View source for Blowin' in the Wind

{{short description|1963 single by Bob Dylan}}{{redirect|Blowing in the Wind|the jazz album by Lou Donaldson|Blowing in the Wind (album)}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Blowin' in the Wind
| cover      = Blowin' In the Wind single label.png
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Bob Dylan]]
| album      = [[The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan]]
| B-side     = [[Don't Think Twice, It's All Right]]
| released   = {{Start date|1963|08|13}}
| recorded   = July 9, 1962
| studio     = [[CBS 30th Street Studio|Columbia Recording]], New York City
| genre      = * [[Contemporary folk music|Folk]]
* [[protest music]]
| length     = 2:48
| label      = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| writer     = [[Bob Dylan]]
| producer   = [[John H. Hammond]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bjorner.com/DSN00150%201962.htm|title=1962 Concerts and Recording Sessions|access-date=2011-01-17|last=Bjorner|first=Olof|date=2010-11-17|work=Still on the Road|archive-date=2010-11-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120102427/http://bjorner.com/DSN00150%201962.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
| chronology = [[Bob Dylan]]
| prev_title = [[Mixed-Up Confusion]]
| prev_year  = 1962
| next_title = [[The Times They Are a-Changin' (song)|The Times They Are a-Changin']]
| next_year  = 1965
| misc       = {{Audio sample
 | type        = single
 | file        = Bob Dylan - Blowin' in the Wind.ogg
}}
}}

"'''Blowin' in the Wind'''" is a song written by [[Bob Dylan]] in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album ''[[The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan]]'' in 1963. It has been described as a [[protest song]] and poses a series of [[rhetorical question]]s about peace, war, and freedom. The refrain "The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind" has been described as "impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or the answer is as intangible as the wind".<ref>Gold, Mick (2002). "Life and Life Only: Dylan at 60". ''Judas!'' magazine, April 2002. p. 43.</ref>

In 1994, the song was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame Award|Grammy Hall of Fame]]. In 2004, it was ranked number 14 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time|list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time"]]. Despite not charting when first released as a single, it has gained much radio airplay, ultimately peaking at #3 in France on the airplay chart.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.top-charts.com/s/blowin-in-the-wind-bob-dylan1 | title=Blowin' in the Wind }}</ref>

In June 1963, [[Peter, Paul and Mary]] released a [[cover version]] of "Blowin' in the Wind" three weeks after ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' was issued. It became the most commercially successful version of the song, reaching number two on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] and was at number one on the [[Hot Adult Contemporary|Middle-Road]] charts for five weeks. At the [[6th Annual Grammy Awards]], this version of the song won two Grammys: [[Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording|Best Folk Recording]] and [[Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group|Best Performance by a Vocal Group]]. In 2003, Peter, Paul & Mary's version of "Blowin' in the Wind" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

== Origins and initial response ==
Dylan originally wrote and performed a two-verse version of the song; its first public performance, at [[Gerde's Folk City]] on April 16, 1962, was recorded and circulated among Dylan collectors. Shortly after this performance, he added the middle verse to the song. Some published versions of the lyrics reverse the order of the second and third verses, apparently because Dylan simply appended the middle verse to his original manuscript, rather than writing out a new copy with the verses in proper order.<ref>A photo of Dylan's original lyrics with the third verse scribbled at the bottom was published on page 52 of Dylan, ''Lyrics 1962–2001''</ref> The song was published for the first time in May 1962, in the sixth issue of ''[[Broadside (magazine)|Broadside]]'', the magazine founded by Agnes 'Sis' Cunningham and Gordon Friesen and devoted to topical songs.<ref>Williams, ''Dylan: a man called alias'', 42</ref>
The theme may have been taken from a passage in [[Woody Guthrie]]'s autobiography, ''[[Bound for Glory (book)|Bound for Glory]]'', in which Guthrie compared his political sensibility to newspapers blowing in the winds of New York City streets and alleys. Dylan was certainly familiar with Guthrie's work; his reading of it had been a major turning point in his intellectual and political development.<ref>Hampton, Wayne (1986). ''Guerrilla Minstrels''. University of Tennessee Press. p. 160, citing ''Bound for Glory'', New York: Dutton, 1946, p. 295.</ref>

In June 1962, the song was published in ''[[Sing Out!]]'', accompanied by Dylan's comments:

{{Blockquote|There ain't too much I can say about this song except that the answer is blowing in the wind. It ain't in no book or movie or TV show or discussion group. Man, it's in the wind&nbsp;– and it's blowing in the wind. Too many of these hip people are telling me where the answer is but oh I won't believe that. I still say it's in the wind and just like a restless piece of paper it's got to come down some&nbsp;... But the only trouble is that no one picks up the answer when it comes down so not too many people get to see and know&nbsp;... and then it flies away. I still say that some of the biggest criminals are those that turn their heads away when they see wrong and know it's wrong. I'm only 21 years old and I know that there's been too many wars&nbsp;... You people over 21, you're older and smarter.<ref>Gray (2006). ''The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia''. p. 64.</ref>}}

Dylan recorded "Blowin' in the Wind" on July 9, 1962, for inclusion on his second album, ''[[The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan]]'', released in May, 1963.
 
[[Bobby Darin]] recorded "Blowin' in the Wind" on July 30, 1963, for inclusion on his album, ''[[Golden Folk Hits]]'', also released in 1963. Arranged by Walter Raim, there was [[Roger McGuinn]], [[Glen Campbell]], [[James Burton]], and [[Phil Ochs]] all on guitar, and singing harmony.

In his sleeve notes for ''[[The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991]]'', John Bauldie wrote that [[Pete Seeger]] first identified the melody of "Blowin' in the Wind" as an adaptation of the old African-American spiritual "[[We Shall Overcome#Origins as gospel, folk, and labor song|No More Auction Block/We Shall Overcome]]". According to [[Alan Lomax]]'s ''The Folk Songs of North America'', the song was sung by former slaves who fled to Nova Scotia after [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833|Britain abolished slavery in 1833]]. In 1978, Dylan acknowledged the source when he told journalist Marc Rowland: "'Blowin' in the Wind' has always been a spiritual. I took it off a song called 'No More Auction Block' – that's a spiritual and 'Blowin' in the Wind' follows the same feeling."<ref>Quoted in John Bauldie's sleeve notes for ''[[The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991]]''</ref> Dylan's performance of "No More Auction Block" was recorded at the Gaslight Cafe in October 1962, and appeared on ''The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991''.

The critic [[Michael Gray (author)|Michael Gray]] suggested that the lyric is an example of Dylan's "quiet incorporation of Biblical rhetoric into his own", starting with a text from the [[Old Testament]] [[book of Ezekiel]] (12:1–2): "Son of Man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see and see not; they have ears to hear and hear not." which Dylan transforms into: "Yes' n' how many times must a man turn his head / Pretending he just doesn't see?" and "Yes'n' how many ears must one man have / Before he can hear people cry?"<ref>Gray (2006). ''The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia''. pp. 63–64.</ref>

"Blowin' in the Wind" has been described as an anthem of the [[civil rights movement]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rightwingbob.com/weblog/archives/1277|title=How "Blowin' in the Wind" Came to Be|author=Cohen, Bob|date=2008-01-28|publisher=RightWingBob.com|access-date=2008-06-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219211933/http://www.rightwingbob.com/weblog/archives/1277|archive-date=2012-02-19|url-status=dead}}</ref> In [[Martin Scorsese]]'s documentary on Dylan, ''[[No Direction Home]]'', [[Mavis Staples]] expressed her astonishment on first hearing the song and said she could not understand how a young white man could write something that captured the frustration and aspirations of black people so powerfully. [[Sam Cooke]] was similarly deeply impressed by the song, incorporating it into his repertoire soon after its release (a version would be included on ''[[Sam Cooke at the Copa]]''), and being inspired by it to write "[[A Change Is Gonna Come]]".<ref name=NPR>{{cite news|date=February 1, 2014|title=Sam Cooke And The Song That 'Almost Scared Him'|publisher=[[NPR]] (National Public Radio)|url=https://www.npr.org/2014/02/01/268995033/sam-cooke-and-the-song-that-almost-scared-him|access-date=April 14, 2014|archive-date=April 9, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409230122/http://www.npr.org/2014/02/01/268995033/sam-cooke-and-the-song-that-almost-scared-him|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Gray, ''The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia'', 149–150</ref>

"Blowin' in the Wind" was first covered by [[the Chad Mitchell Trio]], but their record company delayed release of the album containing it because the song included the word ''death'', so the trio lost out to [[Peter, Paul and Mary]], who were represented by Dylan's manager, [[Albert Grossman]]. The single sold 300,000 copies in the first week of release and made the song world-famous. On August 17, 1963, it reached number two on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Billboard Hot 100|pop chart]], with sales exceeding one million copies. [[Peter Yarrow]] recalled that, when he told Dylan he would make more than $5,000 ({{Inflation|US|5000|1963|r=-3|fmt=eq}}{{Inflation-fn|US}}) from the publishing rights, Dylan was speechless.<ref>Sounes. ''Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan''. p. 135.</ref> Peter, Paul and Mary's version of the song also spent five weeks atop the [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|easy listening chart]].

The critic Andy Gill wrote,

{{blockquote|"Blowin' in the Wind" marked a huge jump in Dylan's songwriting. Prior to this, efforts like "The Ballad of Donald White" and "The Death of Emmett Till" had been fairly simplistic bouts of reportage songwriting. "Blowin' in the Wind" was different: for the first time, Dylan discovered the effectiveness of moving from the particular to the general. Whereas "The Ballad of Donald White" would become completely redundant as soon as the eponymous criminal was executed, a song as vague as "Blowin' in the Wind" could be applied to just about any freedom issue. It remains the song with which Dylan's name is most inextricably linked, and safeguarded his reputation as a civil libertarian through any number of changes in style and attitude.<ref>Gill. ''My Back Pages''. p. 23</ref>}}

Dylan performed the song for the first time on television in the UK in January 1963, when he appeared in the [[BBC]] television play ''[[Madhouse on Castle Street]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/bobdylan/madhouse.shtml|title=Dylan in the Madhouse|date=2007-10-14|access-date=2009-08-31|publisher=BBC TV|archive-date=2008-05-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080502054124/http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/music/bobdylan/madhouse.shtml|url-status=dead}}</ref> He also performed the song during his first national US television appearance, filmed in March 1963, a performance made available in 2005 on the DVD release of [[Martin Scorsese]]'s [[PBS]] television documentary on Dylan, ''[[No Direction Home]]''.

An allegation that the song was written by a high-school student named Lorre Wyatt (a member of [[Millburn High School]]'s "Millburnaires" all-male folk band) and subsequently purchased or plagiarised by Dylan before he gained fame was reported in an article in ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine in November 1963. The plagiarism claim was eventually shown to be false.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/blowin.asp|title=False Claim on "Blowin' in the Wind"|date=27 January 2001 |publisher=Snopes.com, Rumor has it|access-date=2006-09-05|archive-date=2013-01-04|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130104232949/http://www.snopes.com/music/songs/blowin.asp|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/lives-of-the-great-songs-blowin-this-way-and-that-blowin-in-the-wind-it-was-a-protest-song-but-not-1461263.html|title=Lives of the Great Songs: Blowin' this way and that|last=Rees|first=Jasper|work=[[The Independent]]|date=August 14, 1993|access-date=November 9, 2016|archive-date=November 10, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110043938/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/lives-of-the-great-songs-blowin-this-way-and-that-blowin-in-the-wind-it-was-a-protest-song-but-not-1461263.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Legacy ==

In the 1994 film ''[[Forrest Gump]]'', Jenny sings this song for a show in a strip club and is introduced as "Bobbi Dylan". The film's soundtrack album features [[Joan Baez]]'s 1975 live recording of the song, from her 1976 album ''[[From Every Stage]]''.

In 1975, the song was included as [[poetry]] in a high-school [[English language|English]] textbook in [[Sri Lanka]]. The textbook caused controversy because it replaced [[Shakespeare]]'s work with Dylan's.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2004/12/19/fea03.html|title=A Life in Ideas and Writing|author=Samaranayake, Ajith|date=2004-12-19|publisher=Sunday Observer|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529001200/http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2004/12/19/fea03.html|archive-date=2009-05-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://haththotuwegama.org/e-f-c-ludowyk-memorial-lecture/|title=E.F.C.Ludowyk Memorial Lecture|author=Haththotuwegama, GK|date=2005-01-26|publisher=Official website of GK Haththotuwegama|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102231745/http://haththotuwegama.org/e-f-c-ludowyk-memorial-lecture/|archive-date=2009-01-02}}</ref>

During the [[protests against the Iraq War]], commentators noted that protesters were resurrecting songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" rather than creating new ones.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/03/17/DD41757.DTL|title=Activists Ask, Where Have All the Peace Songs Gone?|author=Kennedy, Louise|date=2003-03-17|publisher=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=2022-07-24|archive-date=2013-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130509132901/http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Activists-ask-where-have-all-the-peace-songs-2662316.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

The song has been embraced by many liberal [[church (building)|churches]], and in the 1960s and 1970s it was sung both in [[Catholic]] church "folk masses" and as a hymn in [[Protestant]] ones. In 1997, Bob Dylan performed three other songs at a Catholic church congress. [[Pope John Paul II]], who was in attendance, told the crowd of some 300,000 young Italian Catholics that the answer was indeed "in the wind" – not in the wind that blew things away, but rather "in the wind of the spirit" that would lead them to Christ. In 2007, [[Pope Benedict XVI]] (who had also been in attendance) wrote that he was uncomfortable with music stars such as Dylan performing in a church environment.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL0862623620070309|title=Pope Opposed Bob Dylan Singing to John Paul in 1997|date=2007-03-10|publisher=Reuters|access-date=2017-06-30|archive-date=2021-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308134133/https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL0862623620070309|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Westboro Baptist Church]] has parodied the song.<ref>{{cite web |title=God's Wrath is Blowin' in the Wind |url=https://www.godhatesfags.com/lyrics/20140301_Gods-wrath-is-blowin-in-the-wind.pdf |website=God Hates Fags |publisher=Westboro Baptist Church |access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref>

In 2009, Dylan licensed the song to be used in an advertisement for the British consumer-owned [[The Co-operative Group|Co-operative Group]]. The Co-op claimed that Dylan's decision was influenced by "the Co-op's high ethical guidelines regarding fair trade and the environment." The Co-op, which is owned by about 3 million consumers, also includes Britain's largest funeral parlour and farming business.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/253034,bob-dylan-allows-british-ad-to-use-blowin-in-the-wind.html|title=Bob Dylan Allows British Ad to Use Blowin' in the Wind|date=2009-01-28|access-date=2009-01-29|publisher=The Earth Times|archive-date=2012-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819180258/http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/253034,bob-dylan-allows-british-ad-to-use-blowin-in-the-wind.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jan/27/bob-dylan-song-co-op-tv-ad-commercial|title=Bob Dylan Song to Soundtrack Co-op Ad|author=Sweney, Mark|date=2009-01-28|publisher=Guardian.co.uk|access-date=2016-12-14|archive-date=2021-03-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309020025/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/jan/27/bob-dylan-song-co-op-tv-ad-commercial|url-status=live}}</ref>

In ''[[Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle]]'', in the level "Temple of Bwahmanweewee", Beep-0 parodies this song.

Hip hop group [[Public Enemy]] allude to it in their 2007 Dylan tribute song "[[Long and Whining Road]]": "Tears of rage left a friend blowing in the wind / But time is God, been back for ten years, and black again".<ref>{{Citation|title=Public Enemy – The Long and Whining Road|url=https://genius.com/Public-enemy-the-long-and-whining-road-lyrics|language=en|access-date=2021-04-12|archive-date=2021-04-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410201528/https://genius.com/Public-enemy-the-long-and-whining-road-lyrics|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Nik Cohn]] describes "Blowin' in the Wind" as "the first [[anti-war song]] ever to make the charts and truthfully, it was possibly the worst song that he's written, it was embarrassing in its mimsiness, but that wasn't the point: it changed things regardless, it changed the whole concept of what could or couldn't be attempted in a hit song. Suddenly, pop writers could go beyond three-chord [[love song]]s, they didn't have to act mindless anymore. Mostly, they could say what they meant."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cohn |first1=Nik |title=Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom: The Golden Age of Rock |date=2016 |publisher=Grove Imprint |location=New York |isbn=978-0802138309 |chapter=Bob Dylan}}</ref>

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|artist=Bob Dylan|title=Blowin' in the Wind|award=Gold|note=sales since 2009|relyear=1963|certyear=2019|id=6696|access-date=May 5, 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Bob Dylan|title=Blowin' in the Wind|award=Gold|source=radioscope|certyear=2022|access-date=September 26, 2025}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Spain|type=single|artist=Bob Dylan|title=Blowin' in the Wind|award=Gold|relyear=1963|certyear=2024|access-date=September 8, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=Bob Dylan|title=Blowin' in the Wind|award=Gold|note=sales since 2011|relyear=2011|certyear=2024|id=15791-497-1|access-date=August 23, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true|streaming=true|nosales=true}}

==Peter, Paul and Mary version==
{{Infobox song
| name       = Blowin' in the Wind
| cover      = Blowin in the Wind PPM.jpg
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Peter, Paul and Mary]]
| album      = [[In the Wind]]
| B-side     = Flora
| released   = 1963
| recorded   = 1963
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = 
* [[Folk music|Folk]]
* [[Pop music|pop]]<ref name="Number Ones 2022">{{cite book|last= Breihan|first= Tom|chapter= The Byrds - "Mr. Tambourine Man|date= November 15, 2022|title= The Number Ones: Twenty Chart-Topping Hits That Reveal the History of Pop Music|publisher=[[Hachette Book Group]]|location= New York|page= 75}}</ref>
| length     = 2:53
| label      = [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]]
| writer     = Bob Dylan
| producer   = [[Albert Grossman]]
| prev_title = Settle Down (Goin' Down That Highway)"
| prev_year  = 1963
| next_title = [[Don't Think Twice, It's All Right]]
| next_year  = 1963
}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = Blowin' in the Wind
| cover      =
| alt        =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Marianne Faithfull]]
| album      =
| B-side     = [[The House of the Rising Sun]]
| released   = 1964
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Pop music|Pop]]
| length     =
| label      = [[Decca Records|Decca]]
| writer     = Bob Dylan
| producer   = Andrew Loog Oldham
| prev_title = [[As Tears Go By (song)|As Tears Go By]]
| prev_year  = 1964
| next_title = [[Come and Stay With Me]]
| next_year  = 1965
}}

The most commercially successful version is by [[folk music]] trio [[Peter, Paul and Mary]], who released the song in June 1963, three weeks after ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' was issued. [[Albert Grossman]], then managing both Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, brought the trio the song which they promptly recorded (on a single take) and released.<ref name=pc19>{{Pop Chronicles |19| 3| Peter Yarrow}}</ref> The trio's version, which was the title track of their third album, peaked at number two on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]] behind "[[Fingertips]]" by [[Stevie Wonder]].<ref>Gray. ''The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia''. p. 63.</ref> The group's version also went to number one on the [[Hot Adult Contemporary|Middle-Road]] charts for five weeks.<ref>{{Citation|title=Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|author-link=Joel Whitburn|year=2002|publisher=Record Research|page=192}}</ref> ''[[Cash Box]]'' described it as "a medium-paced sailor’s lament sung with feeling and authority by the folk trio."<ref name=cb>{{cite magazine |title=CashBox Record Reviews |date=June 29, 1963 |page=28 |access-date=2022-01-12 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1963/CB-1963-06-29.pdf |magazine=Cash Box |archive-date=2022-02-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220201193555/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/60s/1963/CB-1963-06-29.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1964 at the [[6th Annual Grammy Awards]], Peter, Paul & Mary won two Grammys for "Blowin' in the Wind": [[Grammy Award for Best Ethnic or Traditional Folk Recording|Best Folk Recording]] and [[Grammy Award for Best Performance by a Vocal Group|Best Performance by a Vocal Group]]. In 2003, Peter, Paul & Mary's version of "Blowin' in the Wind" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Peter, Paul And Mary |url=https://www.grammy.com/artists/peter-paul-and-mary/7938 |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=www.grammy.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=GRAMMY HALL OF FAME AWARD |url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#b |access-date=2023-07-17 |website=www.grammy.com}}</ref>

===Chart performance===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chart (1963)
!Peak<br>position
|-
|Canada ([[CHUM Chart]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://chumtribute.com/63-07-22-chart.jpg| title=CHUM Hit Parade - July 22, 1963}}</ref>
|align="center"|25
|-
|UK Singles ([[The Official Charts Company]])<ref>{{cite web|title=officialcharts.com|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/10863/peter%2c-paul-and-mary/|website=officialcharts.com|accessdate=July 20, 2022|archive-date=April 4, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150404115044/https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/10863/peter%2c-paul-and-mary/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|align="center"|13
|-
|align="left"|US ''Billboard'' [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Middle-Road]] singles
|align="center"|1
|-
|align="left"|US [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]]
|align="center"|2
|}

== Other versions ==
"Blowin' in the Wind" has been recorded by hundreds of other artists.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://secondhandsongs.com/work/2673/versions|title = Cover versions of Blowin' in the Wind written by Bob Dylan &#124; SecondHandSongs|website = SecondHandSongs|access-date = 2020-12-16|archive-date = 2021-03-20|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210320215746/https://secondhandsongs.com/work/2673/versions|url-status = live}}</ref> 
*[[Marlene Dietrich]] recorded a German version of the song (titled "{{lang|de|italics=no|Die Antwort weiß ganz allein der Wind}}") which peaked at number 32 in Germany chart.<ref name="GER">[https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-92868 - "Marlene Dietrich – Die Antwort Weiss Ganz Allein Der Wind"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308205523/https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-92868 |date=2021-03-08 }} (in German). musicline.de. PHONONET GmbH. Retrieved 27 June 2016.</ref>
*Tore Lagergren wrote lyrics in [[Swedish language|Swedish]], "{{lang|sv|italics=no|Och vinden ger svar}}" ("and the wind gives answer"), which charted at [[Svensktoppen]] for two weeks in 1963, first as recorded by Otto, Berndt och Beppo, peaking at number 8 on October 12, and by [[Lars Lönndahl]] during November 9–15 with sixth & seventh position.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sr.se/Diverse/AppData/Isidor/files/2023/3461.txt|format=TXT|title=Svensktoppen – ''1963''|website=Sr.se}}</ref> Both were released on [[single (music)|single]] [[A-side and B-side|A-sides]] in 1963. This version was also recorded by [[Sven-Ingvars]] as the B-side of the single "{{lang|sv|italics=no|Du ska tro på mej}}", released in March 1967.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://smdb.kb.se/catalog/id/001469637|title=Du ska tro på mej - Svensk mediedatabas|website=Smdb.kb.se|access-date=21 May 2019|archive-date=2 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180102012939/https://smdb.kb.se/catalog/id/001469637|url-status=live}}</ref> With these lyrics, the song also charted at [[Svensktoppen]] in [[1970 in music|1970]], with Michael med Salt och peppar.<ref>{{Citation|url=http://sverigesradio.se/Diverse/AppData/Isidor/files/2023/3468.txt|title=Svensktoppen|year=1970|access-date=31 May 2011|archive-date=11 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141211053654/https://sverigesradio.se/diverse/appdata/isidor/files/2023/3468.txt|url-status=live}}</ref>
*In 1966, [[Stevie Wonder]] recorded his own version which became a top 10 hit on the [[Billboard Hot 100|''Billboard'' Hot 100]],<ref name=pc25>{{Gilliland |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19780/m1/ |title=Show 25, The Soul Reformation: Phase Two, the Motown Story. [Part 4] }}</ref> as well as number one on the R&B charts.<ref>{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=635}}</ref> It reached #12 in Canada.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.7819.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - September 12, 1966}}</ref>
* In 2022, Dylan sold a newly recorded version of the song, produced by [[T Bone Burnett]], on a new "one of one" analogue format known as an "Ionic Original" disc. The disc was sold via [[Christie's|Christie's auction house]] for $1.78 million.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Krol |first=Charlotte |date=2022-07-07 |title=Bob Dylan's 'Ionic Original' re-recording of 'Blowin' In The Wind" sells for £1.48million |url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/bob-dylans-ionic-original-re-recording-of-blowin-in-the-wind-sells-for-1-48million-3264455 |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=NME |language=en-AU |archive-date=2022-07-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220708030124/https://www.nme.com/en_au/news/music/bob-dylans-ionic-original-re-recording-of-blowin-in-the-wind-sells-for-1-48million-3264455 |url-status=live }}</ref>
Joan Baez and Dylan have recorded this song live numerous times, and Baez recorded her own version.

== See also ==
* [[List of anti-war songs]]
* [[List of Bob Dylan songs based on earlier tunes]]
{{clear}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
*{{citation|first=Andy|last=Gill|title=Classic Bob Dylan: My Back Pages|publisher=Carlton|year=1999|isbn=1-85868-599-0}}
*{{citation|first=Michael|last=Gray|title=The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia|publisher=Continuum International|year=2006|isbn=0-8264-6933-7|url=https://archive.org/details/bobdylanencyclop00gray}}
*{{citation|first=Howard|last=Sounes|title=Down The Highway: The Life Of Bob Dylan|publisher=Grove Press|year=2001|isbn=0-8021-1686-8|url=https://archive.org/details/downhighwaylifeo0000soun}}
*{{citation|first=Richard|last=Williams|title=Dylan: a man called alias|publisher=Bloomsbury|year=1992|isbn=0-7475-1084-9}}
{{refend}}


== External links ==
*[http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/blowin-wind Lyrics]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5Uo1dJDCt0 How Bob Dylan Wrote the Music to Blowin' in the Wind]

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