A teacher at our campus sponsors a Dylan Day each May–we gather together with students in the library all day long and simply sing, perform, drum, and strum Dylan songs.

Classes perform some of them together as a group, teachers sing a few, students who have graduated come back and perform, and current students play or sing.

So it seems like kismet that I stumbled over your post a week ahead of our Dylan Day.

I didn’t know that much about Bob Dylan before that, but he has a pretty amazing range. And having heard his songs performed on bongos, in raps, chants, in quartets–it really has shown how incredible a range the songs have.

Maggies Farm is one of my favorites, actually, and also Forever Young, and Two Cups of Coffee for the Road. But I think I like them so much because when I think of them I can hear the students who sang them, sometimes years ago now.

Music has that way of resonating, doesn’t it?

Thanks for the memories

Are you lost, in your lies
Do you tell yourself I don’t realize
Your crusade’s a disguise
Replace freedom with fear you trade money for lives
I’m aware of what you’ve done

[Chorus]
No, no more sorrow
I’ve paid for your mistakes
Your, time is borrowed
Your, time has come to be replaced

I see pain, I see need
I see liars and thieves abused power with greed
I had hope, I believed
But I began to think that I’v been decieved
You will pay for what you’ve done

[Chorus]
No, no more sorrow
I’ve paid for your mistakes
Your, time is borrowed
Your time has come to be replaced

Thieves and hypocrites
Thieves and hypocrites
Thieves and hypocrites

[Chorus]
No, no more sorrow
I’ve paid for your mistakes
Your, time is borrowed
Your time has come to be replaced

No more sorrow
I’ve paid for your mistakes
Your, time is borrowed
Your time has come to be replaced

Your time has come to be replaced
Your time has come to be erased

-

I thought about this long and hard. I wasn’t sure if I was going to use a Linkin Park song… there are a number of reasons for this. There has been a lot of ridicule for America and it’s decision to enter the Iraq war. In but a few months a new president will step up, and whether it is Clinton or Obama, or McCain, we can hope that the President will keep his/her promise and end the war. I am not, however, saying that we should underestimate the wrongness of what has been going on for 7 years now.
So yes, here it is. It is not a slow or sad song. It is fast paced, almost angry. But it is the lyrics that strike close to the heart.

Some other artists that have affected me:
-REM
-The Cranberries
-The Scorpions
-Stone Sour

There are probably a lot more… definitely, in fact. Some Hungarian artists but those wouldn’t mean much, and the rest, I cannot remember.

I am ashamed to say I will not attempt to create a video with me singing. I want to take this opportunity to learn a lot, but my voice is currently breaking and trust me you do NOT want to hear me singing.

Aron

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cA6u1dbeppE

The story is about three girls who are cheated by boys. The first by her boyfriend, the second by a random stranger and the third by her brother in law. In the society it is made in this is a big deal. The video was made to warn girls that this could happen to them, because it happens to many girls. I’m having a problem finding lyrics and translation but the video will explain a lot of things. I really like how it’s made and the message is clear.

Like I said, I really don’t listen to that many songs. The ones that I listen to are in Urdu or Hindi and well I would say are meaningless. I hope you like this one. Especially the fact that it’s in another language. You might just learn something. I will try to find the translation, but I guess the video is more powerful then the actual words.

Leila

Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin’ ship,
My senses have been stripped, my hands can’t feel to grip,
My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels
To be wanderin’.
I’m ready to go anywhere, I’m ready for to fade
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way,
I promise to go under it.”
–Mr. Tambourine Man, Bob Dylan

This song speaks to the young generation’s obsession with music. Every generation, when it is young, has one. And music really does put us under a spell, and we will follow. We covet our iTunes libraries. We follow bands obsessively. We wait in long lines for new releases. We swap and trade. We knew bands before they “made it.” We wear their shirts. It speaks to the social state of the world. Perhaps there’s more to the song as well, but it’s late and my brain is beginning to shut down.

“When we’re young we set our hearts upon some beautiful idea
Maybe something from a holy book or French philosophia
Upon the thoughts of better men than us we swear by and decree a
Perfect way to end the war of ways the only way to be a…
Work of art”
–Philosophia, by Guggenheim Grotto

Again, the social state of youth! Youth tend to be idealistic. We soak up what we read and it influences our thoughts for a better world. Youth always knows best! Their plans are foolproof! (Well, in our eyes theyare…)

“Teach your children well,
Their father’s hell did slowly go by,
And feed them on your dreams
The one they picked, the one you’ll know by.”
–Teach Your Children, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young

When is this not true? It’s timeless. Teach your children well.

The music I listen to isn’t directly political. I grew up on world music, specifically, Putumayo. It’s a record label, I think, that releases world music. I listened to a lot of African and Latin songs, and I think that really affected my view of the world. I heard other cultures, so I grew up respecting them and wanting to learn about them. The music I listened to made me more of a global citizen from the start. Politically, it affects my foreign policy views, because I don’t think that the US should be going around imposing on the rest of the world. We’re not at all above the rest of the world, which some people think. Other cultures and ways of life are equal and have just as much value as our own. It may sound obvious, but some people don’t think like that.

And sure, I’ll record. The Times They Are A-Changin’, Peter, Paul, and Mary style (because that’s the version I know :p). I love this song too, and it’s timeless as well, because the times are always a-changin! The waters are me have definitely grown - just look at everyone interacting right here.
http://wahasweden.blogspot.com/2008/05/times-they-are-changin.html

We watched it in our current events class and listed the environmental issues portrayed. Since many of the teens in our rural district are hunters, we had an interesting follow-up discussion.

The song was edgier than the folk rock - including Dylan - that my friends and I discussed in college, but the desire to explore and question the status quo remained the same.

Why not find a song and see if you can simply read the words like a poem, find some images and make a quick podcast or youtube video. It may help you get into his music.

Try a song called Maggie’s Farm…what can that song be about?