Masters Of War (track)
by Bob Dylan
Year: 1963
From the album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (track #3)
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Masters Of War appears on the following album(s) by Bob Dylan:
- The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (track #3) (this album) (1963)
- The Bootleg Series Vol. 7: No Direction Home: The Soundtrack (track #11) (2005)
- Biograph (track #8) (compilation) (1985)
- Real Live (track #7) (1984)
- The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 – The Witmark Demos: 1962–1964 (track #23) (compilation) (2010)
- In Concert: Brandeis University 1963 (track #4) (2011)
- The Original Mono Recordings (track #16) (compilation) (2010)
- Masterpieces (track #23) (compilation) (1978)
- Greatest Hits 2 (track #5) (compilation) (1967)
- Through The Open Window (The Bootleg Series Vol. 18 1956-1963) (track #28) (compilation) (2025)
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Masters Of War ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Track ratings | Avg. track rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 11/20/2025 10:48 | Arnio | 103 | 64/100 |
| ! | 11/20/2025 03:24 | plasmicmist | 6,118 | 90/100 |
| ! | 10/13/2025 09:41 | markl73 | 5,628 | 79/100 |
| ! | 09/13/2025 04:02 | BurndenAce | 4,206 | 79/100 |
| ! | 09/04/2025 20:20 |  ExTeaSea | 12,082 | 86/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some tracks can have several thousand ratings)
This track is rated in the top 1% of all tracks on BestEverAlbums.com. This track has a Bayesian average rating of 89.0/100, a mean average of 89.0/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 89.3/100. The standard deviation for this track is 9.0.
Masters Of War favourites
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Masters Of War comments
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AAL2014 03/18/2023 20:18 | #295151
This was the song that broke down the walls between Bob Dylan and my appreciation for him, especially given that at the time my listening diet was rock, metal, and prog.
Masters of War is a stark series of scathing stanzas remarkably both of and ahead of its time.
What to say about it? It's poetry.
Flay 06/05/2017 14:34 | #192060
This is one of Dylan's angriest songs, with some of his most savage lyrics. I mean "I hope that you die and your death will come soon" - damn. It's also a fantastic example of how Dylan's lyrics can stay relevant over half a century after they were written.
arthur237 04/10/2016 01:09 | #163566
Wonderful timeless poetry.
Cojo7 04/05/2016 20:56 | #163377
I absolutely love this song, easily the best anti-war song. More world leaders should listen to this!
The best anti-war song ever written
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