English through music · Bob Dylan · B2. Guarda il video, leggi l’analisi della canzone, poi rifletti sulle domande. Gli esempi e gli spezzoni citati sono in inglese, con traduzione.
“Blowin’ in the Wind” is probably Bob Dylan’s most famous song. He wrote it in 1962, when he was only twenty-one, and it quickly became one of the great anthems of the 1960s. Simple in its melody but deep in its message, it has been sung all over the world.
«Blowin’ in the Wind» è probabilmente la canzone più famosa di Bob Dylan. La scrisse nel 1962, a soli ventun anni, e divenne presto uno dei grandi inni degli anni Sessanta. Semplice nella melodia ma profonda nel messaggio, è stata cantata in tutto il mondo.
«Blowin’ in the Wind» es probablemente la canción más famosa de Bob Dylan. La escribió en 1962, con solo veintiún años, y pronto se convirtió en uno de los grandes himnos de los años sesenta. Sencilla en su melodía pero profunda en su mensaje, se ha cantado en todo el mundo.
« Blowin’ in the Wind » est probablement la chanson la plus célèbre de Bob Dylan. Il l’a écrite en 1962, à seulement vingt et un ans, et elle est vite devenue l’un des grands hymnes des années 1960. Simple par sa mélodie mais profonde par son message, elle a été chantée dans le monde entier.
„Blowin’ in the Wind“ ist wohl das berühmteste Lied von Bob Dylan. Er schrieb es 1962, mit nur einundzwanzig Jahren, und es wurde schnell zu einer der großen Hymnen der 1960er Jahre. Einfach in der Melodie, aber tief in seiner Botschaft, wurde es auf der ganzen Welt gesungen.
«Blowin’ in the Wind» — вероятно, самая известная песня Боба Дилана. Он написал её в 1962 году, когда ему был всего двадцать один год, и она быстро стала одним из великих гимнов 1960-х годов. Простая по мелодии, но глубокая по смыслу, она звучала по всему миру.
«Blowin’ in the Wind» هي على الأرجح أشهر أغنية لبوب ديلان. كتبها عام 1962 وهو في الحادية والعشرين من عمره فقط، وسرعان ما صارت من أعظم أناشيد الستينيات. بسيطة في لحنها لكنها عميقة في رسالتها، وقد غُنّيت في جميع أنحاء العالم.
《Blowin’ in the Wind》大概是鲍勃·迪伦最著名的歌曲。他在1962年写下这首歌，当时年仅二十一岁，它很快成为上世纪六十年代最伟大的圣歌之一。旋律简单，寓意深远，这首歌传唱于世界各地。
「Blowin’ in the Wind」はおそらくボブ・ディランの最も有名な曲です。1962年、わずか二十一歳のときにこの曲を書き、まもなく1960年代を代表する偉大なアンセムの一つになりました。旋律は素朴ですがメッセージは深く、世界中で歌われてきました。
The most striking feature of the song is that it is built almost entirely out of questions. Instead of telling the listener what to think, Dylan asks a series of large, difficult questions about peace, freedom and human dignity.
He asks how long people must suffer before they are free, and how many times we can look away from injustice before we finally see it. The song never gives a direct answer, and that is exactly its power: it forces each listener to think.
The famous title suggests that the answers are “blowing in the wind”. This beautiful image has been understood in two opposite ways.
For some, it means the answers are obvious and all around us, if only we would pay attention. For others, it means the answers are impossible to catch, always just out of reach. This gentle mystery is part of the reason the song has lasted so long.
In the early 1960s the United States was living through the civil rights movement, a great struggle for equality between Black and white citizens. “Blowin’ in the Wind” became closely connected with that struggle and with the movement against war.
It was sung at marches and demonstrations, and it gave people courage. Dylan had written a song that belonged not only to him but to millions.
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Because this song is famous for its questions, it is the perfect place to review how questions work in English.
For most verbs, we make questions with the auxiliary do or does in the present, and did in the past. We put the auxiliary before the subject: Do you understand? / Does she agree? / Did they listen? The main verb stays in its base form.
With the verb to be we do not need an auxiliary; we simply put am, is or are before the subject: Are you ready? / Is it true?
We also use question words: how many, how long, why, where, when. For example: How long must we wait? Try to make your own questions using these words.
An anthem is a song that is important to a group of people and expresses their feelings. Freedom is the state of being free and able to act as you choose. Dignity is the quality of being worthy of respect.
A demonstration is a public event where people show their opinion. Equality means the state in which everyone has the same rights. To look away means to avoid seeing something difficult.
- Why do you think a song made of questions can be so powerful?
- The title says the answer is “blowing in the wind”; what do you think this means?
- Songs were important in the civil rights movement; why can music help people who want to change society?
- What big question about the world would you put into a song?
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