Bob Dylan Times They are a' Changing and Hurricane
Less than a month after Dylan recorded the song, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, 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."[9]
Match the words in the left column with the synonym in the right column
1) to clap a) to open
2) "i'll get rocks thrown at me" b) to applaud
3) takes off c) haywire
4) insane d)out of control
The Times They Are A-Changin’
Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be 12 /
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
Cries out, "My God, they killed them all!"
Here comes the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world
Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see
And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously
"I didn't do it, " he says, and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand
I saw them leavin', " he says, and he stops
"One of us had better call up the cops."
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin'
In the hot New Jersey night
Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
Just like the time before and the time before that
In Paterson that's just the way things go
If you're black you might as well not show up on the street
'Less you want to draw the heat
Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around
He said, "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates."
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead"
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men
Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs
The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye
Says, "Wha'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy!"
Yes, here's the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world
Four months later, the ghettos are in flame
Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody to blame
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar?"
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law?"
"Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?"
"Don't forget that you are white."
Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure."
Cops said, "A poor boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello
Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow
You'll be doin' society a favor
That sonofabitch is brave and gettin' braver
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain't no Gentleman Jim."
Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much
It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger
And though they could not produce the gun
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed
Rubin Carter was falsely tried
The crime was murder "one, " guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game
Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell
That's the story of the Hurricane
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world
HOMEWORK
"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."[9]
Match the words in the left column with the synonym in the right column
1) to clap a) to open
2) "i'll get rocks thrown at me" b) to applaud
3) takes off c) haywire
4) insane d)out of control
The Times They Are A-Changin’
WRITTEN BY: BOB DYLAN
Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you 1 grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be 2 to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll
sink like a 3 /
For the times they are a-changin’
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And 4 (to keep) your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And 5 (speak neg.) too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there 6 (to tell neg.) who that it’s namin’
For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the 7 /
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who 8 (stalled)
There’s a battle outside and it (to rage) 9 /
It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your 10 /
Are beyond your command
Your old road 11 (to change) rapidly
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you 1 grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be 2 to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’ or you’ll
sink like a 3 /
For the times they are a-changin’
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And 4 (to keep) your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And 5 (speak neg.) too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there 6 (to tell neg.) who that it’s namin’
For the loser now will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin’
Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the 7 /
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who 8 (stalled)
There’s a battle outside and it (to rage) 9 /
It’ll soon shake your windows and rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’
Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don’t criticize
What you can’t understand
Your sons and your 10 /
Are beyond your command
Your old road 11 (to change) rapidly
Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin’
The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be 12 /
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin’
And the first one now will later be last
For the times they are a-changin’
Copyright
© 1963, 1964 by Warner Bros. Inc.; renewed 1991, 1992 by Special Rider Music
Who is the speaker?
Which words would describe the tone and feeling of the song from the list below? Justify your answer.
upbeat, downbeat, origional, dispain, faith, suspicious, inspiring, folk, rock, pop, blues, spiritual, gospel, rap, jazz, country, heavy-metal, classical, poetic, metaphorical, general, specific, philosophical, simple, harsh.
What was going on in the US in 1965 based on the lyrics in the song?
- Robert Allen Zimmerman was born in 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota and loved music, especially blues. He formed several bands and played so loudly at a high school talent show the principal had to cut the microphone off. He switched to folk music because, he said: “The songs are filled with more despair, more sadness, more triumph, more faith in the supernatural, much deeper feelings."
- In 1963, he released his second album, “The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan”. It included what became the most famous song of the times, "Blowin' in the Wind". The album made Dylan a legend overnight. The Beatles bought it and said: "We just played it, just wore it out…it was incredibly original and wonderful.” It inspired a whole generation of musicians.
- Dylan continued to have an important impact on the history of rock for many decades. He got a Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for his "profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by poetic power”. He still plays 100 dates a year.
- There is a debate today about whether or not Dylan should receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. Thousands of his fans, as well as literary critics, say his words are as important as those of any previous winners. His songs describe the latter half of the twentieth century and many have become traditional protest songs. Many believe he is the greatest living poet.
- Sources: http://www.wikipedia.org/ and assorted biographies.
Writing: Name a deceased musical artist that you think has quality music and justify your answer.
- Describe the picture above. What are your feelings about it? What are the feelings of those in the stained glass? Describe the scene, the colors and images you see with any associations you have to it. What messages are delivered through this artpiece? Who do you think created this? Why?
- Each person/group chooses and stanza and must describe it to the class in chronological order. This includes writing words with translation on the board that are foreign and an image associated with the stanza to remember it.
- The following song below is a song of protest by legendary singer Bob Dylan that is used to try to free an innocent man charged with murder. The song below was written by a white man in the 60's and the image above was created by a black man by the name of Kehinde Wiley, a modern artist. What do they have in common?
HURRICANE - Ballard by Bob Dylan
Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood
Cries out, "My God, they killed them all!"
Here comes the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world
Three bodies lyin' there does Patty see
And another man named Bello, movin' around mysteriously
"I didn't do it, " he says, and he throws up his hands
"I was only robbin' the register, I hope you understand
I saw them leavin', " he says, and he stops
"One of us had better call up the cops."
And so Patty calls the cops
And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin'
In the hot New Jersey night
Meanwhile, far away in another part of town
Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin' around
Number one contender for the middleweight crown
Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down
When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road
Just like the time before and the time before that
In Paterson that's just the way things go
If you're black you might as well not show up on the street
'Less you want to draw the heat
Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops
Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin' around
He said, "I saw two men runnin' out, they looked like middleweights
They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates."
And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head
Cop said, "Wait a minute, boys, this one's not dead"
So they took him to the infirmary
And though this man could hardly see
They told him that he could identify the guilty men
Four in the mornin' and they haul Rubin in
Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs
The wounded man looks up through his one dyin' eye
Says, "Wha'd you bring him in here for? He ain't the guy!"
Yes, here's the story of the Hurricane
The man the authorities came to blame
For somethin' that he never done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world
Four months later, the ghettos are in flame
Rubin's in South America, fightin' for his name
While Arthur Dexter Bradley's still in the robbery game
And the cops are puttin' the screws to him, lookin' for somebody to blame
"Remember that murder that happened in a bar?"
"Remember you said you saw the getaway car?"
"You think you'd like to play ball with the law?"
"Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin' that night?"
"Don't forget that you are white."
Arthur Dexter Bradley said, "I'm really not sure."
Cops said, "A poor boy like you could use a break
We got you for the motel job and we're talkin' to your friend Bello
Now you don't wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow
You'll be doin' society a favor
That sonofabitch is brave and gettin' braver
We want to put his ass in stir
We want to pin this triple murder on him
He ain't no Gentleman Jim."
Rubin could take a man out with just one punch
But he never did like to talk about it all that much
It's my work, he'd say, and I do it for pay
And when it's over I'd just as soon go on my way
Up to some paradise
Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice
And ride a horse along a trail
But then they took him to the jailhouse
Where they try to turn a man into a mouse
All of Rubin's cards were marked in advance
The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance
The judge made Rubin's witnesses drunkards from the slums
To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum
And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger
No one doubted that he pulled the trigger
And though they could not produce the gun
The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed
And the all-white jury agreed
Rubin Carter was falsely tried
The crime was murder "one, " guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride
How can the life of such a man
Be in the palm of some fool's hand?
To see him obviously framed
Couldn't help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land
Where justice is a game
Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties
Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise
While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell
An innocent man in a living hell
That's the story of the Hurricane
But it won't be over till they clear his name
And give him back the time he's done
Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been
The champion of the world
- Why do you think Bob Dylan recieved the Noble Peace Prize? What did he do that was so powerful? How is he exceptional?
- Review the lyrica above and identify images. What do these images represent?
- If the innocent prisoner was never released would you consider this song successful? Why or why not?
- What does the image below have to do with the images above? Describe the image and how it relates to the title. Describe the feelings associated with the image. Describe the hand and the bag using adjectives. Describe the cup and what is in it. How does this image relate to the theme of Dylan's song? What makes it powerful?
The Black Tea Bag
- Talk about the power of words and images and where and how they influence you in your daily life. Advertisements? Name brands?
HOMEWORK
Create an advertisement/ protest sign for Hurricane using your knowledge of the story from the song and your understanding of the power of symbolism and imagery. Include and caption and on the back explain why you chose the images you did.
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