Songfacts®:

• This song is Kris Kristofferson's commentary on American military operations overseas. The first line makes his stance crystal clear:
  
  They're killing babies in the name of freedom
  
  The song was released in March 1990, before the US invaded Iraq. Kristofferson doesn't refer to a specific conflict in the song, but the most recent one was an invasion of Panama in December 1989 to oust the dictator Manuel Noriega.
  
  George H. W. Bush was the US president at this time, and for the most part, Americans supported his military incursions, including Panama. This put Kristofferson at odds with the listening public, especially in the realm of country music. He took a lot of heat but stuck to his guns, remaining outspoken in condemning American military policy.
  
  Unlike many who took him to task, Kristofferson had a distinguished career in the military before he became a singer-songwriter. He joined the Army in 1960 and rose to the rank of captain before leaving in 1965.
• "Don't let the bastards get you down" was a credo for Kristofferson and became his catch phrase. It's a statement of integrity, holding to what you know is true in the face of staunch opposition. He evoked it in 1992 after he introduced another rabble-rouser, Sinéad O'Connor, at a Bob Dylan tribute concert in Madison Square Garden. O'Connor was under fire for tearing up a photo of the Pope on live TV, and when she took the stage, a chorus of boos erupted along with a smattering of supportive cheers. She stood motionless until Kristofferson returned to encourage her, saying, "Don't let the bastards get you down."
  
  O'Connor was slated to sing Dylan's "I Believe In You," but pivoted to an a cappella rendition of Bob Marley's "War." This drew even more contempt from the crowd.
  
  Kristofferson stuck by her and even wrote a song about her, "Sister Sinead," which appears on his 2009 album Closer To The Bone.
• In the wake of the Gulf War, Kristofferson changed the lyrics to the spoken part when he performed the song live to some variation of this passage:
  
  Bombin' Baghdad back into the stone age
  Around the clock non-stop
  Killed them in their homes and on their highways
  Then after a decade of crippling sanctions we decided to do it all over again
  Fighting terrorism
• This was included on Kristofferson's album Third World Warrior, which is loaded with political songs, including the title track. Around this time, he was also active with his group The Highwaymen, which also included Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings.