Editing Blowin' in the Wind (section)

== Origins and initial response ==
Dylan originally wrote and performed a two-verse version of the song; its first public performance, at [[Gerde's Folk City]] on April 16, 1962, was recorded and circulated among Dylan collectors. Shortly after this performance, he added the middle verse to the song. Some published versions of the lyrics reverse the order of the second and third verses, apparently because Dylan simply appended the middle verse to his original manuscript, rather than writing out a new copy with the verses in proper order.<ref>A photo of Dylan's original lyrics with the third verse scribbled at the bottom was published on page 52 of Dylan, ''Lyrics 1962–2001''</ref> The song was published for the first time in May 1962, in the sixth issue of ''[[Broadside (magazine)|Broadside]]'', the magazine founded by Agnes 'Sis' Cunningham and Gordon Friesen and devoted to topical songs.<ref>Williams, ''Dylan: a man called alias'', 42</ref>
The theme may have been taken from a passage in [[Woody Guthrie]]'s autobiography, ''[[Bound for Glory (book)|Bound for Glory]]'', in which Guthrie compared his political sensibility to newspapers blowing in the winds of New York City streets and alleys. Dylan was certainly familiar with Guthrie's work; his reading of it had been a major turning point in his intellectual and political development.<ref>Hampton, Wayne (1986). ''Guerrilla Minstrels''. University of Tennessee Press. p. 160, citing ''Bound for Glory'', New York: Dutton, 1946, p. 295.</ref>

In June 1962, the song was published in ''[[Sing Out!]]'', accompanied by Dylan's comments:

{{Blockquote|There ain't too much I can say about this song except that the answer is blowing in the wind. It ain't in no book or movie or TV show or discussion group. Man, it's in the wind&nbsp;– and it's blowing in the wind. Too many of these hip people are telling me where the answer is but oh I won't believe that. I still say it's in the wind and just like a restless piece of paper it's got to come down some&nbsp;... But the only trouble is that no one picks up the answer when it comes down so not too many people get to see and know&nbsp;... and then it flies away. I still say that some of the biggest criminals are those that turn their heads away when they see wrong and know it's wrong. I'm only 21 years old and I know that there's been too many wars&nbsp;... You people over 21, you're older and smarter.<ref>Gray (2006). ''The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia''. p. 64.</ref>}}

Dylan recorded "Blowin' in the Wind" on July 9, 1962, for inclusion on his second album, ''[[The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan]]'', released in May, 1963.
 
[[Bobby Darin]] recorded "Blowin' in the Wind" on July 30, 1963, for inclusion on his album, ''[[Golden Folk Hits]]'', also released in 1963. Arranged by Walter Raim, there was [[Roger McGuinn]], [[Glen Campbell]], [[James Burton]], and [[Phil Ochs]] all on guitar, and singing harmony.

In his sleeve notes for ''[[The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991]]'', John Bauldie wrote that [[Pete Seeger]] first identified the melody of "Blowin' in the Wind" as an adaptation of the old African-American spiritual "[[We Shall Overcome#Origins as gospel, folk, and labor song|No More Auction Block/We Shall Overcome]]". According to [[Alan Lomax]]'s ''The Folk Songs of North America'', the song was sung by former slaves who fled to Nova Scotia after [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833|Britain abolished slavery in 1833]]. In 1978, Dylan acknowledged the source when he told journalist Marc Rowland: "'Blowin' in the Wind' has always been a spiritual. I took it off a song called 'No More Auction Block' – that's a spiritual and 'Blowin' in the Wind' follows the same feeling."<ref>Quoted in John Bauldie's sleeve notes for ''[[The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991]]''</ref> Dylan's performance of "No More Auction Block" was recorded at the Gaslight Cafe in October 1962, and appeared on ''The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991''.

The critic [[Michael Gray (author)|Michael Gray]] suggested that the lyric is an example of Dylan's "quiet incorporation of Biblical rhetoric into his own", starting with a text from the [[Old Testament]] [[book of Ezekiel]] (12:1–2): "Son of Man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see and see not; they have ears to hear and hear not." which Dylan transforms into: "Yes' n' how many times must a man turn his head / Pretending he just doesn't see?" and "Yes'n' how many ears must one man have / Before he can hear people cry?"<ref>Gray (2006). ''The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia''. pp. 63–64.</ref>

"Blowin' in the Wind" has been described as an anthem of the [[civil rights movement]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rightwingbob.com/weblog/archives/1277|title=How "Blowin' in the Wind" Came to Be|author=Cohen, Bob|date=2008-01-28|publisher=RightWingBob.com|access-date=2008-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219211933/http://www.rightwingbob.com/weblog/archives/1277|archive-date=2012-02-19|url-status=dead}}</ref> In [[Martin Scorsese]]'s documentary on Dylan, ''[[No Direction Home]]'', [[Mavis Staples]] expressed her astonishment on first hearing the song and said she could not understand how a young white man could write something that captured the frustration and aspirations of black people so powerfully. [[Sam Cooke]] was similarly deeply impressed by the song, incorporating it into his repertoire soon after its release (a version would be included on ''[[Sam Cooke at the Copa]]''), and being inspired by it to write "[[A Change Is Gonna Come]]".<ref name=NPR>{{cite news|date=February 1, 2014|title=Sam Cooke And The Song That 'Almost Scared Him'|publisher=[[NPR]] (National Public Radio)|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/02/01/268995033/sam-cooke-and-the-song-that-almost-scared-him|access-date=April 14, 2014|archive-date=April 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409230122/http://www.npr.org/2014/02/01/268995033/sam-cooke-and-the-song-that-almost-scared-him|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Gray, ''The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia'', 149–150</ref>

"Blowin' in the Wind" was first covered by [[the Chad Mitchell Trio]], but their record company delayed release of the album containing it because the song included the word ''death'', so the trio lost out to [[Peter, Paul and Mary]], who were represented by Dylan's manager, [[Albert Grossman]]. The single sold 300,000 copies in the first week of release and made the song world-famous. On August 17, 1963, it reached number two on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Billboard Hot 100|pop chart]], with sales exceeding one million copies. [[Peter Yarrow]] recalled that, when he told Dylan he would make more than $5,000 ({{Inflation|US|5000|1963|r=-3|fmt=eq}}{{Inflation-fn|US}}) from the publishing rights, Dylan was speechless.<ref>Sounes. ''Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan''. p. 135.</ref> Peter, Paul and Mary's version of the song also spent five weeks atop the [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|easy listening chart]].

The critic Andy Gill wrote,

{{blockquote|"Blowin' in the Wind" marked a huge jump in Dylan's songwriting. Prior to this, efforts like "The Ballad of Donald White" and "The Death of Emmett Till" had been fairly simplistic bouts of reportage songwriting. "Blowin' in the Wind" was different: for the first time, Dylan discovered the effectiveness of moving from the particular to the general. Whereas "The Ballad of Donald White" would become completely redundant as soon as the eponymous criminal was executed, a song as vague as "Blowin' in the Wind" could be applied to just about any freedom issue. It remains the song with which Dylan's name is most inextricably linked, and safeguarded his reputation as a civil libertarian through any number of changes in style and attitude.<ref>Gill. ''My Back Pages''. p. 23</ref>}}

Dylan performed the song for the first time on television in the UK in January 1963, when he appeared in the [[BBC]] television play ''[[Madhouse on Castle Street]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/bobdylan/madhouse.shtml|title=Dylan in the Madhouse|date=2007-10-14|access-date=2009-08-31|publisher=BBC TV|archive-date=2008-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502054124/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/bobdylan/madhouse.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> He also performed the song during his first national US television appearance, filmed in March 1963, a performance made available in 2005 on the DVD release of [[Martin Scorsese]]'s [[PBS]] television documentary on Dylan, ''[[No Direction Home]]''.

An allegation that the song was written by a high-school student named Lorre Wyatt (a member of [[Millburn High School]]'s "Millburnaires" all-male folk band) and subsequently purchased or plagiarised by Dylan before he gained fame was reported in an article in ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine in November 1963. The plagiarism claim was eventually shown to be false.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/blowin.asp|title=False Claim on "Blowin' in the Wind"|date=27 January 2001 |publisher=Snopes.com, Rumor has it|access-date=2006-09-05|archive-date=2013-01-04|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104232949/http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/blowin.asp|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/lives-of-the-great-songs-blowin-this-way-and-that-blowin-in-the-wind-it-was-a-protest-song-but-not-1461263.html|title=Lives of the Great Songs: Blowin' this way and that|last=Rees|first=Jasper|work=[[The Independent]]|date=August 14, 1993|access-date=November 9, 2016|archive-date=November 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110043938/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/lives-of-the-great-songs-blowin-this-way-and-that-blowin-in-the-wind-it-was-a-protest-song-but-not-1461263.html|url-status=live}}</ref>