Blowing in the wind was written and recorded by Bob Dylan in 1962 and released on his ‘Freewheeling Bob Dylan’ Album. It is a critically acclaimed song and is ranked number 14 on the Rolling Stones Magazines top 14 songs of all time which is quite something. Although it was released 55 years ago (oh my gosh that really took me by surprise for some reason that 1962 was that long ago) it is still as popular as ever and have received over 27,400,000 plays on Spotify.
The song is a protest song about War and Freedom but it is uncertain as to whether the lyrics are implying that answer to these problems are so obvious or so impossible to ascertain. The lyrics ‘the answer my friend is blowing in the wind’ could be taken in so many ways. Bob Dylan is notorious for not explaining his songs so has never really explained it.
Dylan himself didn’t release the song as a single which seems to be an odd move but it was covered by Pete, Paul and Mary in 1963 where it sold a staggering 300,000 copies in it’s first week, it reached number 2 in the US and spent 5 weeks at the top of the US easy Listening charts.
Here are the Lyrics:
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, and 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, and how many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
Yes, and how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, and 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, and how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths will it take ’til he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
What do you think Bob Dylan means by The answer is blowin in the wind. Do you think he means it’s obvious or do you think it means the answer is untouchable ? Or as another alternative do you think it might mean that the answer is out there but no matter how hard you look you won’t find it, it will just come down on the wind one day ? What do you think of Bob Dylan as an artist and Political activist ? He is a character that divides a lot of people. There is a lot of his music that I am not fussed on at all but this is definitely one of the greats.
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Love this song. It never gets old. Please don't ask me what it means. :)
I think the best thing is that it can mean whatever you want it to mean, or at least that is how I see it. No one really knows so that means you are free to make your own interpretation. xx