Saturday, August 29, 2009

"the times they are a changin"

I heard this song a few weeks ago for the first time in a long time, and it suddenly reached me on an emotional level. Bob Dylan wrote this as a Liberal rallying cry in the Vietnam era, but when I listened to it this time, the lyrics hit me as a new conservative rallying cry. It is my new favourite song. Every verse sounds like lyrical harmony.

"Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'."

I always disliked Bob Dylan music, and once upon a time I was complaining about his music to my pragmatic-conservative father. He became agitated, and insisted that I appreciate the contribution that Dylan added to the evolution of music. Now, I get it. As we age, we start to understand things that we previously resisted. Is it a coincidence that people become more likely to vote conservative the older they get? The data proves it. Do people get dumber as they age? I'd say that life is an evolution towards a greater understanding of the world. I am a Libertarian who votes Conservative. The majority of Libertarians vote Conservative. Why that is, is an interesting question.

Thank you Bob,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgECKj9LSH4

1 comment:

  1. The song was written much earlier than you suppose, 1960-61 I believe, in the JFK era.

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