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"'Blowin' in the Wind'" is a song written by Bob Dylan, and released on his 1963 album ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan''. It is an example of the protest song, posing philosophical questions about peace, war, and freedom. The song does not refer specifically to any particular event, which has kept its popularity enduring.
In 1999, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame and in 2004, this song was #14 on ''Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Contents

Origins

Influence of the song

Cover Versions

References in pop culture

Urban legend

External links

Origins

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 interviews Dylan has never reported holding as high an opinion of the song as its popular acclaim would suggest - he has said he wrote the song in ten minutes. 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 old slave 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 television in the UK, when he appeared in the BBC television play ''Madhouse On Castle Street''.

Influence of the song

★ The song became one of the most popular anti-war songs during the 1960's and the Vietnam War. During the Iraq War protests, some commentators noted that protestors were still resurrecting songs like ''Blowin the Wind'' rather than creating new ones [1].

★ The song has been embraced by many churches and in the 1960's and 1970's it was sung both in Catholic Church "folk masses" and as a hymn in Protestant ones. In 1997, Bob Dylan performed the song at a Catholic Church congress and Pope John Paul II, who was in attendance, commented on the song's message [2]. In 2007, however, the current pope Benedict XVI, who was also in attendance, expressed that he was and still is skeptical of Dylan performing the song in a church environment [3].

★ 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.

Cover Versions

★ It has been covered by hundreds of artists. One of the most famous cover versions was by 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's).

★ Other covers have been by country guitar virtuoso Chet Atkins, folk chanteuse Judy Collins, soul singer Sam Cooke, blues belter Etta James, Neil Young (with air raid sound effects), Marlene Dietrich, Elvis Presley, Stevie Wonder (whose version became a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966), John Fogerty, The Hooters on their 1994 album ''The Hooters Live'', 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. (Parton subsequently stated in a CNN interview that she'd initially tried to get Dylan himself to appear on her recording of the song, but that Dylan turned her down. [4])

★ A travelling exhibition called ''Bob Dylan's American Journey, 1956–1966'' which was featured at the Experience Music Project in Seattle contains an audio display with samples of dozens of different cover versions of the song, sung in numerous languages and from a variety of musical genres.

★ The song has also been sung and recorded in German. It is often known as ''Wieviele Strassen'' (''How Many Roads'') in that language.

★ In Bengali there has been a translation of the song recorded by popular Bengali bules singer Suman Chatterjee. It goes "Kotota Path" ("How Many Roads") in Bengali.

★ The song was translated in Romanian by poet Adrian Păunescu and sung by folk band Pasărea Colibri under the name "Vânare de vânt" ("Windhunting").

References in pop culture

★ The first line of the song ("How many roads must a man walk down?") is proposed as the "Ultimate Question", in the science fiction novel ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams.

★ In an episode of ''The Simpsons'', Homer's mother sings the line "How many roads must a man walk down..." Homer interrupts "seven!"

★ An episode of ''Futurama'' is titled "Bendin' in the Wind". In this episode, Bender gets stuck to a giant magnent and appears to go insane, singing "Blowin' in the Wind," as well as "It's a Small World".

★ In 1999, National Public Radio included this song in the "NPR 100," in which NPR's music editors sought to compile the one hundred most important American musical works of the 20th century.

★ Alanis Morissette performed this song, as well as "Subterranean Homesick Blues," for a Bob Dylan tribute at the UK Hall of Fame in 2005.

★ The character Rat from the comic strip ''Pearls Before Swine'' made up a version of "Blowin' in the Wind" for the "rich and uptrodden," called "My Capital Gains are Blowin' Away in the Wind."

★ In the 1998 film ''Dr. Dolittle'', a guinea pig sings this song while riding on top of the title character's car.

★ In an episode of ''Ed, Edd, n' Eddy'', when Jonny asks Eddy what the future would be like, Eddy responds "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind."

★ One of the "morals" on the "Wheel of Morality" in the cartoon ''Animaniacs'' was "the answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind". Wakko Warner adds "except in New Jersey, where what's blowing in the wind smells funny".

★ In the movie ''Forrest Gump'', Jenny sings this song for a show in a strip club, and is introduced as "Bobbie Dylan".

★ On the television show ''Sesame Street'', the title character of the "Number Guy" segments asks musical questions to the tune of this song; his answer is always the featured number (of animals).

★ During the ''Global Grover'' segment about Puerto Rico, Grover tries several ways to play a watermelon as a musical instrument (all of which fail). His remark after one attempt: "The answer is ''not'' blowing in the wind instrument..."

★ UK R&B singer Lemar resings a portion of the song in his 2004 hit "If There's Any Justice".

★ In the last chapter of the japanese Manga ''Battle Royale'', the lyrics of music are displayed as a poetry in japanese style as a tribute for all the dead students in ''"Battle Royale - Survival Program"''.

Urban legend

An urban legend still circulates that the song was actually written by a high-school student named Lorre Wyatt and subsequently purchased or stolen by Dylan before he gained fame.
The legend was made famous when it was published in a ''Newsweek'' article in 1963; while the story left the claims unconfirmed, it prompted plenty of speculation. Several members of Wyatt's school and community reported having heard him singing the song and claiming authorship a full year before it was released by Dylan, or made famous by Peter, Paul and Mary. Wyatt even told his teacher that he'd sold the song for $1,000 and donated the money to charity, when asked why he had suddenly stopped performing it.
It turned out that the plagiarism claims were completely false. Wyatt had performed the song around Millburn, New Jersey, months before it was made famous, but not before it had been published and credited to Dylan in ''Broadside Magazine'' and ''Sing Out!.'' Wyatt finally explained his part in the situation to ''New Times'' magazine in 1974. He credited the initial lie to panic that he wasn't pulling his weight as a songwriter in a local band. [5]

External links

★ Lyrics