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’
And 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
The battle outside ragin’
Will 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’
Source: LyricFind
Songwriter: Bob Dylan, 1964
The Times They Are A-Changin’ lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Official audio
— President Richard M. Nixon, 1977
understatement –
Extremely worrisome
Bob Dylan was a true prophet.
But who’s going to listen to an old prophet from 1964?
tRump’s greatest success – SCOTUS.
Unfortunately, yes. He could be defeated in November and still be with us for many many years.
Very appropriate! There was a time when most Americans got their politics from newspapers, which discussed issues. The Nixon/JFK TV debate began the big change and it has now devolved into reality TV where the key to voters’ minds is a game ripe for con men.
What’s most appalling to me is what appears to be widespread willful ignorance and a gross lack of critical thinking. Information is available for those willing to look for it. But if all they want to do is listen to the talking heads … they’ll be spoon-fed the party (or individual’s) line. At least, that’s the best explanation I can come up with.
You continue to amaze me. You somehow constantly come up with something nostalgicly connected, to something going on right now. I was 24 years old when this song was released. And just reading the lyrics, remind me of the time
I spent listening to Joan Baez, Peter Paul and Mary, Pink floyd and many others reflective of those times. WTG!!!
It’s said that what goes around, comes around. And apparently when one gets old enough, everything old becomes new again. This song was written as civil rights and Viet Nam protests were gaining momentum. But it suddenly struck me as being so relevant, so applicable to today.
I was 21 when this song was released. And while the ’60s were chaotic, the threat to American democracy today seems far greater.