Linguistic expressions of love in bob dylan’s protest songs from 1961 to 1965

I BINH DUONG PROVINCIAL PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY - PHAN THI QUE MINH LINGUISTIC EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE IN BOB DYLAN’S PROTEST SONGS FROM 1961 TO 1965 MAJOR: ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAJOR CODE: 8220201 MASTER THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE BINH DUONG PROVINCE – 2020 BINH DUONG PROVINCIAL PEOPLE’S COMMITTEE THU DAU MOT UNIVERSITY PHAN THI QUE MINH LINGUISTIC EXPRESSIONS OF LOVE IN BOB DYLAN’S PROTEST SONGS FROM 1961 TO 1965 MAJOR: ENGLISH LANGUAGE MAJOR CODE: 8220201 MASTER THESIS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE SUPERVISED BY Dr NGUYEN HOANG TUAN BINH DUONG PROVINCE – 2020 II STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I hereby certify that the thesis entitled “Linguistic expressions of love in Bob Dylan’s protest songs from 1961 to 1965” is entirely my own original work This thesis has not been submitted to any organizations or publishers for the awards or degrees Apart from the act of consulting the information for a reliable study as references, this thesis was written on my own without plagiarizing the other scholars’ ideas or contents Moreover, if there are any uses of the works of any other authors, in any form, I clearly acknowledge their authority I am fully aware of the fact that there should be the injunctive relief in the violations of copyright, and claims for damages of the author as well as a penalty by the law enforcement agency Signature Phan Thi Que Minh III ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First of all, I would like to show my gratitude to my former supervisor, Dr Ly Quyet Tien, for helping me to choose an interesting and humanitarian thesis topic I would like to express my very great appreciation to main supervisor, Dr Nguyen Hoang Tuan, for his great efforts to shape the ideas for the thesis as well as for his considerable influences on my thesis Besides, I would like to send a big thank you to all of the lecturers at Thu Dau Mot University for offering valuable lessons, positive encouragements, enthusiastic supports and ingenious solutions during the time of learning and working on my thesis I am particularly grateful for the assistance given by my colleagues at my school, particularly my principal, vice principals, and my English faculty members who offer me tremendous opportunities to fulfill my duty at school as well as to take up and finish my study Last but not least, I would like to offer my special thanks to my family, especially my mother, my husband, my daughter and son who are inseparable companions for my journey to the final destination IV ABSTRACT The study is conducted to explore the linguistic expressions in Bob Dylan’s protest songs from 1961 to 1965 by the literary research method with the help of the statistical steps The reliable sources of material were used to consult the information about the thesis topic Based on the above theory, nine protest songs written by Bob Dylan from 1961 to 1965 were found out To achieve the objective of the study, this thesis made a decision on examining the lexical items, structural devices and rhetorical devices The results show that Bob Dylan’s linguistic expressions, particularly lexical items, structural devices, and rhetorical devices play an integral part in communicating the artist’s ideas of love to human beings This coalescence exerts far-reaching effects of human love on the audience Consequently, from the findings, it is believed that linguistic expressions contribute to making the meaning more profound as well as enhancing the audience’s artistic senses Moreover, the outcomes may promote the public’s awareness of the linguistic expression significance in conveying and expressing human ideas and thoughts not only in written but also in spoken languages Key words: Bob Dylan; linguistic expression; protest song; feeling; human V CONTENTS STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP III ACKNOWLEDGEMENT IV ABSTRACT V CONTENTS VI CHAPTER INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study 1.2 Purpose of the study 1.3 Problem statement 1.4 Rationale 1.5 Research questions 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Organization of the study 1.8 Chapter summary CHAPTER LITURATURE REVIEW 2.1 An overview of the study 2.2 Terms and definitions 2.2.1 Definition of love 2.2.2 Definition of linguistic expressions 2.2.2.1 Lexical items 2.2.2.2 Structural devices 10 2.2.2.3 Rhetorical devices 10 a Metaphor 11 b Simile 12 c Irony 13 d Rhetorical question 14 e Personification 14 2.2.3 Definition of protest song 15 2.3 Previous studies 16 2.4 Chapter summary 19 CHAPTER METHODOLOGY 20 3.1 Research design 20 3.2 Data collection and sampling 21 3.2.1 Data collection 21 VI 3.2.2 Sampling 23 3.2.2.1 Summary of JOHN BROWN in 1962 23 3.2.2.2 Summary of BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND in 1963 23 3.2.2.3 Summary of MASTER OF WAR in 1963 24 3.2.2.4 Summary of A HARD RAIN A-GONNA FALL in 1963 24 3.2.2.5 Summary of THE TIMES THEY ARE A- CHANGIN’ in 1964 25 3.2.2.6 Summary of WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE in 1964 25 2.7 Summary of Mr TAMBOURINE MAN in 1964 26 3.2.2.8 Summary of IT’S ALRIGHT, MA (I’M ONLY BLEEDING) in 1964 26 3.2.2.9 Summary of LIKE A ROLLING STONE in 1965 27 3.3 Data analysis 27 3.4 Chapter summary 28 CHAPTER FINDINGS 29 4.1 The disillusionment with the current government 29 4.1.1 Lexical items 29 4.1.2 Structural devices 36 4.1.3 Rhetorical devices 37 4.2 The attempts to seek for peace and freedom 39 4.2.1 Lexical items 40 4.2.2 Structural devices 45 4.3 The accusations against war and stripping of the warmongers’ masks 47 4.3.1 Lexical items 47 4.3.2 Structural devices 56 4.3.3 Rhetorical devices 59 4.4 The gloomy outlook on the hazardous life 63 4.4.1 Lexical items 63 4.4.2 Structural devices 70 4.4.3 Rhetorical devices 72 4.5 The desire for breaking the impasses 75 4.5.1 Lexical items 76 4.5.2 Structural devices 84 4.5.3 Rhetorical devices 85 4.6 The need for changing 86 4.6.1 Lexical items 86 4.6.2 Structural devices 91 4.6.3 Rhetorical devices 93 4.7 The opposing view about the class discrimination 94 4.7.1 Lexical items 94 4.7.2 Structural devices 99 4.7.3 Rhetorical devices 102 4.8 Discussion 103 VII 4.9 Chapter summary 107 CHAPTER CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 108 5.1 Conclusions 108 5.2 Implications 112 5.3 Limitations and suggestions for further research 114 5.4 Chapter summary 114 REFERENCES - - VIII CHAPTER INTRODUCTION This chapter discusses the studies related this thesis topic, the issues that are not focused in other studies, the reasons for doing this research, the aim of this study, the research questions, and the significance of this study 1.1 Background to the study Protest songs are one of the popular topics that attract scientific studies Many articles about protest songs are found They discuss the issues related to musical works Generally, the studies are about the impacts, functions, themes, or lyrics of the songs According to Denisoff (1972), protest songs function as public political statements to raise people’s awareness of social issues They contain political oppositions to policies, which are against those in authority for justice Moreover, in terms of lyrics, the songs make considerable impacts to condemn the people in power (Weinstein, 2006) Thus, the functions and impacts of protest songs are the primary issues commonly conducted in studies Ziv (2019) claims that protest songs including pro-peace and anti-war songs are admitted to be social products that can evoke emotions and affect the audience’s attitudes Furthermore, the functions of protest songs enable protesters to be identified and assert their positive position in social hierarchy (Stewart, 2009) Since protest songs focus on movements, social relationships, and self-direction, the messages can help the audience boost their strong egos That is the reason why there are studies on the themes of protest songs to reflect historical periods These songs demonstrate the call for peace and social justice and leave the future generation with legacies of protest music (Hamm, 2017) In other words, the main ideas and messages of the songs are regarded as the contributory factors that help to shape the generation’s perception Besides this, the lyrics of protest songs are the potent tools that help the artists deliver their thoughts and ideas to the audience Although the studies related to protest songs admit the significant roles in voicing the public attitudes towards and the opposition to the society’s political policies, there are few of them carried out to examine the linguistic expressions in those songs You might say I'm unlearned But there's one thing I know Though I'm younger than you That even Jesus would never Forgive what you Let me ask you one question Is your money that good? Will it buy you forgiveness Do you think that it could? I think you will find When your death takes its toll All the money you made Will never buy back your soul And I hope that you die And your death will come soon I'll follow your casket By the pale afternoon And I'll watch while you're lowered Down to your deathbed And I'll stand over your grave 'Til I'm sure that you're dead A HARD RAIN’S A-GONNA FALL-1963 Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son? Oh, where have you been, my darling young one? I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways - 23 - I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard And it's a hard, and it's a hard, and it's a hard, and it's a hard It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son? Oh, what did you see, my darling young one? Saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it Saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin' Saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin' I saw a white ladder all covered with water I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken Saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children And it's a hard, and it's a hard, and it's a hard, and it's a hard It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son? And what did you hear, my darling young one? Heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin' Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin' Heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin' Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin' Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley And it's a hard, and it's a hard, and it's a hard, and it's a hard It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall - 24 - Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son? Who did you meet, my darling young one? I met a young child beside a dead pony I met a white man who walked a black dog I met a young woman whose body was burning I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow I met one man who was wounded in love I met another man who was wounded with hatred And it's a hard, and it's a hard, and it's a hard, and it's a hard It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall Oh, what'll you now, my blue-eyed son? Oh, what'll you now, my darling young one? I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin' I'll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest Where the people are many and their hands are all empty Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison Where the executioner's face is always well hidden Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten Where black is the color, where none is the number And I'll tell it and speak it and think it and breathe it And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin' But I'll know my song well before I start singin' And it's a hard, and it's a hard, and it's a hard, and it's a hard - 25 - THE TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING – 1964 Come gather round, people Wherever you roam And admit that the waters Around you have grown And accept it that soon You'll be drenched to the bone If your time to you is worth savin' And you better start swimmin' Or you'll sink like a stone For the times they are a-changin' Come writers and critics Who prophesize with your pen And keep your eyes wide The chance won't come again And don't speak too soon For the wheel's still in spin And there's no tellin' who That it's namin' For the loser now Will be later to win For the times they are a-changin' Come senators, congressmen Please heed the call Don't stand in the doorway Don't block up the hall For he that gets hurt Will be he who has stalled The battle outside ragin' - 26 - Will soon shake your windows And rattle your walls For the times they are a-changin' Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land And don't criticize What you can't understand Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command Your old road is rapidly agin' Please get out of the new one If you can't lend your hand For the times they are a-changin' The line it is drawn The curse it is cast The slow one now Will later be fast As the present now Will later be past The order is rapidly fadin' And the first one now Will later be last For the times they are a-changin' WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE-1964 Oh my name it ain't nothin' My age it means less The country I come from Is called the Midwest - 27 - I was taught and brought up there The laws to abide And that land that I live in Has God on its side Oh, the history books tell it They tell it so well The cavalries charged The Indians fell The cavalries charged The Indians died Oh, the country was young With God on its side The Spanish-American War had its day And the Civil War, too Was soon laid away And the names of the heroes I was made to memorize With guns in their hands And God on their side The First World War, boys It came and it went The reason for fighting I never did get But I learned to accept it Accept it with pride For you don't count the dead When God's on your side - 28 - The Second World War Came to an end We forgave the Germans And then we were friends Though they murdered six million In the ovens they fried The Germans now, too Have God on their side I've learned to hate the Russians All through my whole life If another war comes It's them we must fight To hate them and fear them To run and to hide And accept it all bravely With God on my side But now we got weapons Of chemical dust If fire them, we're forced to Then fire, them we must One push of the button And a shot the world wide And you never ask questions When God's on your side Through many a dark hour I've been thinkin' about this That Jesus Christ was Betrayed by a kiss But I can't think for you - 29 - You'll have to decide Whether Judas Iscariot Had God on his side So now as I'm leavin' I'm weary as Hell The confusion I'm feelin' Ain't no tongue can tell The words fill my head And fall to the floor That if God's on our side He'll stop the next war MR TAMBOOURINE MAN – 1965 Hey! Mr Tambourine man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey! Mr Tambourine man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you Though I know that evening's empire has returned into sand Vanished from my hand Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet I have no one to meet And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming Hey! Mr Tambourine man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey! Mr Tambourine man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you Take me on a trip upon your magic swirling ship My senses have been stripped - 30 - My hands can't feel to grip My toes too numb to step Wait only for my boot heels to be wandering I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade Into my own parade Cast your dancing spell my way, I promise to go under it Hey! Mr Tambourine man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey! Mr Tambourine man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you Though you might hear laughing, spinning, swinging madly across the sun It's not aimed at anyone It's just escaping on the run And but for the sky there are no fences facing And if you hear vague traces of skipping reels of rhyme To your tambourine in time It's just a ragged clown behind I wouldn't pay it any mind It's just a shadow you're seeing that he's chasing Hey! Mr Tambourine man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey! Mr Tambourine man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you And take me disappearing through the smoke rings of my mind Down the foggy ruins of time Far past the frozen leaves The haunted frightened trees Out to the windy beach Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow - 31 - Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky With one hand waving free Silhouetted by the sea Circled by the circus sands With all memory and fate Driven deep beneath the waves Let me forget about today until tomorrow Hey! Mr Tambourine man, play a song for me I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to Hey! Mr Tambourine man, play a song for me In the jingle jangle morning I'll come following you IT’S ALRIGHT, MA (I’M ONLY BLEEDING) – 1965 Darkness at the break of noon Shadows even the silver spoon The handmade blade, the child's balloon Eclipses both the sun and moon To understand you know too soon There is no sense in trying Pointed threats, they bluff with scorn Suicide remarks are torn From the fool's gold mouthpiece The hollow horn plays wasted words Proves to warn that he not busy being born Is busy dying Temptation's page flies out the door You follow, find yourself at war Watch waterfalls of pity roar You feel to moan but unlike before - 32 - You discover that you'd just be One more person crying So don't fear if you hear A foreign sound to your ear It's alright, Ma, I'm only sighing As some warn victory, some downfall Private reasons great or small Can be seen in the eyes of those that call To make all that should be killed to crawl While others say don't hate nothing at all Except hatred Disillusioned words like bullets bark As human gods aim for their mark Made everything from toy guns that spark To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark It's easy to see without looking too far That not much is really sacred While preachers preach of evil fates Teachers teach that knowledge waits Can lead to hundred-dollar plates Goodness hides behind its gates But even the president of the United States Sometimes must have to stand naked Although the rules of the road have been lodged It's only people's games that you got to dodge And it's alright, Ma, I can make it Advertising signs that you Into thinking you're the one That can what's never been done - 33 - That can win what's never been won Meantime life outside goes on All around you You lose yourself, you reappear You suddenly find you got nothing to fear Alone you stand with nobody near When a trembling distant voice, unclear Startles your sleeping ears to hear That somebody thinks they really found you A question in your nerves is lit Yet you know there is no answer fit to satisfy Insure you not to quit To keep it in your mind and not fergit That it is not he or she or them or it That you belong to Although the masters make the rules For the wise men and the fools I got nothing, Ma, to live up to For them that must obey authority That they not respect in any degree Who despise their jobs, their destinies Speak jealously of them that are free Do what they just to be nothing more than something they invest in While some on principles baptized To strict party platform ties Social clubs in drag disguise Outsiders they can freely criticize Tell nothing except who to idolize And then say God bless him - 34 - While one who sings with his tongue on fire Gargles in the rat race choir Bent out of shape from society's pliers Cares not to come up any higher But rather get you down in the hole that he's in But I mean no harm nor put fault On anyone that lives in a vault But it's alright, Ma, if I can't please him Old lady judges watch people in pairs Limited in sex, they dare To push fake morals, insult and stare While money doesn't talk, it swears Obscenity, who really cares Propaganda, all is phony While them that defend what they cannot see With a killer's pride, security It blows the minds most bitterly For them that think death's honesty Won't fall upon them naturally Life sometimes must get lonely My eyes collide head-on with stuffed graveyards False gods, I scuff At pettiness which plays so rough Walk upside-down inside handcuffs Kick my legs to crash it off Say okay, I have had enough What else can you show me - 35 - And if my thought-dreams could be seen They'd probably put my head in a guillotine But it's alright, Ma, it's life, and life only LIKE A ROLLING STONE – 1965 Like A Rolling Stone Bob Dylan Once upon a time you dressed so fine Threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you? People call say 'beware doll, you're bound to fall' You thought they were all kidding you You used to laugh about Everybody that was hanging out Now you don't talk so loud Now you don't seem so proud About having to be scrounging your next meal How does it feel, how does it feel? To be without a home Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone And you've gone to the finest schools, alright Miss Lonely But you know you only used to get juiced in it Nobody's ever taught you how to live out on the street And now you're gonna have to get used to it You say you never compromise With the mystery tramp, but now you realize He's not selling any alibis As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes And say you want to make a deal? - 36 - How does it feel, how does it feel? To be on your own, with no direction home A complete unknown, like a rolling stone And you never turned around to see the frowns On the jugglers and the clowns when they all did tricks for you You never understood that it ain't no good You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you You used to ride on a chrome horse with your diplomat Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat Ain't it hard when you discovered that He really wasn't where it's at After he took from you everything he could steal How does it feel, how does it feel? To have on your own, with no direction home Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone Ah princess on a steeple and all the pretty people They're all drinking, thinking that they've got it made Exchanging all precious gifts But you better take your diamond ring, you better pawn it babe You used to be so amused At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used Go to him he calls you, you can't refuse When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose You're invisible now, you've got no secrets to conceal How does it feel, ah how does it feel? To be on your own, with no direction home Like a complete unknown, like a rolling stone - 37 - ... These endearing feelings are all included in Bob Dylan’s protest songs When listening to Bob Dylan’s protest songs from 1961 to 1965, the audience is able to perceive his strong sense of love and... rhetorical devices in Bob Dylan’s protest songs from 1961 to 1965 Through the linguistic analysis, the results can indicate which linguistic expressions are used to express Bob Dylan’s human love. .. thesis aims at performing an analysis of the linguistic expressions of love in Bob Dylan’s protest songs from 1961 to 1965 In particular, this thesis focuses on determining which lexical items,