How many roads must a man walk down
Before they call him a man
How many seas must a white dove sail
Before she sleeps in the sand
How many times must the cannon balls fly
Before they're forever banned
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind
How many years must a mountain exist
Before it is washed to the sea
How many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free
How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind
How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky
How many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry
How many deaths will it take
'Till he knows that too many people have died
The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind
Bob Dylan在傳奇性的民歌宗師 Woody Guthrie啟迪下進入民歌界,很快的以獨特的風格在格林威治村以及各大校園受到注意。1962年四月,他以深具內涵的創作技巧譜出「Blowing in the Wind」的時候,才是個二十剛出頭的小夥子。這是他最早的「抗議歌曲」,對人們傳統觀念中「男子漢」的定義提出了質疑,希望世人能以和平而理性的態度來解決爭端,不要再對世間的不幸視而不見、聽而不聞,更不要再讓無辜的人們繼續喪生在戰火之中。
不過,儘管 Bob Dylan的創作內函受到了肯定,他的歌喉卻實在不討喜,因此他早期的好些作品都是藉由其他藝人的歌聲才成名的,其中又以 Peter, Paul & Mary功勞最大,連續唱紅了好幾首他的作品。這支三重唱也是美國民歌史上最重要的團體之一,除了完美的和聲之外,三位團員積極參與各種抗議的群眾運動,數十年如一日,堅持的信念跟態度跟他們的歌聲一樣出名。他們成立於 1961年,「Blowing in the Wind」也是他們藉以成名的最重要作品之一。
雖然「Blowing in the Wind」的時代背景是越戰時期的美國社會,但是這首歌的意境卻可以說是「放諸四海而皆準」,同時始終深受世界各地人們的喜愛。當東歐與中東各地戰火頻傳、當國人為政府與某些民間企業的不當措施採取激烈抗爭手段的時候,總是令人不禁又想起這首歌曲。解決爭端的方法其實顯而易見,就像是飛揚在風中一樣,只是有幾人肯去傾聽呢? ──取自蔣國男先生的文章(歡迎參觀銀河互動網路)