Come gather round people wherever you roam And admit that the waters around you have grown And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone If your time to you is worth saving Then you'd better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone For the times, they are a changing
Come writers and critics who prophesize with your pens And keep your eyes open, the chance won't come again And don't speak too soon, the wheel's still in spin And there's no telling who that it's naming Oh the loser will be later to win For the times, they are a changing
Come senators, congressmen, please head the call Don't stand in the doorway, don't block up the hall For he that gets hurt will be her that has stalled The battle outside ragging will soon shake your windows And rattle your hall For the times, they are a changing
Come mothers and fathers all over this land And don't criticize what you can't understand Your sons and your daughter are beyond your command Your old role is rapidly aging Please get out of the new one if you can't lend a hand For the times they are a changing
The line, it is drawn, the curse, it is cast The slow one will later be fast And the present now will soon be the past The order is rapidly fading The first one now will later be last For the times, they are a changing