In the late '60s and early '70s, Baez came into her songwriting own, penning many songs (most notably "Diamonds & Rust," a nostalgic piece about her ill-fated romance with Bob Dylan, and "Sweet Sir Galahad," a song about sister Mimi Fariña's ( of Richard & Mimi Fariña fame) second marriage, and continued to meld her songcraft with topical issues. She was outspoken in her disapproval of the Vietnam war and later the CIA-backed coups in many Latin American countries.
She was also instrumental in the Civil Rights movement, marching with Dr. Martin Luther King on many occassions and being jailed for her beliefs. In 1963, her performance of "We Shall Overcome" at the Lincoln Memorial just prior to Dr. King's famous "I Have A Dream..." speech helped confirm the song as the Civil Rights anthem.
In December 1972, she traveled to Hanoi, North Vietnam, and was caught in that country's "Christmas Campaign," in which the U.S. bombed the city more times than any other during the entire war. While pregnant with her only son, Gabriel, she performed a handful of songs in the middle of the night on day one of the 1969 Woodstock festival. She is considered the "Queen of Folk" for being at the forefront of the 1960s folk revival and inspiring generations of female folksingers that followed. Over fifty years after she first began singing publicly in 1958, Joan Baez continues to tour, demonstrate in favor of human rights and nonviolence, and release albums for a world of devoted fans.
1959
With God on Our Side
Joan Baez Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I was taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side
Oh, the history books tell it
They tell it so well
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
Oh, the country was young
With God on its side
The Spanish-American
War had its day
And the Civil War, too
Was soon laid away
And the names of the heroes
I was made to memorize
With guns in their hands
And God on their side
The First World War, boys
It came and it went
The reason for fighting
I never did get
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side
The Second World War
Came to an end
We forgave the Germans
And then we were friends
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
The Germans now, too
Have God on their side
I've learned to hate the Russians
All through my whole life
If another war comes
It's them we must fight
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side
But now we got weapons
Of chemical dust
If fire them, we're forced to
Then fire, them we must
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side
Through many a dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
That Jesus Christ was
Betrayed by a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.
So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
That if God's on our side
He'll stop the next war
Joan Baez's song "With God on Our Side" expresses the idea of how throughout history, countries at war have justified their actions by believing that God is on their side. The lyrics begin with the singer introducing themselves as an insignificant person with God on their (and their country's) side. They then go on to point out how wars throughout history have been fought with the belief that God is supporting the cause of one side over the other, and how society has been ingrained to accept it. The first few verses discuss American history and how the country justified their treatment and slaughter of Native Americans by saying it was God's will. The song then touches upon other conflicts, such as World War II, where both sides believed that they had God on their side.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh my name it ain't nothin'
My identity is insignificant
My age it means less
My age is not important
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I come from the Midwest region of the United States
I was taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
I was raised to follow the laws of the land
And that land that I live in
Has God on its side
I believe that God is on the side of my country
Oh, the history books tell it
They tell it so well
History is often told in a biased manner
The cavalries charged
The Indians fell
The US Cavalry killed many Native Americans
The cavalries charged
The Indians died
The US Cavalry killed many Native Americans
Oh, the country was young
With God on its side
During the early years of the United States, many believed that God supported its actions
The Spanish-American
War had its day
The Spanish-American War occurred
And the Civil War, too
Was soon laid away
The Civil War ended
And the names of the heroes
I was made to memorize
I was taught to admire certain military figures
With guns in their hands
And God on their side
Many soldiers believed that God supported their actions in war
The First World War, boys
It came and it went
World War I occurred and ended
The reason for fighting
I never did get
I never understood the reasons behind World War I
But I learned to accept it
Accept it with pride
I learned to accept the outcome of World War I with pride
For you don't count the dead
When God's on your side
When you believe that God supports your country, human casualties seem less important
The Second World War
Came to an end
World War II ended
We forgave the Germans
And then we were friends
Eventually, the United States forgave Germany for its actions during World War II and became allies
Though they murdered six million
In the ovens they fried
Despite Germany's horrific actions during World War II, the United States forgave them
The Germans now, too
Have God on their side
Many Germans believed that God supported their actions during World War II
I've learned to hate the Russians
All through my whole life
I grew up hating Russians
If another war comes
It's them we must fight
If another war occurs, I feel that the United States must fight Russia
To hate them and fear them
To run and to hide
If a war with Russia occurs, I must hate and fear them and hide from them
And accept it all bravely
With God on my side
If I must go to war, I will do so bravely in the belief that God supports my country's actions
But now we got weapons
Of chemical dust
Modern warfare involves chemical weapons
If fire them, we're forced to
Then fire, them we must
If we are attacked with chemical weapons, we must retaliate with them
One push of the button
And a shot the world wide
One button press could launch a global attack
And you never ask questions
When God's on your side
If you believe that God supports your country's actions, you may not question the morality of those actions
Through many a dark hour
I've been thinkin' about this
I have spent many hours considering this issue
That Jesus Christ was
Betrayed by a kiss
Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus with a kiss
But I can't think for you
You'll have to decide
Ultimately, it is up to you to decide what is right and wrong
Whether Judas Iscariot
Had God on his side.
Even if you are a traitor like Judas, you may still believe that God supports you
So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
As I leave, I feel exhausted
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
It is difficult to express my feelings of confusion
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor
I have many thoughts, but cannot organize them
That if God's on our side
He'll stop the next war
I hope that God will prevent a future war, if indeed he does support our country's actions
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bob Dylan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@RonnieMinh
I saw Bob Dylan sing this song on tv (black & white tv) in 1964 when I was 14 years old. I could not believe what I was hearing. Every other song on tv or radio was about surfing, cars or girls.
@sanderson9515
I was in high school and had the same reaction.
@jeanneobrien7381
@@sanderson9515 DITTO
@terencethomas7599
He stole the song from Dominic Behan..... Song was..... PATRIOT GAME..... He then changed the words......
@24934637
I'm probably going to get hated for this, but for me, Dylan is an amazing songwriter, but other people perform his songs better. Can't be great at everything I suppose.
@pdxamish
@@terencethomas7599 that was very common then. Look at Lord Randall vs Hard Rain gonna fall. Take common melodies and structures and make your own. I think wagon wheel is a duplication of that and the basement tapes.
@roadtomanyana
holy shit, you can feel the energy and the optimism of that generation here. The tangible and absolute faith they had in the power of the soul over the forces of old and evil. If only we had a shade of that now.
@dans9463
Watch your mouth
@lickitypitz4798
there was madness in any direction at any hour, you could strike sparks anywhere, there was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we where doing was right and we were winning. that i think was the handle, that sense of inevitable victory of the forces of old and evil, not in any mean or military sense we didn’t need that, our energy would simply prevail. we had all the momentum, riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. so now less that five years later you can go up on a steep hill in las vegas and look west and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high watermark, that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.
@thevaccinator666
Damn right.