The Times They Are A-Changin': Singer adapts song in protest at East West Rail project in Lidlington

He’s given new lyrics to Bob Dylan classic The Times They Are A-Changin' relevant to Lidlington villagers’ plight.

And Bob plans to perform it in the lobby of Lidlington Village Hall at the latest drop-in event.

He said: “I had a dream I rewrote the lyrics ... to accurately reflect the pain and sorrow being inflicted on the people of Lidlington by EWR.

"At the next EWR ‘consultation’ in the village hall when no questions are being answered as usual, I walk in with my acoustic guitar, everyone stops talking and I sing the complete revised version of the song to a silent audience. Then I wake up and wonder what will happen next.”

The event – at Lidlington Village Hall – will take place this Saturday (November 7) between 11am to 3pm. Representatives from the rail company will be on hand to speak about the progress on the Marston Vale Line, as well as show designs for the new Marston Road overbridge.

Here are Bob’s adapted lyrics

Come gather round people wherever you roam

And protest that our village that once was our home

Has been torn apart, will be stripped to the bone

Our freedom is rapidly fading

So, get out on the streets and make your thoughts known

For our lives they are a-changing

Politicians and councillors who appease with your pen

Keep your eyes wide, the chance won’t come again

‘Cos before we know it, the diggers roll in

And there’s no telling what they’ll be digging

Say nothing now, the destroyers will win

For our lives they are a-changing

From Oxford to Cambridge with only one train

Who’s idea is this? It’ll never sustain

Nobody wants it and nobody gains

The peripheral damage is crippling

They’re closing the crossings, the roads and the lanes

All our lives they are a-changing

Now Lidlington’s gone and there’s nothing to see

There’s no place to live in where we’d rather be

There’s nothing but trains that rattle your brains

And a car park replacing our trees

Our beautiful village has been taken for free

Our lives are forever changing

Politicians don’t learn, they are just there to earn

And the lives of their voters are easy to burn

If we stand up and protest the powerhouse will turn

Bob Dylan shook powers in the 60s

Look up to that man and follow his plan

Then our lives will not be changing