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From album
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan · 1963
Details
TonalidadDm
Compás4/4
Tempo76 BPM
Duración4:38
ÁlbumThe Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Año1963
ISRCUSSM16300212
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The story behind
When Bob Dylan wrote Masters of War, he was looking directly at the arms race of the early 1960s Cold War. The melody, which he adapted, comes from a traditional piece called Nottamun Town. What's interesting is that the basis of this arrangement already belonged to the folk singer Jean Ritchie's family, who was unaware that Dylan used her version. In the end, an agreement was reached where Dylan's lawyers paid Ritchie a sum to avoid future claims.
The song went through several recording stages before its official release. First, in January 1963, Dylan registered it for Broadside magazine, which published the lyrics and music in February. Then, in the same month, a live version was recorded in the basement of Gerde's Folk City, and in March, another for his music publisher. The version we know on the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan was recorded on April 24, 1963, and released to the public in May of that year. This piece, along with others like Blowin' in the Wind and A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall, became a fundamental part of his second album, marking his style of fusing contemporary lyrics with traditional melodies.
Throughout 1963, Dylan performed Masters of War on several important stages, including New York's Town Hall, the Brandeis Folk Festival, and Carnegie Hall. He also played it at the Newport Folk Festival. After these initial performances, Dylan did not perform an acoustic version of the song again for thirty years, until a concert in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1994. An electric version of the song was included on his album Real Live, recorded during a European tour in 1985. Even Pete Seeger, another folk icon, made his own version in 1965, recorded live in Japan, where each verse was followed by a spoken translation.