I have to say that Masters of War is not one I would regard as that clever, because it is too simple in its construct, and apart from a few good lines, much of it is a bit jejune without any twists in the tail that his others have. However, I daresay it is that simplicity and directness of message that can be appealing. Ballad in Plain D suffers from similar directness, but then that was probably because of it re-working an English folk song lyric (I Once Loved a Girl). Hope this doesn’t sound too pretentious.