Above is a link to listen to the song Masters of War by Bob Dylan on his 1963 album “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan”. The song is addressing war and the reasons behind it. Masters of War is specifically targeting how convenient the financial benefits of war are to the government, suggesting that greed is the reason behind war and expressing how cruel that is. Bob Dylan states that he can see through it all the excuses the government may have. The song is soft but Dylan’s voice resonates. I think listening to the song when it first came out must have motivated many people to stand up for peace. Below is a link to the song Sold As Freedom by the band Anti-Flag off their 2003 album “The Terror State” . The song is mocking the government’s oxymoron of fighting for freedom. It is sarcastically telling you to go fight wars just because you’re told to. With irony, Anti-Flag attempts to open the listener’s minds to the truth about war and the reasons behind it. Like Dylan claimed to see through it all, Anti-Flag urges you by the end of the song to see through the lies the government feeds us. The songs are similar with their message and metaphor of being blinded by the government with patriotism. The songs are clearly different in style and cynicism and I think that’s due to the time periods and the respective artists. Bob Dylan wrote and performed protest music for a short time during the 60’s but moved on to other topics quickly whereas Anti-Flag(formed in the 90’s and still performing today) is protest punk rock, almost every song focuses on the corruption within the government or the media or corporations and so on. Anti-Flag’s words are more profane than Dylan’s but both songs are radical in their own right.
“Join now! Don’t wait! Make death your date!”
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