There is no doubt we are living in times with lots of changes taking place. This made me think of Bob Dylan's song written in September - October, 1963: The Times They are a Changin. It was first released in England. Dylan wrote the song as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change for the time, influenced by Irish and Scottish ballads. Some songs belong to a particular time and place, and some like this one are timeless and always will be relevant. I hope you will listen to Bob Dylan siging it at the White House in 2013. Here are the lyrics:
Come gather 'round peopleWherever you roamAnd admit that the watersAround you have grownAnd accept it that soonYou'll be drenched to the boneIf your time to you is worth savin'And you better start swimmin'Or you'll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changin'
Come writers and criticsWho prophesize with your penAnd keep your eyes wideThe chance won't come againAnd don't speak too soonFor the wheel's still in spinAnd there's no tellin' whoThat it's namin'For the loser nowWill be later to winFor the times they are a-changin'
Come senators, congressmenPlease heed the callDon't stand in the doorwayDon't block up the hallFor he that gets hurtWill be he who has stalledThe battle outside ragin'Will soon shake your windowsAnd rattle your wallsFor the times they are a-changin'
Come mothers and fathersThroughout the landAnd don't criticizeWhat you can't understandYour sons and your daughtersAre beyond your commandYour old road is rapidly agin'Please get out of the new oneIf you can't lend your handFor the times they are a-changin'
The line it is drawnThe curse it is castThe slow one nowWill later be fastAs the present nowWill later be pastThe order is rapidly fadin'And the first one nowWill later be lastFor the times they are a-changin'
Here is an interesting quote from a Wikipedia article about the song:
"Less than a month after Dylan recorded the song, President Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963. The next night, Dylan opened a concert with "The Times They Are a-Changin'"; he told biographer Anthony Scaduto, "I thought, 'Wow, how can I open with that song? I'll get rocks thrown at me.' But I had to sing it, my whole concert takes off from there. I know I had no understanding of anything. Something had just gone haywire in the country and they were applauding the song. And I couldn't understand why they were clapping, or why I wrote the song. I couldn't understand anything. For me, it was just insane."["
Your prompt this week is to take inspiration from Bob Dylan's song. You may choose to be ihspired by the topic "Changing Times," the song as a whole, or some lines from the lyrics, or what the song means for you in today's world.
Please link your one poem using Mr. Linky. Then be sure to visit the links of other poets who link. Mr. Linky will close Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
Thank you for the prompt Mary - Jae
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for your poem, Jae!
DeleteI love the silver chain of colorful beads, the physical evidence of the change:
Delete"We like the memory each bead holds
The shifting patterns
As we play them through our fingers . . . "
Greetings, Poets! I hope you will enjoy this prompt. For some reason lately, I have had a resurgence of interest in Bob Dylan music. This is one of my favorites. I think the theme of 'changing times' is timeless. This song is as current now as it was in the 1960's. And indeed, the times today ARE a changin'. I will enjoy reading what you write!
ReplyDeleteThey are changing for sure, like a roller coaster ride. A very timely prompt, as we ponder which way the wind will blow this time around. I didnt know Dylan opened his concert with this song right after Kennedy's assassination. Wow. I wonder what he thinks of how the world has changed since then. A big change from the 60's.
ReplyDeleteYes, I too wonder what Dylan would think about how the world has changed since he wrote the song. I do believe he is still singing.
DeleteAnother wonderful prompt Mary. I love how you've used this amazing song for the theme. It's already late now. I'll catch up with all tomorrow morning.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sumana. The song just seemed to resonate with me.
DeletePerfect prompt for the day! Thank you
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for your poe, Pearl.
DeleteI will tell you all that I had this prompt written BEFORE Sunday, before Biden resigned, before Kamela became a Presidential candidate. I thought the prompt could take us all in so many different directions, but as chance would have it the political happenings in the USA kind of played write into this prompt. Fate!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the prompt and it sort of just flowed from all that surrounds us.
ReplyDeleteGood to read your words, Alan!
DeleteMary, Your choice of prompt came as I was dry as a desert for ideas to use in a new poetry form. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI really appreciated your poem - the form / the message!
DeleteOne of my favorite songs from my college days. Listened to it many many times since the day it was released. This is what it sparked today.
ReplyDeleteGlad to read your wonderful poem, Rob! Glad it was inspired by "The Times They Are a Changin'". I always liked it in the old days too and continue to like it a lot to this day!
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