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Bob Dylan’s song “The times are a changin”
‘The times are a changin’ is a song that was composed and sung by Bob Dylan in early 1964. The music is categorized under folk music and it became a hit during the 1960s because of its message and the way it was composed. The song transformed the music culture in the sense that it sought to change the way people perceived life. It also made people flexible and be able to accept change.
Bob was a singer as well as songwriter, whose real name was Robert Allen Zinmmerman. He was born in Duluth, Minnesota on May 24 1941 (Wisser, 2005, p. 5). His love for music became evident while he was at high school. His role models include early rock stars such as Jerry Lewis, Elvis Presley and Richard Little among others (Dylan, 1964). He played guitar and piano later forming his own band. He began performing country and folk music in a university of Minnesota where he adapted the name Bob Dylan (Dylan, 1964). His star in music began shining in 1961 when he first signed his recording contract. Since then, he has motivated and influenced the lives of many people (Wisser, 2005, p. 5).
The song ‘the times are a changin’ was one of the hit songs during the time. The song was written with high quality and creativity. The song came at the right time and reflected the lives of the U.S people. It has nice sound and melodies to listen. The lyrics centers of politics, religion and social influences of the time. For instance, he appeals to congressmen and senators to fight together till the end, “for he who gets hurt/will be he who has stalled” (Dylan, 1964). The song is accompanied with guitars, harmonica and keyboards, which makes the music interesting to listen to. The song has five verses and every stanza communicates a different message to the society. Therefore, the song provided a source of inspiration to the lives of upcoming musicians and the society (Walsh, 2000, p. 18). The song opens by bringing people together, “come gather round people” “wherever you roam” (Dylan, 1964). Therefore, the author is trying to create unity among the society by appealing to them to join hands and work together. It appeals for all people to join hands for a common course. This is exhibited through the uses of words like “come” (Dylan, 1964). Four phrases in the song begin with this word and all the verses end with the phrase, “for the times they are a-changin” (Dylan, 1964). This format of pattern has made it easy to remember the song as well as made it easy to recite and understand. This therefore explains the reason why the song of the time and intercultural. The author also uses metaphors such as “water” to refer to the change revolution in the counterculture, “and admit that the waters around you have grown” (Dylan, 1964). This makes the song look innovative and creative hence appealing to listen.
Analysis of the song
Most songwriters and singers sing a song to send a certain message to the society. Songs also are used for leisure. ‘The times are a changin’ is one of the songs that performed well and depicts the history of the US. The song has various meaning to the society. For instance, in the first verse, the singer alerts its audience to watch their step. It is more or less borrowed from a biblical perspective. He cautions people to watch their steps in order not to get lost on the way, “then you better start swimming’ or you’ll sink like a stone” (Dylan, 1964). Things are changing and therefore, they should take precautions and be very much attentive to ensure that they walk in the right direction. The second verse warns elite people, authors and journalist to be watchful of the present events, “and keep your eyes wide” (Dylan, 1964). They need to document such things to help others in future. Fate often changes and they should expect unanticipated twists in life, as some are good while others bad (Galenson, 2009, p. 17).
The third verse is some sort of political in nature. It requires political leaders to take necessary measures to quell conflicts happening in Vietnam. People are losing their lives carelessly because of the conflict and this should be addressed urgently before the situation escalates to their homes, “there’s a battle outside and it is ragin’(Walsh, 2000, p. 18). The fourth verse is about the need to embrace change, ‘your old road is rapidly agin’”. Parents should relinquish their prejudices and fears and allow their children to live according to the current lifestyles, “please get out of the new one” (Lustig, 2002, p. 37). They should be allowed to explore and live their lives according to the current lifestyles, and the first one now will later be last” (Dunlap, 2006, p. 549). The last verse sums the message. It requires that society change their perception about life. They should not delve on the past but rather focus on the future (Dunlap, 2006, p. 549). The song therefore talks about the history of the U.S, especially its participation in the Vietnam War during 1950s. The war caused a lot of deaths and destruction. An approximate of one million soldiers in Vietnam died during the war. Had the leaders taken the initiative of ensuring peace, such deaths could not have occurred. It also brings into perspective the changing lifestyle of the youths in America during the 1960s. Many of the parents of the older generations were adamant in embracing the new lifestyles of their young for fear of losing the morals. Therefore, the songs helps highlight these conflicts that ensued between the older and the new generations, who wanted to live their lives differently to that of their parents. On the other hand, parents felt that their culture was facing extinction hence they clinched on their traditional and beliefs, which caused a lot of misunderstanding between the two. The song illustrates the changing lifestyles of people and the effect of war in a country. It agitates for people to be cautions of what they do”They should not allow the past to be their source of inspiration” (Lustig, 2002, p. 37). For instance, Bob was also sending out a message to the society especially America generation to forget about the past such as wars and other issues that had affected them negatively and move on with their lives. The past should form the basis of not acting in a certain manner.
The song raises some questions such as whether people can be able to accept changes at free will. In most cultures, it is difficult for the society to accept new ways of living and this is also evident in the current world (Lustig, 2002, p. 37). The song was actually new during the 1960s in terms of message presentation. However, other issues such as song accompaniment are the same like those early musicians. For instance, guitar and keyboards were used in early music. It also talked about the way people should live and perceive life; the same messages that earlier musicians talked about.
The song is a role model to many new musicians who came up earlier in 1970s. Many youths with the passion of singing and writing music were motivated and encouraged by Bob in this music. For instance, he changed the notion that for a person to sing, he/she must have a good voice. Many upcoming musicians have managed to achieve their dreams in music through his inspirations.
References
Dunlap, J. (2006). Through the Eyes of Tom Joad: Patterns of American Idealism, Bob Dylan, and the Folk Protest Movement, Popular Music & Society, 29(5): 549- 573.
Dylan, B. (1964). The Times They Are A-Changin.’” BobDylan.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Sep. 2012. http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/times-they-are-changin.
Galenson, D. W. (2009). From “White Christmas” to Sgt. Pepper: The Conceptual Revolution in Popular Music, Historical Methods, 42(1): 17-34.
Lustig, J. (2002). Times are a-changin’: Dylan tops expectations, banging out chords and a few solos, Star-Ledger, The (Newark, NJ), Today final, p. 37
Walsh, J. (2000). Times are a-changin’, and not in a good way, Dylan sings: Pop music critic. St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN)
Wisser, J. (2005). Ball park figure; Times are a-changin’ for Bob Dylan – venues, instruments too, Elk Grove Times (IL), Diversions, p. 005.
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