"Blowin' in the Wind"
Bob Dylan
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 cannon balls 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.
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' 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.
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 cannon balls 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.
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' 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", written and performed by Bob Dylan, contains many messages about society, and asks the questions about the world that most people ask in their heads each day, but nobody knows the answer to. In the first verse, Dylan asks, "How many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the sand?" This is an analogy, and Dylan is really asking how many wars must there be until there is peace. A white dove is a symbol of peace, and the "seas" she "sails" are different countries and parts of the world waging war. He also asks, "How many times must the cannon balls fly before they're forever banned?" Dylan is wondering for how long will these weapons ("cannons") that kill be allowed to fly in the air and take the lives of innocent people before they are ("forever") banned, and there will be peace. Dylan is trying to express the concept of peace, and these rhetorical questions that he is asking express his views poetically and beautifully. In the second verse, Dylan asks, "How many years can some people exist before they're allowed to be free?" He is asking for how long will some people in the world be ruled under tyranny before they are allowed to be free and independent. Next, he asks, "How many times can a man turn his head and pretend he just don't see?" Dylan is asking his listeners how many times can people turn their heads and be ignorant to the things happening in the world and not do anything about them. He asks, "How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry?" This question mocks the lack of sympathy of some people, and he wonders how some people can be so ignorant to the pain of others, and wonders what has to be done so they are aware of the suffering of others. He also asks, "How many deaths will it take 'til he knows that too many people have died?" This also refers to the ignorance of some people in the world, or people who just don't care about what is going on and refuse to do anything about it. Dylan is wondering how many people must die until they wake up and realize what is going on in the world around them and do something about it. Throughout the song, Dylan tells his listeners that "the answer, my friends, is blowin' in the wind". This perhaps means that the answer cannot be found, because wind is a fleeting, invisible thing that comes and goes; it is not permanent and it is not written out in stone. Perhaps, the answer must be found within themselves, or within society. This song is both inspirational and optimistic with it's messages of peace and freedom.
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