Blowin' in the Wind

"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962.
It was released as a single and included on his album ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about peace, war, and freedom. The refrain "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind" has been described as "impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or the answer is as intangible as the wind".

In 1994, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2004, it was ranked number 14 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Origins and initial response

Dylan originally wrote and performed a two-verse version of the song; its first public performance, at Gerde's Folk City on April 16, 1962, was recorded and circulated among Dylan collectors. Shortly after this performance, he added the middle verse to the song. Some published versions of the lyrics reverse the order of the second and third verses, apparently because Dylan simply appended the middle verse to his original manuscript, rather than writing out a new copy with the verses in proper order. The song was published for the first time in May 1962, in the sixth issue of ''Broadside'', the magazine founded by Pete Seeger and devoted to topical songs.
The theme may have been taken from a passage in Woody Guthrie's autobiography, '' Bound for Glory'', in which Guthrie compared his political sensibility to newspapers blowing in the winds of New York City streets and alleys. Dylan was certainly familiar with Guthrie's work; his reading of it had been a major turning point in his intellectual and political development.

In June 1962, the song was published in ''Sing Out!'', accompanied by Dylan's comments:

Dylan recorded "Blowin' in the Wind" on July 9, 1962, for inclusion on his second album, ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'', released in May, 1963.

Bobby Darin recorded "Blowin' in the Wind" on July 30, 1962, for inclusion on his album, ''Golden Folk Hits'', also released in 1963. Arranged by Walter Raim, there was Roger Mcguinn, Glen Campbell, James Burton, and Phil Ochs all on guitar, and singing harmony.

In his sleeve notes for ''The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991'', John Bauldie wrote that Pete Seeger first identified the melody of "Blowin' in the Wind" as an adaptation of the old African-American spiritual " No More Auction Block/We Shall Overcome". According to Alan Lomax's ''The Folk Songs of North America'', the song was sung by former slaves who fled to Nova Scotia after Britain abolished slavery in 1833. In 1978, Dylan acknowledged the source when he told journalist Marc Rowland: "'Blowin' in the Wind' has always been a spiritual. I took it off a song called 'No More Auction Block' – that's a spiritual and 'Blowin' in the Wind' follows the same feeling." Dylan's performance of "No More Auction Block" was recorded at the Gaslight Cafe in October 1962, and appeared on ''The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991''.

The critic Michael Gray suggested that the lyric is an example of Dylan's "quiet incorporation of Biblical rhetoric into his own", starting with a text from the Old Testament book of Ezekiel (12:1–2): "Son of Man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see and see not; they have ears to hear and hear not." which Dylan transforms into: "Yes' n' how many times must a man turn his head / Pretending he just doesn't see?" and "Yes'n' how many ears must one man have / Before he can hear people cry?"

"Blowin' in the Wind" has been described as an anthem of the civil rights movement. In Martin Scorsese's documentary on Dylan, ''No Direction Home'', Mavis Staples expressed her astonishment on first hearing the song and said she could not understand how a young white man could write something that captured the frustration and aspirations of black people so powerfully. Sam Cooke was similarly deeply impressed by the song, incorporating it into his repertoire soon after its release (a version would be included on ''Sam Cooke at the Copa''), and being inspired by it to write " A Change Is Gonna Come".

"Blowin' in the Wind" was first covered by the Chad Mitchell Trio, but their record company delayed release of the album containing it because the song included the word ''death'', so the trio lost out to Peter, Paul and Mary, who were represented by Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman. The single sold a phenomenal 300,000 copies in the first week of release and made the song world-famous. On August 17, 1963, it reached number two on the ''Billboard'' pop chart, with sales exceeding one million copies. Peter Yarrow recalled that, when he told Dylan he would make more than $5,000 () from the publishing rights, Dylan was speechless. Peter, Paul and Mary's version of the song also spent five weeks atop the easy listening chart.

The critic Andy Gill wrote,

Dylan performed the song for the first time on television in the UK in January 1963, when he appeared in the BBC
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