"You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond" (later titled "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond") is a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

song that is attributed to both tradition and to gospel blues musician

Blind Willie Johnson Blind Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was an American gospel blues singer, guitarist and evangelist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930—thirty songs in total—display a combination of powerful "ch ...

. Johnson first recorded the song in December 1930, although

Delta blues Delta blues is one of the earliest-known styles of blues. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and is regarded as a regional variant of country blues. Guitar and harmonica are its dominant instruments; slide guitar is a hallmark of the s ...

musician

Charley Patton Charley Patton (April 1891 (probable) – April 28, 1934), also known as Charlie Patton, was an American Delta blues musician and songwriter. Considered by many to be the "Father of the Delta Blues", he created an enduring body of American mus ...

recorded a similar "You're Gonna Need Somebody When You Die" in October 1929. Over the years, several other musicians have recorded renditions of the song.

Blind Willie Johnson

The lyrics of "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond" deal with "the idea that we will all need a legally binding guarantee to gain access to heaven" and that Jesus as our advocate "will provide us with a guarantee or bond, if we follow His ways". Johnson sang the song on the streets of towns in Texas as both entertainment and a calling to adhere to the teachings of Jesus. As with many of his songs, "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond" is performed with Johnson on lead vocals and

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

and an unknown female singer accompanying him on vocals. While it was first believed that his wife Angeline Johnson provided those backing vocals, it has since been refuted by Johnson's lead biographer. The second version, titled "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond" is nearly identical to the first, with slightly more subdued vocals and backing vocal provided by Willie B. Harris, sometimes considered to be Johnson's first wife. Johnson recorded the first version of the song for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

as "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond" on December 11, 1929, in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. He later recorded a second version titled "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond" on April 20, 1930, in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, which was Johnson's last recorded song. The songs appear on several Johnson compilation albums – both are included on ''The Complete Blind Willie Johnson'' (1993).

Buffy Sainte-Marie version

In 1964,

Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American (Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these are ...

recorded "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond" with slightly altered lyrics and included the song on her debut album, ''

It's My Way! ''It's My Way!'' is the first album by folk musician and songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. It was released in April 1964 by Vanguard Records. It was later released in Britain in the spring of 1965 by Fontana Records. Though the album did not chart, ...

''. While her debut album did not chart, it proved influential to both the American and British folk communities. Sainte-Marie recorded the song on acoustic guitar without using a slide and sang without any backup vocals.

Donovan version

Scottish singer-songwriter

Donovan Donovan Phillips Leitch (born 10 May 1946), known mononymously as Donovan, is a Scottish musician, songwriter, and record producer. He developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelic rock and world mus ...

recorded "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond" in early 1965 for inclusion on his debut album ''

What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid ''What's Bin Did and What's Bin Hid'' is the debut album from Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan. It was released in the UK four days after his nineteenth birthday on 14 May 1965, through Pye Records (catalog number NPL 18117). Terry Kennedy, P ...

''. Since Donovan recorded a version of " Universal Soldier" after hearing it on

's debut album, it is likely that he first heard "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond" from the same source. Hickory Records released "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond" backed with a cover of the song "The Little Tin Soldier" by

Shawn Phillips Shawn Phillips (born February 3, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, primarily influential in the 1960s and 1970s. His work is rooted in folk rock but straddles other genres, including jazz fusion and funk. Phillips has reco ...

, in November 1965 (Hickory 45-1375), but it did not appear in the singles chart.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:You'll Need Somebody On Your Bond 1929 songs Blind Willie Johnson songs Gospel songs Blues songs Donovan songs Buffy Sainte-Marie songs Taj Mahal (musician) songs