GOD IS ON OUR SIDE

Editor's note: There are few more horrific things than war. Accounts of battles by those who survived them are especially heartbreaking. Men who were young, optimistic and full of joy, thinking only of their sweethearts and the grand sweep of life in front of them, suddenly finding themselves in the hell that is war, so often seem baffled at the turn of events that landed them in the raging inferno of death and destruction. Their humility and reverence for human life is as moving as it is unexpected. Great big men, hardened and grown old before their time, men who performed heroic deeds and witnessed horrors thankfully spared most of us, are rarely braggarts or aggressively macho men, and so often show a sweet, vulnerable tenderness for their fallen comrades that can bring tears to the most jaundiced eye. Having never been a soldier, I can only wonder what that is like, how monumentally powerful must be their emotions, their experiences and their seared memories. No one approves of war or ever wants to fight one, yet ordinary boys have been fighting them since the beginning of civilization. I wrote this song to try to make some sense of this cruel reality, wanting it to be over forever. One of these days I'll get around to recording it, but for now let me share these words and remember these boys:

GOD IS ON OUR SIDE
words & music R.R. Crespo


YOUNG, SO PROUD AND GRAVE
SO VERY CLEAR OF HEART AND MIND
TALL, AND STRONG AND BRAVE
THEY LEAVE THEIR MOTHERS' LOVE BEHIND
TRUE, THEY MARCH TO WAR
THEY MUST DEFEND THEIR NATION'S PRIDE
LIKE THOSE THAT MARCHED BEFORE
THEY KNOW THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE


OLD, AND VERY WISE
A GENERAL STANDS ON SOLDIERS' TRUST
PAIN, SHOWS IN HIS EYES
HE TELLS HIS MEN OUR CAUSE IS JUST
FIGHT, AND GLORY'S YOURS
AND IF YOU FALL, YOU FALL WITH PRIDE
LIKE THOSE WHO FELL BEFORE
WE KNOW THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE


MAMA DON'T YOU CRY
YOU KNOW THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE
AND IF I AM TO DIE
THE LORD WILL TAKE ME TO HIS SIDE
SO MAMA DON'T YOU CRY


LOVE, AND TEARS OF QGE
FILL UP A MOTHER'S HEART AND EYES
WHY, MUST WARS WE WAGE
WHY MUST A MOTHER ALWAYS CRY
WHY, THE GRAND PARADES
THE COLORED FLAGS, THE FOOLISH PRIDE
ALL THE DAYS WE PRAYED
WE PRAY THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE


MAMA DON'T YOU CRY
YOU KNOW THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE
AND IF I AM TO DIE
THE LORD WILL TAKE ME TO HIS SIDE
SO MAMA DON'T YOU CRY


BOLD, THE CANNON BLOWS
A THOUSAND MILES FROM HOME SWEET HOME
RED, THE RIVER FLOWS
A THOUSAND BOYS DIE ALL ALONE
GONE, A THOUSAND DREAMS
A THOUSAND OCEANS DEEP AND WIDE
AND IN THEIR FINAL SCREAMS
THEY PRAY THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE


MAMA DON'T YOU CRY
YOU KNOW THAT GOD IS ON OUR SIDE
AND IF I AM TO DIE
THE LORD WILL TAKE ME TO HIS SIDE
SO MAMA DON'T YOU CRY