Topic > Bob Dylan's Influence on Folk Music

Many people know about Bob Dylan and his influence on folk music, but some don't know how his song Oxford Town represents the folk music trends of the 1960s. These trends discussed will be based on the lyrics of the song, the instrumentation included in the music, the repetition in the song, and the influence of Woody Guthrie in the song, including message, instrumentation, and tempo. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The lyrics of this song represent trends in folk music in many ways. The lyrics of a popular song should tell a story of some kind. Stories written in popular music talk about social issues, which tend to be interpreted broadly and have many meanings. This song in particular tells the story of James Meredith who was in fact the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi. This story refers to the 1960s because that was when the civil rights movement was occurring. The instruments used in popular music tend to be acoustic instruments. The harmonica and guitar were used in Oxford Town. The use of repetition in the song helps paint the picture of what is being said. Popular music trends regarding repetition in the 1960s were very vague. In the song Oxford Town, the only repetition was the repetition of the word "Oxford Town", so it never refers to Ole Miss or Meredith, meaning the words could easily apply to any racial conflict. Woody Guthrie had a huge influence on Bob Dylan. He inspired music and politics in popular music. Guthrie was one of the first musicians to make the association between left-wing politics and folk music. Bob Dylan used the equipment that Woody Guthrie used, which was the harmonica and the harmonica rack. Bob Dylan admired the music of Woody Guthrie and the rhythm of all his music. He moved to New York to spend time with Guthrie who was dying to learn everything he knew about music. Woody Guthrie had a great influence on Bob Dylan and provided him with much guidance in producing his folk music. All of these terms help show how Bob Dylan's Oxford Town represents trends in folk music in the 1960s. As can be seen, Bob Dylan was a central and representative influence on the development of folk music. His song Oxford Town represents the trend of 1960s folk music in terms of lyrics, instrumentation, song repetition and how his influencer, Woody Guthrie, played an important role in his music..