Bob Dylan's "Times Are 'A Changing". What's the song about?

Question

I can't figure out what this song is exactly about. The first verse, I get. But everything else, I end up totally guessing...

"Read the title"...Thanks for the great answer. Enjoy the points...

For everyone else, I'm talking about specific lines...

In verse 2, who are the "writers and critics"? In verse 3, what exactly is urging politicians to do?

This song was written before I was born (I think), and I know very little about the Vietnam War.

Answer 1

It's about going with the flow. Written in the sixties...those times were pretty amazing...so many changes....the pill caused a sexual revolution, blacks were finally getting some recognition, women were getting educated and jobs...young people began to realise they had the power to make changes...so we had the "peace" marches, "flower power" etc. Bob Dylan was just sending out a message to the older generation, especially politicians - to either accept the changes or get out...and to the dreamers....the idealists, writers (critics) - a warning to be alert...don't miss out on anything, (the wheels still in spin) look at all sides before commenting. Don;'t make hasty judgments.... BUT...HEY, ISN'T IT A GREAT SONG. FOR US IN THE SIXTIES IT WAS SO INSPIRATIONAL AND POWERFUL. You should listen to Maggie's Farm, too.

Answer 2

A self-conscious protest song, it is often viewed as a reflection of the generation gap and of the political divide marking American culture in the 1960s. Dylan, however, disputed this interpretation in 1964, saying "Those were the only words I could find to separate aliveness from deadness. It had nothing to do with age." A year later, Dylan would say: "I can't really say that adults don't understand young people any more than you can say big fishes don't understand little fishes. I didn't mean ['The Times They Are a-Changin'] as a statement... It's a feeling."

Answer 3

read title again

Answer 4

that times are changing...

Answer 5

who cares?