Last learned how to play piano as child, switching to bass as a teenager. He joined Hans-Gunther Oesterreich's Radio Bremen Dance Orchestra in 1946, when he was 17 years old. In 1948, he became the leader of the Becker-Last Ensemble, which performed for seven years. During that time, he was voted as the best bassist in the country by a German jazz poll for three consecutive years, from 1950-1952. After the disbandment of the Becker-Last Ensemble, he became the in-house arranger for Polydor Records, as well as for a number of European radio stations. For the next decade, he helped arrange hits for artists like Helmut Zacharias and Caterina Valente.
Last released his first album "Non-Stop Dancing" in 1965. The record of brief renditions of popular songs, all tied together by an insistent dance beat and joyous crowd noises. It was a hit and helped make him a major European star. Over the next four decades, Last has released over 190 records, including several more volumes of Non-Stop Dancing. On these records, he varies his formula by adding different songs from different countries and genres, as well as guest performers like Richard Clayderman and Astrud Gilberto.
Though his concerts and albums are consistently successful — especially in England, where he had 52 hit albums between 1967-1986, which made him second to Elvis Presley in terms of number of charting records — he has only had two hit singles with "The Seduction," the theme from American Gigolo (1980) and Biscaya from the album "Biscaya".
He has won numerous polls and prizes, for example Billboard magazine's "Star of the year" trophy in 1976, and has been honored for his lifework with the German ECHO prize in 1994.
The song "The Lonely Shepherd", written by Last and performed by Gheorghe Zamfir and the James Last Orchestra, was featured in the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's film "Kill Bill Vol. 1" (2003).
Personally, he divides his time between Florida and Germany. He gives much credit to his wife and son, who helps with the music.
Rivers Of Babylon
James Last Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where he sat down
And there he wept
When he remembered Zion
But the wicked carried us away in captivity
Required from us a song
How can we sing King Alpha song in a strange land?
Required from us a song
How can we sing King Alpha song in a strange land?
Sing it out loud
Sing a song of freedom, sister
Sing a song of freedom, brother
We gotta sing and shout it
We gotta jump and shout it
Shout the song of freedom now
So let the words of our mouth
And the meditation of our heart
Be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Far I
So let the words of our mouth
And the meditation of our heart
Be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Far I
Sing it again!
We've got to sing it together
We've got to shout it together
By the rivers of Babylon
Where we sat down
And there we wept
When we remembered Zion
Oh, the wicked carried us away in captivity
Required from us a song
How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land?
'Cause the wicked carried us away in captivity
Required from us a song
How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land?
Sing it, sing it, sing it
We've got to sing it, brother
We've got to sing it, sister
The lyrics of James Last's "Rivers of Babylon" refer to the biblical story of the Israelites' exile in Babylon. The Israelites were taken captive by the Babylonians and forced to live in a foreign land far from their homeland, Zion (Jerusalem), which they dearly missed. The singer describes his feelings while sitting by the rivers of Babylon and lamenting their captivity. The wicked Babylonians had taken them away from their homeland and required them to sing songs to entertain them. They were saddened by this and wondered how they could sing songs about their God in a strange land.
The chorus of the song calls for unity and the power of music to bring people together. The singer encourages everyone to sing a song of freedom, shout it out loud, and jump with joy. He prays that the words of their mouth and the meditation of their heart would be acceptable to God. The song ends with the repetition of the verse, emphasizing the pain of being exiled and the difficulty of singing songs of joy in a foreign land.
Line by Line Meaning
By the rivers of Babylon
Our ancestors were taken into captivity in Babylon
Where he sat down
And there we sat, defeated and mourning
And there he wept
We cried for the loss of our homeland
When he remembered Zion
When we remembered our beloved Zion, we felt great sorrow
But the wicked carried us away in captivity
We were forcibly taken from our homes to a foreign land by our oppressors, the Babylonians
Required from us a song
Our captors demanded that we sing for their entertainment
How can we sing King Alpha song in a strange land?
How can we sing songs of our homeland and our God in this foreign and hostile place?
Sing it out loud
We must sing with a strong voice
Sing a song of freedom, sister
Let the song be about our longing for freedom, sister
Sing a song of freedom, brother
Let the song be about our longing for freedom, brother
We gotta sing and shout it
We must sing and shout our desire for freedom
We gotta jump and shout it
We must jump and shout our desire for freedom
Shout the song of freedom now
Let us raise our voices in a joyful noise, singing about freedom
So let the words of our mouth
May the words we speak
And the meditation of our heart
And the thoughts that we think
Be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Far I
Be pleasing in the sight of our God, Far I
Sing it again!
Let us sing the song agan!
We've got to sing it together
We must all sing in unison
We've got to shout it together
We must all shout in unison
Oh, the wicked carried us away in captivity
We were forcibly taken from our homes to a foreign land by our oppressors
Required from us a song
Our captors demanded that we sing for their entertainment
How can we sing King Alpha's song in a strange land?
How can we sing songs of our homeland and our God in this foreign and hostile place?
Sing it, sing it, sing it
Let us sing the song, again and again and again
We've got to sing it, brother
We must all sing together, brother
We've got to sing it, sister
We must all sing together, sister
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Brent Dowe, Frank Farian, George Reyam, Trevor McNaughton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Abalone Kid
Thank you for this presentation. Inspiring. Here is the TRUTH of Babylon! Are we in Babylon inside us? Or free in the Spirit of Zion?
Great praise the desire to be in Zion! Zion is where God had made His home on earth capital. Babylon had conquered the world. One day it was told to the people of God they would return to Zion as a free people (Psalm 137) and this song, i believe, is for all of us who have come to the place in our lives where we too need to dwell in Zion! THERE IS A WAY RIGHT WHERE WE SIT.
2 Samuel chap 22: verse 50 "Therefore I will praise You, O LORD, among the nations; I will sing praises to Your name."
We also give God glory by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.'” Mark chap 16: verse 15
"How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" Romans chap 10: verse 14
Romans chap 10: verse 17 Then faith comes from hearing and hearing by the word of God.
Isaiah chap 7: verse 14: "Therefore the LORD shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and call His name Immanuel." Hebrew: עִמָּנוּאֵל, "God with us" in human flesh but without sin. The Savior of the world was born to die for our sins! He did so 33 years later. His terrible ordeal; body mutilated; blood poured out, finally died and was placed in a tomb and rose from the dead the 3rd day ! "HE IS RISEN" Matthew chap 28: verse 6
Isaiah chap 53: verse 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Jesus Christ loves us. He took the pain and torture and death to free all who come to Him as John says below)
John chap 3: verse 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him could be saved.
“All have sinned and lack the glory of God”; Romans chap 3: verse 23
"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans chap 6: verse 23
John chap 14: verse 6 “Jesus said to him: I am the way and the truth and the life; no one can come to my Father unless it is through me.
“Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and he was buried, and on the third day he was resurrected according to the Scriptures” 1 Cor. chap 15: verses 3-4
"In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the richness of his grace"; Ephesians. chap 1: verse 7
Matthew chap 26:verse 28 "For this is my blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (the life is in the blood. He had to pay with His life)
"And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." Hebrews chap 9:verse 22
Ephesians chap 2:verses 8-9 "For it was by grace that you were saved by faith, and it is not from you, it is a gift from God, and it is not a work that no one can boast."
Romans 10:
9 If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved.
10 For with all his heart man believes unto righteousness; and by mouth a confession is made for salvation.
13 For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
TO DIE IS TO REJECT SALVATION IN JESUS CHRIST
Salvation and forgiveness of sins is the blessing of anyone who believes in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Those who reject the free gift of salvation, see John chap 3: verse 16 above, "perish", which means their sins are judged by God the Son and they suffer eternal separation from God and the family of God forever called the "second death". Revelation chap 21: verse 8.
"Therefore, since we were justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans chap 5: verse 1
Edvin Drud
Светлая память великим людям:Джеймсу Ласту и Полю Мориа.Они всегда будут с нами.
Анатолий Емельянов
Один из моих любимейших оркестров! Спасибо тебе Джеймс,что ты есть,без тебя,твоего оркестра и чюдной музыки. Было бы тоскливо и серо на этой бренной Земле!
Alfredo Quintanilla Hurtado
A sido uno de los mejores arreglistas de la buena musica, por siempre ¡James!
Odilon Silva
Muito lindo , parabéns pela orquestra de James Last. O BRASIL adora...
Татьяна Торяник
Превосходная духовая группа!
Onildo Mendonca Mendonca
É muito romantismo, canções como essas foram feitas para alma.Hoje as canções dessa época já possuem um gosto de nostalgia.
Claudemir Schmidt
descobri esta orquestra recentemente e desde então não parei mais de ouvir. Música formidavel
lesley-anne wakefield
Absolutely anything done by James Last and his orchestra is well done, and heart touching. Nana
Maria Sini Baron Zanferari
Sensacional a orquestra de James Last
Olga Fernandez
Este gran músico es un espectáculo - no interpreta ni una sola mal - lo admiro y disfruto con toda mi alma