The times ain’t changin’
FROM a Columbia Records studio in New York City in January of 1964, Bob Dylan, armed with an acoustic guitar and several harmonicas along with his unique nasal tones and sharp wit, grabbed the USA by the scruff of the neck and bayed that it take a long hard look at itself, at its politics and at its social conscience.
At the peak of his protest phase, Dylan let fly, and the resulting album, The Times they are a Changin’ is a lyrical masterpiece. An album so radical and angry, its like had never been witnessed in folk music circles before.
Now, here we are, almost 55 years later, and it’s as relevant today as it ever was. None of the issues highlighted within his lyrics have gone away and remain, for the greater part, unresolved. Track after track throws up issues that not alone illuminate that era of division and the challenges faced by the disenfranchised, but sadly still very much reflect life today.
‘When the Ship Comes In’, a song about oppression and the wrongs of war in new worlds. Another, ‘Only a Pawn in their Game’, recounts the assassination of Civil Rights activist Medgar Evers, set against a system that set whites against blacks.
A South politician preaches to the poor white man
“You got more than the blacks, don’t complain
You’re better than them, you been born with white skin,” they explain
Or ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll’ a black kitchen maid murdered by a wealthy white man of power and influence, who avoided a proper jail term, and was sentenced to six months, ironically, on the same day Dr King gave his ‘I had a dream’ speech! A song charged with the wish to shake up the corrupt status quo.
Oh, but you who philosophize disgrace and criticize all fears Bury the rag deep in your face For now’s the time for your tears.
And today it continues, that unbreakable cycle of poverty, racial profiling, discriminatory schools who’s policies have produced a school-to-prison parade for blacks.
‘North Country Blues’, a song charting the demise of Minnesota Industries, moving out to cheap labour countries, leaving devastation and emptiness. A foretelling of what was ahead for many, many more. Similarly ‘The Ballad of Hollis Brown’. A tragic tale of a broken, starving farmer, driven to taking his own life and those of his family.
Your grass it is turning black There’s no water in your well Your grass is turning black There’s no water in your well You spent your last lone dollar On seven shotgun shells.
And the immortal ‘God On Our Side’. It recalls the massacres of the native Indian tribes, the Civil War where brother fought brother for three years, the First and Second World Wars where millions died, and the ominous nuclear threat of the Cold War, all of which were fought, or would be fought, with God firmly in the American corner. How clever of Dylan to vainly hope.
So now as I’m leavin’ I’m weary as Hell The confusion I’m feelin’ Ain’t no tongue can tell The words fill my head And fall to the floor That if God’s on our side He’ll stop the next war
Well, as we now know, God didn’t. Indeed by the end of that year America had 185,000 troops in Vietnam. Then there was Grenada, Beirut and Libya. Panama, Somalia and The Gulf War. Followed by Haiti, Kosova and Afghanistan. Then the second Gulf War in Iraq. And today their bombs are falling on Syria.
When Bob Dylan became the first songwriter to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, he struggled with what to do about accepting the prestigious award. A ceremony of sorts took place eventually. I’m sure the protest carries on.