For millions of American citizens this nightmare became truth. In 1964 the American president Johnson started sending soldiers to Vietnam. At the end of the war in 1972, it is estimated that, in total, over 2,5 million people on both sides were killed. As the war continued, the American people got more and more unsatisfied and angry at their government. They wanted the war to stop, it had been going on long enough and too many people had been killed, president Johnson, however, was too proud to give in. During the war, protest songs became a real hit.
Bob Dylan was one of those protest singers, he was a fervent fighter for civil rights and used his songs to convey his message, his cry for freedom. One of the songs he wrote, was “Blowin’ in the Wind”. This song was written in 1962, when the war had not yet started, but was used, a couple years later, as a protest song against the war. “Blowin’ in the Wind” starts with a couple of questions: 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? He asks the first couple of questions so he can put the last question, the one that has to do with war, in the same row, as if there is no difference between them. The answer then is: The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind, The answer is blowin’ in the wind. This practically means he does not know the answers, and he is quite sure no-one does.
The Essay on Civil War Songs Battle People Song
CLUE: AMERICA S DEADLIEST SONGS: AN EXPLORATION OF MUSIC FROM THE CIVIL WAR The Battle Hymn of the Republic and Dixie are the two main answers people give when asked what songs they most relate to the civil war. The Clue actually showed many others relating to the civil war, the insight their words give, and even variations of the Battle Hymn of the republic. One song for example, The Battle Cry ...
The rest of the song is alike: the last question is a question that attacks the government and the answer stays the same (The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind, The answer is blowin’ in the wind.) With this song Bob Dylan wants the government to realize that they are acting nuts. With rhetorical questions he tries to send his message, his call for freedom, to the president and his followers. He questions all human behaviour. This theme was very present in the sixties and in the time of the Vietnam war. I think it works effectively, with delicate hints he knows to bring his message across. Why I think it works as good as it does is because the hints are delicate, but still almost any fool, with a bit of knowledge about the 60’s, understands what he means. The song of course was in the sixties and therefore any fool could understand what he meant.
And therefore all simple souls could enjoy the song, and use it as their protest song..
