Waiting On the World to Change vs
The Times They are A-Changing
Word Wars
November 12, 2009

This time, mundane topics are out the window - no talk about catfights, booty, and money. And yes, that means no Lady Gaga, too. Let's talk about something more significant: music for social change. This installment features a song match-up of two American singer-songwriters’ most universally relevant tracks: John Mayer’s ‘Waiting on the World to Change’ versus Bob Dylan’s ‘TheTimes They are A-Changin’.’

Waiting is the first single off Continuum, Mayer’s Grammy-winning album. Though a big commercial success, the song garnered mixed reactions, musically and politically. Critics lauded Mayer for breaking free from his ‘Wonderland’ image, but some of his fans were let down by his new sound. While the song’s views put Mayer on Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World list, there were opinions that it was callow and passive.		 A song match-up of two American singer-songwriters’ most relevant tracks: John Mayer’s Waiting on the World to Change versus Bob Dylan’s The Times They are A-Changin’. Both songs call for social change, but which one is more credible?




WAITING ON THE WORLD TO CHANGE

Me and all my friends
We're all misunderstood
They say we stand for nothing and
There's no way we ever could

Now we see everything that's going wrong
With the world and those who lead it
We just feel like we don't have the means
To rise above and beat it

So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

It's hard to beat the system
When we're standing at a distance
So we keep waiting
Waiting on the world to change

Now if we had the power
To bring our neighbors home from war
They would have never missed a Christmas
No more ribbons on their door
And when you trust your television
What you get is what you got
Cause when they own the information, oh
They can bend it all they want

That's why we're waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

It's not that we don't care,
We just know that the fight ain't fair
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

And we're still waiting
Waiting on the world to change
We keep on waiting waiting on the world to change
One day our generation
Is gonna rule the population
So we keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change

We keep on waiting
Waiting on the world to change


The Times, on the other hand, is not the most famous of Bob Dylan’s songs. It didn’t top the charts or go platinum, but it gave inspiration at a time people needed it the most. The song got rave reviews and became an anthem for, well, change in the 60s. Dylan was even awarded a Tom Paine award for The Times’ contribution to the civil rights movement.

 


THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’

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 swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
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 that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'



Both are masterful, relevant examples of music for social change. So it had to come down to the song that I believe in, and folks, that’s Waiting. Its message is akin to Lennox Lewis’ boxing: formulaic, boring, but effective. Think about it - we’ve been taking an aggressive stance for decades now, but is it working? Sure, it helped a couple of times, but the batting average isn’t exactly inspiring. In some countries, sinister things happen to countless activists, union leaders, and students for clashing with despotic governments. If you ask me, they would be able to do more for their countries if they just wait for the right time to strike. Because like it or not, we are no match for guns and power. Regarding John Mayer’s ‘Waiting on the World to Change,’ you can call the song spineless, but you certainly can’t call it pointless.

- Paulo Agulto











  
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