In Bob Dylan’s 1964 album “The Times They Are A-Changin’”, he implicates a lot of war related topics. The album focused on the wars the United States has fought, such as World War I and II. Most specifically the war that was occurring during the release of the album; the Cold War. The third track on the album “With God on Our Side” uncovers the mask that had been laid across the nation, covering the harsh reality of war in America.
Though Dylan makes a strong political stance in his song, he also makes a lot of religious references as well; hence the title of the song, “With God on Our Side”. According to Exodus 14:14, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”. “So, we must turn repeatedly to the promise that God will fight on our side, that we may rest confident in Him no matter what assails us.”
In that sense, the Lord will forgive us for any mistakes his believers will make.
Dylan metaphorically connects the Lord to American citizens, for forgiving their government from causing this fatal period in the United States. The song mocks the confidence America had in their government at the time. Bob Dylan wanted to uncover the masks that musicians, such as Irving Berlin had used in their music. Berlin, the composer of “God Bless America”, makes a heroic metaphor of the nation in lyrics such as; “God bless America, land that I love Stand beside her and guide her.
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“ She followed all my directions. It was really easy to contact her and respond very fast as well. ”
Through the night with the light from above”.
With much irony, Dylan also makes banter of one of his biggest inspirations, Woody Guthrie. Guthrie wrote “This Land is Your Land” in 1940 when arriving in New York from Oklahoma. The lyrics have a very hopeful sense, with adjectives such as “golden” and “sparkling”. Whereas Dylan’s “With God on Our Side” mimics Guthrie’s song; it also opposes the entirety of Guthrie’s piece. Adjectives that can be seen in Dylan’s song are “dead”; “shot” and “dark”. Once Dylan is starting to narrate his song, that is much like a story, he adds an ironic humor to the piece when he includes nationalistic statements at the end of each stanza. When he reaches the third stanza, he quickly goes through wars that left negative effects across the nation. Such as the Civil War, that left America in two pieces. After he quickly rushes through the previous wars America has faced, he stoically praises the heroes for their bravery.
The midsection of the piece has a much more emotional essence, while it also made a much bigger impact. In the fourth and fifth stanzas, Dylan harshly injects the death toll of the World Wars, while saying they were all forgiven by God. The song states that though the Germans had murdered six million innocent people, that they would be forgiven because they believe in God. Americans could say they did not like the Germans because of World War II, but in a metaphorical way, we are the same. The American government pridefully sent the drafted men−who may have never wanted to be in the military−into fatal situations they could not handle. In the sixth and seventh stanzas, Dylan makes numerous references to the Cold War. As the non-violent war was in its prime during the publication date, it would make sense for Dylan to prove that America feared the Russians, but societal norms pressured Americans to “be brave”.
In the seventh stanza, Dylan states that if the United States government had to go into a nuclear war with Russia, they would confidently. This may have made the American citizens become scared of their own government that is supposed to be protecting them. As Dylan was known to be a lyrical story writer, it would make sense that he would conclude his song in a story-like way. He brings an audience interaction in the eighth stanza when he questions “Whether Judas Iscariot had God on his side.”. This reference is highly religious while also metaphorically devastating the government. As earlier in the stanza Dylan states “that Jesus Christ was betrayed by a kiss”, which would be from Judas Iscariot. According, Judas was paid thirty pieces of silver to betray Jesus. To let the men know which man Jesus was, he would kiss him. Similarly, Bob Dylan previously stating that “Jesus Christ was betrayed by a kiss”, he is foreshadowing the fate of America. To be betrayed by the government when they were implementing a nuclear war.
By the last stanza, Dylan had been overcrowded with the truth of his nation. He felt weary and confused. The song was based on the violent imperfections the American government has made “in favor” of its nation, but the end of the song focused particularly on the Cold War. The Cold War was thought of as a brave time for America, when the nation was theoretically in a horrendous state. Again, Dylan produces an ironic twist in the very last phrase, “If God’s on our side, he’ll stop the next war.”. This is an extremely impactful conclusion, as he made a call for help, to the government. Dylan made it clear that he did not want to go into another fatal war, when the nation had been trying to signify peace. The popular song, “With God on Our Side” is just one of the many political pieces that Dylan had made during the 1960s. His poetic lyrics truly impacted America as they rode through the Cold War, for the end of the Cold War did not come until 1991. Dylan was a man who helped shine light on the United State’s darkest patches. As he may have been terrified of the war itself, he was not scared to bring light to the matter. That is what made Bob Dylan a musical icon during the Cold War.
References
- Bob Dylan – With God On Our Side. (1964, January 13). Retrieved from https://genius.com/Bob-dylan-with-god-on-our-side-lyrics
- Christ Is Betrayed and Arrested. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/jesus/final-ministry/judas-betrays-kiss/
- How Many Americans Died in WW1? (2018, June 11). Retrieved from https://www.historyonthenet.com/how-many-americans-died-in-ww1
- Irving Berlin – God Bless America. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://genius.com/Irving-berlin-god-bless-america-lyrics
- Ligonier Ministries The teaching fellowship of R.C. Sproul. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/god-our-side/
- Menon, A. (n.d.). Evolution of Music During the Cold War – 1945-1991. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/16419320/Evolution_of_Music_During_the_Cold_War_-_1945-1991
- The Library of Congress. (n.d.). Great War & Jazz Age (1914-1928). Retrieved from http://www.americaslibrary.gov/jb/jazz/jb_jazz_wwi_2.html
- WITH GOD ON OUR SIDE. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.folkarchive.de/withgod.html
Essay on War Related Topics. (2021, Dec 26). Retrieved from https://paperap.com/essay-on-war-related-topics/
