The Times They Are A-Changin' (Bob Dylan Album)

''The Times They Are a-Changin'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was released in February 1964 through Columbia Records. Whereas his previous albums ''Bob Dylan'' and ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' consisted of original material among cover songs, Dylan's third album was the first to feature only original compositions. The album consists mostly of stark, sparsely arranged ballads concerning issues such as racism, poverty, and social change. The title track is one of Dylan's most famous; many feel that it captures the spirit of social and political upheaval that characterized the 1960s.

Some critics and fans were not quite as taken with the album as a whole, relative to his previous work, for its lack of humor or musical diversity. Still, ''The Times They Are a-Changin'' peaked at No. 20 on the US chart, eventually going gold, and belatedly reaching No. 4 in the UK in 1965.

Recording sessions

Dylan began work on his third album on August 6, 1963 at Columbia's Studio A, located at 799 Seventh Avenue in New York City. Once again, Tom Wilson was the producer for the entire album. Dylan had, by the time of recording, become a popular, influential cultural figure.

Eight songs were recorded during that first session, but only one recording of "North Country Blues" was ultimately deemed usable and set aside as the master take. A master take of "Seven Curses" was also recorded, but it was left out of the final album sequence.

Another session at Studio A was held the following day, this time yielding master takes for four songs: "Ballad of Hollis Brown", "With God on Our Side", "Only a Pawn in Their Game", and "Boots of Spanish Leather", all of which were later included on the final album sequence.

A third session was held in Studio A on August 12, but nothing from this session was deemed usable. However, three recordings taken from the third session eventually saw official release: "master" takes of "Paths of Victory," "Moonshine Blues," and "Only a Hobo" were all included on ''The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991'' released in 1991. In 2013, "Eternal Circle" (Take 4), "Hero Blues" was included in the 1963 entry of ''The 50th Anniversary Collection 1963''.

Sessions did not resume for more than two months. During the interim, Dylan toured briefly with Joan Baez, performing a number of key concerts that raised his profile in the media. When Dylan returned to Studio A on October 23, he had six more original compositions ready for recording. Master takes for "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" and "When the Ship Comes In" were both culled from the October 23 session. A master take for "Percy's Song" was also recorded, but it was ultimately set aside and was not officially released until '' Biograph'' in 1985. An alternate take on "Percy's Song," a "That's All Right" (Arthur Crudup)/"Sally Free and Easy" (Cyril Tawney) medley and "East Laredo Blues" were released in 2013 on the 1963 entry of ''The 50th Anniversary Collection''.

Another session was held the following day, October 24. Master takes of "The Times They Are a-Changin'" and "One Too Many Mornings" were recorded and later included in the final album sequence. A master take for "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" was also recorded, but ultimately left out of the final album; it was eventually released on '' Biograph''. Two more outtakes, "Eternal Circle" and "Suze (The Cough Song)", were later issued on ''The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991''. A final outtake, "New Orleans Rag", was released in 2013 on "The 50th Anniversary Collection".

The sixth and final session for ''The Times They Are a-Changin'' was held on October 31, 1963. The entire session focused on one song — "Restless Farewell"— whose melody is taken from an Irish-Scots folk song, "The Parting Glass", and it produced a master take that ultimately closed the album.

Songs

''The Times They Are a-Changin'' opens with the title track, one of Dylan's most famous songs. Dylan's friend, Tony Glover, recalls visiting Dylan's apartment in September 1963, where he saw a number of song manuscripts and poems lying on a table. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" had yet to be recorded, but Glover saw its early manuscript. After reading the words "come senators, congressmen, please heed the call", Glover reportedly asked Dylan: "What is this shit, man?", to which Dylan responded, "Well, you know, it seems to be what the people like to hear".

Dylan recalled writing the song as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change for the moment. In 1985, he told Cameron Crowe: "This was definitely a song with a purpose. It was influenced of course by the Irish and Scottish ballads … 'Come All Ye Bold Highway Men', 'Come All Ye Tender Hearted Maidens'. I wanted to write a big song, with short concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. The civil rights movement and the folk music movement were pretty close for a while and allied together at that time." ''Biograph'', 1985, Liner notes & text by Cameron Crowe.

The climactic lines of the final verse: "The order is rapidly fadin'/ And the first one now/ Will later be last/ For the times they are a-changin'" have a Biblical ring, and several critics have connected them with lines in the Gospel of Mark, 10:31, "But many that are first shall be last, and the last first."

A self-conscious protest song, it is often viewed as a reflection of the generation gap and of the political divide marking American culture in the 1960s. Dylan, however, disputed this interpretation in 1964, saying "Those were the only words I could find to separate aliveness from deadness. It had nothing to do with age." A year later, Dylan would say: "I can't really say that adults don't understand young people any more than you can say big fishes don't understand little fishes. I didn't mean "The Times They Are a-Changin'" as a statement … It's a feeling."

"Ballad of Hollis Brown" was originally recorded for Dylan's previous album, ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan''. That version was rejected and the song was eventually re-recorded for ''The Times They Are a-Changin''. Described by Clinton Heylin as a "'tragic tale of independence and free will' culled from the folk idiom", it is a grim, rural Gothic story of a father killing his starving family ("There's seven people dead on a South Dakota farm").

" With God on Our Side" was first performed at New York's Town Hall on April 12, 1963 (which also happened to be Dylan's debut appearance at that venue). Although Dylan claims it is an original composition, the melody to "With God on Our Side" bears a striking resemblance to "The Patriot Game", the lyrics of which were written by Dominic Behan and the melody borrowed from the traditional Irish folk song, "The Merry Month of May". Behan called Dylan a plagiarist and a thief, in an attempt to goad Dylan into a lawsuit; Dylan made no response. "The Patriot Game" was originally introduced to Dylan by Scottish folk singer Nigel Denver. Scottish songwriter Jim McLean recalls Dylan asking him in late 1962: "'What does it mean, 'Patriot Game'?'... I explained—probably lectured him—about Dr. Johnson, who's one of Dominic's favourite writers, and that's where Dominic picked up hesaying: 'Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.'" Music critic Tim Riley writes: "'With God on Our Side" manages to voice political savvy mixed with generational naiveté" as it "draws the line for those born long enough after World War I to find its issues blurry ('the reasons for fightin'/I never did get') and who view the forgiveness of the World War II Germans as a farce."

Dylan follows "With God on Our Side" with a soft, understated ballad: "One Too Many Mornings". "It's the sound of someone too smitten by love to harbor regrets, grown too independent to consider a reunion," writes Riley. One of the more celebrated songs on ''The Times They Are a-Changin','' Dylan would dramatically rearrange it on his legendary 1966 concert tour for a full electric band.

"North Country Blues" tells the story of a mining company's decision to outsource its operations to countries where labor costs are cheaper than in the U.S.A. ("It's much cheaper down in the South American towns/Where the miners work almost for nothing".) The song marks the first time Dylan wrote a narrative from the point of view of a woman: the ex-wife of a miner whose work has disappeared. This song has been described by many critics as Dylan's portrait of his hometown, Hibbing, Minnesota.

Dylan first performed "Only a Pawn in Their Game" at a voter registration rally in Greenwood, Mississippi. The song refers to the murder of Medgar Evers, who was the Mississippi leader of the NAACP. Civil rights activist Bernice Johnson would later tell critic Robert Shelton that "'Pawn' was the very first song that showed the poor white was as victimized by discrimination as the poor black. The Greenwood people didn't know that Pete eeger Theo ore Bikeland Bobby ylanwere well known. (Seeger and Bikel were also present at the registration rally.) They were just happy to be getting support. But they really like Dylan down there in the cotton country."

The melody for "Boots of Spanish Leather" was inspired by Martin Carthy's arrangement of the English folksong " Scarborough Fair" (also the melody of an earlier Dylan composition, "Girl from the North Country"). Dylan learned Carthy's arrangement during his first trip to England in late 1962. After finishing his obligations in England (including a brief appearance in a BBC
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