"Dear God" is a song by the English rock band XTC that was first released as a non-album single with the A-side "Grass".

After college radio DJs across America picked up the song, US distributor Geffen Records recalled and re-pressed Skylarking with the track included.

[2] Partridge was dissatisfied with "Dear God" as he felt the lyrics were not representative of his views on religion, which was partly the reason it was left off Skylarking.

In the US, one radio station received a bomb threat, and in another incident, a student forced their school to play the song over its public-address system while holding a faculty member hostage.

[6]He conceived the music in a skiffle style[6] but while playing the Beatles' "Rocky Raccoon", Partridge was inspired to move "Dear God" closer to that song's direction.

[3] The track did not appear on initial pressings of Skylarking, but was included as part of the album's original planned running order, which was sequenced by Rundgren.

"[8] Rundgren had a different recollection, and said that Partridge demanded that the song be pulled because "He was afraid that there would be repercussions personally for him for taking on such a thorny subject. ...

US distributor Geffen Records were then "bombarded with enquiries about a song of which they knew nothing, recalled the album and re-pressed it with Dear God reinstated.

"[2] In June 1987, "Dear God" was reissued as an A-sided single in both markets, reaching number 99 in the UK and failing to chart in the US.

"[14] He returned to biblical themes for "Garden of Earthly Delights", a children's guide to the world that served as the opening track on their follow-up album, Oranges & Lemons (1989).