Lyrics:
How many roads most 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, 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, how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea ? Yes, how many years can some people exist Before they're allowed to be free ? Yes, 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. |
Yes, how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky ? Yes, how many ears must one man have Before he can hear people cry ? Yes, 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. |
Analysis:
Blowin' in the Wind was written by Bob Dylan during the early sixties which is right when the United States started sending troops into Vietnam. This is an anti-war song that does not make specific references to Vietnam but was written during the time period and to make people view the war in a negative way. Dylan uses lots of rhetorical questions that are meant to criticize our country's involvement in war, specifically the one in Vietnam. We can see this in the phrase "Yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died?". In addition Dylan the main phrase in the song, "The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind" is symbolic of the fact that many people hadn't really thought of these ideas very clearly. This song calls attention to the fact that society needs to come together and really reflect on these ideas and decide if war is really worth the repercussions it brings with it. Due to all the rhetorical questions in this song it is easy to deduce that this song is meant to criticize America's foreign policy during the Vietnam War, even though no specific foreign policies are named. Blowin' in the Wind shows how war affects society because it talks about peoples rather than individuals. In addition this song makes it sound as though there are no benefits to war and that all the destruction war brings is not worth it. Personally, I agree with the message of the song. I think that we should resort to violence to solve problems and I think this song is meant to make people realize that this conflict in Vietnam was truly affecting the citizens in Southeast Asia, even if it wasn't directly affecting the people in the US.