As soon as I read the lyric I thought of Vietnam in particular and war and capitalism in general. To me, verses 1&2 say that the gangsters are now running the country, using patriotism as a cover. The chorus notes that capitalism is tough and that here Dylan is singing about it from a relatively comfortable position.Verses 3&4 are about being made to shut up and accept a brutally exploitative system. In 5&6 we see a sarcastic incarnation of Christian icons as military figures. 7&8 are self-explanatory - think My Lai. 9&10 use a biblical allusion to suggest LBJ ought to kill himself rather than sending others off to war. 11 says the military-industrial complex has usurped education and culture and 12 says that even if you realise all this, you can't change it. I'd see it as a picture of Dylan's disillusion and bitterness at the time he moved from his 'protest' period to his electric period.
Just a first impression, you understand. I'm sure there are broader and deeper interpretations, but mine certainly fits the anger of the song and the death motif.
As soon as I read the lyric I thought of Vietnam in particular and war and capitalism in general. To me, verses 1&2 say that the gangsters are now running the country, using patriotism as a cover. The chorus notes that capitalism is tough and that here Dylan is singing about it from a relatively comfortable position.Verses 3&4 are about being made to shut up and accept a brutally exploitative system. In 5&6 we see a sarcastic incarnation of Christian icons as military figures. 7&8 are self-explanatory - think My Lai. 9&10 use a biblical allusion to suggest LBJ ought to kill himself rather than sending others off to war. 11 says the military-industrial complex has usurped education and culture and 12 says that even if you realise all this, you can't change it. I'd see it as a picture of Dylan's disillusion and bitterness at the time he moved from his 'protest' period to his electric period.
Just a first impression, you understand. I'm sure there are broader and deeper interpretations, but mine certainly fits the anger of the song and the death motif.