Rivers Of Babylon
The Melodians
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By the rivers of Babylon Where he sat down And there he wept When he remembered Zion 'Cause the wicked carried us away, captivity Required from us a song How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land? 'Cause the wicked carried us away, captivity Required from us a song How can we sing King Alpha song in a strange land? Sing it out loud Sing a song of freedom, sister Sing a song of freedom, brother, whoa We gotta sing and shout it We gotta jump and shout it, yeah Shout the song of freedom now Whoa, whoa, whoa So let the words of our mouth And the meditation of our heart Be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Far I So let the words of our mouth And the meditation of our heart Be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Far I Sing it again We've got to sing it together We've got to shout it together Ohh, na-na-na Whoa, whoa, whoa By the rivers of Babylon Where we sat down And there we wept When we remembered Zion Oh, the wicked carried us away in captivity Required from us a song How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land? 'Cause the wicked carried us away in captivity Required from us a song How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land? Sing it, sing it, sing it You've got to sing it, brother We've got to sing it, sister
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Written by: James Agustus Mcnaughton, Frank Farian, George Reyam, Brent Gayford Dowe
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Downtown Music Publishing
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
12 facts about this song
Origin"Rivers of Babylon" was originally recorded by the Jamaican reggae band "The Melodians" in 1970.
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InspirationThe song lyrics are adapted from the Biblical Psalms 137 and 19. The Psalms narrate the despair and longing of the Jewish people during Babylonian exile.
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Record labels"The Melodians" released the song under the record label "Beverley's Records", while "Boney M." released it with "Hansa Records."
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Worldwide hitBoney M.’s version of "Rivers of Babylon" was released in 1978 and became a major global hit, reaching the top 10 charts in 20 countries.
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UK Charts HistoryThe song spent five weeks at the No.1 spot on the UK Singles Chart, making Boney M. the first band since The Beatles to have two singles in the UK's top 10 at the same time.
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LanguageThe song includes a few lines in the Rastafarian language.
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Triple PlatinumIn the UK alone, "Rivers of Babylon" sold not less than two million copies and is one of the few singles to have achieved triple platinum status.
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7th Best-selling SingleIn the UK, it is the seventh best-selling single of all time.
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Cover VersionsBesides Boney M., "Rivers of Babylon" has been covered by various musicians worldwide including Sublime, Linda Ronstadt, and Steve Earle.
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Soundtrack InclusionThe Melodians' original version of the song was included in the soundtrack of the 1972 movie "The Harder They Come."
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Annual salesThe song has maintained consistent annual sales and downloads even after four decades of its release, especially during the times of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
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The Melodians' AwardsIn 2019, The Melodians' version of "Rivers of Babylon" was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry for its cultural, historical and aesthetic importance.
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Citation
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