"War" lyrics

"War"

Until the philosophy which hold one race
Superior and another inferior
Is finally
And permanently
Discredited
And abandoned
Everywhere is war
Me say war

That until there are no longer
First-class and second-class citizens of any nation
Until the colour of a man's skin
Is of no more significance than the colour of his eyes
Me say war

That until the basic human rights
Are equally guaranteed to all
Without regard to race
Dis a war

That until that day
The dream of lasting peace
World citizenship
Rule of international morality
Will remain in but a fleeting illusion to be pursued
But never attained
Now everywhere is war
War

And until the ignoble and unhappy regime
That hold our brothers in Angola
In Mozambique
South Africa
Sub-human bondage
Have been toppled
Utterly destroyed
Well, everywhere is war
Me say war

War in the east
War in the west
War up north
War down south

War, war
Rumors of war
And until that day
The African continent
Will not know peace
We Africans will fight, we find it necessary
And we know we shall win
As we are confident
In the victory
Of good over evil

Good over evil, yeah!
Good over evil
Good over evil, yeah!
Good over evil
Good over evil, yeah!


Writer(s): Carlton Lloyd Barrett, Allen Cole
The lyrics of this song are heavily inspired by a speech of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I before the United Nations General Assembly in 1963. Selassie was not only one of the most prominent African leaders of his time, but he was respected very much by Bob Marley and Rastafarians.
When Sinead O'Connor performed this song on Saturday Night Live in 1992, she said to the audience, "Fight the real enemy," and tore up a photo of the Pope John Paul II.
A different mix of this song was released as a bonus track on the Deluxe Edition of the "Rastaman Vibration" album in 2002 with an extra verse also adapted by Bob Marley from the original Haile Selassie I's speech.
A version of this song was released as a vinyl single in Jamaica in December 1997 with samples of Bob Marley's voice saying "Rastafari is the prince of Peace" and with the original recording of Haile Selassie I's Amharic speech done in 1963.
Brazilian thrash metal band Sepultura made a cover of this song in 1996.
Alicia Keys has once performed this song with Bob Marley's son Julian Marley.
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