BLOWIN'(註1) IN THE WIND

How many roads must a man walk down Before you call him a man?

Yes, 'n'(註2) how many seas must a white dove sail(註3) Before she sleeps in the sand?

Yes, 'n' how many times must the cannonballs(註4) fly Before they're forever banned(註5)?

The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind.

The answer is blowin' in the wind.

There are many peaceful ways to respond to unfair condi-tions in the society. In the past, people liked to sing folk-songs that had a double meaning. In the 1970s in Taiwan, for example, people sang the Taiwanese folksong "Waiting for the Spring Wind" （望春風） to express their hope for a better future, though it is really about a young girl's long-ing(註6) for love. The American folksong "Blowin' in the Wind" is often sung for similar reasons, and as a way to protest a-gainst war.

"Blowin' in the Wind" asks many questions-for example, "How many times must the cannonballs fly, before they're forever banned?" and "How many deaths will it take till he knows that too many people have died?"(註7) In fact, all of the verses(註8) of "Blowin' in the Wind" are questions. The answer to these questions, according to the song's refrain(註9), is always the same: It's "blowin' in the wind."

What does the expression "it's blowin' in the wind" mean? It may mean that the answer to the questions is so difficult that no one can see or catch it; it is blowing away and is be-yond our control(註10). It may also mean that the answer to the questions is so obvious(註11) that it is all around us; this suggests that a positive change is "in the air,"(註12) and it will come soon if enough people understand it.

Perhaps it is time to start singing these special songs again.

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●Dialogue Practice●

Bobby：Hey, Alice, where are you going?

Alice：I'm going to the demonstration in downtown Taipei.

Bobby：What's that?

Alice：We're going to sing protest songs against war.

1.blowin'：blowing （風）吹。 2.'n'：and。 3. sail：飛翔。4. cannonball：砲彈。5. banned：被禁止。6. longing：渴望， 憧憬。7. 原歌歌詞共三段，上面節錄的是第一段。這個問句出現在第二段。8. verse：詩（歌詞）的一行。9. refrain：詩（歌詞）中，段落結束時的反覆句。10. beyond our control：我們無法掌握。11. obvious：明顯的。12. in the air：散播，流傳。

民歌表達的常是最基本的人性，例如憂喜愛憎的各種情感。這首歌<飄在風中>，由1960年代美國知名歌手Bob Dylan 創作並演唱，在越戰正熾熱、傷亡無數之際，發抒對和平的渴慕，曾經引起普遍的共鳴。這首歌以低調的方式，呈現對戰爭的強烈反感。歌者有三問：男子要跋涉（行軍）多少路途，才夠資格稱為好漢？白鴿（和平）要飛越多少重洋，才得歇息於沙岸？砲彈還要再轟隆肆虐多久，才會永遠絕跡？答案「飄在風中」。是無奈不得而知呢？或是和平的訊息正隨風蓄勢飛揚，即將傳播四方？歌名可有兩解，留下一個曖昧的空間，由聽者去思索選擇。人心思慕和平，猶如趭望春風趫中憧憬愛情的女子，既期待，又害怕失望傷心。這首歌旋律悠美，歌詞簡潔、口語化，主題意境深遠，在不同的年代聽來，也令人感動不已。