Master of War

Nicholas Morley

Our protest project will be on corrupt politicians and the song we chose was “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan which was featured in his 1963 album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Masters of War is about the condemnation of the people responsible for the atrocities of war and for the deaths and blood that it brings, specifically geared towards the Vietnam War. Typically this type of protest music was not Bob’s style. Bob Dylan was known for his peaceful and forgiving tunes around war that he wrote and performed. We chose to analyze this song for our project because it is relevant to corrupt politicians. Check out the verse below and imagine the anger felt when writing this.

You fasten all the triggers

For the others to fire

Then you set back and watch

When the death count gets higher

You hide in your mansion’

As young people’s blood

Flows out of their bodies

And is buried in the mud.

I urge you to listen to the music and focus on the lyrics. They are powerful and mesmerizing, especially since the lyrics are accompanied by a steady, folk music beat. There is music today that expresses these similar sentiments due to what is going on in the United States. Maybe not to this extent but it does exist. How does Masters of War relate to the protest project we chose? There are several corrupt politicians in our world and we know this. Corrupt and politician are two words that go hand in hand and unfortunately, this is the norm in our generation. Many of what is happening in the United States with racism and violence is due to lack of leadership in our American and corrupt politicians. We the people elect these individuals into office because we agree with their platforms and feel they are the right person for the job. However, when they get the job that we elected them into, they essentially have the power to do anything they want. This is where corruption comes into play. The politicians have the money, power and resources to do whatever they want...