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Rivers of Babylon

from 15 Songs Live (2016) by Matthew Embry

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A Rastafarian song by Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton recorded by The Melodians in 1970. It is based on adapted versions of Biblical Psalms 19 and 137 about the capture of the Jews by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and their being taken to Babylon and held in captivity. In the Rastafarian faith, Babylon represents any repressive, unjust government and in Jamaica it also means the police because of their arrests for the smoking of marijuana, considered sacramental. The song was immediately banned by the Jamaican government for the adaptations from the actual Psalms. The producer fought back, questioning the government's judgment in banning a song that was nearly, word for word, from the Bible and the government lifted the ban. Within three weeks it was No 3 on Jamaican charts. It appeared in the soundtrack album of the film “The Harder They Fall” with Nicholas Cage, making it internationally known. Then in 1978, the German disco band Boney M's, recording was quickly very successful.

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from 15 Songs Live (2016), released April 23, 2016

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Matthew Embry/The Technical Difficulties Radio Show Fresno, California

Upcoming ME-related Shows:
4/22...Golden Madera
4/23...Cedar Creek
4/24...Cedar Memory
4/25...Truewood
4/26...Cedarbrook
4/27...Tower PorchFest (w/ Tony Imperatrice, Chris Janzen Trio, Blake Jones, Chelsea Jones, Ruth and the Kernel)

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