Aside from the "howling" voice style that is close on both songs, I don't agree with Simon that this song is similar to "I Know a Place":
"When the hole world let you down" / "are you the victim of the system"
"I Know a Place" is a happier, lighter tune, rhythmics included. I'd say that in "I Know", a part that defines well the general mood is "there's a place in the sun, where there is love for everyone". And in "I Know", maybe the part "Any day now they gonna let you down, remember Natty will be there". It's like the first focuses on being under the light, and the second one, in a more earthly process.
To me, when Bob says: "are you a victim of the system" (emphasis are mine), he is being ironical. You are not. Other people are. And in the next sentence: "Any day now they gonna let you down", that's when you will become a victim of the system, and that's when Jah will be waiting to see us through. But that's just the way I hear it, of course.
I like Chillpill comment that Jah will be waiting for us here on Earth. That's also how I always heard this song. But the sentence "Bring my children from the end of earth" always puzzled me. He might be talking about the judgement day. Or he might be asking spiritual support for the "battles to be won".
This song is from the posthumous album Confrontation. On Wikipedia, they say many songs from this album were re-mixed, or copied and pasted from different versions, but we don't get any specific info on this song. I would very much like to know in which period was this song recorded, and if there were posthumous modifications...
Aside from the "howling" voice style that is close on both songs, I don't agree with Simon that this song is similar to "I Know a Place": "When the hole world let you down" / "are you the victim of the system"
"I Know a Place" is a happier, lighter tune, rhythmics included. I'd say that in "I Know", a part that defines well the general mood is "there's a place in the sun, where there is love for everyone". And in "I Know", maybe the part "Any day now they gonna let you down, remember Natty will be there". It's like the first focuses on being under the light, and the second one, in a more earthly process.
To me, when Bob says: "are you a victim of the system" (emphasis are mine), he is being ironical. You are not. Other people are. And in the next sentence: "Any day now they gonna let you down", that's when you will become a victim of the system, and that's when Jah will be waiting to see us through. But that's just the way I hear it, of course.
I like Chillpill comment that Jah will be waiting for us here on Earth. That's also how I always heard this song. But the sentence "Bring my children from the end of earth" always puzzled me. He might be talking about the judgement day. Or he might be asking spiritual support for the "battles to be won".
This song is from the posthumous album Confrontation. On Wikipedia, they say many songs from this album were re-mixed, or copied and pasted from different versions, but we don't get any specific info on this song. I would very much like to know in which period was this song recorded, and if there were posthumous modifications...