Blowin’ in the wind is a song written and sung by Bob
Dylan dating back to 1963. In the lyrics the author asks some important and
powerful questions, despite his singing voice is calm and relaxed.
Bob Dylan wrote this song during the war in Vietnam. Its main theme is the cruelty and uselessness of every war.
“How many times must the
cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned?”
He asks how
many wars we still have to wage, before we can stop. Before this happens, we will
have to see many people die because of the few ones who want war.
This concept
is also addressed in a poem by Trilussa (a 19th century Roman poet),
called “La ninna nanna della Guerra”
(“The lullaby of the war”).
“Ninna nanna, tu nun
senti
(Lullaby, you do not hear)
li sospiri e li lamenti
(The sighs and laments)
de la gente che se
scanna
(Of people
who slaughter each other)
per un matto che
commanna;
(Because of a
madman who governs)
che se scanna e che
s'ammazza
(Who
slaughter and kill each other)
avantaggio de la razza
(To the
advantage of one race)
o a vantaggio d'una fede
(Or to the
advantage of a faith)
per un Dio che nun se
vede,
(Toward a God
who is not seen)
ma che serve da riparo
(but who is used as a shield)
ar Sovrano macellaro.
(by the
“butcher” king)”
Both Trilussa
and Bob Dylan convey the idea that during a war the real victims are the
innocent. The ones who do not want to fight at all but are forced to do it since someone more
powerful decided that for them.
The causes are
generally uncontrolled thirst for power and ambition. Men always desire what they
cannot have. So, they are willing to do everything in their power to obtain it.
They do not care if they have to sacrifice something or someone to get to it. What
they only care about is to reach their own goals.
“How many deaths will it take 'til he knows
That too many people have died?”
The real
problem is that we want more and more. As soon as we reach a goal, we always look
for another more ambitious one. Will there be a day when our thirst of power and
our ambition cease?
During the
war, children become orphans, parents see their children die, wives lose their
husbands. And what is the reason for all that? Are we really willing to
sacrifice so much? Are we really willing to watch that happens over and over
again without intervening?
“How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?”
We have to do
all that we can to stop unnecessary bloodshed. We must not think that a war,
which happens far from us, is none of our business. If someone, even far from
us, suffers an injustice, it is as we suffer it too.
Everyone
belongs to the human race: we are not different because we come from different countries.
Therefore, we
are all equal and we have the same rights, regardless of where we are born.
One of the
most important rights we have is freedom.
However, because
of wars, many people are not free. they are deprived of the possibility of
living.
Sometimes we
take our freedom for granted and we understand its value only when it is taken
away from us.
“And how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free?”
In these
lines it seems like our freedom is not our right, but a concession others grant
us. It should not be so: when we were born free and no one should take that
fundamental right away from us .
So, peace is
necessary. We have to learn to solve our disagreements through dialogue and compromise, not through weapons
and violence. We have to learn to settle for what we have, to appreciate what
we have.
Only doing
that, we can know peace.
“How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand?”
How long
until the white dove, bearer of peace, can rest? Will it ever be able to say it
finished its work?
“The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind
The answer is blowin' in the wind”
The answers to all these questions is blowing in the wind. Therefore, we have to find the answers and try to make them come true. We have to try to give them meaning but avoid letting them be just empty words.
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