Lianie May is a musician from South African, who launched her career in 200… Read Full Bio ↴Lianie May is a musician from South African, who launched her career in 2007 with her debut album Vergeet My Nie (Forget Me Not) and is best known for her song Soen My Nie Meer Nie (Don't Kiss Me Anymore). Most of her songs is in her native language, Afrikaans, but some is in English and tributes to popular singers like Belinda Carlisle.

Lianie was born on Monday, August 02, 1976 in Vereeniging on a farm just outside Oranjeville. She release her debut album in September 2007, Vergeet My Nie. Lianie is not only a singer but made her debut in November 2011 as a actor in the Afrikaanse film "Platteland"

Rivers of Babylon
Lianie May Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

By the rivers of babylon, there we sat down
Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered zion

By the rivers of babylon, there we sat down
Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered zion

When the wicked
Carried us away in captivity

Required from us a song
Now how shall we sing the lord's song in a strange land

When the wicked
Carried us away in captivity
Requiering of us a song
Now how shall we sing the lord's song in a strange land

Let the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart
Be acceptable in thy sight here tonight

Let the words of our mouth and the meditation of our hearts
Be acceptable in thy sight here tonight

By the rivers of babylon, there we sat down
Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered zion

By the rivers of babylon, there we sat down
Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered zion

By the rivers of babylon (dark tears of babylon)
There we sat down (you got to sing a song)
Ye-eah we wept, (sing a song of love)
When we remember zion (yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah)

By the rivers of babylon (rough bits of babylon)
There we sat down (you hear the people cry)

Ye-eah we wept, (they need their god)
When we remember zion (ooh, have the power)

Overall Meaning

The song "Rivers of Babylon" by Lianie May is a cover of a popular song originally done by The Melodians in 1970. The song is a reference to Psalm 137 which tells the story of the Jews being held captive and forced to sing songs by the Babylonian conquerors. The song opens with the imagery of sitting by the Rivers of Babylon, which was known for its magnificence but also thought to be the source of grief for the Jewish exiles. In this verse, we see the Jews weeping and lamenting about their situation and reminiscing about their homeland, Zion. The repetition of these verses emphasizes the despair felt by the Jews during their captivity.

The second verse emphasizes the oppression faced by the Jews as they were kidnapped and taken captive by their conquerors. The captors ridicule the Jews by demanding them to sing songs, especially songs about the Lord, while they were in captivity. This put the Jewish people in a tough spot as they didn't want to disrespect their captured state by singing joyous, religious songs but didn't want to be disobedient to their faith. The verse ends with the question "Now how shall we sing the lord's song in a strange land" which shows the internal struggle that the Jews faced in this situation.

The final verses and the outro keep the focus on their devotion to God, hoping that their prayers would be heard and that their words and thoughts would be acceptable in his sight. The repetition of the chorus further emphasizes the sorrow and heartache felt during this captivity.

Line by Line Meaning

By the rivers of babylon, there we sat down
We were mourning and reflecting by the rivers of Babylon.

Ye-eah we wept, when we remembered zion
We cried as we thought of Zion.

When the wicked
When our oppressors

Carried us away in captivity
Took us from our home as prisoners

Required from us a song
Demanded that we sing for their entertainment

Now how shall we sing the lord's song in a strange land
How can we praise God in this foreign place?

Let the words of our mouth and the meditation of our heart
May our words and thoughts be pleasing to You

Be acceptable in thy sight here tonight
May You find us worthy in Your eyes tonight

By the rivers of babylon (dark tears of babylon)
Again, we mourn by the rivers of Babylon

There we sat down (you got to sing a song)
We take a moment to rest and then keep singing

Ye-eah we wept, (sing a song of love)
We keep crying, but we also sing a song of love