Lyrics to
Survival

This version of Survival was released by Bob Marley in 1979.

Our About Bob Marley page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Survival from 1979 as well as all of the other lyrics from Bob Marley that we have in our lyrics database.

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(Ow, ow-ow-ow-ow!
Ow, ow-ow-ow-ow!)
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
How can you be sitting there
Telling me that you care –
That you care?
When every time I look around,
The people suffer in the suffering
In everyway, in everywhere.

Say: na-na-na-na-na (na-na, na-na!):
We’re the survivors, yes: the Black survivors!
I tell you what: some people got everything;
Some people got nothing;
Some people got hopes and dreams;
Some people got ways and means.

Na-na-na-na-na (na-na, na-na!):
We’re the survivors, yes: the Black survivors!
Yes, we’re the survivors, like Daniel out of the lions’ den
(Black survivors) Survivors, survivors!
So I Idren, I sistren,
A-which way will we choose?
We better hurry; oh, hurry; oh, hurry; wo, now!
‘Cause we got no time to lose.
Some people got facts and claims;
Some people got pride and shame;
Some people got the plots and schemes;
Some people got no aim it seems!

Na-na-na-na-na, na-na, na!
We’re the survivors, yes: the Black survivors!
Tell you what: we’re the survivors, yeah! – the Black survivors, yeah!
We’re the survivors, like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
(Black survivors),
Thrown in the fire, but-a never get burn.
So I Idren, I-sistren,
The preaching and talkin’ is done;
We’ve gotta live up, wo now, wo now! –
‘Cause the Father’s time has come.
Some people put the best outside;
Some people keep the best inside;
Some people can’t stand up strong;
Some people won’t wait for long.

(Na-na-na-na-na!) Na-na-na, na-na-na na!
We’re the survivors
In this age of technological inhumanity (Black survival),
Scientific atrocity (survivors),
Atomic misphilosophy (Black survival),
Nuclear misenergy (survivors):
It’s a world that forces lifelong insecurity (Black survival).

Together now:
(Na-na-na-na-na!) Na na-na na na! (Na na-na na na!)
We’re the survivors, yeah!
We’re the survivors!
Yes, the Black survivors!
We’re the survivors:
A good man is never honoured (survivors)
in his own yountry (Black survival).
Nothing change, nothing strange (survivors).
Nothing change, nothing strange (Black survivors).
We got to survive, y’all! (survivors) –

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Want more lyrics and songs by Bob Marley?

Bob Marley has released many songs over the years besides Survival. Bob Marley released songs from 1973 to 1995 spanning across albums like Catch A Fire, Burnin', Natty Dread, Live!, Rastaman Vibration, Exodus, Kaya, Babylon By Bus, Survival, Uprising, Confrontation, Rebel Music, and Natural Mystic: The Legend Lives On. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Bob Marley.

If you're a fan of 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1979 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Survival by Bob Marley

The lyrics to Survival are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that Bob Marley used when the song was created in 1979. The lyrics to Survival have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only Bob Marley and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to Survival by Bob Marley. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Survival" means the words set to the music of Survival, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Bob Marley. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Survival and the lyrics to Survival are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Bob Marley who came here looking just for the lyrics to Survival, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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