being my Facebook friend. Bill x
Love and peace Bill xxx