Table of Contents
Listening Activity
This listening activity is based on the song “Blowing in The Wind by Bob Dylan“. The song lyrics are beautiful and ideal for English learners and include many interesting language topics, such as questions with how many and the present continuous.
Let’s start with some information about the song!
Blowin’ in The Wind by Bob Dylan
Blowing in The Wind is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962 and released on his album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan in 1963. This listening activity includes information about the song, a link to the lyrics, and the official video.
Blowin’ in The Wind by Bob Dylan
Level
Beginners and intermediate students.
Facts about the Song
- Song: Blowing in The Wind
- Album: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
- Date of release: August 1963
- Genre: Folk
- Song length: 2 minutes, 48 seconds
- Writer: Bob Dylan
- Produced by: John H. Hammond
Interesting Information about the Song
“Blowin’ in the Wind” by Bob Dylan is often hailed as one of the most iconic protest songs of the 1960s. While it is frequently associated with the civil rights movement and anti-war sentiments, the song is unique in its approach.
Instead of directly confronting specific issues, it poses a series of rhetorical questions that challenge the listener to reflect on broader themes of peace, war, and freedom.
The refrain, “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind,” is deliberately ambiguous. This line can be interpreted in multiple ways: it might suggest that the answer is so obvious that it’s right in front of us, or it could imply that the answer is elusive, as intangible and unreachable as the wind itself.
This duality is what has allowed the song to resonate with so many different people and movements over the years, making it a timeless piece that continues to inspire reflection and debate.
The Video
The Lyrics
Language Points
The song includes many examples of questions with how many and the present continuous. Here are some expressions that may be useful for students:
- How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man?
- How many seas must a white dove fly, before she sleeps in the sand?
- How many times must a cannonball fly, before they’re forever banned?
- The answer my friend is blowing in the wind
Listening Comprehension
Sentence Completion Exercise
Complete these sentences while listening to the song:
- How many roads must a man walk down before you call him ________?
- Yes, and how many years can some people exist before they’re allowed to ________?
- How many seas must a white dove sail before she sleeps in the ________?
- Yes, and how many times must the cannonballs fly before they’re forever ________?
- Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t ________?
Gap-Fill Exercise
These words are used in the lyrics of the song:
- Cannonballs: A heavy metal or stone ball fired from a cannon.
- Exist: To be alive or have life; to be real.
- Banned: Officially prohibited or forbidden.
- Pretend: To act as if something is true when it is not.
- Cry: To shed tears as an expression of emotion, usually sadness.
- Dove: A bird often used as a symbol of peace.
- Death: The end of life; the state of being dead.
Complete these sentences with the words provided above:
- The ___________ flew through the air, signaling the start of the battle.
- Many species ___________ in the wild, but their habitats are shrinking.
- Smoking in public places is now ___________ in many countries.
- Children often ___________ to be superheroes when they play.
- The movie was so emotional that it made everyone in the theater ___________.
- A white ___________ was released at the peace ceremony.
- The ___________ of the old tree was a sad event for the entire community.
Source: Wikipedia