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August 10, 2005

Did Bob Dylan Really Live In Brooklyn Heights?

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When Bob Dylan sang in Tangled Up In Blue, "I lived with them on Montague Street, In a basement down the stairs," was he talking about Brooklyn Heights? It had never occurred to us, but that's one of the interesting tidbits put forth on the CUNY site about the neighborhood. Another is that only 30% of households in The Heights own or lease their own cars. Who woulda thunk it?
Montague Street [CUNY Neighborhoods Project]




Posted by Brownstoner at 10:41 AM | Comments (17)
Categories: Neighborhoods

Comments

I always assumed he meant Montague St. in the Heights. Is there another he would know about?

Posted by: Anonymous at August 10, 2005 10:49 AM

Probably not. Guess when we first heard the song back in the mid-80s we couldn't have pointed out Brooklyn Heights on a map, so the reference didn't resonate.

Posted by: Brownstoner at August 10, 2005 11:13 AM

As I live on Montague Street, I always wondered about the song. I assumed that there was a Montague Street in San Francisco, or another such city. There certainly isn't very much music in the cafes at night and definitely not any revolution in the air on the street these days. A Google search showed that the only other Montague Street is in London. London doesn't really fit the song though...

Posted by: Whitbo at August 10, 2005 11:24 AM

While we're at it, Dylan's song "Joey" off 1975's "Desire" has the lyric, "the sun shined low over President Street, and the town of Brooklyn mourned".

Posted by: blue at August 10, 2005 1:35 PM

I believe he did - tho i'm not a bd fan. Doesn't he also mention "Montague and Capulets" which was a famous restaurant on that street. I think he lived in the Grovesnor or the other of those two huge red buildings (recently renovated) b/w henry/hicks.

Posted by: Anonymous at August 10, 2005 4:16 PM

I believe he did - tho i'm not a bd fan. Doesn't he also mention "Montague and Capulets" which was a famous restaurant on that street. I think he lived in the Grovesnor or the other of those two huge red buildings (recently renovated) b/w henry/hicks.

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Simply stated as the only owner of Capulet on Montague, opened in April of 1969 and closed in July of 1986, the basement on Montague Street was my office where many musicians hung out when they came to perform bluegrass and old-timey music or visit their many friends from around the states and world who came to play music on Saturday nights. Dylan included.

Posted by: Roger Backer at November 2, 2006 7:09 PM

Ah, Roger! Just came across this in google of "Dylan" and "Montague." Boy was your place great. It was the hub of a great community in the '70s and early '80s and remains a reference point for many of fond recollections of nights whiled away listening to music, throwing darts, debating the issues of the day, meeting people who would become longtime friends and playing the ocassional game of backgammon and wondering if Vinnie cheated at it. Thanks for all that and thanks too for the info on Dylan.

Posted by: joan at February 7, 2007 3:02 PM

So does that mean he didn't live in Brooklyn Heights, just hung out there?

Posted by: Oldmark at March 15, 2007 9:33 AM

In the 60s Al Aronowitz lived in Brooklyn Heights with his wife and kids, Dylan often visited them (both Al and Dylan have written about it) and stayed there. There's even some photographs by Doug Gilbert which have been published. Al's wife Elizabeth died in 1970 and he moved after that.

Posted by: peter's friend at May 13, 2007 10:48 PM

oh no I just realised that it was Berkeley Heights, not Brooklyn Heights, where Al lived! sorry

Posted by: peter's friend at May 13, 2007 11:38 PM

we've always assumed he meant Montagu st which in Charleston sc runs through the college of Charleston, etc. where the students hang out.

Posted by: southernman at June 23, 2007 9:55 AM

I have never heard that Dylan ever lived in Brooklyn Heights (regardless of whether he may have visited Capulets). And can you take anything in his songs literally? At any rate in the song it looks like he is talking about New Orleans, which I believe has a Montagut Street. Certainly there were no topless places in the Heights in the 60s, or (outside of Capulets) music in the cafes at night, or revolution in the air, or people dealing in slaves (to my knowledge, but then that's presumably a metaphor anyway).

Posted by: Heights Lifer at July 6, 2007 4:00 PM

When I first came here, lots of gay bars on Maontague Street; it was a pretty wild area back then.

Posted by: guest at June 4, 2008 8:59 PM

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