"You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond" (later titled "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond") is a gospel song that is attributed to both tradition and to Texan singer and guitarist Blind Willie Johnson. Johnson recorded the first version of the song for Columbia Records as "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond" on December 11, 1929, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He later recorded a second version titled "You're Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond" on April 20, 1930, in Atlanta, Georgia, which was Johnson's last recorded song.
As with many of Blind Willie Johnson's songs, "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond" is performed with Johnson on lead vocals and slide guitar 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.
The subject of "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond" is "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.
Read more about You'll Need Somebody On Your Bond: Buffy Sainte-Marie Version, Donovan Version, Other Recordings
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