Blowin' in the Wind
"
Blowin' in the Wind" is a
song written by
Bob Dylan in April
1962, and released on his
1963 album
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.
It is an example of the
protest song, posing as it does
philosophical questions about
peace,
war, and
freedom. The fact that its popularity has not greatly diminished over time can perhaps be attributed to the fact that while the song asks these questions, it does not refer specifically to any particular political event.
It has been
covered by hundreds of artists. A few of the better-known acts who have done so are
folk music trio
Peter, Paul and Mary (who actually released their version — which lacks the Harmonica solos after each verse — a few months before Dylan),
country guitar virtuoso
Chet Atkins, folk chanteuse
Judy Collins,
soul singer
Sam Cooke,
blues belter Etta James,
Marlene Dietrich,
Elvis Presley,
Stevie Wonder (whose version became a top 10 hit on the
Billboard Hot 100 in 1966),
John Fogerty,
Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, and was performed by Jenny in the award-winning movie
Forrest Gump (sung by
Joan Baez), and was lampooned in
Me, Myself And Irene. Most recently, in
2005 Dolly Parton recorded the song with the
bluegrass trio
Nickel Creek.
Dylan originally wrote and performed a two-verse version of the song; his first public performance of it, at
Gerdes Folk City on
April 16,
1962, was recorded and circulates among Dylan collectors. Shortly after this performance, he added the middle verse to the song. Some published versions of the lyrics reverse the order of the second and third verses, apparently because Dylan simply appended the middle verse to his original manuscript, rather than writing out a new copy with the verses in proper order. In
1999 Blowin' In The Wind, was inducted into the
Grammy Hall Of Fame.
In interviews Dylan has never reported holding as high an opinion of the song in proportion to its acclaim. He has called it a work song, perhaps in reference to its derivative, rather than inspired, nature of its composition, the melody being derived from the song "No More Auction Block", and some of its lyrical structure from the
1953 song "
I Really Don't Want to Know".
In
1963, Dylan performed the song for the first time on T.V. in the
UK, when he appeared in The
B.B.C. television production of
Madhouse On Castle Street.
It was often sung in "folk" Mass in Catholic Churches in the 1970's.
In
1975, the song was included as
poetry in a new high school
English textbook in
Sri Lanka. The textbook caused controversy because it replaced
Shakespeare's work with Dylan's.
In
2004, this song was #14 on
Rolling Stone's
list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The first line of the song ("How many roads must a man walk down?") is proposed by the mice as the
Ultimate Question, in the
Douglas Adams' work
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
*
Lyrics* - performed by Peter, Paul and Mary in 1964 Newport Folk Festival
