Perhaps the oddest thing about this very cool tune by Desmond Dekker & The Aces is that the lyrics are very nearly indecipherable. “The Israelites” was written by Dekker and Leslie King. It peaked on the charts in 1969 as the first ska No. 1 in the UK and “among the first to reach the US top ten.”
Here’s a great example of mis-hearing lyrics:
The opening line, “Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir” was often misheard, one example being “Wake up in the morning, baked beans for breakfast”.
Okay.
Far more important, however, is this, as Jo-Ann Green at AllMusic writes:
The impact of “The Israelites” can never be overstated. It was the first of the island’s releases in history to achieve an international breakthrough . . . Of course, other Caribbean artists had found fame abroad, but Desmond Dekker was the first to do so with a totally undiluted Jamaican sound.
A cool and very recognizable tune.