"Many Rivers to Cross" is a song written and recorded in 1969 by

Jimmy Cliff James Chambers OM (born 30 July 1944), known professionally as Jimmy Cliff, is a Jamaican ska, rocksteady, reggae and soul musician, multi-instrumentalist, singer, and actor. He is the only living reggae musician to hold the Order of Merit, t ...

. It has since been recorded by many musicians, including Harry Nilsson,

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

Joe Cocker John Robert "Joe" Cocker (20 May 1944 – 22 December 2014) was an English singer known for his gritty, bluesy voice and dynamic stage performances that featured expressive body movements. Most of his best known singles were recordings of son ...

, Percy Sledge, Little Milton, Desmond Dekker, UB40,

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

, The Brand New Heavies,

Eric Burdon & The Animals The Animals (also billed as Eric Burdon and the Animals) are an English rock band, formed in Newcastle upon Tyne in the early 1960s. The band moved to London upon finding fame in 1964. The Animals were known for their gritty, bluesy sound and ...

, The Walker Brothers,

Marcia Hines Marcia Elaine Hines, AM (born July 20, 1953), is an American-Australian vocalist and TV personality. Hines made her debut, at the age of 16, in the Australian production of the stage musical ''Hair'' and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene ...

, Toni Childs, Oleta Adams,

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

, Annie Lennox, Bryan Adams,

Chris Pierce Chris Pierce is an American singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, public speaker, wine producer and officiant born and based in California. Early life Pierce is from Pasadena, California. He grew up singing in church and playing ...

, Arthur Lee and Jimmy Barnes. It was also performed in the Caribbean by Alison Hinds of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...

and Tessanne Chin of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

, the same place Jimmy Cliff himself is from.

Background

Cliff was aged 21 when he wrote and recorded the song in 1969. He stated he wrote the song due to the trouble he was having making it as a successful musical artist after originally finding success in his home of Jamaica, beginning at age 14, before moving to the United Kingdom. He commented, "When I came to the UK, I was still in my teens. I came full of vigor: I'm going to make it, I’m going to be up there with the Beatles and the Stones. And it wasn’t really going like that, I was touring clubs, not breaking through. I was struggling, with work, life, my identity, I couldn't find my place; frustration fueled the song." Regarding the line, "Wandering I am lost, as I travel along the

White Cliffs of Dover The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of , owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, depos ...

," Cliff stated, "...that came from the number of times I crossed the channel to the continent. Most of the time it was France but sometimes it was Germany. It was a very frustrating time. I came to England with very big hopes and I saw my hopes fading. And that song came out of that experience."

Song information

Cliff stated he was working on his second album for

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anothe ...

, but held the song back because he did not think a ballad would be appropriate. He waited until he came to New York to mix the record and add overdubs and backing vocals. He was walking from his residence to the studio, which took 15 minutes, and finished composing the song in his head. On the last day of the session, as the union backing musicians were preparing to leave, Cliff asked if he could play a song idea he had. He said, "I started singing, the band came in, and that was it. Once. That was it. And then Chris said, ‘OK, let's put this one in to fill out the album.’" This is one of the few Cliff tracks to use an

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

, which helps to supplement the

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

feel provided by the

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

s. He released the song, with production work by Leslie Kong, on his 1969

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, ''

''. It was also released on the 1972 soundtrack album for the film '' The Harder They Come'', in which Cliff also starred. ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' ranked it No. 325 on their list of the

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine '' Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 i ...

. The song is featured in the 2013 film '' Rush'', and the TV shows '' Wilfred'', ''

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'' and ''

Falling Skies ''Falling Skies'' is an American science fiction television series set in a post-apocalyptic era, created by Robert Rodat and executive produced by Steven Spielberg. The series stars Noah Wyle as Tom Mason, a former history professor who bec ...

''.

Charts

UB40 version

"'Many Rivers to Cross" is the third single by the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

group UB40 from the album '' Labour of Love''. This single peaked at the number 16 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and the number 48 in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

Track listing and formats

*UK 7" single #"Many Rivers To Cross" – 3:48 #"Food For Thought " – 4:40 *7" single (Spain) #"Many Rivers To Cross" – 3:48 #"Food For Thought " – 4:40 *UK 12" maxi-single #A1."Many Rivers To Cross" (Full Length Version) – 4:35 #A2."Food For Thought " – 4:40 #B2."Johnny Too Bad" (Unexpurgated Version - Not On ''Labour Of Love'') – 5:28 *Germany 12" single #A1."Many Rivers To Cross" (Full Length Version) – 4:27 #A2."Food For Thought " – 4:39 #B2."Johnny Too Bad" – 5:29

Personnel

UB40 *James Brown – drums, syncussion * Ali Campbell – vocals, guitar *Robin Campbell – guitar, vocals *Earl Falconer – bass *Norman Hassan – percussion, vocals *Brian Travers – saxophones *Michael Virtue – keyboards *Astro – toasting, rhyming, percussion Additional personnel *Mo Birch – vocals * Jaki Graham – vocals * Jackie Mittoo – additional keyboards * Ruby Turner – vocals

Charts

Cher version

Track listing

*European 7" and cassette single #"Many Rivers to Cross" – 4:09 #"Who You Gonna Believe" – 4:42 *European CD single #"Many Rivers to Cross" – 4:09 #"Who You Gonna Believe" – 4:42 #"All Because of You" – 3:28 #"Perfection" – 4:29 *UK second live cover versions CD single #"Many Rivers to Cross" – 4:09 #"

Tougher Than the Rest "Tougher Than the Rest" is a song by Bruce Springsteen from his 1987 '' Tunnel of Love'' album. It was released as a single in some countries, following " Brilliant Disguise" and the title track, but was not released as a single in the United ...

" – 4:43 #"Fire Down Below" – 4:28 #" Takin' It to the Streets" – 4:05

Charts

Annie Lennox version

Charts

References

External links

Jimmy Cliff official websiteJimmy Cliff discography at Discogs
{{authority control 1969 songs 1969 singles 1983 singles 1993 singles 2008 singles Cher songs Desmond Dekker songs Geffen Records singles Harry Nilsson songs Jimmy Cliff songs Joe Cocker songs Linda Ronstadt songs Reggae songs Song recordings produced by Leslie Kong Trojan Records singles The Animals songs UB40 songs Songs written by Jimmy Cliff Gospel songs Songs about loneliness Song recordings produced by John Lennon