How many roads most a man walk down
Before you call him a man ?
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand ?
Yes, 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. [ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/b/bob_dylan/blowin_in_the_wind.html ]
Yes, how many years can a mountain exist
Before it's washed to the sea ?
Yes, how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free ?
Yes, 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.
Yes, how many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky ?
Yes, how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry ?
Yes, 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.
This is such a beautiful song, it's so powerful and as the people below me said the questions are timeless. As is the message. I think the fact that the song is made up with a load of questions with no truth answer is what makes it so powerful because it's so thought provoking, it makes people stop and have to think about the answer. The fact that he only says 'the answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind' shows that no answer has yet been found but it is out there somewhere.
It's a brilliantly effective way to highlight the injustices in the world
"blowin in the wind"could be comprehended as a protest song of the 1960s, but the questions asked in the song are timeless. It was written in the 1963, an era of hippies, civil rights movements, anti-war moments, and beginning of a time of change in american society. how many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man? this line refers to the racism that was felt in society after the desegregation, and the discrimination of colored people. The anti-war movement in the 1960s, with the war in vietnam, can be shown in the line "yes, how many deaths will it take till he knows too many people have died? " the president being the "he. " the ignorance of some people had is alluded to in the lyrics "yes, how many times can a man turn his head, pretending he just doesnt see? " still today we turn away and ignore the problem or injustice that taking place. The answer to these nine rhetorical questions is still "blowing in the wind," meaning it is right in front of our face and as unattainable as the wind. "blowin in the wind" is a precise view from the hippies of the injustices that were taking place. Woo hoo lee!!