Blowin’ in the Wind is a mesmerizing picture book for all generations…for all ages…for children…for grownups. Bob Dylan’s message of hope amid discord still resonates today. Perhaps the words to the song resonate even more  strongly today. Dylan’s word are beautifully illustrated by John J. Muth, a Caldecott honored artist. A CD of Dylan’s original 1963 recording of Blowin’ in the Wind is included with the book.

I happened upon the book in Barnes & Noble about five years ago. In 1963, my older brother liked folk music and played this song over and over on his “record player”. He played the song so much that I soon had it memorized, although I was too young to truly understand the deep meaning of the haunting lyrics.

As time went on, I realized that Blowin’ in the Wind was known as an anthem for the civil rights movement. There were protests and not all were peaceful. The lyrics to the song also reflect the serious questions that we still have regarding war, peace, justice for all, personal freedom, and freedom of speech.

 

 

 

How many times must a man look up

Before he can see the sky?

How many ears must one man have

Before he can hear people cry?

 

 

 

 

The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind…

The answer is blowin’ in the wind.

 

Notes about Blowin’ in the Wind from Greil Marcus, Music Historian and Author of Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n Roll Music…

“Blowin’ in the Wind asks questions. When there is trouble in the world, in our own towns, in our own families, why can’t we admit that something is wrong, and try to do something about it? Why are some citizens treated unfairly? Why do some think they are better than  others? Why do we fight each other?…

The United States is a very different place today. It is not perfect. It still does not keep all of its promises. But because many men and women worked hard to answer the kinds of questions Bob Dylan asked in his song, our country is far more free than it was when Blowin’ in the Wind was written…

So today, whenever people feel that they are not free…  Whenever they feel they are being treated unfairly…  Whenever they know others only see what they look like, and not who they really are…

Whenever their lives are hurt or even destroyed by war or poverty…They can listen to Blowin’ in the Wind. They can say: Yes. I am in that song. That song is about me, too.”

 

Bob Dylan has been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2016. It was stated that the prize motivation was…

“for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”.