Bob Dylan: The Master of the Protest Song

That's a lie.

I was in a funky mood earlier.  Nothing on my iPod was matching my mood, until I shuffled into some Bob Dylan.  Has their ever been a musician quite like him in terms of protest songs?  The 1960's were years of turmoil in the USA, and Dylan captured the uneasy feelings in his songs.  Rarely using anything more than his guitar, his harmonica, and his voice, Dylan voiced his opinions on the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and the lives of Middle-Americans.  His weapon of choice was his tongue, with which he wrote one the the most instrumental protest songs ever, "Blowin' In The Wind."

This song blows my mind.  Really.  The more I listen to it, the more profound it becomes.  Musically, it's phenomenal.  It's genre-bending, not quite folk, not quite country, but whatever it is, it works.  Now on to the lyrics.  Wow.  If any of you have not heard this song, you are truly missing out on the crowning jewel of America's finest songwriter.  


"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"

Dylan is commenting on the average American's reaction to what was currently going on in the world.  The 60's were pretty tumultuous, yet the majority of the people were either oblivious, or indifferent, to what was going on.  Dylan is basically saying that people will just continue to pretend that bad things are happening, while they are happening right in front of them.  The fact that the answers to all of these questions are 'blowin' in the wind' gives it a sense of uncertainty.  Wind is a real thing, yet how can you describe it?  We are constantly surrounded by wind, but to actually SEE wind is nigh impossible.  So basically what Dylan is saying is that the answers could be right in front of our face, we just can see them properly.  

Dylan was very strongly anti-Vietnam, and to this day, is against the War in Iraq.  He also participated strongly in the Civil Rights Movement and worked to raise awareness of the incredibly harsh living and working conditions of farmers in the Mid-West.  And 'Blowin' In The Wind' was not his only protest song (it was just the one I like best).  Others include 'Masters of War,' 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall,' and 'Chimes of Freedom.'  His songs surpass any that came before, and have been used as the classic example of songs used for protest even to this day.  Dylan changed this country's view on the use of music to spread a message.  
Full Lyrics

Make the Audience Listen

How many times have you really tried to listen to a speaker, but they just couldn't hold your attention?  It's happened a fair few times to me, I'll admit it.  There are just some times when the speaker's presentation is too bland for human consumption.  Whether its their monotonous voice, or sometimes their all-around lack of enthusiasm, speeches too often lose the attention of the listener, and therefore become pointless.

I have heard too many speeches than I can count that, while having interesting topics that otherwise would hold my attention, were presented in such a dull way that I couldn't have paid attention for more then thirty seconds.  The biggest faux-pas in speech making is a monotonous, dead voice.  The speaker could be presenting on the single most captivating topic in the world, but if the way they present it is boring, the audience will zone out before you finish your first paragraph.  Think about the parents in the Charlie Brown movies.  I know it sounds harsh, but that is what kids think that most speeches sound like.  Remember in elementary school when you studied Abraham Lincoln?  Everyone read the Gettysburg Address, yet all I could ever remember of it was, "Four score and seven years..." and then I was off in a day dream.  It was because my teacher read it off of the paper in that Charlie Brown voice!

On the flip side, if a speaker was talking about the most boring thing in the world (health care? the sex lives of snails? Jello? Take your pick.) but delivered their speech with incredible enthusiasm, you would be more likely to actually listen.  A totally captivating speaker will win the contest every time because they kept you on your toes.  So next time you go to make a speech, think of the poor audience that is forced to listen to it.  I'd rather them waste an hour of their time being thoroughly entertained than they waste an hour wanting to stick pins in their eyes.