"Jah Live" is a song by

Bob Marley & The Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as The Wailers, and prior to that The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers and The Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

, released as a single in 1975. The song was recorded and released within days following the announcement of the death of

Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia 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 (' ...

whom

Rastafarians 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 of ...

see as the reincarnation of God, whom they call

Jah Jah or Yah ( he, , ''Yāh'') is a short form of (YHWH), the four letters that form the tetragrammaton, the personal name of God: Yahweh, which the ancient Israelites used. The conventional Christian English pronunciation of ''Jah'' is , even th ...

. The song was written as a message to the world that Haile Selassie I had not died as the

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 ...

n government of the time and (according to the song) detractors of the Rastafarian religion claimed. When the song was released, Selassie was claimed dead by the Ethiopian authorities but there was no body. Marley was prescient in response to the news that no body had not been found saying, "Yuh cyant kill God". In the song, Marley directly confronts those who doubt the

Rastafari movement 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 o ...

because of the apparent death of Selassie I: :Fools sayin' in their heart :Rasta your God is dead :But I and I know Jah! Jah! :Dreaded it shall be dreaded and dread... Though originally recorded as a single, the song has since been released on the 1992 box set '' Songs of Freedom'', as a bonus track on the 2001 re-release of Marley's 1976 album ''

Rastaman Vibration ''Rastaman Vibration'' is the eighth studio album by the reggae band Bob Marley and the Wailers, released in April 1976. Critical reception Reviewing for ''Rolling Stone'' in 1976, Robert Palmer said that on the album Marley consummately perfo ...

'' and in 2002 on its "deluxe edition", and on the compilations ''One Love: The Very Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers'' (2001) and ''

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

'' (2005). A

dub version Dub is an electronic music, electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered so ...

of the song, titled "Concrete", was released on the single's B-side. It has since been released on the deluxe edition of ''Rastaman Vibration'' in 2002. The song is featured in the closing credits of Countryman, the legendary rasta movie.

References

{{authority control Bob Marley songs 1975 singles Songs about Haile Selassie Songs written by Bob Marley Songs written by Lee "Scratch" Perry 1975 songs Island Records singles