‘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, 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. Dylan has also been quoted as saying that the song was nothing more than a "simple nursery rhyme". A 2004 Chicago Tribune article 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.
The Manfred Mann version is noted for Klaus Voormann's use of a distinctive flute part. This was replaced in the Earth Band version with Manfred playing it on an organ. The first release of the song, the #1 hit by Manfred Mann, which topped the UK charts in February 1968, was released as "Mighty Quinn". Manfred Mann released a live version of the entire song on their 1978 album Watch. The single edit, released to commemorate ten years since the release of the 1968 Manfred Mann hit version, omitted the prog middle part and included a few new guitar solos.
It was rare for Dylan to let anyone record one of his songs before he did, but ‘Quinn The Eskimo’ was an exception. Mike D'Abo of Manfred Mann explained how it happened. "We met in a publisher's house as Bob Dylan was making some new material available to other artists," D'Abo said. "We heard about 10 songs and I thought 'This Wheel's On Fire' would be the one to do, but Manfred liked The Mighty Quinn, which was called 'Quinn The Eskimo' then. It was sung in a rambling monotone but Manfred had recognized its potential. He sold me on the idea of doing this song, but I had to make up some of the words as I couldn't make out everything he was saying. It was like learning a song phonetically in a foreign language. I have never had the first idea what the song is about except that it seems to be 'Hey, gang, gather round, something exciting is going to happen 'cause the big man's coming.' As to who the big man is and why he is an Eskimo, I don't know."
Label – Fontana
Songwriter – Bob Dylan
Producer - Mike Hurst
SONG LYRICS
[Instrumental Intro][Chorus]
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn
[Verse 1]
Everybody's building ships and boats
Some are building monuments
Others are jotting down notes
Everybody's in despair, every girl and boy
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
Everybody's gonna jump for joy
[Chorus]
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn
[Verse 2]
I like to go just like the rest
I like my sugar sweet
But jumping queues and makin' haste
Just ain't my cup of meat
Everyone's beneath the trees
Feedin' pigeons on a limb
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
All the pigeons gonna run to him
[Chorus]
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn
Come all without, come all within
You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn
[Verse 3]
Let me do what I wanna do
I can't decide 'em all
Just tell me where to put 'em
And I'll tell you who to call
Nobody can get no sleep
There's someone on everyone's toes
But when Quinn the Eskimo gets here
Everybody's gonna wanna doze
[Chorus]
Come all without, come all within
(Yes, sing a song, everybody)
You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn
(I wanna hear you sing, mmm)
Come all without, come all within
(Here he comes now)
You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn
(It's the Mighty Quinn)
[Chorus/Outro]
Come all without, come all within
(Yes, sing a song, everybody)
You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn
(It's a-comin' along)
Come all without, come all within
(Yes, sing a song)
You'll not see nothing like the Mighty Quinn...