Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman) on May 24, 1941, is an American songwriter, singer, painter, and writer. He has been influential in popular music and culture for more than five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s, when his songs chronicled social unrest. Early songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind”
Blowin’ In The Wind
How many roads must 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, ‘n’ 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, ‘n’ how many years can a mountain exist Before it’s washed to the sea Yes, ‘n’ how many years can some people exist Before they’re allowed to be free Yes, ‘n’ how many times can a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn’t see The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Yes, ‘n’ how many times must a man look up Before he can see the sky Yes, ‘n’ how many ears must one man have Before he can hear people cry Yes, ‘n’ 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
Emaze
And, “The Times They Are a-Changin'” became anthems for the Civil Rights Movement and anti-war movement.
The Times They Are a-Changin
Come gather around people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You’ll be drenched to the bone And if your breath to you is worth saving Then you better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changing
Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won’t come again And don’t speak too soon For the wheel’s still in spin And there’s no telling who that it’s naming For the loser now will be later to win Cause the times they are a-changing
Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don’t stand in the doorway Don’t block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled There’s the battle outside raging It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls For the times they are a-changing
Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land And don’t criticize What you can’t understand Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command Your old road is rapidly aging Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand Cause the times they are a-changing
The line it is drawn The curse it is cast The slowest now Will later be fast As the present now Will later be past The order is rapidly fading And the first one now will later be last Cause the times they are a-changing
Pinterest
Leaving behind his initial base in the American folk music revival, his six-minute single “Like a Rolling Stone”, recorded in 1965, enlarged the range of popular music.
Like A Rolling Stone
Once upon a time you dressed so fine Threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn’t you? People call say ‘beware doll, you’re bound to fall’ You thought they were all kidding you You used to laugh about Everybody that was hanging out Now you don’t talk so loud Now you don’t seem so proud About having to be scrounging your next meal
How does it feel, how does it feel? To be without a home Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone
Ahh you’ve gone to the finest schools, alright Miss Lonely But you know you only used to get juiced in it Nobody’s ever taught you how to live out on the street And now you’re gonna have to get used to it You say you never compromise With the mystery tramp, but now you realize He’s not selling any alibis As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes And say do you want to make a deal?
How does it feel, how does it feel? To be on your own, with no direction home A complete unknown, like a rolling stone
Ah you never turned around to see the frowns On the jugglers and the clowns when they all did tricks for you You never understood that it ain’t no good You shouldn’t let other people get your kicks for you You used to ride on a chrome horse with your diplomat Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat Ain’t it hard when you discovered that He really wasn’t where it’s at After he took from you everything he could steal
How does it feel, how does it feel? To have on your own, with no direction home Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone
Ahh princess on a steeple and all the pretty people They’re all drinking, thinking that they’ve got it made Exchanging all precious gifts But you better take your diamond ring, you better pawn it babe You used to be so amused At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used Go to him he calls you, you can’t refuse When you ain’t got nothing, you got nothing to lose You’re invisible now, you’ve got no secrets to conceal
How does it feel, ah how does it feel? To be on your own, with no direction home Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone
Dylan’s lyrics incorporate a wide range of political, social, philosophical, and literary influences. They defied existing pop music conventions and appealed to the burgeoning counterculture.
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
Mama, take this badge off of me I can’t use it anymore It’s gettin’ dark, too dark to see I feel like I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Mama, put my guns in the ground I can’t shoot them anymore That long black cloud is comin’ down I feel like I’m knockin’ on heaven’s door
Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door Knock, knock, knockin’ on heaven’s door
Mr. Tamborine Man
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I’m not sleepy and there ain’t no place I’m going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you
Though I know that evenings empire has returned into sand Vanished from my hand Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping My weariness amazes me, I’m branded on my feet I have no one to meet And the ancient empty street’s too dead for dreaming
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I’m not sleepy and there ain’t no place I’m going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship My senses have been stripped May hands can’t feel to grip My toes too numb to step Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering I’m ready to go anywhere, I’m ready for to fade Into my own parade Cast your dancing spell my way, I promise to go under it
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I’m not sleepy and there ain’t no place I’m going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you
Though you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging madly across the sun It’s not aimed at anyone It’s just escaping on the run And but for the sky there are no fences facing And if you hear vague traces of skipping reels of rhyme To your tambourine in time It’s just a ragged clown behind I wouldn’t pay it any mind It’s just a shadow you’re seeing that he’s chasing
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I’m not sleepy and there ain’t no place I’m going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you
Take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind Down the foggy ruins of time Far past the frozen leaves The haunted frightened trees Out to the windy bench Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky With one hand waving free Silhouetted by the sea Circled by the circus sands With all memory of fate Driven deep beneath the waves Let me forget about today until tomorrow
Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me I’m not sleepy and there ain’t no place I’m going to Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I’ll come following you
Bob Dylan is one of the most influential singer-songwriters of the 20th century whose career began in the early 1960s with songs that chronicled social and political issues.
Some of his top songs:
The Secret Tapes: a brief history of how it began….
This is an amazing press conference. It is a depiction of the “truth” behind the poet, the protests and the person.