Vietnam Research Writing Exercise Clara Hinklin

The song "All Along the Watch Tower" was released by Bob Dylan in 1967. It really did not receive the same sensational reaction as the version by Jimi Hendrix (1968) received. Jimi Hendrix changed the tempo in his version which gave the song a whole new feeling. It has been covered by more artists than just Jimi Hendrix, but to be able to pull out pieces and explain what this song represented I will use his version (he paused in different spots than Bob Dylan did). This song encompasses the feelings that the soldiers experienced during the war. It sets the setting of what the war was like. The line "business men, they drink my wine" could represent the government taking the relaxed lives away from the soldiers, or those who are higher up in social ranking being exempt from the war. The line "so let us not talk falsely now, the hours getting late" speaks about how soldiers were to be quietest so the enemy troops would not hear them, therefore compromising their position. Every line in this song represents more than the line itself.

 This song is so important because it shows the public what the war was through some of the soldier's points of view. It brings the war to the public's attention through a medium they are more likely to accept. And the charts from the year show the public's acceptance of the song. The year this song was released is also the year Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, along with Robert F. Kenndy. 1968 was a year with the Vietnam war being a major issue across seas, and there being political turmoil in America.

A poster advertising a show the same year Jimi Hendrix released his cover of "All Along the Watchtower"

Best Source: http://961theeagle.com/all-along-the-watchtower-bob-dylan-version-song-facts-and-info/
Song:https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=TLV4_xaYynY