The Times They Are A-Changin'
by Bob Dylan
Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' 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 hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
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 daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
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 fast
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'.
(end of lyrics)
As people used to say in places like Illinois and Texas, "Boy, howdy!" (It is a statement of agreement. The Southern equivalent is "You ain't just whistlin' Dixie!” and in the U.K. one might say "Indubitably!" or even "Quite!")
In spite of the fact that Bob Dylan included a word that does not even exist ('prophesize' -- what he meant was 'prophesy'), these are powerful thoughts.
I have a real-life, personal example of how times have changed. Mrs. RWP and I were married in May 1963, so we reached our 25th wedding anniversary (that's the silver one) in May 1988. To commemorate the event, Mrs. RWP cross-stitched the sampler below; it has a silver frame and hangs on the wall over our piano:
Almost 30 years exactly after we were married, our daughter and son-in-law were married in May 1993. They reached their 25th anniversary last month and some close friends of theirs (her college roommate married his college roommate) threw them an informal surprise party. One of the gifts presented to the honorees was this informative plaque:
In spite of the fact that there are only a little over 13 million minutes in 25 years, not 100 million as the plaque states (someone didn’t do enough fact-checking), these are powerful thoughts as well. But it never occurred to Mrs. RWP and me to include 'zero stabbings' as one of our accomplishments.
I know it was meant to be funny, but the times truly are a-changin'.
Yes indeed. The times they are achanging. True since the beginning of the times.
ReplyDeleteSo long as the stabbings stay at zero it is all good.
ReplyDeleteAt my mum and dad's 50th anniversary a few weeks ago, I made a speech echoing your daughter's gift. I totalled how many days, weeks and months they have been married. I didn't say zero stabbings but I said "mum endured sick kids, phone calls from schools and dog pounds..etc. And dad....just endured"
ReplyDeleteWell done to all you long married Plaguers
It was good to re-read the lyrics. It's a long time since I either heard or read them. When I read the 0 Stabbings I assumed that I was missing something but obviously not. As you said, the times they are certainly changing.
ReplyDelete'I will not be so cruel as to make you listen to Bob's unusual unique voice' - Hahahahaha. True. Great words though, some lyrics are as powerful a the greatest poems I find. And these words are still very relevant to our lives now.
ReplyDeleteMrs Rhymes is so talented! Love her handiwork, and congratulations twice over for both your offspring's 25th and your own impressive time happily married. Lovely x. I hope this gets published, if not you won't know though.
Tell me my comment arrived this time!
ReplyDeleteEverybody, thank you for continuing to read my posts and for commenting. Thanks to an email from kylie, I finally learned that I must venture into the innards of Blogger occasionally and check for unpublished comments as Blogger no longer sends notifications to my email. I will do this when I think of it, sometimes sooner, sometimes later, which explains slight delays that may occur from time to time henceforth in your comments appearing on the post. It's all good; the dinosaurs went extinct because they could not or would not change (unless they were wiped out by a gigantic asteroid), and I am definitely not a dinosaur. Not yet.
ReplyDeleteEmma, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be....
Elephant's Child/Sue, I fervently hope and pray that the stabbings stay at zero for all of us.
kylie, congratulations to your mum and dad on reaching their 50th anniversary! You hit the nail on the head with your speech. Long Married Plaguers sounds like the name of a rock band.
Graham, it has been a long time, yes. whatever happened to Bob Dylan? Whatever happened to Randolph Scott? Whateve happened to Baby Jane? I could go on and on.
Starshine Twinkletoes 1, thank you for the compliments on Mrs. RWP's handwork and also our longevity. Much appreciated (unlike Bob Dylan's singing voice).
Starshine Twinkletoes 2, your comment arrived this time!
I'd quite like to listed to Bob Dylan - voice or no voice! But thanks for the words, anyway... :-)
ReplyDelete