Blowin' In the Wind
- Bob Dylan How many roads must 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, '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. Yes, 'n ow 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, And pretend that he just doesn't see? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, The answer is blowin' in the wind. Yes, 'n 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. |
Bob Dylans Blowin' In The Wind can be connected to T.S Eliot's Wasteland through there similarity of themes. Dylan's song, released in 1962, is often categorized as a protest song, being that it brings into question peace, war and freedom. This song was released during the Vietnam war and focuses on the fact that the answers to the rhetorical questions in his song are so tangible, yet people refuse to see and acknowledge them.
The Wasteland and Blowin' in the Wind have similar themes because they both deal with absurdism and nihilistic views on the world. Absurdism is the belief that a true significance in life can never be found, which is strongly connected to the nihilistic view that nothing holds true significance. I believe this connects to Dylan's song because the rhetorical questioning establishes the fact that these questions have gone unanswered for years and though the answer is "Blowin' in the wind," and is continually all around us, no one makes the effort or takes the time to notice it. T.S Eliot's Wasteland depicts several different situations where thing that are happening in our world are taking objets of value, such as love, religion and the environment, and turning them into undervalued objects that are taken for granted. T.S Eliot's nihilistic view on things that once held true and unmeasurable value are easily related to the absurd and nihilistic views in Dylan's song. In the fourth section of The Wasteland, the situation depicted is one where Phlebas, who has forgotten the real meaning and religious values in life, drowns and his body is forever forgotten and turned into a wasteland. At the end of this section there is a universal warning to the readers of this poem, " Consider Phlebas, who was once as tall and handsome as you." This line has profound meaning to it because is states that if you let those thing that are most important and most valued in life sip away you will have nothing left and your life and you as a person will become a wasteland. This is relatable to Dylan's song because Dylan's lyrics question the actions and values of the world populations and highlight the confusion about why people are not acting. In the mind of Bob Dylan these solutions are very tangible but the population are not acting on them. T.S Eliot is highlighting the wasteland that is now visible and Dylan is highlighting the wasteland that will come of the lack of action and the fact that the world is undervaluing life and freedom. |