Only a Pawn in Their Game Bob Dylan
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The artist of this song "Only a Pawn in their Game" is Bob Dylan. This song was released on July 6th, 1963. Bob Dylan is a famous singer and song writer who has many songs about society. Many of his songs are about social and political unrest especially during the 1960s. Some of his songs are The times are a changin' and Blowin' in the wind.
A bullet from the back of a bush took Medgar Evers’ blood
A finger fired the trigger to his name
A handle hid out in the dark
A hand set the spark
Two eyes took the aim
Behind a man’s brain
But he can’t be blamed
He’s only a pawn in their game
These lyrics address the civil rights activist, Medgar Ever's assassination. As the civil rights movement is occurring during this time, It is about the discrimination of not only black people, but poor whites as well at the time. He compares poor whites to the "caboose on train", meaning they also face discrimination. A pawn is something with little value that is used for other people's purposes. He refers to poor white people as pawns in society. He is stating that all parts of society are blaming each other for the problems in the country. He believes that Medgar Ever's killer was not only to blame, but society as a whole. He sees the big picture of society in the 1960s and recognizes all groups within it. Overall, the message he is spreading is the difficulties of the poor whites through this song and the problem of American society.