I was born a year after the Kennedy assassination, and my parents at the time were so traumatized by the event (and the social/political upheaval that followed) that they had considered leaving the US to go back and live in Europe (my mother was Danish; my father is a US WWII vet). They felt that their whole belief system had been subverted by what his murder/death personified. The nation became quite divided (and still is), and social/economic inequalities became exacerbated as this country plunged itself down the path of neoliberalism. I find the song to be quite haunting. The lyrics for me cut like a knife - they are direct and unambiguous. Death is unambiguous. As to why Dylan chose to release this song right now I can only speculate. On the surface the Kennedy assassination obviously impacted him (as the whole nation). Covid-19 also conjures up fears of death. As this country continually fails to have a meaningful discussion on the role government (I blame the tribalism that all political parties seem to embrace) we witness a staggeringly impotent response to this crisis. To properly protect ourselves and appropriately respond to such crises, we have to be unified as a nation (it is in everyone’s best interest) otherwise the social/economic inequities will continue to surge and many more people will die than is necessary - Murder Most Foul.
