God Told Me To (song)

Infobox Single
Name = God Told Me To


Cover size =
Caption =
Artist = Paul Kelly
Album = Stolen Apples
A-side = "God Told Me To"
B-side =
Released = June, 2007
Format = Digital download
Recorded =
Genre = Folk Rock
Length = 3:40
Label = EMI Music (Australia)
Writer = Paul Kelly
Producer = Paul Kelly and the Boon Companions
Certification =
Last single = "Won't You Come Around"
(2003)
This single = "God Told Me To"
(2007)
Next single =
Misc =

"God Told Me To" is the first single from Australian songwriter Paul Kelly's album "Stolen Apples".

The song deals with a fictional character called John Johanna, on trial for murder. To explain his actions, John defends himself by saying that God told him to do this. The song continues Paul Kelly's affair with using biblical imagery in his songs.

In an interview Kelly explainsquote|"The way for me into a song often is to imagine someone speaking. Sometimes that's the way the song starts, once you get the voice of that character. God Told Me To is an angry song, imagining a character that's kinda crazy and then writing in that voice. He sees evil and needs to wipe it out. And that's a form of acting, writing that way." [cite web|url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22018071-5003425,00.html |title=Paul Kelly has no answers|publisher=Courier Mail|last=McMahon|first=Bruce|date=2007-07-07|accessdate=2008-09-03] |Paul Kelly|2007

Kelly explains that he borrowed the opening line - "My name is John Johanna" - from American folk antiquity but points out that John is also the name of the author of the Book of Revelation, the apocalyptic last book of the New Testament. quote|"The last verse of the song is pretty much directly from Revelation, which is sort of the text of fundamental Christianity. George Bush, the religious right in America, they're all over it. But fundamentalist Islam is the same craziness." [cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/paul-kellys-divine-ideas/2007/07/05/1183351333192.html|title=Divine ideas|publisher=The Age|last=Dwyer|first=Micheal|date=2007-07-06|accessdate=2008-09-03] |Paul Kelly|2007

Video

The video for the song was first aired on ABC music video show rage in June of 2007. The contraversial video was directed by Natasha Pinkus, and is done in a single shot.cite web|url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,22018071-5003425,00.html |title=Kelly courts controversy with new clip|publisher=West Australian|last=Collins|first=Simon|date=2007-08-02|accessdate=2008-09-03] The camera zooms out slowly from Paul's eye, eventually revealing him to be tied up in a glass case in a pool of blood. Pinkus explains that the blood was Kelly's idea quote|"He said, ‘I’ve got a vision of blood, Tash’... He said, ‘I want to ask the question about how religious fanaticism can lead you to spill blood’."|Pinkus|2007

The video was nominated for a Dendy award at the 2007 Sydney Film Festival and won the 2007 Inside Film Award for 'Best Music Video'. [cite web|url=http://www.ifawards.com.au/AboutIF/Default.aspx?newsid=23|title=IF Awards (2007 winners)|publisher=IF Awards|accessdate=2008-09-03]

Personnel

* Paul Kelly - acoustic guitar, lead vocals
* Dan Kelly - electric guitar, banjo, vocals
* Dan Ludscombe - electric guitar, keyboards, vocals
* Peter Ludscombe - drums, percussion
* Bill McDonald - bass

References