The Wind
The song highlights the injustices and cruelties in the world and suggests that the answer is within or among us. The refrain refers to the wind to symbolize various aspects of the solution to the societal problems. Wind can be felt but is invisible in nature therefore the answer to the issues is palpable yet elusive. It demands the world to view itself from a different perspective in order to overcome oppression and wars. Moreover, the speaker asserts that the answer is obvious and plain it just needs careful observation.
Roads
Dylan addresses the various forms of oppression in our society that marginalize specific groups. Roads symbolize the paths towards freedom, liberation, and acceptance that minority groups have treaded for the longest time. The speaker questions the populace on how many paths must be taken before they understand the plight of others. He suggests that shared humanity is a destination that should have been reached given the numerous efforts.
White Dove
The song addresses the subject of warfare by asking rhetorical questions to show the senselessness of human conflicts. White doves are symbols of peace as such the speaker refers to the end of warfare in human civilization. Akin to the biblical reference, the dove signifies the arduous journey towards finding dry land to mark the end of an event. In this case, the event is human cruelty and violence whilst the dry land is a peaceful existence. Dylan embraces pacifism as the solution to the incessant wars throughout human history.
The Mountain and the Sea
Dylan focuses on the structures and constructs that endorse oppression and warfare in our societies. The mountain symbolizes these bodies in both political and social spheres that counter any progress or change. The speaker refers to the gradual corrosion of the mountain as a metaphor for the destabilization of these concepts. Therefore, the sea symbolizes the efforts and struggles of the people towards disrupting the status quo. He acknowledges that it has been long overdue and it is about time that these structures are done away with.
Cannonballs
The speaker incorporates archaic terminology for a heavy projectile to refer to war and human violence. As such demonstrate the recurrence of warfare throughout human history without signs of coming to a halt. It symbolizes the embedded notion of violence that has steered human civilization for eons. The song was conceived during a surge in antiwar demonstrations calling for pacifism and peace. At the time acts of war were taking place across the globe hence the allusion criticizes the cruelty and bloodshed.
