Longtime readers of this blog may remember two opinion surveys I carried out following up on matters of disagreement I was involved in or had come across. There was the one about the proper pronunciation of Burger King; and, further back, the one about the favoured meaning of the expression 'A rolling stone gathers no moss'.
Today I want to ask anyone interested - Dylan fans or not - what you take to be the point and meaning of the line 'That he not busy being born is busy dying', in the song 'It's Alright, Ma'. I would like to appeal to you, if you want to answer, not to think too hard about it, or try to be clever, or look stuff up on Google. What I'm interested in is your untutored, first-up response. If you know the song, what have you always assumed that line to be saying? If you don't know the song - you don't?! - have a look or a listen and let me know your initial sense of the meaning of the line.
Could anyone wanting to reply please email me (normblog[at]yahoo[dot]co[dot]uk), rather than doing it on Twitter or Facebook, where your own reaction might influence that of others. Thanks.