Wars, lies and lyrics: With God on Our Side

[Better Believe It]

Wars, lies and lyrics
By Marwan Bishara
Marwan Bishara is Al Jazeera's senior political analyst.

August 4, 2010

Surprise, surprise ... the US government did not tell the whole truth, yet again, about its war conduct, and indeed misled the public about the true record of the war.

I personally have not met anyone who has been shocked by the revelations in the documents published by WikiLeaks, but many are surprised - not so much by the novelty of it all, but rather by the mundane repetition of more of the same deception.

It is déjà vu all over again. Governments lie, especially about war and violence. And the media as well as the elites remain numb and indifferent until their wars go sour and begin to hurt at home as we saw in Iraq after 2005 and today in Afghanistan.

Bob Dylan's With God on Our Side summarised two centuries of war. As you read it and preferably hear it, you will notice that the lyrics finish in the early 1960s. Perhaps you could write back to me with your suggested update to the lyrics ...

With God on Our Side
By Bob Dylan

Oh my name it ain't nothin'
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's made to memorise
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 a many 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.

See the Dylan video at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF92JKKlfRM



Read the full article at:

http://blogs.aljazeera.net/imperium/2010/08/04/wars-lies-and-lyrics

[driver8]

1. Very powerful lyrics...thank you for sharing this. n/t