Where is "56th and Wabasha"? Mystery solved!

[zdrake314]

Hello, I'm new to this forum, so forgive me if this has been discussed before. But I have a theory about "Meet Me in the Morning" from Blood on the Tracks. Link to my own blog with map images, etc.

Previous posters on this forum (and elsewhere) have noted that there is no 56th and Wabasha intersection anywhere that Google Maps can find.

There is a Minnesota Highway 56. But it does not intersect Wabasha Street in St. Paul Minnesota, or go through the town Wabasha, Minnesota.

However, back in 1974, when Blood on the Tracks was being recorded, Minnesota Highway 56 DID intersect Wabasha street in St. Paul Minnesota! The route has since changed, and some of the streets have been renamed. (The current intersection is George & Cesar Chavez in St. Paul, MN,)

My theory is that the lyric is actually, "Meet me in the morning, 56 and Wabasha", referring to that highway and street intersection, and not "Meet me in the morning, 56th and Wabasha" as most sources (even official ones) have it. If you listen to the recordings (particularly takes 2 and 3 on the More Blood, More Tracks 6 disc compilation), you don't hear a "th" sound: Dylan is actually singing "fifty-six and Wabasha".

Link to my own blog with map images, etc.

I am interested to know what people on this forum think of this idea. Do you have evidence for or against this theory? Do we have an image of these lyrics written in Dylan's own hand? Do we have video footage of him singing this that makes "56" vs. "56th" more clear? (He didn't perform this song live very much.) I know all the books and official sites say "56th", but are those written by Dylan himself, or transcribed by others? Does anyone know what this intersection was like in the early 70's? Thanks for your input. I've been listening to this song for decades, and I only recently came up with this theory based on a friend's insight about Minnesota highway name changes.

[Pauley]

Welcome! Yeah I agree. I've always heard 56 and wabasha and thought it was a street that existed. Never knew it doesn't exist now though. It's good to know. A song which I often spun blood on the tracks to hear for that stunning slide guitar at the end especially as it is fading out.

Excellently pointed out.

[ceilingfan_broken]

Hello, I'm new to this forum

I think you are going to fit right in here, my friend. Great sleuthing!

[yellowrailroad]

Good spot! Just listened to the released album track again, (a perfect start to a Sunday morning!) and it’s clearly 56 which is being sung.

From your post, am I right in understanding the 56 and Wabasha intersection still exists but now called something else?

If so, the good ER citizens based in St Paul should immediately start lobbying for a small plaque to be placed at the site, to make sure everybody is aware of this historical landmark

[janeb]

Love it. A nice bit of resolution here! And, like you say yellow railroad, this just had to be the go to song this morning. Thank you!

[yellowrailroad]

Thank you, janeb, have a great Sunday!

[zdrake314]

From your post, am I right in understanding the 56 and Wabasha intersection still exists but now called something else?

If so, the good ER citizens based in St Paul should immediately start lobbying for a small plaque to be placed at the site, to make sure everybody is aware of this historical landmark

Yes, the intersection still exists today: According to my Twin Cities street expert, it is now George Street and Cesar Chavez Street in St. Paul. It’s an interesting intersection: five streets come together there. According to Google, you can get Mexican food, flowers, or a mobile phone there. I’d love to know what it was like in the 60’s and 70’s. I think the neighborhood is working class. There was some betterment associated started for the area in 1973.

[richard blaine]

There's a pile of money buried under Wabasha. Supposedly $350 million.

[yellowrailroad]

From your post, am I right in understanding the 56 and Wabasha intersection still exists but now called something else?

If so, the good ER citizens based in St Paul should immediately start lobbying for a small plaque to be placed at the site, to make sure everybody is aware of this historical landmark

Yes, the intersection still exists today: According to my Twin Cities street expert, it is now George Street and Cesar Chavez Street in St. Paul. It’s an interesting intersection: five streets come together there. According to Google, you can get Mexican food, flowers, or a mobile phone there. I’d love to know what it was like in the 60’s and 70’s. I think the neighborhood is working class. There was some betterment associated started for the area in 1973.

Thank you zdrake34, I had planned to make the trip to Minnesota last May before the Covid thing happened, hopefully it won’t be too long before it can be rearranged, and I shall add this to the itinerary!

[Tim Finnegan]

Cool man, thanks for sharing. And welcome!

[charlesdarwin]

My theory is that the lyric is actually, "Meet me in the morning, 56 and Wabasha", referring to that highway and street intersection, and not "Meet me in the morning, 56th and Wabasha" as most sources (even official ones) have it. If you listen to the recordings (particularly takes 2 and 3 on the More Blood, More Tracks 6 disc compilation), you don't hear a "th" sound: Dylan is actually singing "fifty-six and Wabasha".

It's wonderful that this crux might be solved by looking at it as a transcription error. It's fascinating to consider if Dylan had that specific geographical location at a definite moment in history in mind when he first created the line or whether it signified a Platonically ideal form of meeting place. It's like the question of what Shakespeare was thinking when he wrote that Antony "soberly did mount an arm-gaunt steed" - nobody can say for certain what an arm-gaunt steed would look like or even if one ever existed, but as so often with Shakespeare and also with Dylan, you know what he means, you know exactly what he means.

Really enjoyed reading your theory, zdrake, thanks for sharing your information and ingenuity. It prompted me to go back and listen to the song, which is always a pleasure.

[zdrake314]

Another tidbit in support: Doing a quick Google Map, it looks like heading south on MN Highway 56 is a plausible start for a trip from the Twin Cities to Kansas.

[zdrake314]

My colleague Brendan Dunn again:

Highway 56 is more a local connector than a through route, and all the highways in that area lead generally southeast following the Mississippi. But after talking to my son, I think you’re thinking of the wrong form of transportation. The album is “Blood on the Tracks”, and the alternative version on “Duquesne Whistle”. The intersection is within a few blocks of a Union Pacific train yard on a line which leads eventually to... Wichita.

[Still Go Barefoot]

Good additional info, Z, and cool to
x-reference this thread over in Track Talk:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=39021&p=1969071#p1969071

Truly appreciate you posting your thoughts here.
It is a logical and realistic theory.
Another place to hunt down next time I’m in the state.

Love your blog post, too.
Thank you & welcome!

[mojofilter]

Maybe. But I wouldn't take the lack of a "th" sound as evidence. When you sing them, "56th" and "56" are going to come out pretty much the same. You can make a special effort to pronounce that "th," but it won't sound natural.

[zdrake314]

I agree that when singing, "56" and "56th" will be hard to distinguish. That's why I'd love to see a Dylan-penned manuscript, or get an answer directly from him (while he's still alive!). But in some of the takes that are more "intimate" than the one on the Blood on the Tracks album, the lack of "th" is more pronounced and noticeable. Film or video footage might help distinguish this as well, but alas he didn't perform the song live (except once, and it was someone else singing lead, who probably thought it was "56th" as we all did, at least until a few days ago).

My musical theater singing teacher would have encouraged me to put the "th" in sixth at the beginning of the next word, "and". So "Fifty-sixth and Wabasha" would be sung "Fifty-six THand Wabasha". But I don't think Dylan my music teacher coaching his phrasing.

[zdrake314]

Okay, not Wichita, but Kansas City, Kansas. My railroad history enthusiast source:

That track is part of the "Spine Line" that runs from the Union Pacific yards in Saint Paul to the Armstrong-Armourdale Yard in Kansas City, Kansas.

Honey we could be in Kansas, both the city and the state!

[dbernsy_uno]

I'm mostly using this opportunity to shill for the amazing map archive on the Library of Congress website. But based on 15 mins of sleuthing, I did find an intersection on a revised 1950 map that matches the description. Working off the assumption that what used to be MN State Highway 56 is now Highway 156 (which runs as Concord Street through St. Paul), the old Wabasha did intersect with Concord/56.

LOC Map link

[Souls of Previous Times]

Splendid work zdrake. Your research and conclusions are sound, and lend an extra dimension to the song.

[yellowrailroad]

I agree that when singing, "56" and "56th" will be hard to distinguish. That's why I'd love to see a Dylan-penned manuscript, or get an answer directly from him (while he's still alive!). But in some of the takes that are more "intimate" than the one on the Blood on the Tracks album, the lack of "th" is more pronounced and noticeable. Film or video footage might help distinguish this as well, but alas he didn't perform the song live (except once, and it was someone else singing lead, who probably thought it was "56th" as we all did, at least until a few days ago).

My musical theater singing teacher would have encouraged me to put the "th" in sixth at the beginning of the next word, "and". So "Fifty-sixth and Wabasha" would be sung "Fifty-six THand Wabasha". But I don't think Dylan my music teacher coaching his phrasing.

Annoyingly, the red notebook in More Blood More Tracks doesn’t seem to include this song. I wonder if there was a Dylan penned manuscript of the song in the recent exhibition where he copied out some songs and accompanied them with illustrations? I think the exhibition was called Mondo Scripto, or something like that.

[gibsona07]

I just checked my Mondo Scripto catalogue and unfortunately it's not in there.

[Still Go Barefoot]

I'm mostly using this opportunity to shill for the amazing map archive on the Library of Congress website. But based on 15 mins of sleuthing, I did find an intersection on a revised 1950 map that matches the description. Working off the assumption that what used to be MN State Highway 56 is now Highway 156 (which runs as Concord Street through St. Paul), the old Wabasha did intersect with Concord/56.

LOC Map link

Love the old nationwide Sanborn insurance maps!
Good link as more evidence D Bernsy, thanks.

[zdrake314]

I'm mostly using this opportunity to shill for the amazing map archive on the Library of Congress website. But based on 15 mins of sleuthing, I did find an intersection on a revised 1950 map that matches the description. Working off the assumption that what used to be MN State Highway 56 is now Highway 156 (which runs as Concord Street through St. Paul), the old Wabasha did intersect with Concord/56.

LOC Map link

Thanks for this find! It looks like there are 2 filling stations, and some other buildings and business. I'm going to try to find some photographs of the intersection, and I've ordered a 1969 paper street map on eBay to make sure I've got the right intersection: It's confusing because around this time Highway 56 was re-routed several times, and parts of Wabasha Street got renamed.

[toilandblood546]

If the intersection in question is really in St Paul, then maybe it would be interesting to speculate on exactly who would be meeting Bob in the morning. Did he have Sara with him in Minnesota ever or is there another(possibly crimson haired) lady he was hoping would meet him?

[zdrake314]

If the intersection in question is really in St Paul, then maybe it would be interesting to speculate on exactly who would be meeting Bob in the morning. Did he have Sara with him in Minnesota ever or is there another(possibly crimson haired) lady he was hoping would meet him?

Whoever it was, I don't think they showed up, if the subsequent lyrics are any guide . If there are clues to a specific person that this song is addressed to, I'd be interested in learning that. I always just assumed it was the same person that much of the album was about (many people assume this was his soon-to-be ex-wife).

I don't think Dylan ever actually asked someone to hop a train from St. Paul to Kansas: In his songs, Dylan often adopts a hobo/working class persona that I don't think he enacted in real life. In "Tangled Up in Blue", on the same album, he works as a cook, on a fishing boat (or as a cargo loader, in an alternate version), etc. In "Up to Me" he's a postal clerk. But I don't think those are actually autobiographical. I'm not an expert in Dylan biography, so if anyone knows differently, let me know.