Bob Dylan Metaphors

Music is a very powerful way for people to express the central concerns of their context. Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind, Maggie’s Farm and With God on Our Side were all very prominent protest songs. Dylan used his poetic lyrics to express his ideas and concerns.

Bob Dylan rose to fame in the 1960’s with songs reflecting the massive change the world was going through at the time. He was a civil rights activist and wrote many songs about social issues such as war, government, social injustice and civil rights. Some of his songs reflect his Christian beliefs and make reference to bible quotes. Although he has made many protest songs, he wanted to stay independent from the protest folk music movement. He felt that this group was too restrictive for him and didn’t allow him to express his unique ideas that are reflected in his music. He was always in love with music, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard inspired

him, but his biggest influence was Woody Guthrie. Dylan wrote a song as a tribute to Guthrie, titled Song to Woody.

Blowin’ in the Wind strongly reflects Dylan’s participation in the civil rights movement. “How many times must the cannon balls fly, before they’re forever banned?” is a rhetorical question, asking listeners how many wars they have to go through before they realise that it is completely unnecessary. This encourages people to question the logic of the world they live in. “How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?” is another rhetorical question that shows Dylan’s moral views on the treatment of African Americans. By using the word “man”, people start to realise how they have dehumanised African Americans, and are affected on an emotional level. “The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind” is a metaphor taken from Woody Guthrie’s autobiography, Bound For Glory; Dylan described this book as a turning point in his political thinking. This metaphor encourages listeners to think and take action to find the answer to the questions in the song. This song was inspired by his views and experiences, coming from a time when the world was full of war, violence and discrimination.

Dylan wanted to be an individual and didn’t want to be part of the protest folk movement or have any involvement with the government.

This is reflected in Maggie’s Farm, by using metaphors in “I got a head full of ideas, that are driving me insane. It’s a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor”, “she” referring to the folk protest movement, showing that he is trying to express his unique ideas, but the movement he was forced into is very limiting and doesn’t allow him to fully express his ideas. His use of metaphor in “scrub the floor” shows that he feels trapped and enslaved by this movement. The imagery in “Well, he puts his cigar out in your face just for kicks” shows that the President is a very cruel man who lives off of the pain of others, enhancing the idea that the government is corrupt. Dylan’s use of repetition in “I am not going to work on Maggie’s farm no more”, strengthens his message and gets his point across. Dylan was strongly against the government and large movements, and his music effectively reflects his political

views.

Bob Dylan was brought up in a Jewish family, but later converted to Christianity. His religious beliefs are expressed in his music, especially in With God on Our Side. Many horrible people in history have claimed to have “God on their side”, but Dylan doesn’t agree with these claims. He uses juxtaposition in “with guns in their hands, and God on their side” to compare the image of violence and hatred to God, who is supposed to be against anything violent. This makes listeners question if these people really had God on their side, supporting them in something he taught Christians to fight against. Inclusive and religious language is used in “and you never ask questions, when God’s on your side”, making people realise that if God or a religious leader says something, they automatically agree with it, without questioning whether it is right or wrong. This song wakes people up by describing violent war images throughout it to encourage people to actually start questioning the things they agree with. Dylan is a Christian man, and even he believes that sometimes religion can go too far, and cause more harm than good.

Bob Dylan’s work is heavily influenced by his context. Dylan was a Christian civil rights activist, who had a very strong distaste in the government. He has very effectively expressed this through his poetic lyrics and powerful protest songs.