Nina Simone - Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues

Bob Dylan's nightmare vision of a man fallen on hard times wandering through the seedy side of Juarez, Mexico is in itself one of the best songs ever written. Nina Simone's version however, differs radically from and maybe even eclipses the original by its stark and desperate helplessness alone, and Simone's distant voice that signals a special sort of eerieness as the song takes the protagonist through the gloom and doom. The lyrics are of course brilliant with couplets like "...she takes your voice/and leaves you howling at the moon" making it even more unforgettable. Simone recorded it for her 1971 album To Love Somebody.

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