Dylan’s SuccessDylan’s Success  “The nation was divided in the fall of 1968, by its split over the Vietnam War and social issues such as the continuing battle of integration. As anti-war demonstrations and police clashed on the streets of Chicago, the young protestors chanted Dylan’s words, ‘The whole world is watching’ and television showed the police riots to millions of American viewers.” “What made him, at this stage, into the most important singer- writer of his time (so that even a careful, intelligent and powerful artist like Joni Mitchell bears no comparison with him at his best) was the breadth of his vision, personalistically-based as it was. Dylan extended the possibilities of rockmusic-as- commentary more than anyone else before or after him.”

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Dylan’s denialDylan’s denial  “There's no black and white, left and right to me anymore,” he stated flatly. “There's only up and down, and down is very close to the ground, and I'm trying to go up without thinking about anything trivial such as politics.” 13 th December 1963, receiving Tom Paine Award at the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee’s Annual Bill of Rights Dinner  “I agree with everything that's happening, but I'm not part of no movement... I'm never going to have anything to do with any political organization again in my life. Oh, I might help a friend if he was campaigning for office. But I'm not going to be part of any organization.” Bob Dylan  “This here ain’t a protest song or anything like that, ‘cause I don’t write protest songs.” He would go on to say “I’m just writing it as something to be said, for somebody, by somebody”

Dylan’s TranscendenceDylan’s Transcendence  “ For today's anti-war and global justice movements, Dylan's songs of the sixties offer both a bracing protest against enduring enemies and a salutary critique of some of our own worst habits.”  “Dylan was revolutionary – the way that Elvis your body, Bob freed your mind. He showed us that just because the music was innately physical, it did not mean that it was anti- intellect.” – Bruce Springsteen, while inducting Bob Dylan into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, 1988

Blowin’ in the windBlowin’ in the wind  Since 1963, many cannonballs were fired, yet they had never been banned. In the year of 2014, there are people who still exist and aren’t free, whilst people turn their heads and ignore the inequities and abuses. How many roads must a man walk down Before you call him a man? Yes, ’n’ how many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the sand? Yes, ’n’ how many times must the cannonballs fly Before they’re forever banned? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind The answer is blowin’ in the wind 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 Pretending he just doesn’t see? The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind The answer is blowin’ in the wind

Times Are A Changin’Times Are A Changin’  Come gather 'round 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 If your time to you Is worth savin' Then you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin'. 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 agin' Please get out of the new one If you can't lend your hand For the times they are a-changin'. "Once upon a time it may have been a matter of urging square people to accept the fact that their children were, you know, hippies. But the capacious urging could then come to mean that ex-hippie parents had better accept that their children look like becoming yuppies. And then Republicans...”, Christopher Ricks

Only A Pawn In Their Game  But it ain’t him to blame: He’s just a pawn in their game.  Nature vs. Nurture

 “Now the significance of this song to me is that it’s a song that will last unfortunately for a long, long time. And when I say “unfortunately”, I’m talking about the fact that it will always be relevant to something that is going on in this world of ours. In the 60s the song related to the civil rights movement and the war in Vietnam. In the 70s, Watergate, Steven Deco and the struggling South Africa. In the 80s still, relevant to the fighting against the apartheid in South Africa, the fighting to end starvation. Today in the 90s the song is still very relevant, as you think about who you should vote for, I want you to vote for that person that is going to commit to bring unity to all people, not only throughout the world but in this country. Vote for the one who is going to commit to open up his heart to those that are from the minorities that make up the majority of this country” – Stevie Wonder, before performing “Blowin’ in the Wind” at Bob Dylan’s 30 th Anniversary Show (1992)

 To what extent does author’s intend matter, opposed to the listener’s interpretation?