How does ‘The Times They Are-a-Changin’‘ explore the global issue of Older Generations having to adapt to the Restructuring of Society in 1960?
In the song released in 1964 by Bob Dylan, “the times they are changing,” Dylan explores the global issue of people of privilege obstructing the empowerment of people who were treated unfairly. The song was released in the middle of the civil rights movement in the US, the same year the civil rights act was passed. Similar to most folk songs, Dylan structures the song like he is a bardic telling a story to his listeners. He starts each verse by inviting people to listen to him, giving the song a sense of intimacy and politeness. In the first verse, Dylan uses water as a metaphor to describe the power of the movement. The line “you better start swimming or you’ll sink like a stone” uses the bandwagon effect to warn its listeners of what will happen if they don’t get on board with the change. In the second verse, Dylan specifically addresses writers and critics. In the line “For the losers now will be later to win” Dylan gives his first clue as to what exactly is changing. The line suggests that there is a change in the hierarchy created by society. Perhaps this rebalancing of equality is referring to the civil rights movement and perhaps he is encouraging writers and critics to embrace the empowerment rather than suppress it. In the third verse, Dylan addresses senators and government officials. He discourages them from delaying the inevitable balance in power and warns that those who don’t join the movement will be those who get hurt. It can be argued that in the line “Don’t stand in the doorway, don’t block up the hall” Dylan discourages government officials from preventing anti-discrimination laws and anti-racism bills from being written. Furthermore, his line “There’s a battle outside ragin’” could be interpreted as a reference to the March on Washington, DC which took place the year before the song was released. In the fourth verse, Dylan addresses parents and encourages them to let their children pursue their own beliefs. He also sings “Your old road is rapidly aging” implying that the path society has previously created is now outdated. In the last verse, Dylan concludes by drawing back to the idea of a reversal of power in the line “The slow one now Will later be fast,” “The order is rapidly fading” and “the first one now Will later be last.” In conclusion, it is plausible to say that Dylan addresses different stakeholders throughout his song and warns them of the consequences of not supporting the inevitable empowerment of black people.
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300 words approx. please