Track Talk 4 : Meet Me In The Morning

[zdrake314]

I believe a friend of mine and I have solved the "Where is 56th & Wabasha" crux.

Short version: The lyric is not "Fifty-sixth and Wabasha", it is actually "Fifty-six and Wabasha", referring to the intersection of old Minnesota Highway 56 and Wabasha Street in Saint Paul, Minnesota. If you listen, you can hear Dylan sing "fifty-six", rather than "fifty-sixth", particularly on the take that was released as the B-side to "Duquesne Whistle". Minnesota Highway 56 no longer intersects Wabasha Street, but from 1963 to 1974 it did intersect Wabasha Street, at what is now (in Feb. 2021) the intersection of George Street and Cesar Chavez Street in St. Paul. Incidentally, this intersection is near some railroad tracks, and a rail yard, from which it would be convenient to hop a train to Kansas.

There's another thread over here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=100625

And a separate blog post: http://zdrake.blogspot.com/2021/02/wher ... me-in.html

[John B. Stetson]

I believe you may be right. Nice.

[Nightingale's Code]

One of Bob's most perfect songs. The lyrics, the recording, the singing, the band. Everything just spot on and gelling together seamlessly. Can only wish it was longer!

[Still Go Barefoot]

I believe a friend of mine and I have solved the "Where is 56th & Wabasha" crux.

Short version: The lyric is not "Fifty-sixth and Wabasha", it is actually "Fifty-six and Wabasha", referring to the intersection of old Minnesota Highway 56 and Wabasha Street in Saint Paul, Minnesota. If you listen, you can hear Dylan sing "fifty-six", rather than "fifty-sixth", particularly on the take that was released as the B-side to "Duquesne Whistle". Minnesota Highway 56 no longer intersects Wabasha Street, but from 1963 to 1974 it did intersect Wabasha Street, at what is now (in Feb. 2021) the intersection of George Street and Cesar Chavez Street in St. Paul. Incidentally, this intersection is near some railroad tracks, and a rail yard, from which it would be convenient to hop a train to Kansas.

There's another thread over here: viewtopic.php?f=6&t=100625

And a separate blog post: http://zdrake.blogspot.com/2021/02/wher ... me-in.html

Smart to cross-reference this thread.

Count me in as a believer in your theory, Z!
Highway projects generally require multiple public notices, so this would’ve most likely been in the news.
Perhaps Bob saw or heard it and was influenced.
To take it a speculative step further,
maybe Bob liked the idea of memorializing
a soon-to-be-no-more intersection?

Fantastic research and investigation.
Welcome to ER!

[zdrake314]

To take it a speculative step further, ... ersection?

I like this idea, but I don't know the timing: would Dylan have known about the re-routing of Highway 56 in September of 1974 when recording this song in New York? I'm not sure. I don't know when the re-routing was planned, announced, and completed.

I do think this re-routing made it more likely that "56" would get re-interpreted as "56th": once this album became famous, people would wonder where that intersection is, and if Hwy 56 and Wabasha had existed to answer that question, people wouldn't have had to wonder about where the "56th" came from.

[toilandblood546]

To take it a speculative step further, ... ersection?

I like this idea, but I don't know the timing: would Dylan have known about the re-routing of Highway 56 in September of 1974 when recording this song in New York? I'm not sure. I don't know when the re-routing was planned, announced, and completed.

I do think this re-routing made it more likely that "56" would get re-interpreted as "56th": once this album became famous, people would wonder where that intersection is, and if Hwy 56 and Wabasha had existed to answer that question, people wouldn't have had to wonder about where the "56th" came from.

I live in Louisiana and people refer to numbered highways just by the number. So Highway 61 is just called "61" as in, "take 61 all the way to Laplace." So that makes the formulation "56 and Wabasha" as something that people would say.

[zdrake314]

I live in Louisiana and people refer to numbered highways just by the number. So Highway 61 is just called "61" as in, "take 61 all the way to Laplace." So that makes the formulation "56 and Wabasha" as something that people would say.

Yes, and similar convention exists in Minnesota, where I think this takes place. (I grew up nearby in Minneapolis.)

[ballyho]

Think I’ll cast my vote for take 1, remake 2