Blowin' in the Wind both Dylan and Peter, Paul and Mary, brought the trio the song which they promptly recorded (on a single take) and released. The trio's version, which was the title track of their third album, peaked at number 2 on the "Billboard" charts. The group's version also went to number one on the Middle-Road charts for five weeks. "How many words can be written on a page, before they begin to bleed? How many books can one man own, before he has learned to read? How many meanings can he give to a phrase, before, from his lexicon he's freed?" Blowin'
Blowin' in the Wind the verses in proper order. The song was published for the first time in May 1962, in the sixth issue of "Broadside", the magazine founded by Pete Seeger and devoted to topical songs. The theme may have been taken from a passage in Woody Guthrie's autobiography, "Bound for Glory", in which Guthrie compared his political sensibility to newspapers blowing in the winds of New York City streets and alleys. Dylan was certainly familiar with Guthrie's work; his reading of it had been a major turning point in his intellectual and political development. In June 1962, the song was published in