June 3, 2014
Critical Song Analysis of Blowin’ In the WindIn Our expressive arts class we are studying the topic the 60’s. We
were asked to analyse the song “blowin’ in the windâ€. The song
“blowin’ in the windâ€, was a very popular song in the 60’s and was
written by a man called Bob Dylan.
Born May 24th, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, Bob Dylan was destined to be
a star. His original name, however, was not Bob Dylan. His first name
was Robert Allen Zimmerman, but changed it later, when he began to
record. But long before Bob Dylan’s recording days he was a young man
with the ambition to be a musical icon. And it all began in the early
forties. Bob started writing poems at around the age of ten and soon
also taught himself to play the piano and guitar. His musical
inspirations were stars like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and
Little Richard. After he graduated high school, he was soon off to the
University of Minnesota in early 1959. Here in University is where the
thought and drive of becoming of musical artist formed. Dylan had
begun to listen to folk and rock music. Dylan around this time had
begun to master the harmonica and adopted his stage name “Bob Dylanâ€.
It is still unsure where he got the name “Dylan†from, but it is
presumed that the name was taken from a popular poet named Dylan
Thomas. The next year he dropped out of school and made his way to New
York. Bob Dylan began playing amazing material at local coffee houses
and was seen often in the company of many popular upcoming artists.
This is the time that he also began to write his legendary folk songs
of the sixties. Such was his song for his hero, Woody Guthrie, called
“Song To Woodyâ€. In 1961 is when Bob Dylan made his break through. It
is at this time that he was offered a recording contract with Columbia
Records. Dylan’s first album was to be simply called “Bob Dylanâ€. The
album was nothing of what it was expected to be. Dylan had not played
his own music on this album; instead he played many traditional folk
songs. For his next album, Dylan would turn all of this around. And
soon began his era.
One of the best pieces of music produced by Bob Dylan was the
protesting song he made in the 1960’s. It was like a national anthem
so no one really questioned who wrote the song. Some musicians of the
Sixties used Songs as a means of social protest, like the song blowin
in the wind. The Protest musicians of the Sixties lead in a
revolution, and gave rise to processes that resulted in America’s
withdrawal of forces from Vietnam, abolition of slavery, striving
towards attaining world peace, etc. So these protest songs had a big
influence on the community and played a large part in the 60’s. They
did not talk about issues at the time in detail, but put them into a
song and translated them to the audience through almost, hidden
messages.
The song is set out very neatly, in 3 separate verses, and on every
other line has a question. It is set out almost like a poem. He uses
instruments like the harmonica and guitar in his song. By using these
instruments create images of protest songs, as many of the songs were
played with the guitar. As the guitar is played in a major key, it
seems rather happy and positive, but when you listen to the words it
creates negative images. This may symbolise that everything was
ignored and seemed ok, but when you looked closer you could see the
problems. The guitar and harmonica relate to the 60’s and these
instruments were commonly used.
The song describes the realisation that a united group is seeking. As
a whole, the lyrics are about freedom and equality, which relates to
the 60’s. The melody of the song is soft, meaningful and deep perhaps
in keeping with the desire for more hopeful times. The song seems to
relate to the state of things, which were happening at the time. The
verses are actually questions that ask for a change in the present
issues.
Each verse expresses a different idea, but they focus on several
themes. The first theme is about the lack of rights for people. This
is symbolised by such verses as “how many roads must a man walk down
before you call him a manâ€, which relates to the struggle for voting
rights. “How many years can some people exist before they’re allowed
to be freeâ€, relates to the theme of slavery, asks the audience how
long until slavery will be stopped and they can be set free. There are
many similar verses that relate to the things that happened in the
60’s.
The second theme about violence in the 60’s. This is shown in the
verses “how many times must the cannon balls fly before they’re
forever banned?†This shows the audience that we need to stop fighting
each other. Other references to violence include “how many deaths will
it take till he knows that too many people have died?†This question
is different as it is aimed at 1 person. He may be talking to the
government asking them when will the deaths stop. “How many ears must
one man has before he can hear people cry†illustrates this again, as
it relates to 1 man, and is saying how many times do we have to tell
you before you listen. Finally, a repeated verse the answer, my
friend, is blowin in the wind, shows the audience that are encouraging
change, and that change is as inevitable as the wind blowing.
This song is very different from other songs, as it does not show the
audience its message, but actually asks and relates to the audience’s
lives. This is significant as it is deeper and more meaningful as he
is directing his questions to the audience, asking when will they
change the world. By repeating questions adds effect, as he is showing
he is talking to you, which catches the audiences attention and makes
them listen to the words of the song. This song suggests that there
must be change, but it simply reflects on what needs to be changed. It
does not take a position on how things must be changed, except to
discourage violence. It stands as an observation of the times and uses
hidden messages to put across its meaning, that would not have been
forgotten during that time. For those who had heard it, they might
have felt that the song expressed their feelings. Today, this song can
be easily understood. As a pop song, its simplicity is vital because
it captures the spirit of the civil rights movement without over
exaggerating the issue.
I could use this as a stimulus for my 60’s presentation by talking the
song and making a story along the lyrics. From the song I have found
many hidden issues, which I could use as a base storyline for my
performance. I have also seen how to communicate to the audience about
certain issues through hidden messages, and also to relate to the
audience, by using such devises like asking questions. We could also
just use the song in our actually performance too. I could use the
different themes I found to use as scenes for my performance. These
were: violence, rights for people, slavery, and political issues.
Source:
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