On Ed Sullivan, Dylan planned to put a spin on his
clothespin-on-the-nose honesty with “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid
Blues,” a satirical song written from the perspective of a John Birch
Society member who is so terrified of communist infiltration that he
looks for Reds everywhere, including in his chimney, toilet and glove

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Even though he never got to play the song, Dylan still got some press
from the non-appearance. He clearly occupied the moral high ground in
the New York Times’ dispatch about the dustup, headlined “Satire on
Birch Society Barred from Ed Sullivan’s TV Show.” And, per Rolling
Stone, he bounced back from the crushing disappointment when someone