Level: 2
Tuning: Standard

Deliberately written as an anthem for the civil rights movement, this was the title song of Dylan's third album, released in 1964. Dylan said he wrote it in the style of Irish and Scottish ballads that begin with "Come all Ye!" This and other Dylan protest songs, including many on this album, caused him to be labeled "the voice of his generation," a title he spent decades trying to shed. Lines from this and other of his protest songs have been quoted so often, they have become a part of world culture. Like "Don't Think Twice," from the previous album, the list of covers by other artists is long and varied. Dylan strummed the 3/4 time "Times They Are A-Changing," but this version is fingerpicked, in the key of C. The thumb plays ascending bass notes, on the beat (on a C chord that's 5th string, 4th string, 3rd string). It's all played on easy, first position chords, and there's a nice descending bass line on the G chord just before every chorus ("for the times they are a-changing.")