The Power of Broadside Ballads

Bob Dylan (May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter, poet, and painter. He has been a major figure in music for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler, and an apparently reluctant figurehead, of social unrest. Though he is well-known for revolutionizing perceptions of the limits of popular music in 1965 with the six-minute single "Like a Rolling Stone," a number of his earlier songs such as "Blowin in the Wind" and "The Times They Are a-Changin" became anthems for the US civil rights and anti-war movements.

"Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan and released on his 1963 album. Although it has been described as a protest song, it poses a series of questions about peace, war and freedom. The refrain "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind" has been described as "impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or the answer is as intangible as the wind." In 1999, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In 2004, it was ranked #14 on Rolling Stone magazines' list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

http://broadsidemagazine.com/#
 
On this link, there is a newly written song that deals with issues that are facing us in the mean time, such as global warming. The singer uses the same melody as blowing in the wind but with his own lyrics. And this makes this song a perfect contemporary broadside ballad, as the melody is taken from a famous song and the songs deals with a temporary issue, which is the purpose of broadside ballads.

I believe that broadside ballads are a powerful weapon during all times. This is because the ballads deal with any contemporary issue, no matter how big or small it is. Also, they are meant to be sung and shared with the whole public, not to a specific group of people. Furthermore, the ballads are easy to sing, as they are on the same melody of other famous songs. And this what makes it so special, as it can bring all the people together and awaking them to an issue they are facing and the need to take an action. “The answer my friend, is blowin in the wind, the answer is blowin in the wind.”