UB40

Released: July 27, 1993

Songwriter: UB40

Producer: UB40

A woman came and said to me
She'd seen a lady sell her baby
For ten or twenty dollars maybe
And everybody thinks she's crazy

They're too blind to see
She didn't fail to call attention
To the things we never mention
Real horror, daily, courtesy of your tv
C'est la vie

A woman came and said to me
Now listen very carefully
There's brother killing brother
People living on their knees

Biting sugar coated bullets
For the pain of this disease
C'est la vie

A woman came and said to me
She had a husband on an island
Found his body on a wasteland
Soldiers came and took him

Just to torture her you see
All alone she mourned her lover
Crossed the sea to find a brother
Maybe he could help her get her baby back for free
C'est la vie

A woman came and said to me
Now listen very carefully
There's brother killing brother
People living on their knees

UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart. They have been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album four times, and in 1984 were nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Group. UB40 have sold over 70 million records. The ethnic make-up of the band’s original line-up was diverse, with musicians of English, Irish, Jamaican, Scottish and Yemeni parentage.

Their hit singles include their debut “Food for Thought”, “Red Red Wine” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. Both of these also topped the UK Singles Chart, as did the band’s version of “I Got You Babe”. Their two most successful albums, Labour of Love (1983) and Promises and Lies (1993), reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.

On January 24, 2008, it was announced that Ali Campbell would be leaving the group after 30 years. It was reported by some Birmingham newspapers on 13 March 2008, that Maxi Priest would be the new lead singer of UB40 and had recorded a cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” with the band.

more tracks from the album

Promises and Lies

From the album

Promises and Lies (1993)

UB40 popular songs

C’est la vieUB40

UB40

Promises and Lies