All music is open to individual interpretation. People's lives will dictate what they think a song is about. A song can mean a million different things to a million different people. However, some lyrics or phrases can be obvious to representing what the writer is trying to say. This song overall is definitely about change, in any shape or form. It personifies the 60s in times of revolt and change. Dylan wanted people to realize that history is happening, things are changing and you can't stop it.
Verse one is an allusion to a flood, something that is not strictly a biblical reference (seeing as Dylan was Jewish when he wrote this song) but also an archetype that is used by almost every religion on earth. Dylan persists that we get with it with the lines. It also keys in on how one would get swept up if they don't accept the change taking place around them.
Verse two warns the authors, journalists, artists, etc. of the time to watch for change, observe it, and record it. Dylan wants the people who influence the masses, to stop posting propaganda and start posting the truth, and being real journalists (Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pen.") He talks of sudden twists of fate, unexpected victories. What will happen is uncertain, but be careful to guess because life is a mystery ("Don't Speak to soon for the wheel's still in spin.") It's also about the civil rights movement (as well as other radical movements like the whole 60s counterculture in general where kids were starting to grow up with different ideals than thier parents.) He basically talks about how the ones who are now subjugated will later rise up ("the loser now will be later to win") and how the order of society will change.
Verse three screams Vietnam. Dylan is telling our politicians to stop closing their eyes to the fact that Vietnam is real, people are getting killed, and it will soon hit closer to home than comfortable.
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He is asking them to take action. He's depicting the unjust actions taking place in the government. The first four lines are a reference to the June 11, 1963 “Stand in the Schoolhouse door” event in which Alabama Gov. George Wallace stood at the door of Foster Auditorium at the University of Alabama in a symbolic attempt to block two black students, Vivian Malone and James Hood, from enrolling at the school. Another idea is that if you don’t change, you’ll be the one getting hurt ("For he that gets hurt while be he who has stalled.")
Verse four seems to be asking parents to stop criticizing. Their children are out in the world, and they can't control them anymore. They need to let go of old fears and prejudices and get with the times. Social justice campaigns, such as the Civil Rights movement, often bemuse older people who have come to accept the status quo. They attack the progressives, because they don’t understand why they’re campaigning and risking their lives ("And don't criticize what you can't understand.") This verse can even go back to the rock and roll rebellion in the 60's, where parents didn't understand the independence and freedom that they never experienced.
Verse five sums it all up. Live in the now, change your ways, accept the past but look forward. It tells of succession, no telling of what the future will bring; failure, victory, or happiness is uncertain but some will, fall others will rise, and the wheel of life will keep on spinning ("The order is rapidly fadin' and the first one now will later be last.") He refers to women, blacks, and other minorities that were not treated as fairly in the 1960s when he says "The slow .
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The Influence Today
Its lyrics are somewhat flat and general, but the passion behind them is still strong fifty years later. The song is no longer just his, it belongs to everyone who felt the urge to stand up and plant their feet, regardless of Dylan’s intentions and his ever-changing opinions. He created something that now exists outside of himself, with no required connection to him. It lives on as a mile marker in history, and as a foot-stomper for any age.
Its lyrics are somewhat flat and general, but the passion behind them is still strong fifty years later. The song is no longer just his, it belongs to everyone who felt the urge to stand up and plant their feet, regardless of Dylan’s intentions and his ever-changing opinions. He created something that now exists outside of himself, with no required connection to him. It lives on as a mile marker in history, and as a foot-stomper for any age.
Works Cited