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Song Stories

“Masters of War”

Bob Dylan | 1963

Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" seemed to open the floodgates for a host of rock acts over the years to pen their own anti-war songs (Creedence Clearwater's "Fortunate Son," Black Sabbath's "War Pigs," John Lennon/Yoko Ono's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," etc.). And in the book Down the Highway: The Life of Bob Dylan, author Howard Sounes explains that the song "Was inspired by the Cold War arms buildup. Yet like many of Bob's best songs, 'Masters of War' transcended the time in which it was written." At the 1992 'Tribute to Dylan' concert at Madison Square Garden, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready performed a version of the tune.

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Song Stories

“My President”

Young Jeezy | 2008

Young Jeezy teams up with Nas on this track, in which he compare his own success with the idea of an African-American winning the Democratic Party's nomination in the 2008 presidential election. "When I pulled up in my car, that s--- was unbelievable to people in my neighborhood because they were like, 'We grew up with him. How the hell did he accomplish this?'" he told Rolling Stone. "I feel like it was the same way with Obama. I grew up all this time, but I've never seen a black man this close to running this country."

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