Bob Dylan on Woody Guthrie

For those of us who go back that far, both of these musicians were giants of folk music of their time. I ran across this wonderful recording (enhanced into pictograph video by an enterprising individual LymanChandler)

One may ask what has this to do with this blog? My answer is that this poem is a tribute from one man to another. Among men these are important, perhaps difficult displays of emotion. Praise, even faint praise between men is not easily given or sometimes received. In any event, I feel this particular performance is a study in genre to the "Beat Generation" that Woody was part of. It speaks to men and most importantly the journey of manhood. "Robert Zimmerman we never knew ye".



Here is the poem, transcribed.

How Many Roads Must a Man Walk Down

I heard this old 1960's Anti-war standard by Bob DYLAN the other day and it struck me quite differently when I reflected on the lyrics rather than that great young voice of the tune. Interestingly (for me anyways, perhaps not surprisingly though) it was based on an anthem of the "underground railroad" that led up to Canada in 1833. It was called "No more auction block". Reborn by Bob DYLAN, the new lyrics became the anthem of the anti-Vietnam War movement in the 1970's. Today it struck me as an paean to Manhood - perhaps not unfamiliar to those men (or boys) who are struggling to be everything they are expected to be by girlfriends, wives, mothers and maybe wondering about the lash of our unfeeling Family Law System. Here are the lyrics.

Blowin' in the Wind (1963) by Bob DYLAN How many roads must a man walk down Before they call him a man How many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the sand How many times must the cannonballs fly Before they are forever banned The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind The answer is blowing in the wind How many years can a mountain exist Before it is washed to the sea How many years can some people exist Before they're allowed to be free How many times can a man turn his head And pretend that he just doesn't see The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind The answer is blowing in the wind 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 How many deaths will it take till he knows That too many people have died The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind The answer is blowing in the wind