Rivers of Babylon, a super-hit raggae song by the ’70s-’80s German musical group Boney M, has been the favourite of listeners irrespective of religious or cultural persuasion for thirty-three years. It was released in 1978 in the group’s album Nightflight to Venus.
However, not everyone knows that Boney M based their song on a biblical hymn, Psalm 137:1-4, with slight changes.
Psalm 137 says:
“[1] By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
[2] We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
[3] For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
[4] How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land?”
And Boney M croon as follows:
“By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
Yeah, we wept, when we remembered Zion
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
Yeah, we wept, when we remembered Zion
There the wicked
Carried us away in captivity
Required from us a song
Now how shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”
The photo above shows the exact location of the hymn in the Bible.
The point is that there are many songs and poems in English and many other languages that have purely religious backgrounds but people enjoy and sing them irrespective of their own faiths without knowing the background. Musicians such as Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and Bob Marley all have rendered songs that were directly gospel or alluded to religion. Indian songs? Plenty. So, while you enjoy the songs, be aware that they might contain certain meanings and allusions that are either obvious or hidden.
