By Bob Dylan
Oh my name it is nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
I's taught and brought up there
The laws to abide
And the 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 memorize
With guns on 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.
When 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 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 the 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.
In 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
If God's on our side
***
I have nothing against God.
But what did He have against humans?
Look at what He created.
Personally, if I was the Almighty, I would be a little upset with Myself.
Nay, I would be Mightily upset and very guilty and regretful at making this monster ("Paragon of Animals").
Maybe Jesus came here to get his Father off the hook.
But on another issue:
The National anthem has some poetic and nice words, but then there are all of those bombs bursting in the air (and on islands, deserts etc.).
Yes, I'm glad that our flag was there and is still here, and not the flag of Russia, Japan, Germany, England, or Libya.
As a superpower, we must keep our imperial muscles flexed
...our mighty missiles and bombs ready!
We will continue to sing our beloved, (jingoistic?), and patriotic anthem by Mr. Key.
For those who prefer to hear “America the Beautiful” instead of “The Star Spangled Banner”, let us recall that America has not always been Beautiful.
Nonetheless…
GOD SAVE THE WORLD!
P.S.
To General Electric:
PAY YOUR FAIR SHARE OF FEDERAL INCOME Taxes!
KEEP AMERICAN JOBS HERE!
Not in #@&@&^$!!!!
IT'S THE OIL STUPID!
***
NOTE:
The above was inspired by the letter below.
A woman wrote a letter appearing on March 24 that our national anthem is hard to sing and suggested it should be, "America the Beautiful."
It will never happen because of one line in that beautiful song, "God shed His grace on thee."
The next is probably also offensive to some:
"And crown thy good with brotherhood."
Many atheists are very vocal in denouncing the very mention of God. It cannot be mentioned in our schools or appear on any of our public buildings.
It is printed on our money and they detest that.
Our Constitution gives us freedom of religious choice, not freedom from religion!
Separation of church and state, I believe, stemmed from the fact that at that time governments were more controlled by the Roman Catholic Church than by their kings---England by the breakaway Anglican Church established by King Henry the VIII.
Many of our present states were established as religious colonies and we did not have true religious freedom of choice if we were in the wrong colony.
Carl Iseminger
THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming,
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,
O’er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;
O! say does that star-spangled banner yet wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe’s haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o’er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning’s first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
’Tis the star-spangled banner, O! long may it wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion,
A home and a country, should leave us no more?
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave,
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation.
Blest with vict’ry and peace, may the Heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust;”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!
IT'S THE OIL STUPID!
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