Masters of War
"Masters of War" | |
---|---|
Song by Bob Dylan | |
from the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan | |
Released | May 27, 1963 |
Recorded | April 24, 1963 |
Genre | Folk |
Length | 4:34 |
Label | Columbia |
Composer(s) | Traditional/Jean Ritchie |
Lyricist(s) | Bob Dylan |
"Masters of War" is a song by
Basis of melody
As with several of his early songs, Dylan adapted or "borrowed" melodies from traditional songs. In the case of "Nottamun Town," however, the
Recordings and performances
Dylan first recorded "Masters of War" in January 1963 for
During 1963, Dylan performed the song at major concerts, including his performances at
American folk revival musician Pete Seeger covered the song on his 1965 album Strangers And Cousins. Recorded live in Japan, the cover features Seeger playing an acoustic guitar, with each lyric followed by a spoken translation of the lyric by a Japanese translator.[14] Seeger and Dylan had a close personal and professional relationship, with Dylan citing Seeger as a source of inspiration in both musical and political spheres. Additionally, they both participated in anti-war activism during the '50s and '60s, and Seeger shared many of the pacifist values expressed by Dylan in “Masters of War".[15] The choice to cover the song in Japan links back to Seeger's involvement with activism against Japanese-American internment camps. His activism led to an FBI investigation, and he was later placed on an FBI blacklist of "communist" entertainers.[16] These issues also held significance in Seeger's personal life; his wife,Toshi Seeger, was the daughter of a Japanese political exile fleeing statism in Shōwa Japan.[17]
Leon Russell's 1970 version retains Dylan's lyric but is sung to the melody of "The Star Spangled Banner."[18]
Hip hop group The Roots performed an epic 14-minute version of the song that was considered by critics to be the high point of a Dylan-tribute concert in 2007.[19]
In October 2020, Canadian rock band Billy Talent uploaded a cover of the song to YouTube, with a message from drummer, Aaron Solowoniuk, urging American viewers to vote in the 2020 United States presidential election.[20]
Themes
In the album notes to The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Nat Hentoff wrote that Dylan startled himself with this song, and quotes Dylan saying: "I've never written anything like that before. I don't sing songs which hope people will die, but I couldn't help it with this one. The song is a sort of striking out... a feeling of what can you do?"[3]
Critic Andy Gill described the song as "the bluntest condemnation in Dylan's songbook, a torrent of plain speaking pitched at a level that even the objects of its bile might understand it." Gill points out that when the song was published in Broadside magazine in February 1963, it was accompanied by drawings by Suze Rotolo, Dylan's girlfriend at the time, which depicted a man carving up the world with a knife and fork, while a hungry family forlornly looks on.[21]
According to Todd Harvey, in this song Dylan "allows the listener no opportunity to see the issue from the masters' eyes. 'I' and 'you' are clearly established and 'you' are clearly wrong. The repetitive text and accompaniment's droning single harmony work in tandem to drive home relentlessly the singer's perspective." Harvey notes that Dylan transforms "Nottamun Town," which has absurdly nonsensical words (a naked drummer accompanies a royal procession "with his heels in his bosom") into a confrontational political song; Dylan's writing entered a new phase—harsh, and fitting with the times.[22]
On January 17, 1961, President
on September 10, 2001, Dylan linked his song to Eisenhower's speech, saying:"Masters of War"… is supposed to be a
anti-war song. It's speaking against what Eisenhower was calling a military-industrial complex as he was making his exit from the presidency. That spirit was in the air, and I picked it up.[24]
Other cultural references
- American contemporary classical composer John Corigliano set the song's lyrics to music in his 2000 song cycle Mr. Tambourine Man. Like the other six Dylan songs in the cycle, Corigliano's version is musically unrelated to the original.[25]
- The Sage Francis song "Hey Bobby" references "Masters of War" with the lyrics "Hey Bobby, the masters are back, and they're up to no good just like the old days. They played dead when you stood over their graves, Bobby, they played dead when you stood over their graves."[26][27]
- trailer for Sony's Resistance 3 video game in 2010[28] as well as Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's 2017 documentary series, The Vietnam War.
See also
Notes
- ^ Sounes, Down the Highway: Life Of Bob Dylan, p. 131
- ^ "Nottamun Town, bobdylanroots.com". Archived from the original on 2010-09-18. Retrieved 2007-04-03.
- ^ a b Hentoff 1963
- ^ Sounes, Down the Highway: Life Of Bob Dylan, p. 132
- ^ a b Bjorner, "Still on the Road", 1963
- ^ Broadside, Issue 20, February 1963
- ^ a b Heylin, Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades, p. 739
- ^ The Bootleg Series Volume 9—The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964. bobdylan.com. October 17, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
- ^ "Masters of War", Bob Dylan
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
- ^ Bjorner, "Still on the Road", 1994
- ^ Shelton, No Direction Home, pp. 490 and 534
- ^ Bjorner, "Still on the Road", 1963–1994
- ^ Pete Seeger - Strangers And Cousins, 1965, retrieved 2022-11-09
- ^ admin (2015-08-25). "8 Things You Didn't Know About Pete Seeger". Evergreen. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
- ^ Corn, David. "We obtained folk legend Pete Seeger's FBI file. Here's what it reveals". Mother Jones. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
- ^ Reports, Rafu (2015-12-25). "Seeger Was Investigated by FBI After Opposing JA Internment". Rafu Shimpo. Retrieved 2022-11-09.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Leon Russell Masters of War". YouTube.
- ^ "Listen to The Roots' Epic Cover of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War"". pastemagazine.com. 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Billy Talent - Masters Of War (Bob Dylan Cover)". YouTube.
- ^ Gill 1999, p. 26
- ^ Harvey 2001, p. 71
- ^ "Dwight D. Eisenhower Farewell Address". USA Presidents. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
- USAToday. Retrieved 2011-01-27.
- G. Schirmer Inc.Retrieved February 16, 2011.
- ^ "Sage Francis: 'Hey Bobby' Lyrics". LyricsBox. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
- ^ "Noize Suppressor: 'Master of War' Lyrics". LyricsGetit.com. Archived from the original on August 8, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved February 16, 2011.
References
- Bjorner, Olof. "Still on the Road: Recording sessions & concerts".
- Gill, Andy (1999), Classic Bob Dylan: My Back Pages, Carlton, ISBN 1-85868-599-0
- Harvey, Todd (2001), The Formative Dylan: Transmission & Stylistic Influences, 1961–1963, The Scarecrow Press, ISBN 0-8108-4115-0
- Hentoff, Nat (1963). The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (Media notes). Bob Dylan. New York: Columbia Records.
- ISBN 0-06-052569-X.
- ISBN 0-306-81287-8.
- ISBN 0-8021-1686-8.
External links
- Masters Of War / Commentary by Bob Dylan about Masters Of War, John F. Kennedy, and Nikita Khrushchev A brief recording of Bob Dylan playing and talking 1 January 1963
- "Masters of War" Lyrics, BobDylan.com
- "Masters of War" Music & Lyrics, Broadside, Feb. 1963, p. 1
- “Bob Dylan: Masters of War” by Benno Schlachter 2012
- “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan at Music Politics 30 November 2015