While recovering from a hand injury in December, 1987, Bob Dylan sat at his kitchen table late one evening and wrote Political World. He no longer felt motivated to write songs, but according to his autobiography, Political World came to him spontaneously and was easy to write. Though no melody was composed, he came up with 20 verses. He recorded the song on his 26th studio album, Oh Mercy, which was released by Columbia Records in September 1989. Oh Mercy gave Dylan his best chart showing in years, reaching #30 on the Billboard charts in the United States and #6 in the UK.
The lyrics of Political World were written twenty-five years ago and still ring true today.