Regarding significant musical movements throughout history, especially the twentieth century, few had more of an influential impact or were more important than the folk revolution that took shape in the mid-nineteen hundreds in the United States. One of the leaders of this revolution was Robert Allen Zimmerman, known by his stage name, Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan was a major influential musical icon for today’s artists as well as future artists to come. His music was embodied by historical context and spoke about what was going on throughout history in the past and present. He knew his music was shaping the industry which he worked. “I’d either drive people away or they’d come closer to see what it was all about. There was no in-between. There were a lot of better singers and better musicians around these places but there wasn’t anybody close in nature to what I was doing. Folk songs were they way I explored the universe, they were pictures and the pictures were worth more than anything I could say” (Dylan, 18). He made numerous contributions to his genre and embodied the spirit and sound of the 20th century.
Born in 1941, in Minnesota, Dylan grew up with a very different childhood then other famous singers. He was brought up Jewish and spent most of his time around family since they were the majority of the Jewish people that were in town. He seemed at an early age to develop a natural talent for writing poetry. Dylan took a deep interest in listening to the radio and admired the people that were on it. He began to notice his deep love for music in high school when he taught himself to play the piano and guitar. Country music, folk, blues, and rhythm had huge impacts on him. Hank Williams was a major inspiration to Dylan as well. Dylan taught himself the skills that he needed to be noticed in the music world and this allowed him to obtain his present status as a forefather of folk music in the rock era. In 1959, Robert left home to attend the University of Minnesota. Shortly afterwards, he tried out for a gig at a coffeehouse in town because he was finally ready to share his music. When the owner asked for Robert’s name, he simply replied, “Bob Dylan” and that is where the legend was born. Dylan dropped out of college and moved to New York where his idol, the legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie was hospitalized and became a regular at coffeehouses around the tri-state area. He wanted to know everything about the business and how Woody became famous. Dylan wanted to make it big and would do anything to achieve his dream.
Accordingly, a song from the pinnacle of his career embodies his style and poetic capabilities, acting as a reference point of the music it followed and the music that was to come. “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowland” is an incredibly remarkable example of the work that started Bob Dylan’s career off right. In 1961, Dylan’s dreams were becoming a reality he was finally going to become a star. Columbia Records offered Dylan a major music contract, and in March of 1962, he released his first album, Bob Dylan, and his second, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, in 1963. Those albums changed the music industry and changed what people listened to. To understand how he impacted the 20th century, one would have to look at his background and understand how he developed musically. “Bob Dylan was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988, the same year as the Beatles. His presenter was Bruce Springsteen, who’d derived no small amount of influence from Dylan’s career. “Bob freed your mind the way Elvis freed your body,” said Springsteen. “To this day, wherever great rock music is being made, there is the shadow of Bob Dylan” (Bob Dylan Biography). Bob Dylan was simply a music icon and impacted all different kinds of people. “Sure, my music is always speaking to times that are recent. But let’s not forget human nature isn’t bound to any specific time in history. And it always starts with that” (Gilmore, 46). Historical events were the basis of many of his classic songs. Over the years, his music has incorporated several styles including pop, folk, gospel, rock and even a little bit of jazz because he tried to be an all around musician. His musical topics included political, social, philosophical and literary works and influences, like in the song titled “It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Bleeding”. His music also embodied himself and was written for a way of release. He thought that holding in emotions was a terrible idea and the music was more for him then for the people listening.
There were a lot of movements and important things that influenced his writing styles and techniques. There was the integration of major league baseball in 1947 and Truman’s proposal to integrate the armed forces in the United States of America. Also, there was the major turning point of integrating schools in 1954. There was the “separate but equal” ruling for the Supreme Court saying that it would no longer be tolerated in schools in America. On December 1st, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks was arrested for violating the busing segregation rules when she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. This caused a domino effect because then there were riots, boycotts, protests, and marches. These eventually would lead to a better life for the African Americans and impacted the music that Bob Dylan was writing. All of these changes caused Bob Dylan to write some of the most influential protest songs of a generation. He said that his songs were not meant to be sung along to, because they are personal. If people sing along to them it would sound funny to him because these were his experiences and his life. Dylan's contribution to rock history is one of enormous talent. Dylan is a significant personality in the history of music because he was constantly reinventing himself as the times changed. ‘It’s alright ma (I’m Only Bleeding)’ was written in Woodstock in the summer of 1964. This was incredible song for the time period that it was written in."It's Alright, Ma" is a transition from the politically minded lyrics that were always trying to see a broader picture. He wrote this song to speak his mind whether people liked it or not. Instead of pointing fingers at a particular flaw of culture of politics, the song was able to have its own interpretation for many of his fans. Words in this song include "Money doesn't talk, it swears," "Although the masters make the rules, for the wisemen and the fools" and "But even the president of the United States sometimes must have to stand naked". Dylan comments on a multitude of topics, ranging from war, to the government, to individual corruption. The fifth stanza of the song is a prime example of many of those specific themes discussed. The first few lines seem to show how the actions of the men in power affect everybody around them meaning that business mean that are well off can impact middle class people. However, these actions are not thought of in regard to the people, but to further their own personal motives or personal gains with money and the industry that they are in. These "private reasons great or small can be seen in the eyes of those that call to make all those that should be killed to crawl" could mean that politicians are leading people to hard times or how strong businessmen take advantage of their workers for their benefit. Also, Dylan says “don’t hate nothing at all except hatred” which could mean don’t hate anything except the harshness and brutalities of the world. This song seems to be about corruption in the world, but shows that there is hope out there somewhere. Dylan points out numerous problems throughout the song, but they all seem connected somehow. Dylan says that basically there is always going to be that little cut, just a little blood that hurts, but you’re only bleeding and you aren’t going to die. And so, Dylan lets his ma know, that it’s alright, he is only bleeding.
Compared to “It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Bleeding”, “Things have changed” is a very different look into his style of music. This song is from 2000, but it still has an old feel to it like most of his music had. In the song he is saying he used to care when times got crazy, but that is no longer the case. “Lot of water under the bridge Lot of other stuff too Don't get up gentlemen, I'm only passing through This seems to mean that there is a lot of baggage and stuff that was once important to his life, but there is a lot of other stuff to worry about. No one should be affected by him because he is just passing through. This song is about life and the choices that we make in life. Some things can be lies and others can be what we believe in. When Dylan says, “Any minute now I'm expecting all hell to break loose” this seems to loosely mean that through everything that has happened in life, it will eventually come to a top and the craziness will begin and he’s just waiting for it to happen. This song seems to mean that he is living with whatever comes his way and that he doesn’t care about anything. He then shows that he does have feelings because he says that he can hurt and people can hurt each other without even knowing that it has occurred. Bob Dylan can be known for the numerous contributions that he had made to his genre of music. Bob Dylan's musical influence stretches across every genre, and includes everyone from Michael Stipe to the Black Crowes and Wyclef Jean. He affects musicians as well as ordinary people who just listened to his music. "Sometimes you just want to do things your way, want to see for yourself what lies behind the misty curtain" (Dylan, 51). This is something that Bob Dylan did when he made music. He took risks just because he didn’t care what other people would say. It was his music and people just listened to what he had to say.
Bob Dylan embodies the spirit and sound of the 20th century. He writes from his experiences and his feelings. Dylan connects with his fans, old or new. His songs will still be listened to in many years to come just because of the name he has made for himself. Dylan takes what he is feeling and sings it for the world to hear. It’s like writing a biography about his life and then historical events throughout history and putting that into chart smashing hits. “If you are going to go out every three years or so, like I was doing for awhile, that’s when you lose your touch,” Dylan has said. “If you are going to be a performer, you’ve got to give it your all.” And so this uniquely American legend remains alive and well, not to mention highly accessible as a performer” (“Bob Dylan Biography). Dylan lived for his music and created more folk music to share with the world. He was committed to his work and knew that creating folk music was where he belonged in life. He had been shown the path of music and chose to surround himself with it. "Folk music was all I needed to exist” (Dylan, 236).