One of Dylan's first electric recordings, "Subterranean Homesick Blues" is also notable for its innovative music video, which first appeared in D. A. Pennebaker's documentary Dont Look Back.

[7] In its contemporary review, Cash Box described it as a "rockin’-country folk blueser with a solid beat and catchy lyrics" and "wild" guitar and harmonica playing.

"[9] Dylan has also stated that when he attended the University of Minnesota in 1959, he fell under the influence of the Beat scene: "It was Jack Kerouac, Ginsberg, Corso and Ferlinghetti.

[11][12] The song's first line is a reference to codeine distillation and the politics of the time: "Johnny's in the basement mixing up the medicine / I'm on the pavement thinkin' about the government".

The widespread use of recreational drugs and turmoil surrounding the Vietnam War were both starting to take hold of the nation, and Dylan's hyperkinetic lyrics were dense with up-to-the-minute allusions to important emerging elements in the 1960s youth culture.

(Most infamously, its lyric "you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows" was the inspiration for the name of the American far-left organization known as the Weather Underground, which formed after breaking away from the Students for a Democratic Society.

)[15] In a 2007 study of legal opinions and briefs that found Dylan was quoted by judges and lawyers more than any other songwriter, "you don't need a weatherman..." was distinguished as the line most often cited.

[citation needed] In 1985, British actor Tom Watt, at the time enjoying a high profile playing the role of Lofty Holloway in EastEnders, released a version of the song that made number 67 in the UK singles chart.

The Hayes Carll track "KMAG YOYO" is a direct homage to the rhythms and subject matter of "Subterranean Homesick Blues".

[28] The Jesus and Mary Chain's 1989 single "Blues from a Gun" includes the lyric "Look out kid, you're gonna get hit", a line borrowed from the Dylan track.

Radiohead's song "Subterranean Homesick Alien", from their 1997 album OK Computer, pays homage by referencing Bob Dylan's track in the title.

The Gaslight Anthem's song "Angry Johnny and the Radio", from their 2007 album Sink or Swim, includes the lyrics "And I'm still here singin', thinking about the government" and "Are you hidin' in a basement, mixin' up the medicine?"

Deaf Havana's album Old Souls contains the song "Subterranean Bullshit Blues", which references the title in homage to the songwriter James Veck-Gilodi's respect for Dylan.