Bob Dylan's 1965 song "Subterranean Homesick Blues" features conventions common to folk music videos of the time like black and white filters and text overlaid on the video. The lyrics refer to 1960s American drug culture and paranoia about government surveillance. They also mention the Civil Rights Movement and attacks on protesters in Alabama with fire hoses and police dogs. Through songs like this one with culturally relevant lyrics, Dylan became a voice of his generation.

1. Bob Dylan
SubterraneanHomesickBlues//BobDylan// 1965 //

2. The pictures above are from Bob Dylan’s song ‘Subterranean Homesick blues’. The music
video has many conventions of a Folk Music Video such as the black and white filter, the
placement of text in a music video. This theme is seen in many music videos within the folk
genre, from the past to the present day. The lyrics in the songs are very interesting; the first
4 lines of lyrics are” Johnny's in the basement, Mixing up the medicine I'm on the pavement,
Thinking about the government” These lyrics relate to the drug culture of the 60’s in America
where LSD was made in people’s basements and people would be paranoid about the
government’s eye watching over them. A lot of bob Dylan’s music is based on love and
American culture throughout the 60’s and 70’s.
The title of the song ‘Subterranean Homesick blues’ refers to the different movements in
America during the 60’s and 70’s. Subterranean holds the meaning of things occurring and
existing under the Earth’s surface, so things commencing in the underground world of
society at this time. References to the Civil Rights Movement id mentioned in the song too,
bringing up attacks that happened in Alabama where Fire and police horses and police dogs
were used in defence of the emergency services to fight off peaceful protesters “Stay away
from those, who carry around a fire hose’, these lyrics are a cultural context.
From this song, Dylan became a voice of his generation through the words of his songs and
lyrical mind-set.