Masters of War - SherGun Remix

Dylan wrote this song in criticism of American leaders and officials. It was meant as a realization of the times, what war was coming to and why war became a pointless act, rather than a means of defense.

In the liner notes to The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Dylan says of "Masters Of War": "I've never really written anything like that before. I don't sing songs which hope people will die, but I couldn't help it with this one. The song is a soft of striking out, a reaction to the last straw, a feeling of what can you do?"

Dylan would be labelled a conspiracy theorist if he released this song today. In it, he bitterly points the finger at hidden "masters" who manufacture wars for profit and gain. You play with my world Like it's your little toy You put a gun in my hand And you hide from my eyes The song condemns these masters of war, but Dylan doesn't consider it an "anti-war" song. He's speaking more specifically to the world's power brokers and the way (according to him and many others) they manufacture international conflict. In 2001, he told USA Today that it "is not an antiwar song. It's speaking against what Eisenhower was calling a military-industrial complex as he was making his exit from the presidency. That spirit was in the air, and I picked it up." The event Dylan referred to in that quote occurred on January 17, 1961, a little under two years before Dylan released the song. On that day, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, gave his farewell speech from the Oval Office. It was his final Address to the Nation. In the speech, he discussed the Cold War and warned, "We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military–industrial complex." The statement had a powerful impact on the counterculture opposing the Vietnam War, and remained a fixture among those antiwar advocates in the US. Whether or not a person views Eisenhower's statement as valid or a "conspiracy theory" often depends largely on how the political affiliation of the sitting president complies or conflicts with the affiliation of the person viewing it.