The lyrics to this song were written by Bob Dylan over the winter of 1962/63 as a protest against the Cold War nuclear arms build-up of the early 1960’s . The melody is based on “Nottamun Town” a song which had been in the family of folksinger, Jean Ritchie, for generations. It became a standard at many major concerts of the time. Thank you, Ward Swann, for generously sharing this tab.