Bob Dylan, Only a Pawn in their Game 1964
“
The deputy sheriffs, the governors get paid And the marshals and cops get the same But the poor white man’s used in the hands of them all like a tool He’s taught in his school From the start by the rule That the laws are with him To protect his white skin To keep up his hate So he never thinks straight 'Bout the shape that he’s in But it ain't him to blame He’s only a pawn in their game
— Bob Dylan on White people
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The deputy sheriffs, the governors get paid And the marshals and cops get the same But the poor white man’s used in the hands of them all like a tool He’s taught in his school From the start by the rule That the laws are with him To protect his white skin To keep up his hate So he never thinks straight 'Bout the shape that he’s in But it ain't him to blame He’s only a pawn in their game" in the context of "Bob Dylan, Only a Pawn in their Game 1964" to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "White people" (Quotes, D)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
About Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941) is an American folk and rock singer-songwriter, born in Duluth, Minnesota. In 2016 Dylan received the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".
About Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941) is an American folk and rock singer-songwriter, born in Duluth, Minnesota. In 2016 Dylan received the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition".
View all quotes →