“Maggie’s Farm” is a song written by Bob Dylan, recorded on January 15, 1965, and released on the album Bringing It All Back Home on March 22 of that year. Like many other Dylan songs of the 1965–66 period, “Maggie’s Farm” is based in electric blues. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom on June 4, 1965, and peaked at #22 on the chart.

The biographical context of the song provides only one of many lenses through which to interpret the text. While some may see “Maggie’s Farm” as a repudiation of the protest-song tradition associated with folk music, it can also (ironically) be seen as itself a deeply political protest song. We are told, for example, that the “National Guard” stands around the farm door, and that Maggie’s mother talks of “Man and God and Law.” The “farm” that Dylan sings of can in this case easily represent racism, state oppression and capitalist exploitation.

In fact this theme of capitalist exploitation came to be seen by some as the major theme of the song. In this interpretation, Maggie’s Farm is the military industrial complex, and Dylan is singing for the youth of his time, urging them to reject society. I firmly believe this to be the case with Rage Against The Machine’s interpretation.

Rage Against the Machine’s take is much heavier and does a good job in keeping the anger in the song. It is appearing on their 2000 covers album, Renegades. In this version the line “She’s 68 but she says she’s 54” has been changed to “She’s 68 but she says she’s 24”. This is actually a change Dylan made for the electric version of “Maggie’s Farm” he performed at the 1965 Newport Festival. 

– Hallgeir

Other entries in the series:
The Best Dylan covers: Stevie Wonder – Blowin’ in the wind
The Best Dylan Covers: George Harrison – If Not For You
The Best Dylan Covers: Emmylou Harris – Every Grain of Sand
The Best Dylan Covers: Them – It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
The Best Dylan Covers: Joan Baez – Farewell Angelina
The Best Dylan Covers: Roger McGuinn – Up To Me
The Best Dylan Covers: Jeff Beck Group – Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You
The Best Dylan Covers: Susan Tedeschi – Lord Protect My Child
The Best Dylan Covers: Lucinda Williams – Tryin’ To Get To Heaven
The Best Dylan Covers: Jerry Garcia Band – Simple Twist of Faith
The Best Dylan Covers: Bruce Springsteen – All Along The WatchTower
The Best Dylan Covers: Patti Smith – Changing Of The Guards
The Best Dylan Covers: Johnny Rivers – Positively 4th Street
The Best Dylan Covers: Antony and The Johnsons – Knocking On Heaven’s Door
The Best Dylan Covers: Dave Alvin – Highway 61 Revisited
The Best Dylan Covers: 16 Horsepower – Nobody ‘Cept You
The Best Dylan Covers: Alicia Keys – Pressing On
The Best Dylan Covers: Cowboy Junkies – If You Gotta Go, Go Now
The Best Dylan Covers: Nina Simone – The Ballad of Hollis Brown
The Best Dylan Covers: Ramones – My Back Pages
The Best Dylan Covers: The Long Ryders – Masters of War
The Best Dylan Covers: Cat Power – Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
The Best Dylan Covers: The Flying Burrito Bros – To Ramona
The Best Dylan Covers: Chrissie Hynde – I Shall Be Released
The Best Dylan Covers: Norah Jones – I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight
The Best Dylan Covers: Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash – It Ain’t Me Babe
The Best Dylan Covers: Buddy Miller – With God On Our Side
The Best Dylan Covers: Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy aka Will Oldham – Brownsville Girl
The Best Dylan Covers: Lou Reed – Foot of Pride
The Best Dylan Covers: Indigo Girls – Tangled Up In Blue
The Best Dylan Covers: Tom Jones – What Good Am I
The Best Dylan Covers: Sarah Jarosz – Ring Them Bells
The Best Dylan Covers: Robert Plant – One More Cup Of Coffee
The Best Dylan Covers: Alison Krauss – I Believe In You
The Best Dylan Covers: Mick Ronson with David Bowie – Like A Rolling Stone
The Best Dylan Covers: Steve Earle – It Takes a lot to laugh, it takes a train to cry
The Best Dylan Covers: Patti Smith with Lenny Kaye – Boots of Spanish Leather
The Best Dylan Covers: Jimi Hendrix – All Along The Watchtower
The Best Dylan Covers: Rodney Crowell with Emmylou Harris – Shelter From The Storm
The Best Dylan Covers: John Lynch – One More Cup Of Coffee
The Best Dylan Covers: Peter Case – Long Time Gone
The Best Dylan Covers: Helen Baylor – What Can I Do For You

-hallgeir