z+Masters+of+War

Molly Maguire

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.

You that never done nothin' But build to destroy You play with my world Like it's your little toy You put a gun in my hand And you hide from my eyes And you turn and run farther When the fast bullets fly.

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.

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.

You've thrown the worst fear That can ever be hurled Fear to bring children Into the world For threatening my baby Unborn and unnamed You ain't worth the blood That runs in your veins.

How much do I know To talk out of turn You might say that I'm young You might say I'm unlearned But there's one thing I know Though I'm younger than you That even Jesus would never Forgive what you do.

Let me ask you one question Is your money that good Will it buy you forgiveness Do you think that it could I think you will find When your death takes its toll All the money you made Will never buy back your soul.

And I hope that you die And your death'll come soon I will follow your casket In the pale afternoon And I'll watch while you're lowered Down to your deathbed And I'll stand over your grave 'Til I'm sure that you're dead.

To portray the Vietnam War, there were many songs that covered small aspects of the war, but I believe that this song, “Masters of War” by Bob Dylan, really displayed the times of war and what he thought the sense of this conflict was like. I chose this song because I think it displayed this man’s outlook on the war, which should always be taken into consideration when treating issues with violence. He really hits on one of the United States’ major mistakes, which was when they jumped to fight without even knowing what the fuss was about. The message of this song definitely hit on non-violence, and he even exaggerated or displayed the extent of which the war had been taken with his words. Bob Dylan used terms such as “Jesus would never forgive what you do” and death to really leave the people of America with a mixed thought. His song also portrayed a message about the government, and how they didn’t mind sending the United States people to die off in Asia every day, who weren’t even really fighting for a cause. People engaged in any form of the military may not be greatly affected by these words, especially since many of them don’t have a choice, but they still most likely promote non-violence to all people. In conclusion, I believe that “Masters of War” accurately displays an important aspect of the Vietnam War that should have been taken into consideration long ago.

back to "Songs of the Vietnam Era"