The Times They Are A Changin

The Byrds · Other Songs - The Byrds

Written by Bob Dylan



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'

Then you better start swimming

Or you'll sink like a stone

For the times they are a changin



Come writers and critics

who prophesize with your pen

Keep your eyes open

The chance won't come again

Watch what you say

For the wheel's still in spin

And there ain't tellin' who that it's naming

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 who gets hurt

Will be he who has stalled

The battle outside raging

It'll rattle your windows

and shake down your walls

For the times they are a changin



Come mothers and fathers

Throughout the land

And don't criticise

What you can't understand

Your sons and your daughters

Are beyond your command

Your old road is rapidly aging

Get out of the new one

If you can't lend your hand

For the times they are a changin

The Byrds - The Times They Are A Changin

The Byrds' 1965 recording of Bob Dylan's 'The Times They Are A Changin' stands as a pivotal moment in rock history, marking the band's definitive transition from folk-rock to psychedelic pop. Released on their debut album, the track blends Dylan's poetic social commentary with the group's signature jangly Rickenbacker guitars and harmonies. This version, featuring the iconic 'Mr. Tambourine Man' on the B-side, helped cement the Byrds' reputation as pioneers of the British Invasion while simultaneously introducing Dylan's work to a wider rock audience. The song's fusion of acoustic storytelling with electric instrumentation set a template for future generations of artists, influencing the development of the folk-rock genre and the broader counterculture movement of the mid-1960s.