Meaning Blowin' in the Wind by Bob Dylan

Blowin’ in the Wind is considered one of Bob Dylan’s most acclaimed creations. It is called their anthem by pacifists and civil rights activists. Other musicians recorded it so often that many music lovers love this song without even knowing who its author and first performer is.

She has received prestigious awards and is included in authoritative lists of the best compositions. In short, a real milestone in the development of modern music.

History of the song Blowin’ in the Wind

It is now known for certain that Dylan used the tune of the old spiritual No More Auction Block (For Me), popular with black slaves in Canada, in Blowin’ in the Wind. Bob acknowledged this fact and added that his work conveys the same feelings.

The author said almost nothing about the history of the song Blowin’ in the Wind, limiting himself to mentioning that he wrote it in half an hour.

A little more he told Bob Cohen from The New World Singers. According to him, Dylan first heard No More Auction Block in the famous New York institution Gerde’s Folk City. Then it was sung by Delores Dixon, with whom Bob had a close, but not very long-term relationship.

Soon after, he came to the club with a new song, Blowin’ in the Wind, which he first sang to The New World Singers in the basement of Gerde’s. On the stage of the same club on April 16, 1962, the first public performance of the composition took place. By the way, his recording has been preserved, which is in great demand among collectors.

The original version of the song, whose working title was Nine Questions, consisted of two verses. They became the first and last in the final version, and Dylan added the middle verse a little later.

Blowin’ in the Wind Lyrics Bob Dylan

The author explained what the song Blowin’ in the Wind is about:

I don’t really have much to say about this song, except that “the answer is in the wind”. He’s not in a book, movie, TV show, or interest group. Dude, he’s in the wind – in the wind. Too many of these knowledgeable people tell me where the answer is, but I won’t believe it.
I still say that he is in the wind, and like a restless piece of paper, he will someday have to fall to the ground … But the only problem is that no one picks up the answer when he falls to the ground, so very few people are able to see and understand… And then he flies away.

Sing Out!, 1962

Music critics see echoes of Dylan’s Jewish roots in the song and find references to the Old Testament in its words (Book of Ezekiel, 12:1-2; a dove flying over the sea, and so on).

I don’t want to be like music lovers who are trying to decipher the meaning of every line of the Blowin’ in the Wind text, so let’s leave the readers to think about what the author wanted to say.

Release and cover versions

In May 1963 Columbia Records released Blowin’ in the Wind as a single from The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan.

However, it was the folk group Peter, Paul and Mary who made the song a hit and released a cover three weeks later. Their record sold 300,000 copies in its first week of release and soared to number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

Subsequently, many famous performers sang it, including Sam Cooke, Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton, Duke Ellington, Neil Young, Marlene Dietrich, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Presley and others.

Blowin’ in the Wind legacy

Despite the philosophical nature of Blowin’ in the Wind and the absence of direct appeals in the text, it has become a real anthem for civil rights fighters. And today it continues to be sung at anti-war demonstrations, protests against the infringement of the freedoms of the colored population and other similar events. It is also often performed in churches of different denominations.

Blowin’ in the Wind won a Grammy in 1999. Rolling Stone magazine placed the song at number fourteen in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Interesting Facts

In 1963, Dylan was accused of plagiarism, as a student performed Blowin’ in the Wind in front of friends before the official release. Later it turned out that he proofread the text in a magazine, where it was published before the release of the single.
Influenced by the song, Sam Cook wrote the famous A Change Is Gonna Come.
In the film Forrest Gump, it is performed on the strip club stage by Jenny, acting under the pseudonym “Bobby Dylan”.

Blowin’ in the Wind Lyrics Bob Dylan

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?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

How many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
Yes, ‘n’ how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, ‘n’ 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.

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ‘n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ‘n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,
The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

Blowin’ in the Wind Lyrics Bob Dylan

How many roads must a man walk
Before they call him a man?
Yes, and how many seas must a white dove cross,
Before she falls asleep on the sand?
Yes, and how many cannonballs must fly,
Before they are banned forever?
The answer, my friend, is in the wind
The answer is in the wind

How many years can a mountain exist
Before she was washed into the sea?
Yes, and how many years can some people exist,
Before they are allowed to be free?
Yes, and how many times can a man turn away,
Pretending he doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is in the wind
The answer is in the wind

How many times must a man look up
Before he sees the sky?
Yes, and how many ears should one person have,
Before he hears the people cry?
Yes, and how many deaths must happen before he realizes
That too many have died?
The answer, my friend, is in the wind
The answer is in the wind