Rivers — Of Babylon

The most prominent feature of the song "Rivers of Babylon" is its lyrics, which are . The song specifically fuses two different scriptures from the Old Testament:

It was originally a Rastafari anthem recorded by the Jamaican reggae group The Melodians in 1970. Rivers Of Babylon

The opening lines about sitting by the rivers and weeping for Zion come from this psalm, which describes the Jewish people's yearning during their Babylonian exile. The most prominent feature of the song "Rivers

The section beginning with "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart" is taken from the end of this psalm. Key Historical & Musical Features The section beginning with "Let the words of

In the original Rastafarian context, "Babylon" represents any oppressive or unjust governmental system.

💡 The "rivers" mentioned in the title (and the Bible) refer to the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now present-day Iraq.