“People Get Ready” by The Impressions

“People Get Ready” comes off as a faith-based song which is a call to people to believe in God as they embark on a ride that will bring them deliverance.

As the lyrics suggest, the writer is a firm believer in the coming deliverance that God is going to grant anyone who believes Him. Thus, he tells his audience to get ready and almost blindly jump on the train which signifies liberation. This imaginative train is actually crossing to Jordan, another name for Heaven. The singer could either be referring to the process of believing in Jesus, dying and getting to Heaven, or he could be using Jordan as a metaphor to describe a better place and season where everyone is at peace.

Considering that this song was written in the era of the civil rights movement and time of Martin Luther King Jr., the track essentially promotes a message of persistence and faith which will ultimately lead African-American people into the era of liberation they crave.

“People Get Ready” Facts

Artist(s): The Impressions
Writing: Curtis Mayfield
Production: Johnny Pate
Release: February of 1965
Album/EP: “People Get Ready (The Impressions album)”

Genre(s)

• Soul
• Gospel

Chart Performance

• United States: 3

Awards/Honors

• “Grammy Hall of Fame” induction in 1998.

Covers

The following are some of the notable artists that have covered this song since its release:

• Al Green in 1982
• Aretha Franklin in 1968
• Bob Dylan in 1967
• Jeff Beck in 1985
• Rod Stewart in 1985
• Bob Marley in 1965 as well as in 1977

Regarding Bob Marley’s cover, he actually sampled it in his iconic “One Love” song of the 1970s. It is for this reason, the full title of the aforementioned Bob Marley classic is “One Love/People Get Ready“.

Was “People Get Ready” a single release?

Yes. Single No. 2 from The Impressions’ album of 1965 titled “People Get Ready (The Impressions album)”.

Other singles from “People Get Ready (The Impressions album)”

• “You Must Believe Me”
• “Woman’s Got Soul”