Masters of War

Image by Bettmann

Bob Dylan wrote “Masters of War” after the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. My beloved late father-in-law, Yehonatan Geffen, wrote his Hebrew version of the song in response to the horrific Yom Kippur War of 1973 in Israel. As a young Dylan fan, I always found the song confusing. On the one hand it’s captivating and powerful, on the other it’s belligerent, simplistic, and extreme. I think that I both loved it and, at the same time, felt I couldn’t really connect with the lyrics because I was lucky enough to live in a more peaceful time. Now, after almost 700 days of a brutal war that shows no signs of ending, the song finds me in a different place.

Intro translated by Jessica Cohen