"I thought, 'Wow, how can I open with that song? I'll get rocks thrown at me.' But I had to sing it, my whole concert takes off from there. I know I had no understanding of anything. Something had just gone haywire in the country and they were applauding the song. And I couldn't understand why they were clapping, or why I wrote the song. I couldn't understand anything. For me, it was just insane."[9]
Match the words in the left column with the synonym in the right column
1) to clap a) to open
2) "i'll get rocks thrown at me" b) to applaud
3) takes off c) haywire
4) insane d)out of control
The Times They Are A-Changin’
WRITTEN BY: BOB DYLAN
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 writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And 1 (to keep) your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And 2 (speak neg.) too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there 3 (to tell neg.) who that it’s namin’
For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’
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 4 (stalled)
There’s a battle outside and it (to rage)
It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
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 5 (to change) rapidly
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 writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And 1 (to keep) your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And 2 (speak neg.) too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there 3 (to tell neg.) who that it’s namin’
For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’
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 4 (stalled)
There’s a battle outside and it (to rage)
It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
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 5 (to change) rapidly
Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’
For the times they are a-changin’
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’
Copyright
© 1963, 1964 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1991, 1992 by Special Rider Music
Who do you think wrote the song?
Which words would describe the tone and feeling of the song from the list below? Justify your answer.
upbeat, downbeat, origional, dispain, faith, suspicious, inspiring, folk, rock, pop, blues, spiritual, gospel, rap, jazz, country, heavy-metal, classical, poetic, metaphorical, general, specific, philosophical, simple, harsh.
What was going on in the US in 1965 based on the lyrics in the song?
- Robert Allen Zimmerman was born in 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota and loved music, especially blues. He formed several bands and played so loudly at a high school talent show the principal had to cut the microphone off. He switched to folk music because, he said: “The songs are filled with more despair, more sadness, more triumph, more faith in the supernatural, much deeper feelings."
- In 1963, he released his second album, “The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan”. It included what became the most famous song of the times, "Blowin' in the Wind". The album made Dylan a legend overnight. The Beatles bought it and said: "We just played it, just wore it out…it was incredibly original and wonderful.” It inspired a whole generation of musicians.
- Dylan continued to have an important impact on the history of rock for many decades. He got a Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by poetic power”. He still plays 100 dates a year.
- There is a debate today about whether or not Dylan should receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. Thousands of his fans, as well as literary critics, say his words are as important as those of any previous winners. His songs describe the latter half of the twentieth century and many have become traditional protest songs. Many believe he is the greatest living poet.
- Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and assorted biographies.
Writing: Name a deceased musical artist that you think has quality music and justify your answer.
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