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  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
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About

Genius Annotation

In the liner notes for his album Biograph, written by Cameron Crowe, Bob Dylan said the following about this song:

This was definitely a song with a purpose. It was influenced of course by the Irish and Scottish ballads …‘Come All Ye Bold Highway Men’, ‘Come All Ye Tender Hearted Maidens’. I wanted to write a big song, with short concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. The civil rights movement and the folk music movement were pretty close for a while and allied together at that time. Almost everyone knew everyone else. I had to play this song on the same night that President Kennedy died. Somehow it became a constant opening song and remained that for a long time".

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Bob Dylan say about "The Times They Are A-Changin'"?
Genius Answer

In Dylan’s words

I wanted to write a big song, some kind of theme song, with short, concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. This is definitely a song with a purpose…I knew exactly what I wanted to say and who I wanted to say it to.

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Acoustic Guitar
Harmonica
Recorded At
Columbia Studios, New York City, NY.
Release Date
January 13, 1964
View The Times They Are A-Changin’ samples
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