By The Rivers Of Babylon

The song, “Rivers of Babylon”, was popular when I was younger . It was performed in the 1970s by the disco group Boney M. The band was hugely popular in Europe and Israel some 35 years ago. I still remember the melody.


The song's lyrics were taken from Psalm 137, including some words from Psalm 19:14.

By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down;
ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down;
ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.


When the wicked
Carried us away in captivity
Require from us a song -
Now how shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?


When the wicked
Carried us away in captivity
Requiring of us a song -
Now how shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?


Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts
be acceptable in Thy sight here tonight
Let the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts
be acceptable in Thy sight here tonight


By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down;
ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.
By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down
ye-eah we wept, when we remembered Zion.


By the rivers of Babylon (the waters of Babylon)
there we sat down (You got to sing a song)
ye-eah we wept, (Sing a song of love)
when we remember Zion. (Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah)


By the rivers of Babylon (by the rivers of Babylon)
there we sat down (You hear the people cry)
ye-eah we wept, (They need their God)
when we remember Zion. (Ooh, got the power)


By the rivers of Babylon, (oh yeah yeah)
where we sat down (yeah yeah)
Ye-eah we wept.........

Well, this week the group performed at Ramallah, but the local music festival prevented it from performing one of its biggest hits - because it mentioned the Jewish people's yearning for the Land of Zion.

According to the news, lead singer Maizie Williams said Palestinian Authority concert organizers told her not to sing "Rivers of Babylon." The organizers said they asked for the song to be skipped, because they found it "inappropriate”.

Muslim and Arab culture in general, tend to vehemently deny the connection between the People of Israel and the Land of Israel to the world and to themselves as well.

Yet the Bible – the book that Western civilization is built around –contains thousands of verses that establish the connection without a possible doubt. - The Jews' yearning for Israel and the Divine commandment of settling in Israel is among the most central themes of the Holy Book, if not the most central one. Repeatedly in the Bible, G-d exhorts the Jews to obey his commandments or suffer banishment from the Holy Land.

"I don't know if it is a political thing or what, but they asked us not to do it and we were a bit disappointed that we could not do it because we know that everybody loves this song no matter what," Williams said. "I believe you should entertain wherever you are asked to entertain, whether it is Israel, whether it is Palestine, whether it is Lebanon, where ever it is, we go," she added.

Don’t you love this song? I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm1g8FFRArc

With love - Lilo