Ophelia (The Band song)

"Ophelia"
Japanese single cover
Single by The Band
from the album Northern Lights – Southern Cross
B-side	"Hobo Jungle"
Format	Single sleeve LP
Recorded	1975
Genre	Roots rock, Americana
Length	3:32
Label	Capitol Records
Writer(s)	Robbie Robertson
Producer(s)	The Band

"Ophelia" is a song written by Robbie Robertson that was first released by The Band on their 1975 album Northern Lights – Southern Cross. It was the lead single from the album. It has also appeared on several of the group's live and compilation albums, and has been covered by such artists as Vince Gill and My Morning Jacket.

The lyrics tell of the singer's attempt to find the heroine Ophelia. The relationship between the singer and Ophelia is never made explicit. Author Craig Harris refers to her as the singer's old friend, while music critic Nick DeRiso considers her his lover. But he finds out that Ophelia has left town, apparently in a hurry. According to Band biographer Barney Hoskyns, the name Ophelia for the song did not come from Shakespeare's Hamlet but rather from Minnie Pearl's real name. But Shakespeare scholar Stephen M. Buhler sees some Shakespearean echoes in "Ophelia," particularly related to Othello. In particular, Buhler sees hints that perhaps Ophelia is a black woman in a Southern town who was forced to flee because of Southern attitudes at the time towards interracial relationships with the white singer. Lyrics Buhler uses to support this view include the following, suggesting that the relationship between Ophelia and the singer was illegal:

Lines such as the singer asking Ophelia to "please darken my door," suggest to Buhler that the issue may be the color of Ophelia's skin. But according to Harris' interpretation, nostalgia is the key theme to the song.

"Ophelia" is an uptempo song with similarities to earlier Band songs "The W.S. Walcott Medicine Show" from Stage Fright and "Life is a Carnival" from Cahoots. The song has a Dixieland flavor. DeRiso hears a combination of rustic and modern elements in the music.Levon Helm sings the lead vocal. According to Hoskyns, the song has "the same good-humoured regret with which [Helm] infused "Up on Cripple Creek."Garth Hudson plays multiple instruments, including synthesizer and multiple brass and woodwind instruments, which contributes significantly to the Dixieland flavor. As a result of the success of Hudson's playing, DeRiso regards "Ophelia" as "Hudson’s triumph, his musical testament, his masterpiece." Robertson plays a more prominent guitar part than he had typically played on earlier Band songs.