Masters of War
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Masters of War” | ||
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| Song by Bob Dylan | ||
| Album | The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan | |
| Recorded | 1963 | |
| Genre | Folk/Protest | |
| Length | 4:34 | |
| Label | Columbia Records | |
| Writer | Bob Dylan | |
| Composer | Traditional/Jean Ritchie | |
| The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan track listing | ||
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"Masters of War" is a song by Bob Dylan, written in 1963 and released on the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. It is an adaptation, with new words by Dylan, of "Nottamun Town". [1] As with many of the major songs Dylan composed at this time, he often adapted or "borrowed" melodies from traditional songs. On this occasion however, he had borrowed an arrangement by veteran folksinger Jean Ritchie. The arrangement of "Nottanum Town", unknown to Dylan, had been in her family for generations, and Ritchie wanted an acknowledgement on the writing credit. This, however, was not to be the case, as Dylan's lawyers paid her $5,000 to settle and agree not to make further claims.[2]
There is a live, electric version on Dylan's Real Live album. In his 1994 Hiroshima concert, Dylan played the first acoustic version of "Masters of War" since 1963. Dylan also played the song in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on the night of the U.S. presidential election, 2004|2004 U.S. presidential election]].
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[edit] Dylan about the song
Dylan spoke to USA Today's Edna Gundersen about the song the day before the September 11th attacks. In the article, Dylan is quoted as saying that the song "is supposed to be a pacifistic song against war. It's not an anti-war 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."[3]
[edit] Notable cover versions
- The Staple Singers covered the song on This Little Light, released on the Riverside label in 1964.
- Mark Arm covered the song as part of his "Freewheelin' Mark Arm" single, which was released on Sub Pop records in 1990.
- Cher covered the song in 1969 on the album Backstage.
- Bill Frisell covered it on his album Further East/Further West.
- The Flying Pickets made a cover on the 1984 album Lost Boys.
- Ben Harper is covering this song on his current 2007 tour, with The Nightwatchman (Tom Morello) joining as a special guest.
- Broadside Electric covered the song at a "Bob Dylan live performance retrospective" concert on September 17, 1998 at The Living Room in New York City. It was later recorded for their 1999 album With Teeth.
- Viggo Mortensen covered the song at a January 2008 People Speaks event. He was unanccompanied by instruments and held a copy of the lyrics during his performance.
- Mountain with Ozzy Osbourne recorded the song on their 2007 Dylan cover album of the same name.
- Odetta covered it on her 1965 album Odetta Sings Dylan.
- Pearl Jam covered this song in concert in Boston on May 24, 2006, Bob Dylan's birthday. They have covered it on numerous other occasions, including in a September 30, 2004 appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman and at the Benaroya Hall show from 2003. They also recorded the song for Dylan's 30th anniversary celebration in New York City in the early 1990s, dubbed Bobfest by Neil Young.
- Ratdog, during a live show at The Orange Peel in Asheville, North Carolina in 2005, and at a show at Chastain Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Georgia in 2007.
- The Roots performed "Masters of War" at "The Music of Bob Dylan, a Benefit for Music for Youth" on November 9, 2006 at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall. In a review of this performance, The Village Voice commented, "Just a shocking, volatile, incredible 10 minutes of carnage. 'Masters of War' has always seemed to me more like a possibly futile prayer than an inevitable blood oath, the warmonger's funeral described in some hypothetical future Bob can only hope will come soon. The Roots just killed it."[4] They again performed it at the 2007 Coachella Music Festival, the 2007 Bonnaroo Music Festival, as well as most of the concerts on their Game Theory tour that year, including at Virginia Tech [5], the Nokia Theatre Times Square[6], and Swarthmore College. [7] The band recently covered the song during their performance at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on May 3, 2008.
- Leon Russell's cover features him singing the first verse in the style of "The Star Spangled Banner." It is a bonus track on his album Leon Russell.
- Rx Bandits singer Matt Embree covered this song at a Sounds of Animals Fighting show. A video of the cover can be seen on their myspace blog.[8]
- Martin Simpson, the English-born blues/folk guitarist, singer, and songwriter covered the song on his 1983 album Grinning in your Face
- Justin Sullivan & Friends whom have comprised in different guises New Model Army, covered the song on their 2003 live album Tales of the Road and have been performing it regularly in touring for the past several years.
- Roger Taylor of Queen, on his 1984 solo album Strange Frontier has a cover of the song.
- Eire Og performed the song on the album Live at Tullys.
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.bobdylanroots.com/notta.html
- ^ Sounes, Howard. Down the Highway: Life Of Bob Dylan. Doubleday 2001. p164-165. ISBN 0-552-99929-6
- ^ http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/2001-09-10-bob-dylan.htm#more
- ^ http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0646,harvilla,75011,22.html
- ^ CollegiateTimes.com - Roots take over Burruss. [1]
- ^ The New York Times - From James Brown to Dylan, Expansive Hip-Hop. [2]
- ^ The Daily Gazette - The Roots Take Over LPAC. [3]
- ^ http://www.myspace.com/rxbandits
