Song
It was one of the first reggae songs to become an international hit, despite Dekker's strong Jamaican accent which made his lyrics difficult to understand for audiences outside Jamaica. In 1969 it reached the Top Ten in the United States, peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It hit number one in the United Kingdom,[4] Netherlands, Jamaica, South Africa, Canada, Sweden and West Germany. The song came almost two years after Dekker first made his mark with the rude boy song, "007 (Shanty Town)".
"Israelites" brought a Jamaican beat to the British pop fans for the first time since Millie's number two hit "My Boy Lollipop". But 1969 was the right time for reggae to make a breakthrough in the United Kingdom. The Beatles, as always the trendsetters back then, had recorded their own reggae-influenced song, "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", which the pop group Marmalade subsequently took to number one. The disc was released in the UK in March 1969 and was number one for two weeks, selling over 250,000 copies. A global million sales was reported in June 1969.
Years later Dekker explained how "Israelites" was written. "It all happened so quickly. I didn't write that song sitting around a piano or playing a guitar. I was walking in the park, eating corn. I heard a couple arguing about money. She was saying she needed money and he was saying the work he was doing was not giving him enough. I relate to those things and began to sing a little song - 'You get up in the morning and you slaving for bread.' By the time I got home it was complete."
Desmond Dekker had two more UK Top Ten hits over the next year, "It Miek" and his cover of Jimmy Cliff's song, "You Can Get It If You Really Want".
Dekker recorded on the Pyramid record label, and when its catalogue was acquired by Cactus Records in 1975, "Israelites" was re-issued. The song again reached a Top Ten position in the United Kingdom a little over six years after the original release. Dekker re-recorded the song later in the decade, and almost accomplished the same feat in Belgium, where it just missed the Top Ten.
Lyrics
"Get up in the morning / Slaving for bread sir / So that every mouth can be fed / Oh, oh, the Israelites". So begins one of the most seminal songs ever released by a Jamaican artist. The impact of "The Israelites" can never be overstated. It was the first of the island's releases in history to achieve an international breakthrough, the first to ever top the British chart, and the first to break into the U.S. market, where it soared into the Top Ten.
Israelites
Desmond Dekker & The Aces Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So that every mouth can be fed
Poor me Israelites Aah
Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir
So that every mouth can be fed
Poor me Israelite
Darling, she said, I was yours to be seen
Poor me Israelite
Shirt them a-tear up, trousers is gone
I don't want to end up like Bonnie and Clyde
Poor me Israelite
After a storm there must be a calm
They catch me in the farm
You sound your alarm
Poor a-poor a-poor me Israelite
I said I get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir
So that every mouth can be fed
Poor me Israelite Aah
I said my wife and my kids, they are packed up and leave me
Darling, she said, I was yours to be seen
Poor me Israelites Aah
Look Me shirts them a-tear up, trousers are gone
I don't want to end up like Bonnie and Clyde
A-poor a-poor me Israelites Aah
After a storm there must be a calm
They catch me in the farm
You sound your alarm
Poor me Israelite
A-poor a-poor a-poor me Israelites Aah
The lyrics of Desmond Dekker's song Israelites speak to the struggles of being a working-class citizen in Jamaica during the mid-1960s. It depicts the daily grind of waking up early to work hard for a living to provide for oneself and their family. The term "slaving for bread" metaphorically represents the hard and tedious work that people must do just to put food on the table. The word "Israelites" was used as a reference to the struggles of the working-class black population who identified with the biblical Israelites' oppression and exodus from Egypt. They were also seeking freedom from colonialism and poverty.
The second stanza tells the story of a man who lost his wife and kids. They left him because he wasn't making enough money to support them, leaving him heartbroken and lonely. The third stanza talks about the man's clothes being torn and gone, similar to the notorious criminal duo Bonnie and Clyde. It represents the fear of becoming a victim of violence or crime while living in poverty. The final stanza speaks of the struggle of living under constant fear and pressure. The metaphorical storm represents the hardships of life, and the calm signifies the hope for a brighter future. But, at the end of the day, life often catches up, and the working-class population is left fighting for survival.
Line by Line Meaning
Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir
I wake up early in the morning to work hard and earn bread, sir.
So that every mouth can be fed
It is my responsibility to work hard so that everyone in my community can have food to eat.
Poor me Israelites Aah
Unfortunately, I am one of the many struggling Israelites.
My wife and my kids, they packed up and leave me
My wife and kids have left me, and it's just me struggling to survive.
Darling, she said, I was yours to be seen
My wife left me with the knowledge that I never truly appreciated her in the way I should have.
Shirt them a-tear up, trousers is gone
My clothes are torn and gone; I have nothing left.
I don't want to end up like Bonnie and Clyde
I don't want to die a violent death like Bonnie and Clyde did.
After a storm there must be a calm
I hope that things will soon calm down and become better for me and my community.
They catch me in the farm
Unfortunately, I have been caught doing something wrong on the farm.
You sound your alarm
You tell others that I have been caught doing something wrong.
Lyrics Β© Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Desmond Dekker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@JohnnyNowhere
@@gerardjachymiak5822 Who me? Seventeen is awfully young to be concerned about what to do. I was twenty-one and still had no clue, and was hitch-hiking through the Mid West. My cousin - she joined the USAF at seventeen and toured the world. I became a songwriter and she became a combat medic. I was playing bars while she was saving lives and getting shot at.
You tell me - who made the right choice?
We both did what we were drawn toward - and as different as our paths were - we both went into our chosen careers with all that we had.
I ended up a third-tier songwriter, and she got shot by a Taliban sniper, became diabetic, and retired from the Air Force. Who made the right choice?
We both did.
Neither of us have regrets. That's all that matters. Find what you love, and kick it in the ass with all you have. Take chances.
One day you, too, will be 65. Don't waste your life worrying. Life only lasts for a few moments. Carpe Diem.
@GrandmaRose9000
That moment when you realize you've been singing the wrong lyrics since 1969.
@jahuti5065
I think we all were. "Darling, she said, I was yards too greasy" was my favourite line.
@PinnaclePete
At least I was able to get the,
"I don't want to end up like Bonnie and Clyde" part right. π
@iandowney4630
Itβs βpoorβ and not forβ¦? Okay π
I think the toughest line is (as I can sort of hear it) : βshuck them a tearup choses agoββ¦which isnβt remotely close to what the lyrics are. In fact, it makes zero sense π€£ I was pretty good at lip syncing , though π!
Thanks for the correct lyricsβ¦in March of 2024 π Better late than never.
@thedarkknight1971
oohhh oohh... Ma Vitalite... π
ππ¬π§
@joe8016
Omg...so it's not "me ears are alight" just wow. All these years
@andrewbull3537
This is how music should sound , when it starts you smile and dance !!!!! , even if you dance bad ....YOU DANCE !!!!!
thanks mr dekker π
Peace out β
@komah
Who's still here in 2024?
See you in 2034
@BarneyDunn
I'll be there. See you then.
@ilovebabybelle
See you then ππ