Escrita por Bob Marley, foi gravada entre janeiro e fevereiro de 1979 no Tuff Gong Recording Studio, em Kingston, Jamaica e lançada no disco Survival, o décimo primeiro disco da banda, em 2 de outubro de 1979. Foi produzida por Bob Marley and The Wailers e Alex Sadkin. Bob Marley cantou, tocou guitarra base, violão e percussão. Aston Barrett tocou baixo, guitarra base e percussão. Carlton Davis tocou bateria e percussão. Tyrone Downie tocou teclado, percussão e fez backing vocals. Alvin Patterson tocou percussão. Junior Marvin tocou guitarra. Earl Lindo tocou teclado. Al Anderson tocou guitarra solo. Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths e Judy Mowatt fizeram backing vocals. Headley Bennett tocou sax alto. Ronaldo Robinson, Luther François e Melba Liston tocaram trombone. Junior Chin, Jackie Willacy e Micky Hanson tocaram trompete. Lee Jaffe tocou gaita.
A letra:
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
every way, 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-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 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!
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 honored (survivors)
in his own country (Black
survival)
Nothing change, nothing strange (survivors)
Nothing
change, nothing strange (Black survivors)
We got to survive,
y'all! (survivors)
A versão de Bob Marley and The Wailers:
A versão dos Picaretas do Reggae:
A versão de Julian Marley and The Wailers: