Ol’ Hickory and Ol’ Hoagy: More from Bob Dylan’s Instagram
Andrew Jackson Giving one of His Final Speeches
When: Posted by bobdylan March 4, 2025.
What: A 30-minute audio recording, ostensibly of a retired Jackson, soldier, politician, and president, reflecting on his life and career. As with other Dylan “Voices from the Grave” Instagram recordings, there’s no historical evidence that Jackson ever wrote or spoke these words in any context.
Why: March 4 is the date that Andrew Jackson gave both his first and second inaugural addresses, the first in 1829, the second in 1833.
What else: Jackson is an interesting choice by whoever is behind Dylan’s Instagram posts and the “Voices from the Grave” recordings. While the term “populist” wasn’t coined until the late 19th century, many historians point to Andrew Jackson as the first American president to embody its spirit, marking a significant shift in the nation’s political landscape.
Jackson’s presidency (1829–1837) was characterized by an appeal to the “common man,” a distrust of “the elite,” and a confrontational style that pitted the will of the majority against established institutions — a narrative that Jackson framed as the struggle between the virtuous, hardworking populace and a corrupt, self-serving aristocracy.
Jackson presented himself as the common man’s direct representative, fighting for the interests of farmers, laborers, and mechanics against “moneyed interests.” Jackson claimed that he did not seek the Presidency out of a desire for power, but rather because he observed a nation governed by a select few, where ordinary citizens lacked a voice and representation.
If all this seems to have strong parallels to the current Administration… isn’t that a strange coincidence?
Jackson holds the distinction of being the only president in United States history to have paid off the national debt. Upon his taking office in 1829, the national debt stood at $58.4 million — chump change in these modern times, but a significant figure in the 19th century. By early 1835, the national debt was officially extinguished and for a brief period, the United States was debt-free. In fact, the government ran a surplus, which was distributed to the states.
On the other hand, Jackson’s economic policies eventually led to the so-called “Panic of 1837,” widespread bank and business failures, high unemployment and a three-year depression. The economic turmoil was a major factor in the defeat of Jackson’ successor, Martin Van Buren, and the Democrats in the 1840 presidential election.
The “Final Speech” also presents Jackson’s fictional (an important distinction to be made) opinions on slavery and Native Americans. The historical Jackson was not known for public statements on the morality of slavery but definitely was a lifelong slave owner who was one of the largest slaveholders in the United States at the time of his death. It’s worth noting than rather than freeing his approximately 150 slaves, Jackson’s will passed them to on his adopted son, Andrew Jackson Jr., and other relatives.
Similarly, while the historical Jackson might have believed that the Indian Removal Act was necessary for the survival of the Native American tribes, he never expressed that opinion either publicly or privately. Instead in 1830, President Jackson informed Congress that the removals would “incalculably strengthen the southwestern frontier.” Clearing Alabama and Mississippi of their Indian populations, he said, would “enable those states to advance rapidly in population, wealth, and power.”
By the end of Jackson’s Presidency, his administration had overseen the relocation of nearly 50,000 eastern Native Americans to the Indian Territory — what later became eastern Oklahoma. It opened up 25 million acres of eastern land to white settlement and, with the bulk of the land appropriated located in the American south, contributed to the expansion of slavery and ultimately to the Civil War.
Other Dylanesque mentions: In Chronicles Volume One Dylan writes, “Andrew Jackson and his ragtag army of pirates, Choctaws, free blacks, lawyers, and merchants militia defeated Britain’s finest, sent them back out to sea for good.”
As with much in Chronicles, Dylan lifted the content for this passage from another source, in this case a travel guide, New Orleans by Bethany E. Bultman, published by Fodor’s Travel Publications.
In New Orleans Bultman writes, “Jackson and his ragtag army of Kentuckian Long Rifles, ill-prepared militiamen, Indian braves, Creoles, free men of color, and pirates blasted the British lines with mercilessly accurate cannon fire and artillery.” Note that Dylan added “lawyers” to his list of Jackson’s troops, possibly as a joke. But in fact, at least one troop of Jackson’s cavalrymen was largely composed of New Orleans’ lawyers.
DJ Dylan played Johnny Horton’s massive hit of 1959, “The Battle of New Orleans” on Theme Time Radio Hour in Season 3's War episode.
With a melody based on a traditional fiddle tune, “The 8th of January,” the lyrics of “Battle” were written in 1936 by an Arkansas schoolteacher with the delightful name of Jimmy Driftwood, who didn’t record the song until some 22 years after writing it. Johnny Horton’s rendition, released in 1959, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was the top song of the year. It also won Horton a Grammy Award for Best Country & Western Performance in 1960.
The actual Battle of New Orleans was a significant American victory during the War of 1812, even though it technically occurred after the signing of the treaty that ended the war (news hadn’t yet reached the respective armies). Andrew Jackson’s leadership in this battle made him a national hero.
Outside of Horton’s classic, there are several other songs about Andrew Jackson, most featuring The Battle of New Orleans. The most famous of these — at least until Horton’s — was “Hunters of Kentucky” also known as “Half Horse and Half Alligator.”
Published as a poem by Samuel Woodworth in 1815, “Hunters of Kentucky” was set to music some seven years later and co-opted by Jackson for both his 1824 and 1828 campaigns, even though the song more celebrated Kentuckian sharpshooters than it did Jackson.
Fess Parker, well-known for his portrayal of Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett in two highly popular television series during the 1950s and 1960s, recorded an album for RCA in 1964. The record— exhaustingly titled “Fess Parker Star of the TV Series, ‘Daniel Boone’ Sings About Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Abe Lincoln & Other Great American Heroes,” features twelve songs, including his 1954 hit “Ballad of Davy Crockett,” and highlights other heroic figures from American history such as George Washington, Daniel Boone, and Abe Lincoln.
As anyone who has heard the “Ballad of Davy Crockett” knows, Parker wasn’t a great singer, but songs like these were targeted at Parker’s young fans, who were more into hero worship than musical quality. Track 8 of Parker’s “Great American Heroes” album is all about “Andrew Jackson (Old Hickory),” and was written by Stan Jones, best known for his “(Ghost) Riders in the Sky”, written while Jones worked for the National Park Service in Death Valley, California.
The Best Years of Our Lives
When: posted by bobdylan on February 26, 2025
Why: The Best Years of Our Lives won the Golden Globe Award for best picture on February 26, 1947, some 78 years to the day of Dylan’s account posting the clip.
The highest grossing picture since Gone with the Wind, it won seven Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and for Harold Russell, the actor who as a soldier had truly lost his hands, as Best Supporting Actor.
What: Hoagy Carmichael as Butch Engle: “Give ’em time, kid; they’ll catch on. You know your folks’ll get used to you, and you’ll get used to them. Then everything’ll settle down nicely. Unless we have another war. Then none of us have to worry because we’ll all be blown to bits the first day. So, cheer up, huh.”
Again, it’s certainly only a coincidence that the Dylan Instagram account posted this clip six days after Donald J. Trump gave his second inaugural address.
Other Dylanesque mentions:
There’s many. Dylan tips his hat to Carmichael in “Tight Connection to My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love)” with the line, “Well, they’re not showing any lights tonight and there’s no moon. There’s just a hot-blooded singer, singing ‘Memphis in June.’” Carmichael sang “Memphis in June” on screen in the film Johnny Angel. Some 15 years later, Dylan would give another shout-out to the song in “Murder Most Foul.”
Carmichael might be featured in a group of six shots taken by Daniel Kramer and intended for the cover of Tarantula. The location is a storage shack on Peter Yarrow’s mother’s property in Woodstock, According to Kramer, most of the “weird ephemera” were books, magazines and family memorabilia from the Yarrow family — including the photo of the man on the left which may or may not be Hoagy Carmichael.
“One of the most famous songs Hoagy ever wrote was Stardust, and like many songwriters, he wasn’t sure where it really came from. This is what he had to say, the first time he heard a recording of Stardust: ‘And then it happened, that queer sensation that this melody was bigger than me. Maybe I hadn’t written it at all. The recollection of how, when, and where it all happened became vague as the lingering strains hung in the rafters of the studio. I wanted to shout back at it, maybe I didn’t write you, but I found you’… I know just what he meant.” ~ Bob Dylan, Theme Time Radio Hour, Young & Old
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