Dylan started his musical odyssey in 1959 when he began playing in Dinkytown, Minneapolis while attending the University of Minnesota. Shortly after starting to play he changed his stage name to Bob Dylan, after being influenced by the poetry of Dylan Thomas before legally changing his name in 1962.
Much of his best known work is from the 1960s, when he became an informal documentarian and reluctant figurehead of American unrest, promoted by Joan Baez. Some of his songs, such as "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'", became anthems of the anti-war and civil rights movements, with Joan Baez and Dylan singing together at the March on Washington in 1963. However he later became disenchanted with the civil liberty protest scene, feeling that he had been used by them.
His album Bringing It All Back Home marked a move away from the folk scene and a move towards rock and roll and Dylan began to consciously distance himself from his early association with civil rights. He also started to become irritated when being interviewed, often given facetious or irreverent answers to questions. Bringing It All Back Home was a controversial album as it the first on which he played electric guitar. This was seen by some of his fans as a betrayal of this folk roots, with some saying that it obscured his meaningful and poetic lyrics.
The second half of the 1960s was marked by a string of well received releases, with his song "Like a Rolling Stone", released in July of 1965, later being named "The Greatest Song of All Time" by Rolling Stone magazine in 2004, placing #1 in a list of 500 titles. It also marked the formation of Dylan's backing band The Hawks (who would later call themselves simply The Band). Dylan embarked on a world tour of Australia and Europe in 1966, during which he seemed to be under a lot of strain and pressure by both his fans, the music press and his own promoters. Dylan himself admitted that he began taking drugs seriously whilst on this tour, and found it immensely hard work. On returning to New York he crashed his motorbike, sustaining serious injuries in the process, and went into a period of withdrawal while he recuperated. During the late 1960s, Dylan again changed stylistic tradition, moving away from the psychedelic culture of the time. It was then that he recorded All Along the Watchtower, perhaps more famously recorded by Jimi Hendrix.
The 1970s were a period during which Dylan was more sporadic in his output, releasing some poorly received LPs. He rarely appeared in person until 1974, when he began touring again with his backing band The Band. He also wrote one of his most extensively covered songs, Knockin' On Heaven's Door, as well as what is now recognised as one of his best albums Blood On The Tracks. Towards the end of the 1970s, Dylan discovered Christ, and released some albums of gospel music. He started to talk to the crowd about his faith during his performances, and wouldn't play any of his early work, which alienated some of his previous fans.
Dylan today still remains an influential and popular artist; despite a period of little note between 1980-2000, his 2006 album Modern Times reached the US chart at #1, as did his 2009 album Together Through Life, in the US, Britain, France and several other countries. His 2012 album Tempest was also critically acclaimed. Since 1988, Dylan has been on the so-called Never Ending Tour, during which his performances have provoked controversy, with some critics claiming that his lyrics have become incomprehensible, an experience which is not helped by his tendency to change his set-list and vocals almost every performance.
Bob Dylan's strong influence over the past few years is becoming even more prominent amongst a growing group of younger emerging artists such as George Ellias and Devendra Banhart. Dylan's early lyrics incorporated politics, social commentary, philosophy and literary influences, defying existing pop music conventions and appealing widely to the counterculture of the time. While expanding and personalizing musical styles, Dylan has shown steadfast devotion to traditions of American song, from folk and country/blues to rock and roll and rockabilly, to Gaelic balladry, even jazz, swing and Broadway.
Dylan performs with the guitar, keyboard and harmonica. Backed by a changing lineup of musicians, he has toured steadily since the late 1980s. He has also recently performed alongside other iconic artists, such as Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Tom Petty and Eric Clapton. Although his contributions as a performer and recording artist have been central to his career, his songwriting is generally held as his highest accomplishment.
Nobel Prize for Literature (2016) - On October 13, 2016, Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition”. The prestigious award has been given annually since 1901 and previous Nobel Laureates for Literature include Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett. Here is the speech written by Dylan, although unable to attend:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/10/arts/bob-dylan-nobel-prize-acceptance-speech.html?_r=0
Masters Of War
Bob Dylan Lyrics
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You that build the big 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 sit back and watch
When 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
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 will come soon
I'll follow your casket
By 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
Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" is a scathing, political commentary on the military-industrial complex, and those who profit from war. In the first stanza, the song addresses the "masters of war," the people who manufacture bombs, guns, and planes, and implies that these people are hiding behind desks, and masks, and walls. Dylan then accuses the masters of war of playing with the world like it is their toy, putting guns in the hands of youth, but cowering away when the fighting starts.
The second stanza charges the masters of war with lying and deceiving, working to convince the public that wars can be won by overwhelming force. The third stanza turns to the human cost of war, casting the masters of war as sitting back and watching as young people's blood flows out of their bodies and is buried in mud. Dylan accuses these people of being the sources of fear that prevent young people from starting families.
In the final stanza, Dylan asks the masters of war if their wealth can buy them forgiveness. He claims that it cannot, and predicts that they will die without having bought their way out of condemnation. Dylan concludes the song by wishing death upon these individuals and vowing to stand over their graves until they are sure that they are gone.
Line by Line Meaning
Come you masters of war
Listen up, all of you who control the creation of weapons of destruction
You that build the big guns
You who build and manufacture large-scale weapons
You that build the death planes
You who develop and create deadly aircraft
You that build all the bombs
You who are responsible for building all the bombs that inflict destruction
You that hide behind walls
You people who use your position to keep yourself secure and hidden away from the public
You that hide behind desks
You who work for those people and are complicit or ignorant about their wrongdoings
I just want you to know
I want to make sure that you understand
I can see through your masks
I can see past your façade and know what you're really doing
You that never done nothin'
You people who have never contributed to society except to create weapons of war
But build to destroy
You who build things with no other purpose than to cause destruction
You play with my world
You are so powerful that you can manipulate and destroy the world as you please
Like it's your little toy
You control and abuse the world with as much care as you would play with a toy
You put a gun in my hand
You provide me with the means to commit violence and death
And you hide from my eyes
You are so cowardly that you don't even have the courage to face the consequences of your actions
And you turn and run farther
You distance yourself when the violence that you create comes closer
When the fast bullets fly
When violence erupts, and danger ensues
Like Judas of old
You are similar to the biblical figure who betrayed Jesus
You lie and deceive
You are dishonest and try to mislead people
A world war can be won
You falsely claim that wars can be “won” (thus justifying them)
You want me to believe
You try to convince me of your lies
But I see through your eyes
I understand how you think and what you are trying to do
And I see through your brain
I see your thought processes and can tell that they are disingenuous
Like I see through the water
I can see clearly and completely through you, like clear, flowing water
That runs down my drain
That is thrown away and ignored like trash
You fasten all the triggers
You set up the entire system for violence and suffering to occur
For the others to fire
So that people who you are comfortable ordering around can pull the trigger
Then you sit back and watch
You deliberately distance yourselves from the violence you caused and take no responsibility for it
When the death count gets higher
As the number of deaths caused by the violence increases
You hide in your mansion
You retreat to your place of money and security, safe and comfortable while others suffer
While the young people's blood
While the blood of young people
Flows out of their bodies
Leaves their bodies as they die
And is buried in the mud
Is carelessly dumped and forgotten about by those who are responsible
You've thrown the worst fear
By creating and using weapons of war, you have caused the most profound and damaging fears
That can ever be hurled
Fears too great, too vast, too catastrophic to quantify
Fear to bring children
Fear that bringing children into the world is a risk, filled with trauma and suffering
Into the world
And living in it
For threatening my baby
For making my child have to live in a world of danger
Unborn and unnamed
My child who is yet to be brought into the world
You ain't worth the blood
You are not valuable or worthy of anything
That runs in your veins
Even the very blood that flows through your body is not enough to redeem you
How much do I know
I may not have as much experience or knowledge as you, but I still understand what is going on
To talk out of turn
To speak when I shouldn't or when you don't believe I am capable or knowledgeable enough
You might say that I'm young
You might dismiss my opinions because of my age
You might say I'm unlearned
You might say I lack knowledge or have not received higher education
But there's one thing I know
But there is one thing that I do understand
Though I'm younger than you
Even though I am younger than you are
That even Jesus would never
That even Jesus Christ, renowned for his forgiveness, would be incapable of forgiving
Forgive what you do
The atrocities and violence that you have committed are too great for even the most forgiving person to overlook
Let me ask you one question
Allow me to inquire a single thing of you
Is your money that good?
Does your wealth and power give you that much control and authority?
Will it buy you forgiveness
Can you use your money and power to buy your way out of committing such atrocious acts?
Do you think that it could?
Do you believe that your immense wealth has the power to pardon your sins?
I think you will find
I believe it will be clear to you
When your death takes its toll
When death eventually comes for you
All the money you made
All the wealth and power that you accumulated for yourself
Will never buy back your soul
Will never be enough to redeem you for the damage you have caused to the world and your fellow human beings
And I hope that you die
I wish for you to die
And your death will come soon
And I believe that it will happen sooner rather than later
I'll follow your casket
I will attend your funeral procession
By the pale afternoon
During a time of day that signifies the end of life or the end of the day
And I'll watch while you're lowered
I will witness as your corpse is lowered into a grave
Down to your deathbed
Down to the place where you will rest in death
And I'll stand over your grave
I will stand by your grave
Til I'm sure that you're dead
Until I am certain that you have passed away
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind