By the waters of Babylon we hung up our harps
And there we wept
For our kidnappers came to us
They came to us and they said,
"Sing.
Sing us a song to make us laugh."
But how can I sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?
How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?
If I forget thee, O my city, let my right hand forget her cunning
If I forget thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth—
if I love anything as much as you
Remember, O Lord, when our enemies came
and they said "Burn it. Burn it to the stones."
O daughter of Babylon—who will be destroyed—
happy will he be
that will do to you as you have done to us.
Happy will he be
that takes and throws thy little ones against the stones.
Happy will he be who takes and throws thy little ones against the stones.
And there we wept
For our kidnappers came to us
They came to us and they said,
"Sing.
Sing us a song to make us laugh."
But how can I sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?
How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land?
If I forget thee, O my city, let my right hand forget her cunning
If I forget thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth—
if I love anything as much as you
Remember, O Lord, when our enemies came
and they said "Burn it. Burn it to the stones."
O daughter of Babylon—who will be destroyed—
happy will he be
that will do to you as you have done to us.
Happy will he be
that takes and throws thy little ones against the stones.
Happy will he be who takes and throws thy little ones against the stones.
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Will Butler degli Arcade Fire ha scritto diverse "instant song" ispirate a storie lette sul Guardian. Questa "By The Waters of Babylon" il cui testo è basato sul celebre Salmo 137 racconta la distruzione del museo di Mosul in Iraq da parte dei nazi-islamisti dell'ISIS nel febbraio 2015.