Bob Dylan 's Poem A Hard Rain 's A Gon Na Fall

Music is more than just lyrics, it is seen as a way to express feelings. A simple song can be a combination of deeper meanings. This is seen in James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” when Sonny finally finds a way to express himself and his struggles of life. Sonny faces many struggles while living in Harlem such as poverty, being African American, and being confined in a community that is known for being the lower part of life. Within his struggles Sonny finds a love for music. This comes in handy when his relationship with his brother is` struggling. Music gives Sonny an opportunity to reconnect with his brother since he did not understand what he was going through and express his struggles. Although Sonny has many struggles throughout life, He’s

1930’s songs about racism and freedom has helped and bought everyone together. America is still overcoming the pain and sorrow of slavery, including the freedom America represents. Songs representing freedom and racism are: “This Land is your Land” by ¬Woody Guthrie, “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday, The boxer by Paul Simon and “The Times They Are A-¬Changin” ¬ Bob Dylan. The messages greatly impacted Americans and change start to happen; creating new laws and amendments that helped African Americans have their freedom and be able to progress here in America. Music brings people together of all races and religions. That is the beauty of music, bringing people together creating interest. Through the sorrowful and heroic moments America has been through it help get situations done. If it weren’t for music would we have accomplished all that we

The “Hard Rock” was a main inmate in the poem. The name of Hard Rock is based on a hard nut to crack because he was the only one inmate who never submitted and gave a lot of troubles to officers. The Hard Rock was treated really badly and punished as warning to other inmates in the hospital. Why he was treated so badly is because not only he never submitted to officers; there might be that he was a black person. While the Hard Rock was treated badly, other inmates were very submissive to officers because they did not want to be treated in the same way as Hard Rock. He was forced under the strong power in the oppressive community, yet he had the power of perseverance and was very strong; hence, his attitude has not changed through the poem. The Hard Rock was a hero for other inmates because he was very strong, against the authority, and brought hope to other inmates in the poem “Hard Rock Returns to Prison” by Etheridge Knight.

Popular singer Elton John once said; “music has healing power; it has the ability to take people out of themselves for a few hours”, and for most, music is the portal to an out of body experience. African American lyricists especially have been found to use the art of music to escape the real world, commencing from the slavery era and onward. The blues song titled The Tracks of My Tears does just that; expresses the ability to remove your soul from a treacherous reality. Similarly, the lyrics from popular modern songs, written by black artists, speak volumes about what is presently going on in the country, parallel to the way African American slavery songs did. Music written at an earlier period have been found to correlate to music of the past through providing strong emotion toward present day commentary.

Millions of people in the world listen to music for all different reasons. Most people all over the world listen to different genres of music in order to relax, but not too many people pay attention to the actual lyrics of a song. If you listen to the lyrics of a song you will realize that many songs have important messages or themes to them. An example of this is the lyrics of the song “Changes” by Tupac Shakur. If you listen to this song, you will realize that Tupac raps about not only the problems that African Americans face from society, but also the struggles that poor people in society have to endure and overcome. Many

Music is like the wardrobe to Narnia. It sends an individual into a whole new world and causes one to forget about the world and problems they are living in now. In the novel A Long Way Gone: Memoir of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah, Beah becomes a child soldier unwillingly during a civil war in Sierra, Leone when he is twelve years old. All he had was his rap music that kept him going. In Ishmael Beahs novel he uses detail and diction to highlight how music provides a means by which ones life can be saved by the power of music, can temporarily escape the harsh realities of life, and can connect to happier times.

The 1960’s was an era of revolution and social change in the United States. Painters, dancers, actors, musicians and many more artists all wanted to portray societies immoral issues through their art. Musicians played a very prominent role in providing society with an outlet on the importance of this change. Within these musicians was a folk rock singer and songwriter by the name of Robert Allen Zimmerman, or as America knows him, Bob Dylan. He is known and honored around the world for his influence on popular music and culture, however, he is much more than that (Wood 313). The beginning of Bob Dylan’s career as a singer and songwriter was marked by his repetitive emphasis on social change throughout his protest songs which include “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall,” “Masters of War,” and “The Times They Are a-Changin’”; with each song, Dylan exposes many issues that affected, not one, but many lives as he aimed to spread social and political consciousness to society.

Poetry has changed over the course of many years and numerous events in history.Music, as well, changed the sound and lyrical meanings due to many events in history. Whether music is poetry or not can be argued, but I believe music is an art represented through sound and lyrics. Music is a form of poetry with a little tune to it. Music has a message to it just as poetry would. Modern day music can reflect on many things, just as poetry sometimes refers to events going on in the world. Many years ago a very controversial topic was the discussion of slavery, and later the inequality of colored men to whites. Popular American poets, Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes, are two of the very few who would talk about these controversies. Their poetry consisted of slavery, racial relations and inequality, opportunity, and hope. Their poetry captures the despair and faith in the colored people through all their oppression. Modern day music genre and style of hip hop or rap is a style created by African Americans. Present day rap artists, J Cole and Kendrick Lamar, are two rap artists who have revolutionized music and have become idolized by many African Americans. The two are known for discussing the reality of what it is like being a black man in today’s society. The poems of Hughes and Dunbar are very comparable to the songs of Cole and Lamar that discuss oppression, inequality, and hope within black

All cultures following prehistory had a musical background, therefore everyone can connect more effectively with a music containing a message than a speech, therefore spreading the message more effectively. “The freedom songs are playing a strong and vital role in our struggle” (MLK). In the case of the Civil Rights Movement, it was the prominent method to give the group a voice, represent them, and highlight their determination for social change. When times were hard for the movement, they would also rely on songs to sustain morale:

The five principles are very important to our society and to be happy for the rest of our lives; and songs help to transmit the message of Maslow. Music will always connect

Martin Luther King once said, “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, popular, or political, but because it is right.” The song “Hurricane”, written by Bob Dylan takes a stand and ignores what was safe, popular, and politically right during the 1960’s and 1970’s, in order to paint a picture of injustice. Dylan organizes the actual events of a man named Rubin “Hurricane” Carter who was a middleweight boxer wrongfully accused and convicted of a double homicide. Dylan narrates the song and uses his credibility as a rock star to reason with a broader audience, while evoking the emotions of listeners by describing horrific events, prejudice, and

Musicians use the environment around them to find inspiration. Artists during the Vietnam war used their views on the war to form their protest songs. Modern artists incorporate their views on racial discrimination, inequality, and false accusations of the media.

     The power of song helped slaves through their dehumanized lives. They created unity in songs of religion and denounced the power their masters held over them. They were going to rebel in all facets of life. Slaves knew “that a happy slave is an extinct man” (p.33). The meanings of these songs can not be overstated. One who knew the importance of song was Frederick Douglass. “They told a tale of woe...they breathed the prayer and complaint of souls boiling over with the

Music allows an artist to give those whose voice may not be loud enough to be heard. Their music can cover any issue of poverty, discrimination, segregation, people of color, oppression, and etc. The lyrics are the key part to get any point across but also any footage that accompanies gives the viewer more of an insight into these issues. Many artist/bands like Bob Dylan, Fort Minor, Joyner Lucas, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and Michael Jackson address many issues the class talked about and the point of view of those who are viewed as minorities. The music these artists and bands produce gives the listener an idea of what exactly is happening in the world and what has happened. Each song individually covers the importance that we, as humans, must change the way we think and act and listen to the problems others have and even if it does not affect us.

The powerful metaphors employed in this work compare the “good night” with the crushing blow of death and the“wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight” to heroism and achievement. Dylan uses oxymorons and similes to emphasize the desperation he felt to highlight the conflicts of man. The “blinding sight”, the “fierce tears” and the “blind eyes [that] could blaze like meteors and be gay,” serve