Bob Dylan has written so many songs that if he performed a 14-tune set every day, he could go 45 nights without repeating a number.

And if he chose to only take five days off in a year, he could do that 45-night run 8 times if he started in January and ended in December.

So, when he pulled out the biting "Masters of War" Friday (8/8) outside Buffalo, New York, to kick off his set at the Outlaw Festival, making it the first time the Bard had played it in nine years, it might have been because he was busy with all his other bangers.

It also might be because the song is so powerful, pointed, incendiary, you really should think twice about unveiling it, lest have it lose its cutting edge.

Released in 1963 from the inspired The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan which also contained "Blowin' in the Wind," "A Hard Rain’s a‑Gonna Fall,” and “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” a lesser tune would have been overshadowed with those hits that helped propel the LP to #22 on the US album chart and #1 in the UK.

Dylan was feeling it at 22 years old when he busted from the pack with those great songs, but "Masters of War" had heft and a directness that could make you say "day-umn" when they sank in.

While others were making sweet flower-power peace songs in protest to the ever-growing military industrial complex, Robert Zimmerman was asking politicians:

Let me ask you one question / Is your money that good? Will it buy you forgiveness? / Do you think that it could?

And then finally:

And I hope that you die
And your death’ll come soon
I will follow your casket
in the pale afternoon

In 1992, a year after Pearl Jam came out with their debut LP, Eddie Vedder and guitarist Mike McCready were invited to Madison Square Garden to participate in a celebration for Dylan's 30 years in the music business.

Vedder gave a scorching rendition of the song that introduced it to many Gen Xers who, ahem, had not had the pleasure of being exposed to it.

One can only assume there's something going on in the world that has inspired rock's greatest poet to dust off that bitter gem. Could it be what's happening in politics here and abroad?

Depending on who you ask, it's either good or bad that Dylan lets the music do the talking so we're not exactly sure what inspired him to not only put it back in the setlist, but open the show with the dour rebuke at military conflict ordered by men who won't be in danger themselves.

Whatever the reason, Dylan kept it in the set for the next two dates in Hershey and then Syracuse.

Those also just happened to be the last three gigs of the August leg of the Outlaw Festival.

Dylan has been on the road again this year with his pal Willie Nelson celebrating the tour's 10th anniversary.

Along with the living legends, depending on the city have been Billy Strings, Sheryl Crow, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Wilco, The Avett Brothers, Turnpike Troubadours, Lucinda Williams, and others.

The rock kicks in again next month for eight shows. Then in October he crosses the pond to Europe and the UK for a couple of months for his Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour.

Will Dylan keep "Masters of War" at the top of the set? Get your tix on his website to find out.

Bob Dylan + Fall & Winter dates

5 Sep — Bangor, Maine — Maine Savings Amphitheater
6 Sep — Hartford, Connecticut — Xfinity Theatre
7 Sep — Mansfield, Massachusetts — Xfinity Center
12 Sep — Camden, New Jersey — Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
13 Sep — Holmdel, New Jersey — PNC Bank Arts Center
14 Sep — Columbia, Maryland — Merriweather Post Pavilion
18 Sep — Noblesville, Indiana — Ruoff Music Center
19 Sep — East Troy, Wisconsin — Alpine Valley Music Theatre
16 Oct — Helsinki, Finland — Veikkaus Arena
18 Oct — Stockholm, Sweden — Avicii Arena
21 Oct — Copenhagen, Denmark — Royal Arena
22 Oct — Hamburg, Germany — Barclays Arena
24 Oct — Lingen, Germany — EmslandArena
26 Oct — Brussels, Belgium — BOZAR
27 Oct — Brussels, Belgium — BOZAR
28 Oct — Brussels, Belgium — BOZAR
30 Oct — Paris, France — Palais des Congrès
31 Oct — Paris, France — Palais des Congrès
3 Nov — Cologne, Germany — LANXESS Arena
4 Nov — Amsterdam, Netherlands — AFAS Live
5 Nov — Amsterdam, Netherlands — AFAS Live
7 Nov — Brighton, UK — Brighton Centre
9 Nov — Swansea, Wales, UK — Building Society Arena
10 Nov — Swansea, Wales, UK — Building Society Arena
11 Nov — Swansea, Wales, UK — Building Society Arena
13 Nov — Coventry, UK — Building Society Arena
14 Nov — Leeds, UK — First Direct Arena
16 Nov — Glasgow, Scotland, UK — SEC Armadillo
17 Nov — Glasgow, Scotland, UK — SEC Armadillo
19 Nov — Belfast, Northern Ireland — The Waterfront
20 Nov — Belfast, Northern Ireland — The Waterfront
23 Nov — Killarney, Ireland — Gleneagle Arena
24 Nov — Killarney, Ireland — Gleneagle Arena
25 Nov — Dublin, Ireland — 3Arena