Blowin' in the Wind

“Only a Pawn in Their Game” by Bob Dylan (1964)

“Only a Pawn in Their Game” appears on Dylan’s third album, The Times They Are A-Changin’, the follow up to The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Compared to “Blowin' in the Wind,” this song gets specific. After the 1963 murder of the civil rights activist Medgar Evers, Dylan’s speaker calls out Southern politicians and police for perpetuating racism. In this poem, they are identified as the obstruction—the aforementioned mountain that people need to wash into the sea. During the March on Washington, a 1963 action for Black equality, Dylan performed the song.

“The Times They Are A-Changin’” by Bob Dylan (1964)

The title track from Dylan’s third album reinforces the theme of change. The wind becomes specific in this song: it reflects the passionate activism in the 60s. Dylan’s speaker tells parents and politicians that they should stop trying to hold onto past conventions and start embracing progress. Dylan sings, “It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls” (Line 26). Like the wind, change can displace walls or whatever’s getting in the way. In “Blowin’ in the Wind,” the speaker asks the reader to consult the wind to change things.