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Masters of War
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Wikipedia article
"'Masters of War'" is a song by Bob Dylan, written over the winter of 196263 and released on the album 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' in the spring of 1963.Sounes, 'Down the Highway: Life Of Bob Dylan', p. 131 The song's melody was adapted from the traditional "Nottamun Town."[http://www.bobdylanroots.com/notta.html Nottamun Town, bobdylanroots.com] Dylan's lyrics are a protest against the Cold War nuclear arms build-up of the early 1960s.
Basis of melody
With many of his early songs, Dylan adapted or "borrowed" melodies from traditional songs. In the case of "Nottamun Town," however, the arrangement was by veteran folksinger Jean Ritchie. Unknown to Dylan, the song had been in Ritchie's family for generations, and she wanted a writing credit for her arrangement. In a legal settlement, Dylan's lawyers paid Ritchie $5,000 against any further claims.Sounes, 'Down the Highway: Life Of Bob Dylan', p. 132
Recordings and performances
Dylan first recorded "Masters of War" in January 1963 for 'Broadside' magazine, which published the lyrics and music on the cover of its February issue.Bjorner, "Still on the Road", 1963'Broadside', [http://www.broadsidemagazine.com/All/20.pdf Issue 20], February 1963 The song was also taped in the basement of Gerde's Folk City in February and for Dylan's music publisher, M. Witmark & Sons, in March.Heylin, 'Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades', p. 739 The Witmark version was included on 'The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 The Witmark Demos: 19621964' in October 2010. The 'Freewheelin' version was recorded on April 24, 1963, by Columbia Records; in addition to that album, it has also appeared on compilation albums such as 'Masterpieces' in 1978 and 'Biograph' in 1985."Masters of War", Bob Dylan
During 1963, Dylan performed the song at major concerts, including his performances at New York City's Town Hall on April 12, Brandeis University's Brandeis Folk Festival on May 10, and Carnegie Hall on October 26. He also played it at an afternoon workshop at his first Newport Folk Festival appearance on July 27. The Town Hall performance was released on 'The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home' in August 2005, the Brandeis version on 'Live in Concert at Brandeis University 10/05/1963' in October 2010, and the Carnegie Hall version on 'Live 19621966: Rare Performances From The Copyright Collections' in July 2018. A live, electric version, recorded at London's Wembley Stadium in 1984, was included on Dylan's 1985 'Real Live' European tour album.Bjorner, "Still on the Road", 1994Shelton, 'No Direction Home', pp. 490 and 534 He performed the song during the 1991 Grammy Awards ceremony where he received a Lifetime Achievement Award. After 1963's performances, Dylan did not play an acoustic version of "Masters of War" for 30 years, until his Hiroshima concert in Japan in 1994.Bjorner, "Still on the Road", 19631994
Leon Russell's 1970 version retains Dylan's lyric but is sung to the melody of "The Star Spangled Banner."Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/2ncu-prLZ_Y Ghostarchive] and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20150812192103/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ncu-prLZ_Y Wayback Machine]:
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.
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.Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211205/hu_8c1gIb6k Ghostarchive] and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20201028171002/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu_8c1gIb6k&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]:
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?"
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.
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 phaseharsh, and fitting with the times.
On January 17, 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave his farewell address from the Oval Office. In this speech, he warned that "we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex." In an interview, published in 'USA Today' on September 10, 2001, Dylan linked his song to Eisenhower's speech, saying:
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.
* 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."
* The Staple Singers' 1964 version of "Masters of War" was used as the soundtrack in the promotional trailer for Sony's 'Resistance 3' video game in 2010 as well as Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's 2017 documentary series, 'The Vietnam War'.
See also
* List of Bob Dylan songs based on earlier tunes
* List of anti-war songs
Notes
References
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