Bob Dylan: A Revolutionary Revisited
Ask any musician out there and I'm sure they would admit that having one hit song and trying to stay relevant in the music industry is a challenge in itself. If a band or an artist can nail two or even three hits to the charts, they will be celebrated, given awards, and showered with praise—at least for a while. I think it's fair to say that staying relevant is the hard part. With a new biopic set to release on Christmas Day, a new generation of music lovers, poets, and revolutionaries will hopefully be exposed to the relevance of Bob Dylan. If we are lucky, his influence will spread like a wildfire.
In this climate of fast-moving headlines and single-serving musicians, would Bob Dylan's music even make a spark in the music industry today? I like to think so, and if we take a look back at some of his most iconic songs, I think we can all see how relevant he remains.
Dylan emerged in the early 1960s, exploding from the folk scene of Greenwich Village, and quickly became a voice to be heard. The Freewheelin Bob Dylan was his breakthrough record in 1963 and was full of songs that inspired thought and challenged the system. Tracks like “Blowin’ In the Wind” and “Masters Of War” tackle the subjects of freedom, the oppressed, deadly perils of war, hatred, and anger, with a subtle plea for peace amongst men. “A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall” could be a bookend to the trilogy of sonnets that signifies an inevitable bleak outlook to a future of hardships and suffering if mankind does not change its wicked ways and wise up to the looming tragedies on the horizon. I assert that lyrically, these songs stand the test of time and could apply to the political landscape of America leading into the new year of 2025.
Is there anyone who can pick up where he left off? The world could use a real voice of reason and a protest song or two in this time of cheesy break-up songs and watered-down pop music flooding the mainstream. Where are all the poets, writers, and storytellers who oppose the cookie-cutter standards?
The next record The Times They Are a-Changin’ wasn't as commercially received by critics and fans relative to the previous album, but the song of the same name could arguably be Bob Dylan's most famous song title. It was said by Dylan to be a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change, and he is quoted as saying, “This was definitely a song with a purpose.”
With bold lines like “Come senators, congressman, please heed the call, don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall” how could it be anything but a protest song, pointed directly at the leaders to enact some form of social change.
The next song that crossed barriers between the folk community and the civil rights movement was “Only A Pawn In Their Game.” It's a telling of the murder of Medgar Evers, an American civil rights activist and a prominent member of the NAACP, who was gunned down outside his home on June 12, 1963. After first performing the song at a voter registration rally in July 1963, Dylan will soon perform it again at the March On Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963. This is the same march where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have A Dream” speech. If this isn't relevant to the times we are living in, then I'm not sure what is.
Soon after came the album Another Side Of Bob Dylan. Although an amazing record through and through, one could argue that this record fell short of “protest songs” and that it truly was another side of the ”voice of a generation”.
Eventually, Dylan believed ”protest songs” and overt political tunes were not sustainable and started to shy away from his folk and civil rights roots that carried him to the spotlight. Is this the reason artists, singers, and songwriters don't carry that torch today?
Once Dylan stepped into the realm of rock and roll, or ”folk rock,” as it has been called, he was ostracized. It seems he wasn't living up to the expectations he had set, and the folk community and media took notice. Maybe the reason artists shy away from taking a stand with lyrical content in these modern times is fear. Fear of not being sustainable, fear of not being relevant, fear of being abandoned.
Maybe there hasn't been an artist bold enough to take on that burden since Dylan's departure from the spotlight, but maybe that's just what we need.
Maybe, hopefully, this new focus on Bob Dylan's legacy will inspire people once again to stand fearless in the spotlight, unafraid to be unpopular and speak their minds freely.