“Pride of Man” was written in 1964 by Hamilton Camp, a folk singer and actor, who recorded it on his debut solo album, Paths of Victory, issued around the end of 1964 or the start of 1965. The lyric is a warning to the nations. It tells the listener to turn back, and pictures Babylon laid to waste, Egypt buried in her shame, mighty men beaten down and kings falling, and the proud brought down by their own pride, before it closes asking God for mercy and for the holy mountain to be restored.
Gordon Lightfoot recorded it for his debut album, Lightfoot! (United Artists, January 1966), and Quicksilver Messenger Service made it the first track of their 1968 debut album, with horns from members of the Electric Flag. Tony Rice recorded it as a solo vocal and guitar piece on Church Street Blues (Sugar Hill, 1983), with Wyatt Rice on rhythm guitar. Punch Brothers recorded it in November 2020 at Blackbird Studios in Nashville for Hell on Church Street (Nonesuch, 2022), with Chris Thile on lead vocal.
