[6] Marley wrote the song while touring Haiti, deeply moved by its poverty and the lives of Haitians, according to his then-girlfriend Esther Anderson.

[7] The tune of the chorus is clearly based on the instrumental hook in "Slippin' into Darkness" by War, which was released the previous year, a band Marley had expressed admiration for.

The song was re-recorded and re-released by the three major Wailers on their own solo releases, each with varying arrangements and approaches to the third verse, which claims that "Almighty God is a living man".

In 1988, the song was performed live at an Amnesty International Concert for Human Rights by Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Tracy Chapman and Youssou N'Dour.

[11] The Ukrainian band Bloom Twins recorded a version in 2014, in support of the Euromaidan protesters occupying Independence Square in Kyiv.