The tune to Bob Dylan's “Masters of War” was borrowed from an older and much spookier song called “Nottamun Town,” from the repertoire of Appalachian folk singer and dulcimer player Jean Ritchie. “Nottamun Town's” eerie lyrics have provoked a lot of speculation, starting with the superstition that anyone who figures out the song's hidden meaning will have bad luck for the rest of his life!

Of course, the curse of Nottamun Town hasn't really stopped anyone from trying to decipher the hidden meaning. I've seen some ingenious interpretations. Some people think it refers to the English Civil War of the 17^th century, because people at that time were so distraught by the king's overthrow that the world seemed like a place of meaningless chaos. Others have interpreted the song as an elaborate mystical or alchemical allegory.

Possibly the most down to earth explanation is that Nottamun Town belongs to a genre known as the “lying song.” Lying songs were a type of folk surrealism, popular in the English, Irish and Scottish song traditions. The idea in a lying song was to claim to have seen as many impossible or incredible things as you could dream up. This explanation does seem to fit the weird lyrics:

“And when I got there, not a soul did I see:

They all stood around a-looking at me.

I called for a quart to drive gladness away And to stifle the dust, for it rained all the day... 

Sat down on a hard, hot cold frozen stone,

Ten thousand stood round me yet I was alone.

Took my hat in my hand for to keep my head warm.

Ten thousand got drownded that never was born.”

Whatever the explanation, Nottamun Town is a perfect song for Halloween.