Ten Favorite River Songs: Rivers of Babylon (#6)

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Here comes another one of my favorite songs from the world of songs that have the word "river" in the title. Today's song is probably the shortest song I've ever used in a countdown. Here it is. Rivers of Babylon - Linda Ronstadt Clocking in at fifty two seconds in length to open side two of Linda Ronstadt's Grammy-winning Hasten Down the Wind album, "Rivers of Babylon" is -- as most of Ronstadt's songs are -- a cover. Here, however, she took a reggae song (originally by the Melodians in 1970) and turned it into an a cappella song that is simply stunning. The lyrics of this song come from the Psalms. The first two thirds of the song come from the lamentation of the captive Jews in the opening of Psalm 137. The final lines are from Psalm 19:15. Boney M. had a huge hit with a disco version of this. I much, much, much prefer the quiet simplicity and gorgeous harmonies of Ronstadt's version. Rivers of Babylon Written by Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton Recorded by Linda Ronstadt From Hasten Down the Wind, 1976 What harmonies: