Quinn the Eskimo (Mighty Quinn)

"Mighty Quinn"
Single by Manfred Mann
from the album Mighty Garvey! (UK)
The Mighty Quinn (US)
B-side"By Request – Edwin Garvey"
Released8 January 1968 (1968-01-08)
Recorded2 November – December 1967[1]
GenrePop rock
Length2:51
LabelFontana Tf 897[2]
Songwriter(s)Bob Dylan[2]
Producer(s)Mike Hurst[2]
Manfred Mann singles chronology
"So Long, Dad"
(1967)
"Mighty Quinn"
(1968)
"Theme from 'Up the Junction'"
(1968)
Official video
"Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)" from TopPop on YouTube
"The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)"
Song by Bob Dylan
from the album Self Portrait
Released8 June 1970 (1970-06-08)
Recorded31 August 1969
VenueIsle of Wight Festival, Wootton Creek
GenreFolk rock[3]
Length2:48
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Bob Dylan
Producer(s)Bob Johnston

"Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)" is a folk-rock song written and first recorded by Bob Dylan in 1967 during the Basement Tapes sessions. The song's first release was in January 1968 as "Mighty Quinn" in a version by the British band Manfred Mann,[4] which became a great success. It has been recorded by a number of performers, often under the "Mighty Quinn" title.

The subject of the song is the arrival of Quinn (an Eskimo), who prefers a more relaxed lifestyle [" jumping queues, and making haste just ain't my cup of meat"] and refuses hard work ["Just tell me where to put 'em and I'll tell you who to call"], but brings joy to the people.

Dylan is widely believed to have derived the title character from actor Anthony Quinn's role as an Eskimo in the 1960 movie The Savage Innocents.[5] Dylan has also been quoted as saying that the song was nothing more than a "simple nursery rhyme". A 2004 Chicago Tribune article[6] said the song was named after Gordon Quinn, co-founder of Kartemquin Films, who had given Dylan and Howard Alk uncredited editing assistance on Eat the Document.

  1. ^ Russo, Greg (2011). Mannerisms: The Five Phases of Manfred Mann. Crossfire Publications. p. 260. ISBN 9780979184529.
  2. ^ a b c Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, UK: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 114. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
  3. ^ "Bob Dylan 'Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)' Sheet Music, Notes & Chords". FreshSheetMusic.com. 6 April 2006.
  4. ^ Manfred Mann: Mighty Quinn at Discogs (list of releases)
  5. ^ Oliver Trager, Keys to the rain: the definitive Bob Dylan encyclopedia, Billboard Books, 2004, pp. 505–506.
  6. ^ "Shoe string cinema; His latest documentary will air in prime time Monday, but after 20 years the maker of 'Hoop Dreams' still has to hustle for funding", Chicago Tribune, 28 March 2004, p. 12