http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20121111/ent/ent2.html

Saturday,
December 19, 2015

7:14 PM

Story of the Song: His Imperial Majesty traced through
song

Published:Sunday
| November 11, 2012 | 12:00 AM

Jacob
Miller - File

1

2

3

Mel
Cooke, Gleaner Writer

November
2 marked the 82nd anniversary of the crowning of Emperor Haile Selassie I, the
First and Her Imperial Majesty Empress Mennen at the Cathedral of St George in
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is a date central to the Rastafarian community and,
with Jamaican popular music forms reggae and dancehall heavily influenced by
Rastafari, has made its way into song.

However, in addition to the
date, other aspects of Haile Selassie's public life have been included in
Jamaican singers and deejays' lyrics, making for an informal record of
significant moments in his life in Jamaican popular music.

Unfortunately, however, many
times the essential female component - Empress Mennen - is left out of the
narrative.

Sizzla is one of those who has
recorded the coronation date in song. It is included in Mash Dem Down on the 2002 album Da
Real Thing.

Mash
Dem Down, a song of faith in the inevitability of prevailing over one's
opponents and obstacles ("come we go mash
dem dung nah lose/all dem a wrinch an a frown stumbling blocks will have to
move"), gives the coronation date in the context of instructing
youngsters on how to live:

Little
children I say to honour your mother and your father

Tell
you again I say to love one another

Praise
Selassie I crown in Addis Ababa

Second
of November 1930 ...

The image of Haile Selassie
and Empress Mennen on their thrones, looking composed and serene, is striking
and powerful. The Natural-Ites, in Picture On
The Wall, literally put it in a place of paramount importance in the
home. The song starts with a question and answer narrative:

Q: The I have a
picture of his Majesty Rasta?

A: Yes iyah, Jah live
y'n

Q: And the I have a
picture of His Majesty dread?

A: Yes iyah, Jah is
within I

Q: And the I dem have
a picture of His Majesty Rasses?

Chorus: Yes I

Then, singing, they confirm:

In
my house there's a picture on the wall

Rastafari
sit upon his throne

Jacob Miller died in a motor
vehicle accident in 1980, one of his signature tracks being the slow Chapter a Day. Musically, the introduction is
dominated by the organ, giving it a distinctly church atmosphere. A song of
deep faith, in a spoken section Miller expands on Emperor Haile Selassie's
titles, part of which he had already sung. Miller includes the titles in his
exhortation:

The
works of His Majesty Haile God Selassie I the First, ever ruling God who ever
stands firm and show all leaders of the world that he is Kings of Kings and
Lords of Lords, Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Elect of God, Earth
Rightful Ruler, His Majesty God Haile Selassie I, give thanks and praise, Jah
Rastafari!

Emperor Haile Selassie I
visited Jamaica in April 1966, his tumultuous reception at the Norman Manley
Airport on April 21, 1966, the basis of enduring legend. As part of the 'Pieces
of the Past' series in The Gleaner,
Rebecca Tortello wrote:

The
heat that rose from the tarmac of Kingston's Norman Manley International
Airport was nothing compared to the level of expectation that was seeping
through the thousands gathered on the tarmac that 21st day of April, 1966. The
day was declared a public holiday in honour of the emperor and people had
started arriving from Wednesday night from places near and far, to form the
largest crowd to have ever assembled at the Norman Manley International
Airport. They came to the airport any way they could - by car, by truck, by
bus, by bicycle, by foot. Drum beats and chants were heard almost non-stop,
providing an almost hypnotic rhythm. The smell of ganja wafted through the air
completing a welcome unprecedented in size and expectation for the Emperor on his
first state visit to Jamaica ...

When
the insignia of a roaring lion and stripes of red, green and gold finally came
into view, the rain stopped. People shouted, "See how God stop de
rain." The sound from the crowd was deafening as masses of people rushed
to get closer to the island's distinguished visitor. The crowd simply broke
down any barriers that stood in their way in their eagerness to position
themselves as close as possible to the 'King of Kings'. But the Lion of Judah
did not appear immediately as expected. Instead, the plane stood there, silent
in a sea of activity and sound. No movement could be seen from within the
cabin. The door to the plane finally opened 45 minutes later, close to 2:15
p.m., and His Imperial Majesty came to the top of the stairs to deplane.

The
crowd responded with a roar that "was louder than the sound of

thunder
rolling, louder even than an explosion" recalls Mitsy Seaga who

accompanied
her husband, Edward Seaga, the then minister of development

and
welfare."

Deejay

Early B, the late standout on
Kilamanjario sound system and whose

One
Wheel Wheelie is an early 1980s hit record, puts

the historic visit into the
dancehall record. He starts Visit

of
the King with speech, placing himself in the historic

occasion as a child ("Well I've seen many world leaders, many

heads
of state, but none of them impress me like when I was youth, bout

six,
seven, eight when King Selassie I visit, 1966

...).

Deejaying on the Midnight Rock
rhythm,

associated with Jah Thomas,
Early B details the occasion, a high point

for those not in

officialdom:

It
was the

year
1966

When
Selassie I made a

visit

Mi
seh Rasta make de wicked

dem
look like rubbish

He

sums up the crowd ("Thousan' of people Jah know de crowd

thick"),
the weather ("It was good weather but the

rain
did a drip") and an open use of the sacrament

("Mi seh every dreadlock a burn up a spliff"). The

detailing is exquisite, from
the rain stopping and a rainbow coming to a

flock of birds on the plane's
wing. The King emerges

("Selassie come out wid him lion on him stick") and,

after describing his outfit
and height ("about four foot

six"),
Early B notes the overturning of the social

order:

Babylon
dem have to

run,
them couldn't stan it

Because

the
airport come in like Rasta

district

The song

continues with Selassie's
address at the National Stadium, then wryly

notes how it was back to
business as usual after Selassie

left:

When
Selassie I

come,
the herb did bun

But
now him

gone
home dem a run we

dung

At least two of His

Imperial Majesty's addresses
to the highest world body have made it into

reggae. The most widely known
is War by Bob Marley

and the Wailers on the 1976 Rastaman Vibration

album.

The lyrics are almost verbatim
from Haile

Selassie I's speech to the
United Nations General Assembly in

1963.

Poet Mutabaruka notes the
potential

world-changing effect of
Selassie's speech to the League of Nations in

1936, speaking to Italy's use
of chemical weapons against

Ethiopia.

In
Great Kings of Africa

by Dennis Brown, Ini Kamoze
and Mutabaruka, the poet

says:

Now
the King of

Kings
Haile Selassie

Was
invaded by

the
fascist Mussolini

If
the world

had
listened to this little

man

World
War Two might have never

began

Haile Selassie I

died on August 27, 1975, at 83
years old in circumstances that remain

obscure. Bob Marley and the
Wailers responded directly to the news of

His Majesty's death with Jah Live, released shortly

after news of the death broke
as a single and included on the

Songs
of Freedom box set.

In

Jah
Live, Marley sings "Fools say in
their

heart/Rasta
your God is dead/But I an I know/Dread it shall be dreader

dread".
And nearly two decades after Selassie was reported

dead, Capleton observed "A say Selassie dead an dem cyaa show

no
tomb".

Copyright
© 2015 The Gleaner Company (Media) Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Pasted
from <http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20121111/ent/ent2.html>

Created with Microsoft OneNote 2010

One place for all your notes and information