Bob Dylan – Masters of War Song 

“Masters of War” is a song by Bob Dylan, written in the winter of 1962-1963 and released on the album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan” in the spring of 1963. The melody of this song is taken from the traditional “Nottamun Town”. Dylan’s lyrics protest against nuclear weapons during the Cold War in the early 1960s. This song is more number of people’s favorite song and the most repeated song in everyone’s playlist. Dylan’s lyrics are direct and powerful, exposing the greed, hypocrisy, and ruthlessness of those who control the war machine. The song denounces the military-industrial complex for prioritizing profits over human lives and chides warmongers for ignoring the devastating consequences of their actions. People are eagerly searching for Bob Dylan – Masters of War Song Lyrics and few are searching for the meaning. Here you can get to know the Bob Dylan – Masters of War Song Lyrics and the detailed meaning of this song.

Bob Dylan – Masters of War Song Lyrics

Come you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin’
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it’s your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you sit back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
While the young people’s blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You’ve thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain’t worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I’m young
You might say I’m unlearned
But there’s one thing I know
Though I’m younger than you
That even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good?
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could?
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death will come soon
I’ll follow your casket
By the pale afternoon
And I’ll watch while you’re lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I’ll stand over your grave
‘Til I’m sure that you’re dead

Bob Dylan – Masters of War Song Meaning

Bob Dylan wrote some of the most famous anti-war and civil rights songs of all time. Most of his anti-war songs were originally written as a protest against the Vietnam War, but many of them, including “Masters of War”, is still used as a protest against the current war. Dylan borrowed the arrangement for “Masters of War” from the song “Nottamun Town” recorded by folk singer Gene Ritchie. Although Dylan changed his lyrics to make them his own, the lyrics were much more direct than most of his other songs. With Masters of War, he made his message even clearer. That those in power are responsible for the atrocities and unnecessary bloodshed of war. Dylan had never been so direct in any of his other songs, and was surprised by the lyrics he used, saying: “I don’t sing songs that make me wish people would die, but I couldn’t help but do that with this song.”

Every line in this song is about how terrifying these “masters of war” are. It’s a song about how things are, and how Dylan can see right through them. He knows what they’re doing in secret, how they want to die, and that Jesus doesn’t forgive them all. Although the song was written during the Vietnam War, the lyrics have been considered politically significant in many contexts since then. Civilians continue to use the song during protests where they feel government authorities are abusing their power and treating them unfairly. The lyrics play the most important role in the simple background music that Dylan chose for this song. The Masters of War will always remain an icon in the world of protests against wars that citizens believe are unjust. Emma Kalesen

Bob Dylan – Masters of War Song Video