The Shifting Sands of Songwriting

Bob Dylan not only contributed to but revolutionized the practice of songwriting. It all began when Dylan, as a young artist, fell in love with Woody Guthrie songs and began learning as many as possible and playing them at coffee houses. When someone tipped Dylan off that there was another artist who did the same thing, Dylan tried to find ways to set himself apart from this other Guthrie fan and found his solution in the form of songwriting. Since then Dylan's music has inspired a nation of fans and protest movements with its poetic devices and hidden messages. One of his songs in particular Girl of the North Country transformed pop music from a form of entertainment to a form of art. Many aspiring songwriters of today study Dylans works and try to emulate his techniques in their own songs. Bob Dylan has been an inspiration to many great songwriters including Jimmy Hendrix among others, who with their own music revolutionized the world of songwriting.