UB40

Songwriter: UB40

Producer: Ray “Pablo” Falconer UB40

A warm dry wind is all that breaks the silence
The highways quiet scars across the land
People lie, eyes closed, no longer dreaming
The earth dies screaming
Like scattered pebbles, cars lie silent waiting
Oilless engines seized by dirt and sand
Bodies hanging limp, no longer bleeding
The earth dies screaming

The earth dies screaming
The earth dies screaming

Your country needs you, lets strike up the band

The earth dies screaming
The earth dies screaming
Despite all odds we must defend our land

Half eaten meals lie rotting on the tables
Money clutched within a boney hand
Shutters down, the banks are not receiving
The earth dies screaming

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

The UB40 File

From the album

The UB40 File (1985)

UB40 popular songs

The Earth Dies ScreamingUB40

UB40

The UB40 File