Blowin' in the Wind

This song, to me, is about how knowledge and enlightenment is right in front of us but we cannot see it (just like the wind.)
"how many times must the cannon balls fly Before they're forever banned?" and "how many deaths will it take till he knows That too many people have died?" are very clear anti-war messages and Dylans saying that people still don't realize that war is pointless.
Additionally, the line about the mountain washing to the see shows that nothing lasts forever, the line about people not being free shows that there is too much oppression in the world. He also talks about people turning their heads and pretending they do not see the trouble in the world. Dylan is saying that the answer to all these questions is right in front of us, yet we do not see it.

well here we go!!!

How many roads must a man walk down Before you call him a man?

Afro-American males were not called man...they were called boy...so how many roads must a man walk down before they start to take him serious

How many seas must a white dove sail Before she sleeps in the sand?

Noah set out a white dove to find out when the earth was dry. Where should you go to find rest when there is only water?

Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannon balls fly Before they're forever banned?

how many wars must be fought to see that violence is not the answer.

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind, The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Now this is an interesting part. Bob dylan took the words from a childrens song; How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? the answer my friend is blowing in the wind the answer is blowing in the wind... Now what is the origin of the answer is blowing in the wind? Its a saying in a lot of countrys (also in the netherlands) It means that you can give someone an answer but it would be blowing in the wind you dont give the answer because someone wont listen to you anyway.

Yes, 'n' how many years can a mountain exist Before it's washed to the sea?

how long can a system as huge as a mountain stand before it is washed away?

Yes, 'n' how many years can some people exist Before they're allowed to be free?

How long must there be slavery and denial of civil rights? were the afro-americans not long enough in america to have earned it to be free?

Yes, 'n' how many times can a man turn his head, And pretend that he just doesn't see?

well how many times can you turn your head? This sentence is about everyone who was against racisme but did not do anything about it.

I am still unsure about the final verse. There is a lot of imagery which I can`t explain. So I leave those to another brave soul ;)

Yeah, you guys are right...but I think it's more that people CHOOSE not to see the reality. It's like, they think we can't change it, so they try not to notice. For example, about the 'too many people have died'...everyone SEES that people are dying horrible deaths, but for some reason don't understand the severity. It's kind of Bob's way of sayin' that yes, love is all that can change everything. And I agree with him :).

Beautiful song. Everytime I hear it, it's like the first time. I just listen, it's unbelieveble brillant.

Great song, amazing lyrics! I especially like the last verse:

How many times must a man look up, before he can see the sky? Yes, an' how many ears must ONE man have, before he can hear people cry? Yes, an' how many deaths will it take until he knows that too many people have died?

Stop looking for God to solve or explain the follies of mankind. By noticing the sky instead of Heaven, that is the first step towards excepting responsibility and working towards a solution. The ONE man was, and always will be, the President. In conflict, that position is always the target for the people's frustrations. Will Johnson or Nixon ever hear us? How many American soliders and Vietnamese have to die before the President will save face and end the war, any war.

I'm sure that is not what Dylan was thinking but I was drawing those conclusions the other day.

It's about the despair and uncertainty that comes in EVERY generation. YES, IT WAS INFLUENCED IN A MINOR WAY BY THE VIETNAM WAR. But seriously. The part about people being free is factual. When you're old enough to walk and talk, read and write, and almost get off on their own, they go into school. After so many years of school, you get a job, a family, etc. Never do you have the ability AND the time to do what you want. When you retire, you're too old and frayed to consider adventure. How many times can we do war, kill neighbors for money, say to a man that they just can't go on, and pretend that nothing's happening? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind. The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Yeah, maybe the answer is blowing in the wind. But so is the American flag. Maybe the U.S. needs to let the white dove sleep in the sand, ban the cannonballs, quit trying to control the whole world and allow everyone to live freely. Maybe, instead, Americans should turn their heads toward helping the indigent and ailing and stop polluting the world before we're all dead. pwnt

It's not rocket science. This classic is simply about indifference, expressed in a way only Dylan could.

that's the beauty of the song. we know its there but we just refuse to act on it.

i kinda just had an epiphany, back in the early 1900's woodrow wilson tried to prevent future wars w/ the treaty of versailles. of course stalin and mussolini were both against him but he called world war one, "the war to end all wars" he saw this answer blowin' in the wind and tried to bring it to light but failed to do so. this shows some people can see this wind but the world in general is too involved in its own betterment to try and prevent future events which keep this world from being peaceful. also another thing it reminds me of is books like '1984' in which it shows that a utopian society will never happen.

If you sing folk music, you KNOW this song.

and I adore it.