BOB DYLAN and how he changed music

Context brings depth to music and art. It points towards subjects that are often ignored. Recently, I watched the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, which introduced me to the state of music during the '60s and how Bob Dylan changed it. It also made me fall in love with Bobby’s music even more than I already had. So here are a few things I learned hopefully making your next listening experience of Bob Dylan’s work more meaningful.
The folk genre was deeply rooted in cause and protest. Artists like Woody Guthrie (commonly accepted as the Godfather of folk music) traveled around America during the Great Depression, creating a community of people who loved folk. Though folk music had its own audience, it wasn’t bringing in crowds and sales like jazz or rock ‘n’ roll at the time. That’s when a new kid emerged on the scene—bringing poetry into lyrics, making folk music not just about protest and rights but also about himself and his own story. It was a breath of fresh air for the folk community, but with it also came controversy.
During those times, big artists like Elvis Presley or Frank Sinatra wrote about love and fun nothing deep or political. And that’s where Bob Dylan brought a revolution. He introduced abstract ideas, stories, and metaphors into his work, making listeners think and introspect. He also controversially switched to electric, which wasn’t well received by traditionalist folk artists but sooner or later, it was destined to happen.

When I listen to his music, I feel like he was meant to bring a revolution, because his songs often carry that undeniable energy. In The Times They Are A-Changin', he wrote:

"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’"

My introduction to Bob Dylan happened when I was researching for a quiz and came across a trivia fact that Dylan had won the Nobel Prize for Literature. That sparked my curiosity. The first song of his I ever heard properly was All Along the Watchtower. The lyrics weren’t obvious—they were mysterious and left me with so much to decode. But with the help of YouTube and other sources, I made sense of it, and since then, I’ve only grown to appreciate him more.

Bob Dylan didn’t just change folk music—
he changed the way people thought about lyrics in pop and rock. Before him, music was for entertainment. After him, it became a tool for storytelling, protest, and self-expression. Without Dylan, there’s no Revolver, no Pink Floyd’s The Wall, no Springsteen’s Born to Run, no Kanye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy because he set the standard that lyrics could be poetry, philosophy, and rebellion all at once.

Here are a few of my personal favorite songs and albums to start with if you want to learn more about the man Bob Dylan was:

1. All Along the Watchtower
2. Forever Young (my personal favorite)
3. I Contain Multitudes
4. Don’t Fall Apart on Me Tonight
5. Song to Woody
6. Under the Red Sky
7. House of the Rising Sun (cover by Bob Dylan)

I’ll also be making a playlist with his essentials you’ll probably find it on my story or highlights, depending on when you read this. Thanks for reading! I’m new to this whole thing, so if I’ve made any mistakes, feel free to comment down below.

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