by Kate Johns

Created on: March 27, 2008

When I saw this title I knew I had to write on this one, considering, the powers that be, are trying to sell us into donating money to PBS so we can watch the master at work. Bob Dylan was considered to be a prominent folk singer of his time, but he hated being labeled as such. His words transcend a certain mystical quality that has given people something to believe in for many, many years.

He spoke of what was going on in the turbulent, love-peace, hippie, pot smoking, love the one you're with 60's. He spoke of ending hate, and war for better things such as love and peace. Yes, he was a folk singer; he was prolific for the teenagers, and young adults of that time. His words spoke louder than his actual singing.

By the time I was born, I was a mere baby when the whole love-peace, hippie world domination thing was happening, so forgive me if I don't truly understand the entire "folk singer" jargon thing. I completely agree that Bob Dylan was a folk singer, and yes he was saying what people were feeling, and he was way ahead of his time. He was a true poet, who wanted to spread the word of all the terrible things that were happening in the 60's and the 70's such as the Vietnam War.

After watching some of the PBS special on Bob Dylan I realized that Bob Dylan yes, the folk singer, I'm just going to come out and say it, he couldn't sing. In fact, Bob sounded quite awful, back in his day. Bob looked stoned and he sounded stoned. I do believe the audience they had watching him sing was amazingly stoned also. In fact, to tune in, turn on and actual be able to sit there for a good amount of time to watch Bob one would have had to glue me to the chair, and given me a major sedative.

Several years ago, he appeared on some major awards show and guess what Bob was still stoned. My husband and I only understood one word of what he said. How did anybody understand him back in the sixties? Bob wrote great, meaningful lyrics, but people had to get the album sleeve and read the lyrics to be able to understand them. Bob had a powerful message he was sending to people around the world, and yes people needed to know back in the sixties that war was not the answer. But, don't you think Bob had a bit of a drug dependency problem?

Maybe he should have been thrown in a drug rehab program, to clear up the mumble-speak thing he had going on. So, yes I agree that Bob Dylan was a folk singer; he was a poet who did something none else at that time did. He spoke the truth. Bob spoke for a nation under siege from within. Back in the sixties with the Vietnam War waging continents away, Americans were upset that our army was sent worlds away to fight an internal war that most people felt we shouldn't have been there.

Bob Dylan was a folk singer, a poet trying to get his message across in a gentle, non-violent way. Yes, I agree he was a folk singer, a true hero in his time. But, it does make one think that because he was doing what appeared to be a lot of drugs and several different kinds, doesn't that mean he was using chemicals that clouded his vision? Or did the drugs enhance his visionary stance on world events?

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