“Only a Pawn in Their Game” by Bob Dylan was released in 1964, during the time of the Vietnam war and the Civil Rights Movement. This song addresses the problems in the United States during this time and calls out the politicians for how they are using the American people as “pawns” in the “game” of racism. Dylan used real examples and imagery to capture the attention of the listener. The song used poetic devices, such as repetition, to reinforce the problems he was calling attention to. “Only a Pawn in Their Game” is a song that was important to Civil Rights activists all across the country.
In the first stanza Bob Dylan brings up Medgar Evers, a civil rights activist who was assassinated by a white man in his driveway in 1963. At the end of the stanza Dylan says that Evers’ killer “can’t be blamed/ He’s only a pawn in their game”. This lyric catches the attention of the listener almost immediately and makes them want to hear more of the song. Bob Dylan then goes on to talk about the white men in the United States, singling out the politician and the poor white man. This is important because as Dylan says the white men are told,“You’re better than them, you been born with white skin”. In the next stanza Dylan once again brings up how the white people in the United States are taught, as well as saying, “The deputy sheriffs, the soldiers, the governors get paid/And the marshals and cops get the same”. This brings up how the people who were persecuting the African American people the most were the ones being paid for their work. He then mentions how the poor white man watches all of this happening and join with them. Dylan continues by bringing up the KKK and how because of what the white people are being taught they join radical organizations such as this. He says, “And he’s taught how to walk in a pack/Shoot in the back, with his fist in a clinch/To hang and to lynch/ To hide 'neath the hood”, meaning because of what they have seen and heard their whole lives the white youth believe that this is what they’re supposed to do.
“Only a Pawn in Their Game” is a song that encompasses many of the problems encountered during the Civil Rights Movement. This song uses real life examples to show how the government in the United States was using poor white people to continue racism. Based on teachings and laws, whites in the United States believed that they were better than others. Bob Dylan did a great job showing the problems in the United States during the Civil Rights Movement in this song.
I think you provided us with a very clear and concise analysis of this track. When we listened to/watched a performance of it in class, I was completely in awe. It really is an interesting take on the issue of racism in America at the time and now. Though we cannot justify violence based on the notion of upbringing, it is definitely true, at least to some degree, that racism and many other forms of hatred, are manufactured and taught to us by structures of and individuals in power. Traces of this can be found in any mass persecution of specific people.
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