I'd Like To Thank God

Five Best...Bob Dylan Overtly Religious Songs

#5. "Property of Jesus"

#4. "Foot of Pride"

#3. "Jokerman"

#2. "Precious Angel"

#1. "Every Grain of Sand"

One cut that could have made the list, "Tryin' To Get To Heaven" from Time Out of Mind, only got left out because it doesn't have the same religious theme that these five cuts do. In fact, its only true Christian overtone is the final line of every verse, "Tryin' to get to Heaven before they close the door."

If I could have a #5a, it'd be "Saving Grace" from Saved but it just barely missed the list.

Many people find it easy to pick on Dylan's "Jesus phase" but upon a close listen to Slow Train Coming, Saved and Shot of Love, you'd actually find some great material. Of course there is some junk like "Man Gave Names To All the Animals" but there's also junk on The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan like "Down the Highway." I would invite anyone who immediately trashes those three albums (I leave out Infidels because that's actually an album that people give accolades to) to give them another listen or two and remember that God isn't exactly a theme that Dylan used only for those brief 4 or 5 years. After all, on Bob Dylan, he records a version of "Gospel Plow" and nearly every line of John Wesley Harding has something religious in it.

And this is all coming from someone who essentially despises religion.