Blowin' in the Wind

Probably one of the most iconic songs in history, sung around campfires and at rallies. Bob Dylan claimed it took him ten minutes to write it in a small café. The song explores various hypothetical issues related to peace, war, and freedom. In particular, it addresses the civil rights movement.

The song is actually based on the old religious hymn “No More Auction Block,” sung by African slaves who had escaped after the abolition of slavery by Great Britain. Later, the song was also adopted as an anthem of the anti-war movement, though Dylan himself sometimes distanced himself from the label “protest song.”

“There’s not much I can say about this song, except that the answer is like the wind… It’s not in any book, movie, TV show, or discussion group. Man, it’s blowing in the wind—and it’s soaring on the wind.”
— Bob Dylan