Blowin' In The Wind

 "Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions about peace, war, and freedom. The refrain "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind" has been described as "impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or the answer is as intangible as the wind".

In 1994, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2004, it was ranked number 14 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Despite not charting when first released as a single, it has gained much radio airplay, ultimately peaking at #3 in France on the airplay chart. 

Dylan originally wrote and performed a two-verse version of the song; its first public performance, at Gerde's Folk City on April 16, 1962, was recorded and circulated among Dylan collectors. Shortly after this performance, he added the middle verse to the song. Some published versions of the lyrics reverse the order of the second and third verses, apparently because Dylan simply appended the middle verse to his original manuscript, rather than writing out a new copy with the verses in proper order. The song was published for the first time in May 1962, in the sixth issue of Broadside, the magazine founded by Agnes 'Sis' Cunningham and Gordon Friesen and devoted to topical songs. The theme may have been taken from a passage in Woody Guthrie's autobiography, Bound for Glory, in which Guthrie compared his political sensibility to newspapers blowing in the winds of New York City streets and alleys. Dylan was certainly familiar with Guthrie's work; his reading of it had been a major turning point in his intellectual and political development.

In June 1962, the song was published in Sing Out!, accompanied by Dylan's comments:

There ain't too much I can say about this song except that the answer is blowing in the wind. It ain't in no book or movie or TV show or discussion group. Man, it's in the wind – and it's blowing in the wind. Too many of these hip people are telling me where the answer is but oh I won't believe that. I still say it's in the wind and just like a restless piece of paper it's got to come down some ... But the only trouble is that no one picks up the answer when it comes down so not too many people get to see and know ... and then it flies away. I still say that some of the biggest criminals are those that turn their heads away when they see wrong and know it's wrong. I'm only 21 years old and I know that there's been too many wars ... You people over 21, you're older and smarter.

Dylan recorded "Blowin' in the Wind" on July 9, 1962, for inclusion on his second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, released in May, 1963.

Bobby Darin recorded "Blowin' in the Wind" on July 30, 1962, for inclusion on his album, Golden Folk Hits, also released in 1963. Arranged by Walter Raim, there was Roger Mcguinn, Glen Campbell, James Burton, and Phil Ochs all on guitar, and singing harmony.

In his sleeve notes for The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991, John Bauldie wrote that Pete Seeger first identified the melody of "Blowin' in the Wind" as an adaptation of the old African-American spiritual "No More Auction Block/We Shall Overcome". According to Alan Lomax's The Folk Songs of North America, the song was sung by former slaves who fled to Nova Scotia after Britain abolished slavery in 1833. In 1978, Dylan acknowledged the source when he told journalist Marc Rowland: "'Blowin' in the Wind' has always been a spiritual. I took it off a song called 'No More Auction Block' – that's a spiritual and 'Blowin' in the Wind' follows the same feeling." Dylan's performance of "No More Auction Block" was recorded at the Gaslight Cafe in October 1962, and appeared on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.

The critic Michael Gray suggested that the lyric is an example of Dylan's "quiet incorporation of Biblical rhetoric into his own", starting with a text from the Old Testament book of Ezekiel (12:1–2): "Son of Man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see and see not; they have ears to hear and hear not." which Dylan transforms into: "Yes' n' how many times must a man turn his head / Pretending he just doesn't see?" and "Yes'n' how many ears must one man have / Before he can hear people cry?"

"Blowin' in the Wind" has been described as an anthem of the civil rights movement. In Martin Scorsese's documentary on Dylan, No Direction Home, Mavis Staples expressed her astonishment on first hearing the song and said she could not understand how a young white man could write something that captured the frustration and aspirations of black people so powerfully. Sam Cooke was similarly deeply impressed by the song, incorporating it into his repertoire soon after its release (a version would be included on Sam Cooke at the Copa), and being inspired by it to write "A Change Is Gonna Come".

"Blowin' in the Wind" was first covered by the Chad Mitchell Trio, but their record company delayed release of the album containing it because the song included the word death, so the trio lost out to Peter, Paul and Mary, who were represented by Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman. The single sold 300,000 copies in the first week of release and made the song world-famous. On August 17, 1963, it reached number two on the Billboard pop chart, with sales exceeding one million copies. Peter Yarrow recalled that, when he told Dylan he would make more than $5,000 (equivalent to $48,000 in 2022) from the publishing rights, Dylan was speechless. Peter, Paul and Mary's version of the song also spent five weeks atop the easy listening chart.

The critic Andy Gill wrote,

"Blowin' in the Wind" marked a huge jump in Dylan's songwriting. Prior to this, efforts like "The Ballad of Donald White" and "The Death of Emmett Till" had been fairly simplistic bouts of reportage songwriting. "Blowin' in the Wind" was different: for the first time, Dylan discovered the effectiveness of moving from the particular to the general. Whereas "The Ballad of Donald White" would become completely redundant as soon as the eponymous criminal was executed, a song as vague as "Blowin' in the Wind" could be applied to just about any freedom issue. It remains the song with which Dylan's name is most inextricably linked, and safeguarded his reputation as a civil libertarian through any number of changes in style and attitude.^[15]

Dylan performed the song for the first time on television in the UK in January 1963, when he appeared in the BBC television play Madhouse on Castle Street.^[16] He also performed the song during his first national US television appearance, filmed in March 1963, a performance made available in 2005 on the DVD release of Martin Scorsese's PBS television documentary on Dylan, No Direction Home.

An allegation that the song was written by a high-school student named Lorre Wyatt (a member of Millburn High School's "Millburnaires" all-male folk band) and subsequently purchased or plagiarised by Dylan before he gained fame was reported in an article in Newsweek magazine in November 1963. The plagiarism claim was eventually shown to be false. 

The first line of the song ("How many roads must a man walk down?") is proposed as the "Ultimate Question" in the science fiction novel The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams.

In the 1994 film Forrest Gump, Jenny sings this song for a show in a strip club and is introduced as "Bobbi Dylan". The film's soundtrack album features Joan Baez's 1975 live recording of the song, from her 1976 album From Every Stage.

In 1975, the song was included as poetry in a high-school English textbook in Sri Lanka. The textbook caused controversy because it replaced Shakespeare's work with Dylan's.

During the protests against the Iraq War, commentators noted that protesters were resurrecting songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" rather than creating new ones.

The song has been embraced by many liberal churches, and in the 1960s and 1970s it was sung both in Catholic church "folk masses" and as a hymn in Protestant ones. In 1997, Bob Dylan performed three other songs at a Catholic church congress. Pope John Paul II, who was in attendance, told the crowd of some 300,000 young Italian Catholics that the answer was indeed "in the wind" – not in the wind that blew things away, but rather "in the wind of the spirit" that would lead them to Christ. In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI (who had also been in attendance) wrote that he was uncomfortable with music stars such as Dylan performing in a church environment. The Westboro Baptist Church has parodied the song.

In 2009, Dylan licensed the song to be used in an advertisement for the British consumer-owned Co-operative Group. The Co-op claimed that Dylan's decision was influenced by "the Co-op's high ethical guidelines regarding fair trade and the environment." The Co-op, which is owned by about 3 million consumers, also includes Britain's largest funeral parlour and farming business.

In Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, in the level "Temple of Bwahmanweewee", Beep-0 parodies this song.

Hip hop group Public Enemy reference it in their 2007 Dylan tribute song "Long and Whining Road": "Tears of rage left a friend blowing in the wind / But time is God, been back for ten years, and black again". 

To download the easy alphanotes sheet music, look here. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

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

This Land is Your Land

 "This Land Is Your Land" is a song by American folk singer Woody Guthrie. It is one of the United States' most famous folk songs. Its lyrics were written in 1940 in critical response to Irving Berlin's "God Bless America". Its melody is based on a Carter Family tune called "When the World's on Fire". When Guthrie was tired of hearing Kate Smith sing "God Bless America" on the radio in the late 1930s, he sarcastically called his song "God Blessed America for Me" before renaming it "This Land Is Your Land".

In 2002, "This Land Is Your Land" was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. In 2021, it was listed at No. 229 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".

Guthrie's melody was very similar to the melody of "Oh, My Loving Brother", a Baptist gospel hymn that had been recorded by the Carter Family as "When the World's On Fire" and had inspired their "Little Darlin', Pal of Mine." He used the same melody for the chorus and the verses.

Guthrie's song, however, had a different melodic structure from the hymn or the similar Carter Family melodies, and he used only the first half of those melodies in his song. The melodic structure of the presumed models can be described as "ABCD", a new melodic phrase for each of its four lines. Guthrie's structure, however, is "ABAC". As such, Guthrie's rendition repeats the beginning of the melody (the "A" section) for his third line; the melodic phrase for his fourth line ("This land was made for you and me") is found in neither the hymn nor the Carter Family melodies.

The original lyrics were composed on February 23, 1940, in Guthrie's room at the Hanover House hotel at 43rd St. and 6th Ave. (101 West 43rd St.) in New York. The line "This land was made for you and me" does not appear in the original manuscript at the end of each verse, but is implied by Guthrie's writing of those words at the top of the page and by his subsequent singing of the line with those words.

According to Joe Klein, after Guthrie composed it, "he completely forgot about the song, and didn't do anything with it for another five years."

In 1944 during World War II, Guthrie prepared another version which drops the two verses that are critical of the United States from the original: verse four, regarding private property, and verse six, regarding hunger. In 1940, Guthrie was in the anti-war phase he entered after the 1939 Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, during which he wrote songs praising the Soviet invasion of Poland, attacking President Roosevelt's loans to Finland in defense against the Soviets, and ridiculing lend-lease aid to the United Kingdom. By 1944, after Germany had invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Guthrie returned to vigorous support for U.S. involvement in Europe and a more anti-nationalism stance.

A March 1944 recording in the possession of the Smithsonian, the earliest known recording of the song, has the "private property" verse included. This version was recorded the same day as 75 other songs. This was confirmed by several archivists for Smithsonian who were interviewed as part of the History Channel program Save Our History – Save our Sounds. The 1944 recording with this fourth verse can be found on Woody Guthrie: This Land is Your Land: The Asch Recordings Volume 1, where it is track 14.

There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
Sign was painted, it said private property;
But on the back side it didn't say nothing;
This land was made for you and me.

Woodyguthrie.org also has a variant.

A 1945 pamphlet which omitted the last two verses has caused some question as to whether the original song did in fact contain the full text. The original manuscript confirms both of these verses.

As with other folk songs, it was sung with different words at various times, although the motives for this particular change of lyrics may involve the possible political interpretations of the verses. Recordings of Guthrie have him singing the verses with different words.

The verses critical of America are not often performed in schools or official functions. They can be best interpreted as a protest against the vast income inequalities that exist in the United States, and against the sufferings of millions during the Great Depression. The US, Guthrie insists, was made—and could still be made—for "you and me". This interpretation is consistent with such other Guthrie songs as "Pretty Boy Floyd" and Guthrie's lifelong struggle for social justice.

The song was revived in the 1960s, when several artists of the new folk movement, including Bob Dylan, The Kingston Trio, Trini Lopez, Jay and the Americans, and The New Christy Minstrels all recorded versions, inspired by its political message. Peter, Paul and Mary recorded the song in 1962 for their Moving album. The Seekers recorded the song for their 1965 album, A World of Our Own. At the founding convention of the Canadian social democratic New Democratic Party, a version of the song was sung by the attending delegates.

In March 1977, David Carradine, who had personified Woody Guthrie in Hal Ashby's 1976 biopic Bound for Glory, appeared on Dinah Shore's show, Dinah! On it, he performed a version of the song which included the two verses, with some variations:

Well, one bright Sunday morning in the shadow of the steeple
By the relief line I saw my people
As they stood there whistlin' they stood there hungry
Don't they know that this land was made for you and me?

Well, as I was walking, I saw a sign there
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing"
But on the other side it didn't say nothing
That side was made for you and me!

In the film, the song is performed in the closing credits by several singers, starting with Carradine and including Woody Guthrie. The verse about the "No Trespassing" sign appears there, but the two verses are not in the soundtrack album's version.

Bruce Springsteen first began performing it live on the River Tour in 1980, and released one such performance of it on Live/1975–85, in which he called it "about one of the most beautiful songs ever written."

The song was performed by Springsteen and Pete Seeger, accompanied by Seeger's grandson, Tao Rodríguez-Seeger, at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, 2009. The song was restored to the original lyrics (including the 'There was a big high wall there' and 'Nobody living can ever stop me' verses) for this performance (as per Pete Seeger's request) with exceptions of the changes in the end of the 'Private Property' and 'Relief Office' verses; the former's final line was changed from "This land was made for you and me" to "That side was made for you and me," and the latter's third and fourth lines to "As they stood hungry, I stood there whistling, This land was made for you and me," from the original lyrics, "As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking, Is this land made for you and me?"

Voice actress and children's entertainer Debi Derryberry recorded a version for her musical album What A Way To Play in 2006.

In 2010, Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, the surviving members of Peter, Paul and Mary, requested that the National Organization for Marriage, which is against legalization of same-sex marriage, stop using their recording of "This Land is Your Land" at their rallies, stating in a letter that the organization's philosophy was "directly contrary to the advocacy position" held by the group.

In 2019, Arlo Guthrie led a version of "This Land is Your Land" at the July 4 Boston Pops concert. Guthrie sang the 'no trespassing' verse but substituted the first line of the 'private property' verse ('There was a big high wall there, that tried to stop me / And on the wall it said "no trespassing"'), and Queen Latifah sang the 'freedom highway' verse. The 'Relief Office' verse was not included.

Arlo Guthrie tells a story in concerts on occasion, of his mother returning from a dance tour of China, and reporting around the Guthrie family dinner table that at one point in the tour she was serenaded by Chinese children singing the song. Arlo says Woody was incredulous: "The Chinese? Singing 'This land is your land, this land is my land? From California to the New York island?'"

On January 20, 2021, during the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, Jennifer Lopez performed some verses of the song as part of a medley with America the Beautiful. She excluded verses critical of the United States and interposed a Spanish-language translation of a portion of the Pledge of Allegiance.

The song has been recorded by many performers over the years, ranging from American Country legend Glen Campbell, hardcore band Hated Youth, all the way to Turkish performer Nuri Sesigüzel to reggae group The Melodians. 

To download the easy alphanotes sheet music, look here. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

This land is your land, this land is my land 
From California to the New York island; 
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters 
This land was made for you and me. 

As I was walking that ribbon of highway, 
I saw above me that endless skyway: 
I saw below me that golden valley: 
This land was made for you and me. 

I've roamed and rambled and I followed my footsteps 
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts; 
And all around me a voice was sounding: 
This land was made for you and me. 

When the sun came shining, and I was strolling, 
And the wheat fields waving and the dust clouds rolling, 
As the fog was lifting a voice was chanting: 
This land was made for you and me. 

As I went walking I saw a sign there 
And on the sign it said "No Trespassing." 
But on the other side it didn't say nothing, 
That side was made for you and me. 

In the squares of the city, in the shadow of the steeple, 
By the relief office I seen my people; 
As they stood there hungry, I stood there asking 
Is this land made for you and me? 

Nobody living can ever stop me, 
As I go walking that freedom highway; 
Nobody living can ever make me turn back 
This land was made for you and me. 

Bought Me A Cat (Farmyard Song)

 The "Bought Me A Cat or Farmyard Song" (Roud number 544) is a cumulative song about farm animals, originating in the British Isles and also known in North America.

It is known by various titles, such as:

• "I Bought Me a Cat"
• "I Love My Rooster"
• "I Bought Me a Horse"
• "My Cock Crew"
• "The Green Tree"
• "The Barnyard Song"
• "There Was An Old Man of Tobago"

In the first verse, the narrator tells of buying or having a rooster, cat, horse or other animal, feeding them under a tree, and the call the animal makes. Each subsequent verse introduces a new animal, then repeats the calls of the animals from previous verses. 

There were several versions known in the Thames Valley in the early part of the 20th century. A version collected in Bampton, Oxfordshire around 1916 began as follows:

The very first thing my mother bought me,
It was a hen, you may plainly see;
And every time I fed my hen,
I fed her under the tree.

My hen went chick-chack,
My cock went cock-a-te-too;
Here's luck to all my cocks and hens,
And my cock-a-doodle-do.

Musicologists Loraine Wyman and Howard Brockway collected "The Barnyard Song" in Kentucky in 1916. This version began,

I had a cat and the cat pleased me,
I fed my cat under yonder tree.
Cat goes fiddle-i-fee. 

Some American variants are not cumulative, but instead group all the animal calls together at the end of the song. 

To download the easy alphanotes sheet music, look here. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

Bought me a cat and the cat pleased me. I fed my cat under yonder tree.

Cat goes "fiddle-i-fee".

Bought me a hen and the hen pleased me. I fed my hen under yonder tree.

Hen goes "chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck",

Cat goes "fiddle-i-fee".

Bought me a duck and the duck pleased me. I fed my duck under yonder tree.

Duck goes "quack, quack",

Hen goes "chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck",

Cat goes "fiddle-i-fee".

Bought me a goose and the goose pleased me. I fed my goose under yonder tree.

Goose goes "hissy, hissy",

Duck goes "quack, quack",

Hen goes "chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck",

Cat goes "fiddle-i-fee".

Bought me a sheep and the sheep pleased me. I fed my sheep under yonder tree.

Sheep goes "baaa, baaa",

Goose goes "hissy, hissy",

Duck goes "quack, quack",

Hen goes "chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck",

Cat goes "fiddle-i-fee".

Bought me a pig and the pig pleased me. I fed my pig under yonder tree.

Pig goes "oink, oink",

Sheep goes "baaa, baaa",

Goose goes "hissy, hissy",

Duck goes "quack, quack",

Hen goes "chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck",

Cat goes "fiddle-i-fee".

Bought me a cow and the cow pleased me. I fed my cow under yonder tree.

Cow goes "moo, moo",

Pig goes "oink, oink",

Sheep goes "baaa, baaa",

Goose goes "hissy, hissy",

Duck goes "quack, quack",

Hen goes "chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck",

Cat goes "fiddle-i-fee".

Bought me a horse and the horse pleased me. I fed my horse under yonder tree.

Horse goes "neigh, neigh",

Cow goes "moo, moo",

Pig goes "oink, oink",

Sheep goes "baaa, baaa",

Goose goes "hissy, hissy",

Duck goes "quack, quack",

Hen goes "chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck",

Cat goes "fiddle-i-fee".

Oh! Bought me a dog and the dog pleased me. I fed my dog under yonder tree.

Dog goes "bow-wow, bow-wow",

Horse goes "neigh, neigh",

Cow goes "moo, moo",

Pig goes "oink, oink",

Sheep goes "baaa, baaa",

Goose goes "hissy, hissy",

Duck goes "quack, quack",

Hen goes "chimmy-chuck, chimmy-chuck",

Cat goes "fiddle-i-fee".