Dylan


Backround

     Bob Dylan was often called the "voice of his generation" .[1]He was a protest singer who sang about injustice in the U.S.A., as well as a folk, blues, country, jazz, rock, electric, acoustic and Christian singer.  Dylan was born in Duluth, Minnesota on May 24th, 1941 with the name Robert Allen Zimmerman, but he eventually changed his name.  He started singing from an early age and after high school, he went to Minneapolis to pursue his music dream.  Some of his most famous songs are "Things Have Changed", "Blowin' In The Wind", "Just Like A Woman", "Mr. Tambourine Man", "Like A Rolling Stone", "The Times Are A-Changin'", and "Subterranean Homesick Blues".  "Blowin' In The Wind" is an example of one of Dylan's protest songs.  A few other examples of his protest songs are "The Ballad of Emmit Till", "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", "The Times Are A-Changin'", and "Chimes of Freedom".  All of his songs and inspiring lyrics lead him to a life of fame and fortune as well as earning hundreds of faithful fans.     

 

Significance

     Bob Dylan was one of the most influential songwrites of all time.  He was a protest singer, as well as a confessional songwriter who influenced hundreds of people who later became his fans.  Dylan sang against the injustice going on in the United States at that time.  For example, "The Ballad of Emmit Till" is a song he wrote that was dedicated to a black adolescent killed in Mississippi in 1955.  Another example is his song "Blownin' In The Wind"(see lyrics below).  It is based on a slave spiritual called "No More Auction Block" and it consists of a series of  rhetorical[2] questions.  The song talks about the civil rights struggle and injustice as well as intolerance towards blacks in nearly biblical terms.  However, it is general enough so it can be applied to any struggle or problem.  In addition, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" talks about the Cuban missile crisis and the threat of a possible nuclear war during the Cold War.  "Chimes of Freedom" is a politically aware song that's very poetic and talks about the government.  All of these influential songs helped him gain many fans and aware people of issues and flaws in the U.S.A.  In conclusion, Bob Dylan was the "voice of his generation", one of the most influential songwrites of all time, and a great confessional and protest singer who earned himself hundreds of fans.         

 

 

 

 

Blowin' In The Wind

By, Bob Dylan

 

How many roads most a man walk down
Before you call him a man ?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand ?
Yes, how many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned ?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Yes, how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea ?
Yes, how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free ?
Yes, how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn't see ?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Yes, how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky ?
Yes, how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry ?
Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died ?
The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind. [3] 

 

Subterranean Homesick Blues

By, Bob Dylan

 

-Hannah Maatallah

 

 

Footnotes

  1. http://popculture.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1364078?terms=bob+dylan
  2. World English Dictionary rhetorical question — n a question to which no answer is required: used esp for dramatic effect. An example is Who knows? (with the implication Nobody knows ) http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/rhetorical+question
  3. http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobdylan/blowininthewind.html