Jah Live
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “Jah Live” | ||
|---|---|---|
| Single by Bob Marley & The Wailers | ||
| B-side | "Concrete" | |
| Released | Autumn 1975 | |
| Recorded | Autumn 1975, Harry J Studio, Kingston, Jamaica | |
| Genre | Reggae | |
| Label | Tuff Gong/Island | |
| Writer(s) | Bob Marley, Lee Perry | |
| Producer | Bob Marley, Lee Perry | |
"Jah Live" is a song by Bob Marley & The Wailers, released as a single in 1975. The song was recorded and released within days following the death of Haile Selassie whom Rastafarians believe was the third incarnation of God, called Jah. The song was written as a message to the world that Haile Selassie had not died as detractors of the Rastafarian religion claimed. When the song was released, Selassie was assumed dead but his body would not be recovered until the early 1990s. Rastafarians believed there was no body since Selassie was immortal. Marley was prescient in response to the news that no body had not been found saying, "Yuh cyant kill God".
In the song, Marley directly confronts those who doubt Rastafarianism because of the apparent death of Selassie:
- Fools sayin' in their heart
- Rasta your God is dead
- But I and I know Jah! Jah!
- Dreaded it shall be dreaded and dread...
Though originally recorded as a single, the song has since been released on the 1992 box set Songs of Freedom, as a bonus track on the 2001 re-release of Marley's 1976 album Rastaman Vibration and in 2002 on it's "deluxe edition", and on the compilations One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers (2001) and Gold (2005).
A dub version of the song, titled "Concrete", was released on the single's B-side. It has since been released on the deluxe edition of Rastaman Vibration in 2002.
