Don McLean - Waters of Babylon

[queryunknown]

Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?

Can be applied to current events..

[queryunknown]

@queryunknown - history of the people of the book, taken captive. Yet they do not remember as they drive others to captivity.. 

[blackwingking9]

This is a song about the sadness of defeat. These emotions have been felt by almost all groups of people. We have pieces of art like The Dying Gaul. This is just another group of people expressing their sorrow of their exodus of power.

[anterlevi]

I'm a muslim and i love this song. It's more than about religion.

[JackieHakalaJackson]

We used to sing this in elementary school... Not because we were a religious school, but because they thought we should know a little about a lot of different religions. I never knew it was actually recorded, always though it was just a traditional song.

[whatabeautifulSAN]

Hahah i remember in elementary school we had to' sing it and the teacher picked 3 out of 21 people in pur class for the school choir...and I haven t been choosen :P

[Mikenif]

Dont drink the kool aid!!

[Roihazel]

I did this as a warm up in choir as a senior in high school. Lots of fun in a round.

[Raegan571]

I have never even heard of this song until a couple weeks ago in my music class(7th grade). I love this!!!!

[myfrees]

thanks, mad men!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[pblair1977]

Great song...I loved it as a kid in 1972 and I still love it. This is the definitive version of it, as far as I'm concerned. Thanks for uploading it.

[linkinparkfan1998a]

I LOVE THIS MUSIC!!

But it's SION and no ZION!!! =)

[satyrix1]

@linkinparkfan1998a Its the same thing the are synonym's for Jerusalem.

[sebulia1]

I'm also an atheist and this song is simply beautiful; also loved the version they played at the beatnik coffee house in "Mad Men" season 1, episode called "Babylon."

[supamegaman3000]

@sebulia1 i just watched that and was wondering why it was in the show as the song only came out in the 70s.. its bothering me more than it should. :P

[sebulia1]

@supamegaman3000

The song (first two verses) were originally set to music by an Englishman in the 18th century. McLean's version is a cover of that. "Waters of Babylon" is an ancient Judaic song.

But you're quite right in that the version used on the show "Mad Men" sounded much like the McLean version from '71.

[Trogdorwillrise]

i remember listening to this cassette as a kid all the time... this one was one of my favorites :p

[theamy305]

we sing this song at school in music

[CherryPie640]

@theamy305 We too ^^

[02kadir]

fuck the zion :D

[Nubiex7]

i'm in zion right now :)

[xoxAnnaVidsxox]

we sing this in 3 part harmony in my choir class for warmups and i absolutley love it

[Piggysfly17]

@xoxAnnaVidsxox we do too, that's how i found it!

[vesegdaliva777]

üzücü

[minettegrange]

j'ai découvert cette chanson dans Mad men...beautiful!

[Isurvived4]

I saw Don McLean live at Hamilton Place approximately 1978. This is a beautiful song and was reminded of it when I was doing my Bible reading for this week. Part of which is Psalm 137:1-4 Such a beautiful reading.

[onceandfutureprince]

I'm an agnostic, non practicing Jew and this song blew me away first time I heard it (yep, on Mad Men.) Still does. The nice thing about the bible is that if you don't take a fundamentalist stance, it's all open to interpretation. The psalm/this song can mean for you whatever you want/need it to mean. Where/what are your waters of babylon? Where/what is your Zion, and what do you remember about it that makes you weep?

[PSYCHOPATHsam]

@onceandfutureprince The Hebrews were first enslaved by the king of Babylon and ripped away from their home Zion, or Jerusalem. Later on being freed by the Persian king Cyrus when Babylon fell into our hands overnight without a drop of blood shed. Your questions aren't religious interpretations, they're historical facts.

[evanjellydonut]

thumbs up if you came here after seeing boney M's rivers of babylon!..... didn't think so..

[hectorfigs95]

cool song



[beangrinder]

It's not so much a religious song as it is a historical reference to the Jewish people in exile in Babylon longing for their homeland.

[StreetsingerJohn]

You can hear the 18th-century original of this round, posted on YouTube by Streetsinger John.

[chestean]

one of the most beautful melody of all time!a very soothing sound indeed!

[Lolbassist]

Literally goosebumps all over.....damn.

[LilMissLacy1128]

This is so beautiful... I don't care what religion you are or what you believe in. You cannot deny the wonderful sadness of this song.

[killuminati003]

This has been a favorite Bible verse of mine for some time, but I was unaware of this song until I heard it on Mad Men.

[omsmc]

junior cert 2011 :D

[BlackHoleSun1921]

Chilling ending to a brilliant album.

[jarabaa]

Does anyone know where the tune comes from? I heard Don Mclean sing it about 40 years ago. Of course it is a verse from Psalm 137. Obviously it's not the version of the Psalm text sung by the Melodians or Boney M ("The Rivers of Babylon", including words from Psalm 19). I cannot locate it anywhere as any sort of arrangement - not composed, nor "traditional", nor folk, nor Scottish, nor Appalachian, nor written by Don himself. But he must have got it from somewhere...

[bwp505]

@jarabaa You were asking for the source of Don McLean's use of the 137th Psalm in his song 'Babylon. I found this reference: The first verse was also used for a musical setting in a round by English composer Philip Hayes. Don McLean covered the song as 'Babylon', which was the final track on his 1971 album American Pie.

[mousiemo96]

Mad Men?

[cellphone96]

@mousiemo96 YES great show just started watching

[lydia13]

@mousiemo96 Mad men.

[trustmeimadocktor]

I prefer this version to Manfred Mann's on The Roaring Silence, but both are good.

[andy130109]

the 1 dislike is from a ignorant atheist

[Trowns]

@andy130109

Or maybe from a person that has realized religions are just a frickin' big hoax.

[AngelaCheerOfGaia]

@andy130109 I'm pagan and think this is simply wonderful!~ >w<

[robocock237]

@andy130109 How is an atheist ignorant? Judging others for their point of view is ignorant my friend, you are what is wrong with society.

[Vogelfrei777]

@andy130109

Did you write the book of love,

And do you have faith in God above,

If the Bible tells you so?

[byakugan2173]

@andy130109

i'm an atheist and i love this song.

i really don't think that any atheist would overlook this song because of it's religious tone...

[studentofthegospel]

@byakugan2173 I'm sorry, but such a thing is quite common among your fellows... I know of a few who will log onto a video with the sole purpose of disliking it.

[Sonichero151]

@byakugan2173 thats true most of my friends are atheists and they like this song too

[vigtigyou2uber]

@byakugan2173 I think we need to accept that the majority of our fellow atheist friends are smug douchebags. Just like the majority of religious people.

[flimflam0069]

@byakugan2173 Thank you. I'm an atheist as well, and I think it's ridiculous for anyone to think that any type of aesthetic experience should be relegated to the subject that would have an affection for the theme of the aesthetic. Personally, I like a lot of Chagal, even though it's religious art. What's beautiful is a found value that's discovered by the subject, and I think the discovery of this value shouldn't be oversimplified or typified.

[MrChelomo]

@byakugan2173

Actually, I don't see anything religious in that song. Sure it speaks of the jews, but the jews are as much a nation as a religious group. It seems to me it's about the jews lamenting the loss of their homeland (Zion) while at the foreign court of Babylon.

[gushjones]

@andy130109 One of the stupidest comments in youtube.

[ferociousgumby]

I first heard this on Mad Men in a coffee house scene. Very similar arrangement, but the harmonies are more densely layered here, Very eerie and beautiful! One only wishes it were longer. The banjo accompaniment is brilliant.

[TelecasterLPGTop]

@ferociousgumby Sorry Anything praising, lamenting a force as nasty and murderous as Israel does nothing for me.

[KristieHerself]

100 likes. 0 dislikes. brilliant <3

[killerman0922]

im singing this song in my school concert

and im having surgery that day too =(

[killerman0922]

im singing this song in my school concert

[MarthaStout0202]

We had American Pie on 8-track! This was my favorite song.

[harrismo49]

I remember when he got a whole bunch of us MIT nerds to sing it in a round, ?1978, and I got his autograph...

[ognywogny]

From Psalm 137:1

[littlenannybot]

i thought it was 'we remember we remember we remember thee"

[dsvelazquez]

amazing

[Dadutta]

this is amazingly beautiful

[TheTheodu65]

excellent (french win)

[Skatergirlz1515]

I learned different lyrics for this. I'm choir and I learned: Please remember me

Remember me

Remember me Zion.

[dpbj602]

@Skatergirlz1515 you are an entire choir?

[ZellBell44]

@dpbj602 lol no im in a choir and thts how we learned the end of it. i forgot the "in". would've thought ud have got tht <.<

[dpbj602]

@ZellBell44 Oh I did, it was just more fun to assume you didn't forget the in =P

[dodismom]

My favourite Don McLean song...thank you for posting it!

[JohnathanLingo]

thank you for posting this. It just may be the saddest song I've ever heard and I hadn't heard it before.