Joan Baez picks the best Bob Dylan protest song
In the optimistic days of the early 1960s, Joan Baez gained the nickname ‘Madonna’ for her saintly spirit, flowing hair and desire to do good. From her spot on the stage, she platformed many social and political issues, fighting against injustice one song at a time. For a while, Bob Dylan was up there with her as an impassioned activist, too, as he dedicated his early career to protest tracks, with one being a clear favourite of Baez’s.
Bob Dylan’s politics has always been a topic of fascination. When Baez first brought him onto the folk scene, the pair began dueting around folk festivals, and they both delivered that art could and should make a difference. Baez once again, “In place of weapons of violence, you have to use your mind, your heart, your sense of humor, every faculty available to you.” Her pen was her biggest weapon as she wrote tracks dealing with racial, sexual, gender and environmental injustices.
Dylan did the same for a while. Some of his biggest early tracks take the shape of mammoth monologuing odes to the world. He tackled racism and brutality in ‘The Death Of Emmett Till’, poverty and desperation in ‘Desolation Row’, and all the various ways society and the planet were collapsing in ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’. Dylan, for a long time, was absolutely prolific as he used his words for good.
But then as his fame grew, his style changed and he moved away from Baez’s scene, he seemed to change his tone. Later on, he’d declare, “I’ve never written a political song. Songs can’t save the world. I’ve gone through all that.” However, when his old friend listens back to those tracks, she disagrees with him.
She picks ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ as her favourite track, stating, “The message in this is universal. I’ve heard German Boy Scouts singing it at a fire.” When it comes to her favourite of Dylan’s protest songs, she admires their broad range. As Dylan now sits as one of the biggest names in musical history, with his songs known around the world and covered by fans spanning continents, generations and classes, Baez finds the worth in his ability to reach everyone and anyone.
“It’s an anthem,” she continues. “If it wasn’t, people wouldn’t latch onto it. It has to do with the main line, ‘The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind.’ If they don’t know the song really well, they might know the line.”
Similar to protest chants that are repeated around the world, altered only slightly by different movements, any activist knows there is power in relatability and repetition. A good message is one that sticks, is easily understandable, and can touch as many people as possible. Dylan’s somewhat vague track, with its cryptic lyrics that hold just enough meaning to matter but not too much to be alienating or preachy, manages it perfectly. ‘Blowin’ In The Wind’ is a protest song that anyone can get involved in thanks to its simplicity and openness.
“It works because there’s a universality to it,” Baez said, “As soon as you throw in something that gives it a time and a place it loses its breadth.” She’s right. Decades on from its release, Dylan’s 1962 track is still just as beloved, able to continue as a powerful piece thanks to its timeless message.