"Blowin' In The Wind" is one of Bob Dylan's most famous songs (and one of the songs, written very early in his career, that established him as a musician to pay attention to, to take seriously - a musician who, in fact, would later win the Nobel Prize for his songwriting).
I have come to believe that this song, "Blowin' In The Wind," is actually a profound meditation on a deeply "religious" or "spiritual" understanding of what our life is all about. The following verse is found in the New Testament, in the Bible, in John 3:8 (King James Version):
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
In other words, as I interpret this, the Bible is telling us that the Spirit that has created and that animates and sustains this world - the Spirit that inspires and shapes our individual lives - cannot be defined by our own categories, and cannot be held to the timelines that we would like to impose upon it. Our deepest desires, though - what we most deeply need - are present. They are not ours only! Our Creator cares for us, and is not in ignorance of our longings. How long will it be until prejudice and discrimination come to an end, till justice is done? How many times must we kill each other, and destroy the cities that we have built to shelter and celebrate our lives? How many times? How many roads? How many years?
Have faith. I think that is the message. There is a Spirit that knows our hopes and needs. An answer to all our questions will be provided - but not according to our own schedule or demand. This is, indeed, a "religious" and "spiritual" thought. Our answer is coming. It is on the way!
oooOOOooo
I am providing both the lyrics to "Blowin' In The Wind," below, and a YouTube link here, and also furnished above, that will let you hear Bob Dylan sing that song.
Written By: Bob Dylan
How many roads must a man walk down
Before you call him a man?
Yes, ’n’ how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, ’n’ how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
Yes, ’n’ how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, ’n’ how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ’n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ’n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Copyright © 1962 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1990 by Special Rider Music
Before you call him a man?
Yes, ’n’ how many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?
Yes, ’n’ how many times must the cannonballs fly
Before they’re forever banned?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
How many years can a mountain exist
Before it’s washed to the sea?
Yes, ’n’ how many years can some people exist
Before they’re allowed to be free?
Yes, ’n’ how many times can a man turn his head
Pretending he just doesn’t see?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, ’n’ how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, ’n’ how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind
The answer is blowin’ in the wind
Copyright © 1962 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1990 by Special Rider Music
oooOOOooo
Image Credit:
https://youtu.be/vWwgrjjIMXA?si=S-6fPTR7zgbhEws2
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