"Iron Lion Zion" is a song written and recorded in April 1973 or 1974 by Jamaican singer and songwriter

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...

. It was first released posthumously on 7 September 1992 on the '' Songs of Freedom'' box set, reaching number five in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Additionally, the single also peaked within the top 10 in Belgium, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, "Iron Lion Zion" peaked at number eight. Outside Europe, it reached number two in New Zealand, number 71 in Australia and number 11 on the US '' Billboard'' Modern Rock Tracks chart. A remixed version was released as a single and later included in 1995 on '' Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On''.

Lyrics

The song's lyrics are directly related to

Rastafarian Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control ...

beliefs.

Zion Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Nam ...

, "the promised land" in the song, is referring to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

. The lion refers to the

Lion of Judah The Lion of Judah ( he, אריה יהודה, ) is a Jewish national and cultural symbol, traditionally regarded as the symbol of the tribe of Judah. The association between the Judahites and the lion can first be found in the blessing given b ...

, which appeared on the old royal Ethiopian flag, and represents

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

- the former Ethiopian emperor, whom Rastafarians regard as their

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

Critical reception

Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' wrote, "Rockers'

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

with pop swing and dance sizzle, this propulsive, previously unreleased jewel from the new '' Songs of Freedom'' boxed set features a wonderfully exultant vocal from Marley, plus the terrific horn of

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

. A smash in the U.K., it deserves to explode here." Randy Clark of '' Cash Box'' felt that "this cut is both club- and radio-friendly". A reviewer from '' Music & Media'' said, "Of course it's a little bit reworked in the studios with additional musicians such as the

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

saxophonist Courtney Pine and female vocal trio I Trees, featuring Marley's widow

Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...

. Bound to be a classic like the posthumously released "

Buffalo Soldier Buffalo Soldiers originally were members of the 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on September 21, 1866, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. This nickname was given to the Black Cavalry by Native American tribes who fought in th ...

" in 1983." Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' declared it as a "Marley masterpiece", and "a hugely commercial, lightly dubbed and joyous reminder of his talent". J.D. Considine for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' viewed it as "fiery". Eric Snider from the ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' described it as an "infectious" track.

Track listings

* 7" single #"Iron Lion Zion" – 3:21 #"Smile Jamaica" (by Bob Marley & the Wailers) – 3:13 * CD maxi #"Iron Lion Zion" (7" mix) – 3:21 #"Smile Jamaica" (by Bob Marley & the Wailers) – 3:12 #"Three Little Birds" (alternative mix) (by Bob Marley & the Wailers) – 2:55 #"Iron Lion Zion" (12" mix) – 7:02

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Sources

* {{authority control 1973 songs 1992 singles Bob Marley songs Songs written by Bob Marley Songs about Haile Selassie