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( August 2010 ) For other uses, see With God On Our Side ( disambiguation ). `` With God on Our Side '' Song by Bob Dylan from the album The Times They Are a-Changin ' Released January 13, 1964 Recorded August 7, 1963 Genre Folk Length 7 : 08 Label Columbia Songwriter ( s ) Bob Dylan Producer ( s ) Tom Wilson The Times They Are a-Changin ' track listing 10 tracks Side one `` The Times They Are a-Changin ' '' `` Ballad of Hollis Brown '' `` With God on Our Side '' `` One Too Many Mornings '' `` North Country Blues '' Side two `` Only a Pawn in Their Game '' `` Boots of Spanish Leather '' `` When the Ship Comes In '' `` The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll '' `` Restless Farewell '' `` 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 at The Town Hall in New York City on April 12, 1963. Dylan is known to sing the song only rarely in concert. Contents 1 Lyrics 2 Controversy over composition 2.1 Censorship in US Military 3 Live recordings 4 Covers 5 Use in films and documentaries 6 See also 7 Notes 8 References 9 Discography Lyrics The lyrics address the tendency of nations, tribes, or societies to believe that God will invariably side with them and oppose those with whom they disagree, thus leaving unquestioned the morality of wars fought and atrocities committed by their country. Dylan mentions several historical events, including the slaughter of Native Americans in the nineteenth century, the Spanish -- American War, the American Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Holocaust, the Cold War and the betrayal of Jesus Christ by Judas Iscariot ; the song made no explicit reference to the Vietnam War until live renditions in the 1980s, when an additional verse ran thus : In the nineteen - sixties came the Vietnam War Can somebody tell me what we 're fightin ' for ? So many young men died So many mothers cried Now I ask the question Was God on our side ? Music critic 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. '' Controversy over composition The melody of `` With God on Our Side '' is essentially identical to the traditional Irish folk song `` The Merry Month of May '', which was also used by Dominic Behan in his song `` The Patriot Game ''. The opening verse is also similar to the second verse of Behan 's song, in which the narrator gives his name and age. Behan criticized Dylan publicly by claiming the melody as an original composition. Behan took the view that the provenance of Dylan 's entire body of work must be questioned. Behan exercised the same folk tradition as Dylan in writing the song, having himself borrowed the melody. In the introduction to the song at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963, Dylan had the following to say, `` Yeah. You know, Jean Redpath sang a song here awhile ago which I heard Liam Clancy sing about two years ago and I was listening to her sing it and I thought that I never, uh, I thought I wrote this song called ' With God on Your Side '. And it must have somewhere stayed in the back of my mind hearing Liam Clancy singing ' The Patriot Game '. '' Censorship in US military Anthony B. Herbert, Vietnam War veteran and psychologist, reported an incident related to Joan Baez 's 1963 recording of `` With God on Our Side '' in a 1984 interview with David Barsamian : I was called to Vietnam ( in 1968 ) from the Middle East... While I as in Spain ( en route ), I bought some Joan Baez records. I went to my room in the Bachelor Officer 's Quarters to listen to ( to them )... There was a knock on the door. It was an individual in civilian clothes. He asked me my name and rank. I just looked at him. I was ( then ) a major ( US Army ). He asked, `` ( Are ) those Joan Baez records ? '' I said, `` Yeah ''. He said, `` She 's like anti-military... '' He then identified himself. He was a one - star brigadier general. He outranked me by far. He said, `` You a fan ( of Joan Baez ) ? '' I said, `` How many records do you have to have to be a fan ? '' He said, `` I guess three. '' I said, `` I guess I 'm a fan. I 've got five. '' He said, `` You have to get rid of the records or leave the building. '' I could n't believe it. I said, `` I ca n't play the music I want, music that was made in the USA ? '' He said, `` No, you 'll have to leave the building. That 's anti-military music. '' She was singing `` ( With ) God on Our Side '', I think, at the time. I said, `` I think I agree with ( the lyrics ). I 'm not anti-military, and I agree with what she 's singing in her songs. '' He said, `` You 'll have to leave the building. '' I said, `` Hey, it 's okay with me. '' So he gave me a ( transfer )... I went down to the Hilton Castille in Madrid and I stayed in one of the best rooms they had, and the government had to pick up the tab. Live recordings Dylan and Joan Baez performed the song as a duet at the Newport Folk Festival in July 1963 and July 1964, and their July 27, 1963 performance was released on Newport Broadside : Topical Songs at the Newport Folk Festival 1963 ( Vanguard VSD - 79144 ). The liner notes by Stacy Williams mention Dominic Behan 's `` Patriot Game '', which Williams points out that Behan had borrowed from the traditional `` The Merry Month of May ''. Another live recording of Dylan and Baez performing `` With God on Our Side '', recorded on October 31, 1964, can be found on the album The Bootleg Series Vol. 6 : Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall, released in 2004. Dylan 's performance of the song on the album Bob Dylan Unplugged, released in 1995, significantly omits verses about the Germans and the Holocaust, and the Russians and the Cold War, for unspecified reasons. Covers Joan Baez included the song on her 1963 live album In Concert, Part 2 ( recorded shortly after Dylan wrote it ). Chad Mitchell Trio recorded it on their 1965 album Typical American Boys Odetta covered the song on her 1965 album Odetta Sings Dylan. In 1965, Manfred Mann covered the song on their The One In The Middle EP. The notes on the EP 's sleeve state `` In May 1964 Bob Dylan dropped in at London 's Marquee Club to listen to the Manfreds, declaring them to be ' real groovy '. They returned the compliment with their performance of Dylan 's controversial With God On Our Side. '' Ramblin ' Jack Elliott released a cover on his 1970 album `` Bull Durham Sacks & Railroad Tracks Wire Train released a cover on their 1985 album Between Two Words The Neville Brothers released a cover on their 1989 album Yellow Moon. Judy Collins released a cover on her 1993 tribute album Judy Sings Dylan... Just Like a Woman. Ramblin ' Jack Elliott released a cover on his 1999 album The Long Ride. British band Half Man Half Biscuit released a parody of the song, titled With Goth On Our Side, on their 2000 album Trouble Over Bridgwater. Jonah Matranga has performed the song live on numerous occasions. It is available ( with Matranga performing as onelinedrawing ) on the compilation album Sound Relief, Volume One : From CA to NYC ( released 2001 on the Sound Relief Records label cat. 631037060028 ) -- the compilation was originally put together to benefit the United Way 's September 11th Fund, but the proceeds went to assist the victims of Hurricane Katrina, as that disaster has occurred in the meantime. Buddy Miller performed the song on his 2004 album Universal United House of Prayer, adding an Irish dirge - like arrangement. In 2004, indie rock band Straylight Run covered the song. Burton Cummings covered this song and released it as a single in 2004. Minneapolis band The Brothers Frantzich recorded a version of the song on their album `` Heartwing ''. Singer / songwriter Derek Webb has performed the song live on numerous occasions. Bon Iver covered the song for the first time on September 24, 2011 at McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale, Oregon. Barb Jungr covered the song on her 2011 album Man in the Long Black Coat. In 2012, K'naan covered the song for the compilation, Chimes of Freedom : The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International. Use in films and documentaries `` With God on Our Side '' plays over the closing credits of two films, Oren Jacoby 's 2007 documentary on anti-Semitism, Constantine 's Sword, and Oliver Stone 's 2008 biography of George W. Bush, W. Used several times in Ken Burns ' The Vietnam War. An instrumental version featuring David Cieri is also used. See also List of anti-war songs Notes Jump up ^ Shelton, Robert ( 1986 ). No Direction Home : The Life and Music of Bob Dylan. New York : Beech Tree Books. p. 213. ISBN 0 - 688 - 05045 - X. Jump up ^ Wilentz, Sean ( 2010 ). Bob Dylan in America. New York : Doubleday. p. 70. ISBN 9780385529884. Jump up ^ Herbert, 1984. p. 1 ( transcript ) Jump up ^ Sleeve notes from The One in the Middle E.P., HMV 7EG 8908, released 18 June 1965 References Herbert, Anthony B. 1984. `` The Vietnam War : Atrocities and Coverups '' ( Program # HERA002. Recorded in Boulder, CO on August 12, 1984 ) https://www.alternativeradio.org/products/hera002 Discography Bob Dylan ( discography ) Studio albums Bob Dylan The Freewheelin ' Bob Dylan The Times They Are a-Changin ' Another Side of Bob Dylan Bringing It All Back Home Highway 61 Revisited Blonde on Blonde John Wesley Harding Nashville Skyline Self Portrait New Morning Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid Dylan Planet Waves Blood on the Tracks The Basement Tapes Desire Street - Legal Slow Train Coming Saved Shot of Love Infidels Empire Burlesque Knocked Out Loaded Down in the Groove Oh Mercy Under the Red Sky Good as I Been to You World Gone Wrong Time Out of Mind Love and Theft Modern Times Together Through Life Christmas in the Heart Tempest Shadows in the Night Fallen Angels Triplicate Live albums Before the Flood Hard Rain Bob Dylan at Budokan Real Live Dylan & the Dead The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration MTV Unplugged Live 1961 -- 2000 : Thirty - Nine Years of Great Concert Performances Live at The Gaslight 1962 Live at Carnegie Hall 1963 In Concert -- Brandeis University 1963 The 1966 Live Recordings Compilations Bob Dylan 's Greatest Hits Bob Dylan 's Greatest Hits Vol. II Masterpieces Biograph Bob Dylan 's Greatest Hits Volume 3 The Best of Bob Dylan ( 1997 ) The Best of Bob Dylan, Vol. 2 The Essential Bob Dylan Bob Dylan : The Collection The Best of Bob Dylan ( 2005 ) Blues Dylan The Original Mono Recordings The 50th Anniversary Collection Bob Dylan : The Complete Album Collection Vol. One The 50th Anniversary Collection 1963 The 50th Anniversary Collection 1964 Bootlegs Great White Wonder List of Basement Tapes songs ( 1967, 1975 ) The Bootleg Series Volumes 1 -- 3 ( Rare & Unreleased ) 1961 -- 1991 Volume 4 : The Royal Albert Hall concert Vol. 5 : Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue Vol. 6 : Bob Dylan Live 1964, Concert at Philharmonic Hall Vol. 7 : No Direction Home : The Soundtrack Vol. 8 : Tell Tale Signs : Rare and Unreleased 1989 -- 2006 Vol. 9 : The Witmark Demos : 1962 -- 1964 Vol. 10 : Another Self Portrait ( 1969 -- 1971 ) Vol. 11 : The Basement Tapes Complete Vol. 12 : The Cutting Edge 1965 -- 1966 Vol. 13 : Trouble No More 1979 -- 1981 Concert tours England Tour ( 1965 ) World Tour ( 1966 ) Tour with The Band ( 1974 ) Rolling Thunder Revue ( 1975 -- 1976 ) World Tour ( 1978 ) Gospel Tour ( 1979 -- 1980 ) World Tour ( 1981 ) European Tour ( 1984 ) True Confessions Tour ( 1986 ) Tour with the Grateful Dead ( 1987 ) Temples in Flames Tour ( 1987 ) Never Ending Tour 2017 Films Madhouse on Castle Street Dont Look Back Eat the Document Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid Renaldo and Clara Hearts of Fire Masked and Anonymous No Direction Home I 'm Not There 65 Revisited The Other Side of the Mirror : Bob Dylan Live at the Newport Folk Festival 1963 -- 1965 Inside Llewyn Davis Writings Tarantula Writings and Drawings Chronicles : Volume One Books about Dylan The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia Bob Dylan, Performing Artist Invisible Republic The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan Related Sara Dylan ( first wife ) Carolyn Dennis ( second wife ) Jesse Dylan ( son ) Jakob Dylan ( son ) Awards Bibliography Songs written by Dylan The Band Electric Dylan controversy Theme Time Radio Hour Traveling Wilburys Artists who have covered Dylan songs Chimes of Freedom ( album ) The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams Lost on the River : The New Basement Tapes Related topics Songs recorded by Dylan Suze Rotolo American folk music revival The Telegraph magazine Book Portal Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=With_God_on_Our_Side&oldid=802543444 '' Categories : Songs written by Bob Dylan Bob Dylan songs 1964 songs Joan Baez songs Anti-war songs Folk rock songs Song recordings produced by Tom Wilson ( record producer ) Hidden categories : Articles needing additional references from August 2010 All articles needing additional references Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2017 Articles with unsourced statements from January 2015 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Español Français Polski Русский Edit links This page was last edited on 26 September 2017, at 20 : 54. 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Question: when was with god on our side written
Answer: 1964