Cover art for To Bobby by Joan Baez

To Bobby

Producer

May. 19721 viewer

To Bobby Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I'll put flowers at your feet
And I will sing to you so sweet
And hope my words will carry home
To your heart
You left us marching on the road
And said how heavy was the load
But the years were young
The struggle barely had its start

[Chorus]
Do you hear the voices in the night, Bobby?
They're crying for you
See the children in the morning light, Bobby
They're dying

[Verse 2]
No one could say it like you said it
We'd only try and just forget it
You stood alone upon the mountain
'Til it was sinking

And in a frenzy we tried to reach you
With looks and letters we would beseech you
Never knowing what, where or how
You were thinking
[Chorus]
Do you hear the voices in the night, Bobby?
They're crying for you
See the children in the morning light, Bobby
They're dying

[Verse 3]
Perhaps the pictures in the Times
Could no longer be put in rhymes
When all the eyes of starving children
Are wide open
You cast aside the cursed crown
And put your magic into a sound
That made me think your heart was aching
Or even broken

[Bridge]
But if God hears my complaint
He will forgive you
And so will I, with all respect
I'll just relive you
And likewise, you must understand
These things we give you

[Verse 4]
Like these flowers at your door
And scribbled notes about the war
We're only saying the time is short
And there is work to do
And we're still marching in the streets
With little victories and big defeats
But there is joy and there is hope
And there's a place for you
[Chorus]
And you have heard the voices in the night, Bobby
They're crying for you
See the children in the morning light, Bobby
They're dying

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Genius Annotation

The 1960s were a time of turmoil and counterculture out of which a rich catalogue of protest music was born, and Joan Baez and Bob Dylan were two of the most prominent champions of this type of music. Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin'” and “Blowin' In The Wind” have gone down in history as some of the most influential songs in the American canon. However, with the release of his album Bringing It All Back Home, Dylan shifted his style from the folk sounds which protest music favored to the new vogue of rock. With this shift, his interest in writing protest songs commenced to wain. In “To Bobby”, Baez recognizes the importance of Dylan’s voice and pleads with him to return to the socially conscious music which he had since abandoned.

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Credits
Producer
Writer
Release Date
May 1972
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