Masters of Wat

Masters of War

For this essay I chose the song, “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan. This is a very deep song with blatant, outright, lyrics that clearly protest against war. This song was written by Bob Dylan in the 1960’s during the time of the the Vietnam war and Cold War between the USSR and the United States. Tension was very high between the two nations and citizens were in fear of the beginning of a nuclear war. Also many people in Amercia were protesting the war in Vietnam. Bob Dylan was rather young when he wrote this song and he was beginning to develop strong beliefs of his own about our government and the idea of war and it is evident in this song. The song goes, “And I hope that you die And your death'll come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon And I'll watch while you're lowered Down to your deathbed And I'll stand o'er your grave 'Til I'm sure that you're dead” In this song Dylan addresses the leaders of the military industrial complex as “You” and calls them out for hiding behind their desks and in their mansions while the blood is on their hands and they don’t care as long as they are making profit. In the last verse he says “ And I hope that you die And your death'll come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon And I'll watch while you're lowered Down to your deathbed And I'll stand o'er your grave 'Til I'm sure that you're dead”. It is clear to see that he is very passionate about this issue seeing as that he is wishing death upon these politicians and war leaders. He was lashing out at the people who make weapons and buy off politicians who will get them a bigger budget for defense. I think many people of that time and of now can agree with Dylan that this type of thing is outrageous. In this song Bob Dylan reminds us that it is important not to blindly support your countries government when they declare war. There are many factors to take into account. Many of them are hidden from the public. Young Americans were dying in Vietnam and it was Dylan had a problem with that. He thought the war was pointless. Bob Dylan acted as a voice for all of the protestors with this song. I think there is a lot we can learn from Bob Dylan’s lyrics and his music and his messages continue to resonate today.

Resources http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwuWL7uUFl0 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_War http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobdylan/mastersofwar.html http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=7112