The power of honesty: Bonnie Raitt’s favourite Bob Dylan song
The roots of all good rock and roll music typically come from the folk tradition. As much as everyone loves to copy the blues tropes, there’s a certain power behind artists who have nothing but a guitar in their hand and a song in their heart, trying to make the most of what they have. Whereas Bonnie Raitt often toed the line between folk and blues throughout her career, she knew that she heard the future when hearing Bob Dylan’s ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’’.
Even with half a century removed from the track, Dylan’s first protest anthems still feel as relevant today as ever. After already making his name as a humble songwriter on his first handful of albums, Dylan sounded like he was singing about the lives of people on the street rather than his own problems half the time.
Whereas ‘Blowin’ In the Wind’ had a more simplistic approach to the world’s problems, ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’’ is a more pointed look at what Dylan was all about. In a world that was already struggling with the backdrop of the Vietnam War, this feels like the first time he was comfortable talking about the greater issues at hand, urging senators and congressmen to push for peace rather than using their positions to provoke war.
When Raitt first heard it, she recalled being absolutely knocked out by everything, telling Red Bull, “This came out when I was 14 years old. It’s such a touchstone for me on how powerful music can motivate people to be active politically and right the wrongs they see in society and call out the hypocrisy.”
If there’s one thing that Dylan’s song taught Raitt more than anything, it’s the importance of speaking with authority whenever she played. Although she had started performing various extensions of the blues, there comes a point where you need to start making your own voice heard, and some of Raitt’s best tracks involve her trying out what Dylan had started.
Even though she was never going to be singing about the political strife going on in the country, hearing her talk about romance in songs like ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’. While she may not have written the piece herself, Raitt had a natural way of speaking about these topics, as if she had lived with those problems all her life.
Dylan also kept up his track record of having no hypocrisy throughout his career. As his more recent material like ‘I Contain Multitudes’ would suggest, the rock legend would go through different changes throughout his career, eventually making a turn towards Christian music in the 1980s and even finding time to talk about his personal struggles on projects like Blood on the Tracks.
As for Raitt, that kind of honesty bleeds through every song she has ever sung. Much like the other blues artists that have come before her, she knows that the worst thing you can be in the genre is unconvincing. However, whenever Dylan sings about the harsh realities of the world, you believe every word he says.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Bob Dylan Newsletter
All the latest stories about Bob Dylan from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.