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The Heathen Lyrics
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
Rise up fallen fighters;
Rise and take your stance again.
'Tis he who fight and run away
Live to fight another day.
With de heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
As a man sow, shall he reap
And I know that talk is cheap.
But the hotter the battle
A the sweeter Jah victory.
With de heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
---
/Guitar solo/
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
---
Rise up, fallen fighters:
Rise and take your stance again.
'Tis he who fight and run away
Live to fight another day.
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
Rise and take your stance again.
'Tis he who fight and run away
Live to fight another day.
With de heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
And I know that talk is cheap.
But the hotter the battle
A the sweeter Jah victory.
With de heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
---
/Guitar solo/
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
---
Rise up, fallen fighters:
Rise and take your stance again.
'Tis he who fight and run away
Live to fight another day.
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
De heathen back dey 'pon de wall!
De heathen back, yeah, 'pon de wall!
Song Info
Submitted by
spliphstar On Jan 08, 2002
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"Rise up, fallen fighters: Rise and take your stance again. 'Tis he who fight and run away Live to fight another day."
So true.. so true..
That's why bulllies keep bullying - Because no one keep them stopping!!
To me this song is about learning how to cope with people in life. Sometimes, you have to fight and if you run away, you will meet the same people again (you will live to fight another day).
This explains why people, if they have had a difficult childhood, choose someone who is like like their father/mother as a partner. So they continue to fight the battle they ran away from when they left their parents.It also explains why some people continue to face the same problems in every relationship they enter. They never fight the battle through but run away before it is over.
Only if you fight the battle through, you will be able to leave someone who is not good for you without meeting them again.
I strongly believe that "fight", "battle" and "victory" are just metaphors here. He is not singing about fighting against people but about solving problems within yourself. Sometimes you have to fight a battle within yourself before you learn how to handle certain types of people or accept people the way they are.
@Euliz Possibly, Euliz, but I think you have misunderstood the idiom. 'He who fights then runs away, lives to fight another day' means don't fight a greater power if you are going to get beaten, retire with valour but look to fight when you have a better chance of winning.
@Euliz Possibly, Euliz, but I think you have misunderstood the idiom. 'He who fights then runs away, lives to fight another day' means don't fight a greater power if you are going to get beaten, retire with valour but look to fight when you have a better chance of winning.
But I have no idea what the song might mean.
But I have no idea what the song might mean.
Sadly, after hearing the faster live version from Pittsburgh in september 1980, the studio version gets slooooooow. You need to be stoned I guess.
the studio version is actually faster, listen to live recording @ pavilion de paris, the one with the heavy bass
the studio version is actually faster, listen to live recording @ pavilion de paris, the one with the heavy bass
I agree that "Heathen back dey pon de wall" literally means "The heathens are back there on the wall" and I think they're speaking allegorically about a battle, like in biblical times, where the enemy is climbing onto the wall bordering the city and they're trying to get in. I also like the interpretation about election posters, though. That's another good analogy. I also appreciate the comments by Eulizon April 12, 2014 about the internal battle that we all fight.
@Skriddles I'm sorry that's not the translation. "Dey" is a Jamaican creole verb meaning to be at a place or location. It translates to "The heathen's backs are against the wall"
@Skriddles I'm sorry that's not the translation. "Dey" is a Jamaican creole verb meaning to be at a place or location. It translates to "The heathen's backs are against the wall"
"De heathen back dey 'pon de wall"
Full explanation:
https://books.google.com.au/books?id=vHOyCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA134&lpg=PA134&dq=bible+heathen+back+their+pon+de+wall&source=bl&ots=uckzmGZra6&sig=ACfU3U3fTUotvClQbixkgvrtwAWR3XtAew&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwji7MXY25_iAhUVmuYKHThmDmAQ6AEwBHoECAgQAQ
The Heathen's (oppressor's) backs are against the wall. When you are winning don't stop fighting.
[Edit: Correction]
Damn, this song is so good. If you see on a live tape, i can assure you you'll be a rastafarian in no time.