Hard Rain Falling

And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
What did your hear, my darling young one?
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard ten thousand whisperin’ and nobody listenin’
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin’
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley
And it’s a hard rain’s a-gonna fall.

I’m sure that many of you, from the very first words, recognized these lines from one of the songs of Bob Dylan. On and on the lyrics allude to all manner of human disasters: burning bodies, hunger, unrequited love, a child’s heartbreak, prisons and executions. Many radio and TV programs banned it because the advertising agencies complained that it was too disturbing, too upsetting and, therefore, bad for business. But the young people sang it for a long time. And as they did, they…