Songs Of Resistance
The concept of war is a very controversial topic between people today. Bob Dylan Explains how there is more to war than just fighting in the song “Masters of War”. He shows us that even though war is temporary, there are some things that can never be undone and taken back, such as the deaths of young ones, and forgiveness. Bob Dylan feels as though the resolution you receive after the war does not resolve the damage you caused to your own conscience and others lives. Other Protest songs Bob Dylan sing are ‘A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall’, Blowin’ in the Wind, ‘Masters of War’, ‘Oxford Town’, ‘A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall’, ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll’, ‘With God on Our Side’, ‘Hurricane’, ‘Maggie’s Farm’, and ‘The Times They Are a-Changin’. Dylan has also been involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
The second stanza helped shape this song dramatically, he is talking to the government about them forcing war and negative things upon people before we even can figure out what we’re doing ourselves. He says “You that never done nothin’ But build to destroy, you play with my world, like it’s your little toy (this shows that the government has a huge impact on the way we live our lives), you put a gun in my hand, and you hide from my eyes, and you turn and run farther, when the fast bullets fly” in the last part of this stanza he pretty much calls the government cowards for not taking responsibility for their own action, by putting the guns and weapons in the peoples hands. In stanza four Dylan talks about how people make other people fight their own battles by saying “You fasten all the triggers, for the others to fire, then you set back and watch, while 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” He’s saying that the people who are not necessarily loading the guns for the soldiers but offering them are responsible for the “young blood that is being buried in the mud”
“When the United States goes to war, the musicians begin calling for peace.” and that’s exactly what Bob Dylan tried to accomplish. In the 60’s there were many political things surrounding Bob Dylan that would push him to write a song such as “Masters of War” such as the Vietnam War and the Fight for civil rights. These two topics may have influenced Bob Dylan to write music because The Vietnam war was a war that involved everyone in the 60’s and the Civil Rights Movement was about equal rights and being treated fairly.
A song can make a difference an individual and maybe a large group of people but a song can not make a difference for everyone in the world. Along with people that agree with ideas there are also people that disagree with ideas. For example, people might think that war is the answer to solving the problems facing America or just in general and some people won’t.