The Times They Are A-Changin: A Look at the Times that Influenced the Song and Vice Versa - Essay Example

The times they are a-changin' A look at the times that influenced the song and vice versa Abstract The time was the sixties. The stage was set for a brave new world. There was a thrill of expectancy and excitement in the air, and a whiff of danger, too. All things that were new and radical and subversive were happening. The major social and political factors of the previous decade, like brinksmanship, fighting in the 3rd world, and a return to pre-WWII lifestyle were triggering off a "counterculture revolution", specially among the youth. It was at this crucial moment of history that Bob Dylan wrote and sang The times they are a-changin'. The song was viewed as a radical protest against war and the injustice that was rampant against the blacks at that time. And was a precursor to a whole genre of 'protest songs' from Dylan - a burst of passion which lasted till a little after the death of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. The times they are a-changin': A look at the times that influenced the song and vice versa Hey, hey Woody Guthrie, I wrote you a song 'Bout a funny ol' world that's a-comin' along. Seems sick an' it's hungry, it's tired an' it's torn, It looks like its a-dyin' an' it's hardly been born. Song to Woodrow (Woody) Guthrie / Bob Dylan / 1962 It was the January of 1961 when 19-year-old Bob Dylan set off towards New York City to perform and to visit his music idol Woody Guthrie. The trip was to change the course of his life. Born Robert Allen Zimmerman (1941), Dylan spent much of his youth listening to the radio, first to the powerful blues and country music stations and, later, early rock and roll. By the time he was seventeen, he started getting more interested in the subtler, Gaelic-inflected American folk music. The traditional ballads of the common folk, which were mostly vocals accompanied by an acoustic guitar. "Folk song (was) usually seen as the authentic expression of a way of life now, past or about to disappear (or in some cases, to be preserved or somehow revived). " (Middleton 1990, p.127). Folksongs fascinated the young Bob Dylan. His early influences included Joe Hill, a Swedish-American labor activist who protested through his political songs, satirical poems and speeches. Joe, executed for murder after a controversial trial, became the subject of a folksong, and an inspiration to Dylan. His other hero was folksinger Woody Guthrie, of the 'This Land is Your Land', fame. Fired up by Guthrie's passion, Dylan was in total, awestruck emulation of him. John Steinbeck commented on Guthrie, writer, poet and philosopher, "there is nothing sweet about Woody, and there is nothing sweet about the songs he sings. But there is something more important for those who will listen. There is the will of the people to endure and fight against oppression. I think we call this the American spirit." (quoted in Klein 1981) Once in New York, Dylan was swept into the maelstrom of Greenwich Village's thriving folk scene. According to Dylan, "New York was a dream.... It was a dream of the cosmopolitan riches of the mind. It was a great place for me to learn and to meet others who were on similar journeys." (Westwood One Radio, 1985). Dylan started singing in the small 'basket' clubs, where performers were paid the proceeds of a passed around basket., and soon caught the attention of critics and the public. Not long after, he signed up for his first album, which consisted mainly of familiar folk, blues and gospel material, peppered with a few of his own songs. In the meantime, the political scenario all around him was changing. Youth rebellion mainly originated on college campuses, with many emerging directly from the American Civil Rights Movement. People were questioning America's materialistic attitude, and its cultural and political norms. They were protesting racial segregation and sexual discrimination. They were fighting for and defending values and beliefs that were against the mainstream, that were totally at odds with those of the social and cultural milieu at that time. They rebelled against the conservative society of the 1950s, against social repression and Vietnam, a situation aggravate by the compulsory military draft. They rejected the pre-WWII conformist lifestyle with men in suits and women in the kitchen. And now, in the early sixties, things were coming to a head: there was a rise in social revolution; the civil rights movements, started in the 1950s was snowballing; the human rights movement was waking up; anti-War sentiments were rife. The youth were clearly determined to carve out their own niche, in a better world, and their weapons took the form of protest songs and poetry, literature, speeches, and of course alternative lifestyles, which included the ubiquitous 'sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll' and manifested itself in the more radical elements of society in the form of flower children and hippies, in what came to be known as the counterculture. Not surprisingly, young Dylan was caught up in the frenzy of the era. His girlfriend at the time, Suze Rotolo who worked for a time for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Suze was a "brainy, politically-active teenager who introduced Bob Dylan to the work of poets and playwrights such as Lord Byron and Bertolt Brecht, (and) encouraged him to write topical songs" (www.emplive.org). In his Chronicles, Dylan acknowledges that the influence of Bertolt Brecht on his songwriting and performing stemmed from her participation in Brechtian theater during their relationship. He even credits her with introducing him to the poetry of Rimbaud. Busy soaking up poetry and protests, Dylan absorbed a kaleidoscope of influences, till moved by the passion and intensity of activist and politically-based songs, Dylan began to find that the songs available to be sung did not quite express what he felt. He had the urge to express the sentiments in them in his own way. He felt he could do better, and he did. According to him, "I wanted just a song to sing, and there came a point where I couldn't sing anything. I had to write what I wanted to sing 'cos what I wanted to sing, nobody else was writing." (quoted in expectingrain.com, 1964). And so he put pen to paper, and the rest as they say, is history. Robert Shelton, a journalist with The New York Times, was instrumental in kick starting his rise to fame. In his famous review of Dylan he said, "Mr. Dylan's highly personalized approach toward folk song is still evolving. He has been sopping up influences like a sponge. () But if not for every taste, his music-making has the mark of originality and inspiration, all the more noteworthy for his youth." (Shelton, 1961). By 1963 singer-songwriter Dylan, was already becoming known for his protest songs. The times they are a-changin' was Bob Dylan's third album on which he began work on August 6, 1963. It consisted of stark, sparsely-arranged protest songs that took up cudgels against issues such as racism and the decline of America's mining industry. His second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan which was released earlier on in the same year featured what was to become one of his most famous songs, Blowin' in the wind. The melody was derived from a well-known negro spiritual, No More Auction Block, and spoke about timeless concepts, like love, peace and freedom. The title track of The times they are a-changin', a song by the same name, practically became an anthem amongst the people. The song was regarded as a comment on the generation gap, and the political divide in the 1960s. Dylan (1964) however contradicted the view, saying, "Those were the only words I could find to separate aliveness from deadness. It had nothing to do with age." (Wikipedia: The Times They Are A-Changin'. 2006). However it was interpreted, it struck the right chord. It became such a tremendous hit it swept people right off their feet and provided momentum to the events of that era. The words were real and it not only empathized with the feelings of the people, it voiced their sentiments in no uncertain terms. The song proved to be a harbinger for the future and thus seemed even more powerful. Given the times it was conceived in, the song was viewed as a radical protest against war and the injustice that was rampant against the blacks at that time. It was clearly a song whose time had come. Various incidents, around the time the song was released, added to its timeliness: Civil Rights leader, Medgar Evers was murdered, and had a song dedicated to her; civil rights agitations all over the country intensified; Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I have a dream" speech on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Bob Dylan, along with girlfriend and singer Joan Baez was amongst the many folksingers were there, to support Dr. King in his effort to spread the word about civil rights, their augmenting hugely to media attention. Of course the other songs on the album were a fitting stage for the title track. There was the Ballad of Hollis Brown a grim, rural Gothic story of a father killing his starving family; North Country Blues which tells a story of the devastating effect of a mining company's decision to outsource its labor to other countries; Only a Pawn in Their Game refers to the murder of Medgar Evers; in When The Ship Comes In, pirate Jenny dreams of the destruction of all her enemies by a mysterious ship; The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, one of the most powerful stories in the album tells the true story of a rich tobacco-farm owner who strikes and kills his African-American servant. Critic Clinton Heylin conceded that the song was "a brilliant evocation of the kind of miscarriage of justice the color of a woman's skin could bring...[it is] Dylan's 'Vanity of Human Wishes'...a masterpiece of drama and wordplay..." (Wikipedia: The Times They Are A-Changin'. 2006). But Dylan was clearly uncomfortable with the role of prophet and a political spokesman thrust upon him by his adoring fans. He claimed he was merely expressing the sentiments of the people at that time. So was the song really a protest from the depths of Dylan's heart Or simply a comment on what he saw around him On November 22nd, 1963, John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The incident was said to have unnerved him completely. By all accounts this seemed to be a turning point for Bob Dylan. Because it was from then on Dylan started distancing himself from what he referred to as his "finger pointing" songs, and the tone and tenor of his writing changed. As Clinton Heylin wrote: "in less than six months [Dylan] had turned full circle from the protest singer who baited Paul Nelson into someone determined to write only songs that 'speak for me'...". Of the song, The Times They Are a-Changin', he claimed (1965) ". I didn't mean [it] as a statement... It's a feeling." (Wikipedia: The Times They Are A-Changin'. 2006). Maybe he was just reflecting the intensity and passion of the people around him. Dylan's friend, Tony Glover, recalls seeing the early manuscript of The Times They Are-a Changin' in September 1963. Glover reportedly read the words "come senators, congressmen, please heed the call", and asked Dylan: "What is this shit, man" to which Dylan responded, "Well, you know, it seems to be what the people like to hear". So was he simply writing what people 'liked to hear' Suze Rotolo didn't think so: "It was always sincere on his part. He saw something. The guy saw things. He was definitely way, way ahead. His radar was flying. He had an incredible ability to see and sponge - there was a genius in that. The ability to create out of everything that's flying around. To synthesize it. To put it in words and music. It was not an intellectual approach that he had to research something - he did it on his own." (quoted in Woliver 1986). Joan Baez, the singer to whom he owed much of his earlier success, was enamored by Dylan's poetic lyrics, but simply could not understand why he did not care. (Keirsey 1996-2005). Perhaps the answer lies in these lyrics: Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won't come again Dylan was simply a commentator on the world around him. All he wanted to do was to write and perform music that had an impact on people. Not to be a hero, a champion or a messiah. According to him did not want to define anything. "Not beauty, not patriotism. I take each thing as it is, without prior rules about what it should be". And yet, what is wrong with that Dylan did a fantastic job synthesizing folk music with the civil rights and peace movement. His music was universal, with lyrics that could be sung even today without any jarringly different ideas and ideals. They were extremely complex, and yet so simple. He touched the audience and could make them dance to his tune. Dylan's contribution to America's search for a better world is also undeniable. His music fed the flames of many controversial issues - from civil rights,the Vietnam War, nuclear arms, and free speech. His songs challenged authority, and created a sense that politics is personal. He made a huge difference, and a large contribution towards the new order of things and to America as it is now. References Bob Dylan's American Journeys, 1956-66. Dylan: As We Remember Him - Part One. 20th Nov., 2004. Retrieved April 6th, 2006 from Dylan, on Westwood One Radio, 1985. From Q Magazine, May 1995. Maps & Legends: Positively 4th Street Revisited. Retrieved April 6th, 2006 from Dylan, 1964 Retrieved April 6th, 2006 from Keirsey 1996-2005. No Direction Visible: Feeling the Way the Wind Blows. Retrieved April 12th, 2006 from Woody Guthrie. Songs and Prose of the Prophet Singer. June 15th 2001. Klein, Joe. Woody Guthrie: A Life, London, 1981, p. 160. Retrieved April 6th, 2006 from Middleton, Richard (1990/2002). Studying Popular Music. Philadelphia: Open University Press. Shelton, Robert. The New York Times, Sep 29, 1961. Bob Dylan: A Distinctive Stylist. Retrieved April 9th, 2006 from < http://www.bobdylanroots.com/shelton.html> Woliver, Robbie. Hoot! A 25-Year History of the Greenwich Village Music Scene, New York, NY, 1986, p. 75-76. The Times They Are A-Changin'. April 9th, 2006. Retrieved April 9th, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Times_They_Are_A-Changin') Read More