Overture Manfred, Op. 115 - Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra & Vladimir Ashkenazy

My name it is nothing, my age it means less The country I come from is a part of the Free West I was taught and brought up there its laws to abide And that 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 For the country was young with God on its side Oh the first World War, it came and it went The reason for fighting I never could get But I learned to accept it, accept it with pride For you don't count the dead when God's on your side And then the second World War, it came to an end We forgave the Germans and now we are friends Though they murdered six million, in the ovens they fried The Germans now, too, have God on their side But now we have weapons of chemical dust And if fire them we're forced to, why then fire them we must One push of the button and a shot the worldwide And you never ask questions when God's on your side 'Tho many a long hour I've thought on this That Jesus Christ was betrayed by a kiss But I can't think for you, you will have to decide Whether Judas Iscariot had God on his side And now as I leave you, I'm weary as hell The confusion I'm feelin', there ain't no tongue can tell The words fill my head and drop to the floor That if God's on our side, he'll stop the next war.