<P> `` Rivers of Babylon '' is a Rastafari song written and recorded by Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton of the Jamaican reggae group The Melodians in 1970 . The lyrics are adapted from the texts of Psalms 19 and 137 in the Hebrew Bible . The Melodians ' original version of the song appeared in the soundtrack album of the 1972 movie The Harder They Come , making it internationally known . </P>
who wrote the song by the rivers of babylon
Brent Dowe and Trevor McNaughton of the Jamaican reggae group The Melodians