Masters of war

    Masters of War was released by Bob Dylan in 1963 as a reaction to both the violence of and the impact of the Vietnam war. Having been released during Americas involvement in the Vietnam conflict, the song relays both moral and political messages as well as taking aim at the higher ups of American government. Dylan, already being seen as a controversial artist due to his unorthodox music, knew the impact that the song would have due to the time of its release. Being a time of great tension in America the song addresses many issues Americans had with the Vietnam war as well as bringing out a new blunt rebellious style of Dylan's music.

    

     Dylan begins the song by addressing the individuals the song is aimed towards, the "Masters of  War",

"Come you masters of war

You that build all the 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",

Dylan in this verse is addressing many groups of people. He is addressing the military officials who organize Military action, people who design and build weapons of mass destruction, and he points out their cowardly status. He says, "You that hide behind walls, You that hide behind desks", this is meant to point out that they are not the people who suffer from their actions, it is the people who risk their lives fighting in the wars they create that suffer. This is probably a reaction to the fact that many Americans did not understand the U.S.'s involvement in the Vietnam war. Why should our fathers and sons have to go fight in some far away land over a conflict that doesn't even effect me here at home? However the U.S. governments involvement in the Vietnam war was primarily to prevent the spread of communism. Now whether this is a justifiable reason to go to war or not is left to the individual to decide, but Dylan was clearly not in support.

     Once Dylan has addressed whom it is he is speaking to, he then begins ridiculing them. Dylan accuses the government of playing with his world like a toy, implying that they are unfit to be in a position of power. Dylan also compares them to Judas implying their evil intentions and deceitful agenda. 

   "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."

Another biblical reference comes in the sixth verse saying, "That even Jesus would never forgive what you do", which in wake of the line about Judas just illustrates further the evil that the government does. To describe the government in this way was a little extreme especially for the times, but Dylan then takes it to a whole other level. Dylan does this by wishing death upon them and saying how he will attend their funeral and stand over their grave until he is sure they are dead. This type of style brings a whole other level of emotion to the song and makes its overall impact increase significantly.