O'Connor sings cover versions of classic roots reggae songs, with production by Sly and Robbie.

In her memoir Rememberings, O'Connor said that she felt so strongly about making Throw Down Your Arms that she personally paid $400,000 of her own money for the record's production.

[12] 10 per cent of the profits went to support Rastafari elders in Jamaica.

[citation needed] The album contains a cover of the Bob Marley song "War", which O'Connor famously performed on Saturday Night Live in 1992 while ripping up a photo of Pope John Paul II.

[13] The cover art depicts a photograph of O'Connor in the dress and veil she wore at her First Holy Communion as a child.