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John Brown

John Brown is a ballad by Bob Dylan about a mother who proudly sends her son John off to war, unaware of the horrors he will face. She brags to neighbors about John being a soldier but does not realize the brutality of combat. After 10 months without letters, the mother is excited to meet John at the station, but he has been disfigured by the war, with injuries to his face and body. John tells his mother what he experienced in the battlefield, including questioning why he was forced to kill others, and realizing all soldiers are similar regardless of what country they fight for. He hands his medals to his mother, representing the empty glory he gained at the cost of his life being forever altered by the

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111 views1 page

John Brown

John Brown is a ballad by Bob Dylan about a mother who proudly sends her son John off to war, unaware of the horrors he will face. She brags to neighbors about John being a soldier but does not realize the brutality of combat. After 10 months without letters, the mother is excited to meet John at the station, but he has been disfigured by the war, with injuries to his face and body. John tells his mother what he experienced in the battlefield, including questioning why he was forced to kill others, and realizing all soldiers are similar regardless of what country they fight for. He hands his medals to his mother, representing the empty glory he gained at the cost of his life being forever altered by the

Uploaded by

neerleo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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JOHN BROWN

John brown is a ballad written and composed by American singer-songwriter bob Dylan in October
1962. This is an anti-war poem that highlights the ugly reality of the war that it takes the life of young
men and ,the people at home, feeling proud of them are unaware of such harsh consequences.

This song tells a story about a mother who was filled with pride that her son john brown was a soldier
and happily sent him to war in a foreign land. She was eager to see her son wearing soldier’s uniform
and holding a gun and the time has come to see her dreams coming true. Blinded by the glory and
honor her son would be receiving, she told him to follow his captain’s orders. He would then be
awarded with lots of medal which she would hang on the wall after his return to home. She did not
realize that her ambitions might be achieving at the cost of her son’s life. As the train left the station
she shouted loud that her son was on the train, leaving for the battlefield as her son was a soldier and
she was a proud mother. Whenever she received a letter from him, ‘her face broke into smile’ and she
showed it to her neighbors and boasted that her son was a soldier. She was stuck in the old concept of
war being a symbol of a nation’s pride. Though it was a moment to feel proud , she did not realize the
brutality of the war. Thousands of soldiers and innocents die in the battlefield. She thought that in the
war her son would shoot the enemy and return home safe and healthy, but she forget that his life
would be uncertain. Anybody could kill him and he could get injuries also. She was ignorant of that
harsh fact and kept bragging about her son. Ironically, even after receiving no letters from him for 10
months, she did not worry, nor she understood the ramifications of this fact. Finally after 10 months,
she received an intimation that her son was coming home. She at once went to the railway station and
looked around to see her soldier son, standing erect and handsome in his uniform, but could not find
him. At last, when all the passengers moved away, she saw her son. But he was not that handsome
soldier which she sent to the war, he was the one who experienced the cruelty of war. His face was all
shot up; he lost his hands and wore a metal brace around his waist due to the serious injury to his
spine. His mother was never prepared to see him, disfigured and battered after the war. Thus at first
she was unable to recognize his own blood! His ugly face represents the ugly reality of war. She asked
his son what the enemy did that has caused him to be in this pathetic state. He tried to speak but he
was unable to move his mouth. Unable to see the suffering he was undergoing, she turned her face
away. Then in the whispering voice he told his ma to recall the day when he was leaving for war and
she thought that it was the best thing he could ever do. he was on the battle field , fighting with the
enemy, and his mother was at home, safe and acting proud of him. It was easy for her because she was
not in his position. Only he knew what horror of war he was subjected to. He asked himself what he
was doing there? To kill somebody or get killed? Why should he kill somebody when he did not have
any hatred for them? Are they born to kill humans? And when his enemy came close to him, he
realized that his face was no different from his own! He was able to identify with the soldier on the
other side who was probably in the situation, fighting for no reason. All the soldiers are same no
matter from which country they belong, the loss is eventually the same. In the midst of sounds and
smells coming from dead bodies, he realized that he was only the puppet controlled by others.
Nothing was in his control. The cord that kept him fighting the battle was cut when the cannon ball
blew his eyes away. His ma was still in shock to hear the horrors of war and then he handover his
medals to her as this was the only thing she ever wanted to see. The medals are the symbolic of empty
glory that he had won in the war and the high price he had to pay to do so.

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