Mozambique (song)

"Mozambique" is a song written by Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy that was originally released on Dylan's 1976 album Desire. It was also released as a single and reached number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Mozambique"
Single by Bob Dylan
from the album Desire
B-side"Oh, Sister"
ReleasedFebruary 17, 1976
RecordedJuly 30, 1975
StudioColumbia Studios, New York City
GenreFolk rock
Length3:00
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)Bob Dylan, Jacques Levy
Producer(s)Don DeVito
Bob Dylan singles chronology
"Hurricane"
(1975)		 "Mozambique"
(1976)		 "Rita May"
(1976)
Desire track listing
9 tracks
Side one
  1. "Hurricane"
  2. "Isis"
  3. "Mozambique"
  4. "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)"
  5. "Oh, Sister"
Side two
  1. "Joey"
  2. "Romance in Durango"
  3. "Black Diamond Bay"
  4. "Sara"
Official audio
"Mozambique" on YouTube

Background

At the time of the song's release, the titular country of Mozambique had just emerged from a ten-year insurgency war against Portugal which led to Mozambique's independence.[1][2] Mozambique had gained independence on June 25, 1975, only about a month before the song was recorded.[3] As a result, some supporters wanted to see the song as lending support to the newly independent country.[1] However, the lyrics of the song don't support such an interpretation, being slight and treating the country as merely a place for a romantic getaway in the sun, apart from a fleeting reference to "people living free".[1] This amused some of Dylan's fans, who did understand the satire.[2]

Analysis

The melody received more praise than the lyrics. Robert Shelton describes the tune as "playful."[4] Oliver Trager and John Nogowski both describe the melody as "great" and particularly praise the violin playing of Scarlet Rivera.[1][5]

Record World said that "The sound is different with Emmylou Harris singing along over a twisting beat, but the story is pure Dylan and that's enough to make it worth a listen."[6] Trager describes "Mozambique" as "a light love song with lighter political overtones."[1] Allmusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine calls it "effervescent" and "Dylan at his breeziest."[7] Paul Williams considers "Mozambique" to be one of several songs on Desire with "wonderful, inventive, pleasure-giving" music which nonetheless fails to reach the intensity and unity of the other songs because the lyrics are "a little too vague, too clever" and "too distanced."[8] Dylan biographer Clinton Heylin considers the song to be a "ditty dredged up from the bottom of the barrel," "ghastly" and "the weakest song on Desire."[2][9]

"Mozambique" was also released as a single as a follow-up to the Top 40 hit "Hurricane" and it reached #54 on the Billboard Hot 100.[10] Heylin suggests that Dylan may have released it as a single over songs fans might have preferred—particularly "Sara"—to spite fans who criticized the song for its slight lyrics trivializing the conflict in Mozambique.[2] Cash Box said of it that it is "an exotic, lush and exciting tune to hear" and that "Dylan is in fine form, spinning out his tale of 'magic in a magical land,' and playing superb rhythm guitar."[11]

The song also appeared on the compilation album Masterpieces.[12] A live performance was included in the television special Hard Rain but not on the associated album.[1][8]

Cover version

Jimmy Buffett recorded a cover version that will be released on his posthumous album Equal Strain on All Parts on November 3, 2023. A video for the song, featuring footage of Buffett and Emmylou Harris singing live in the studio, was released in advance of the album on YouTube on October 13, 2023.[13]

References
  1. Trager, O. (2004). Keys to the Rain. Billboard Books. p. 436. ISBN 0823079740.
  2. Heylin, C. (2010). Still on the Road. Chicago Review Press. p. 83. ISBN 9781556528446.
  3. "Independence Day". officeholidays.com. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
  4. Shelton, R. (1986). No Direction Home. Da Capo Press. p. 466. ISBN 0306807823.
  5. Nogowski, J. (2008). Bob Dylan: A Descriptive, Critical Discography and Filmography (2nd ed.). McFarland. p. 75. ISBN 9780786435180.
  6. "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. February 28, 1976. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
  7. Erlewine, S.T. "Desire". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  8. Williams, P. (1994). Bob Dylan Performing Artist: 1974-1986. Omnibus Press. pp. 45, 47, 88. ISBN 0711935556.
  9. Heylin, C. (1995). Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions 1960-1994. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 113. ISBN 0312150679.
  10. "Desire Awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  11. "CashBox Singles Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. February 28, 1976. p. 25. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  12. "Mozambique". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-05.
  13. Blistein, Jon (2023-10-13). "Jimmy Buffett Enlisted Emmylou Harris, and a Steelpan Drum, for His Cover of Bob Dylan's 'Mozambique'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
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