With God on Our Side
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"With God On Our Side" is a song by Bob Dylan, released as the third track on his 1964 album The Times They Are A-Changin'. Dylan first performed the song during his debut appearance at The Town Hall in New York City on April 12, 1963.
The lyrics generally address the notion of humans that God or some other higher power(s) invariably sides with them and opposes those with whom they disagree, and thus they don't question the morality of wars fought and atrocities committed by their country. Dylan mentions various wars and events from United States and world history, including the slaughter of Native Americans in the nineteenth century, the Spanish-American War, the American Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Cold War, and the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas Iscariot.
Radio personality Tim Riley once wrote: "'With God on Our Side' manages to voice political savvy mixed with generational naivete" as it "draws the line for those born long enough after World War I to find its issues blurry ('the reasons for fightin'/I never did get') and who view the forgiveness of the World War II Germans as a farce."
Dylan claims "With God On Our Side" is an entirely original composition, however, its melody very strongly resembles that of "The Patriot Game", a song with lyrics written by Dominic Behan and a melody borrowed from the traditional Irish folk song "The Merry Month of May". In a fruitless attempt to provoke a lawsuit, Behan called Dylan a plagiarist and a thief. Dylan never responded to Behan's claims.
Dylan was familiar with "The Patriot Game", having first been introduced to the song by Scottish folksinger Nigel Denver. English folksinger Jim McLean said he remembers Dylan asking him in late 1962: "'What does it mean, 'Patriot Game'?'...I explained--probably lectured him--about Dr. Johnson, who's one of Dominic's favorite writers, and that's where Dominic picked up [the] saying: 'Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.'"[citation needed]
A live recording of Dylan performing "With God on Our Side" with Joan Baez can be found on the album The Bootleg Series Vol. 6: Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall, which was released in 2004.
Among the most famous covers, Joan Baez included the song on her live In Concert, Part 2 album from 1963 (recorded shortly after Dylan wrote it). More recently, the song has been covered by the indie rock band Straylight Run and the Neville Brothers on their 1989 album Yellow Moon.
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