Yesterday's Sly and the Family Stone were also famous for their track Stand, so by connection, from the same era, a masterpiece by the king of reggae with an equally powerful political message. So familiar, but timeless and feeling fresh at each listen, this was among the tracks that later brought reggae to a wider audience. It originally came from the 1973 album Burnin', but there were also later versions sung only by Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer. It was also the last song Marley ever performed before cancer overcame him, sitting on a stool on 23 September 1980 at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during which Peter Tosh made an unexpected appearance to sing the last verse.
Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight!
Preacher man, don't tell me
Heaven is under the earth
I know you don't know
What life is really worth
It's not all that glitters is gold
'Alf the story has never been told
So now you see the light, eh!
Stand up for your rights. Come on!
Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight!
Get up, stand up, stand up for your rights!
Get up, stand up, don't give up the fight!
Most people think,
Great God will come from the skies
Take away everything
And make everybody feel high
But if you know what life is worth
You will look for yours on earth
And now you see the light
You stand up for your rights. Jah!
Get up, stand up! (Jah, Jah!)
Stand up for your rights! (Oh-hoo!)
Get up, stand up! (Get up, stand up!)
Don't give up the fight! (Life is your right!)
Get up, stand up! (So we can't give up the fight!)
Stand up for your rights! (Lord, Lord!)
Get up, stand up! (Keep on struggling on!)
Don't give up the fight! (Yeah!)
We sick an' tired of-a your ism-skism game
Dyin' 'n' goin' to heaven in-a Jesus' name, Lord
We know when we understand
Almighty God is a living man
You can fool some people sometimes
But you can't fool all the people all the time
So now we see the light (What you gonna do?)
We gonna stand up for our rights! (Yeah, yeah, yeah!) …
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