The Abyssinians

The Roots Reggae Library brings to you Reggae music in unique collections. This edition features the discography of The Abyssinians. It is unique, because of its fine indexation of songs, as well as several additions made to existing albums

The Abyssinians are a Jamaican reggae group consisting of Bernard Collins, Donald Manning and Lynford Manning. They were also influenced by a third brother of Donald and Lynford, Carlton. Abyssinia is another name for Ethiopia, and often do their lyrics contain Amharic, an Ethiopian language.

The Abyssinians - Satta Massagana

01. Declaration Of Rights

02. The Good Lord

03. Forward Unto Zion

04. Know Jah Today

05. Abendigo

06. Yim Mas Gan

07. Black Man's Strain

08. Satta Massagana

09. I And I

10. African Race

11. Leggo Beast

12. Peculiar Number

13. Reason Time

14. This Is Not The End

The Abyssinians started playing music much earlier than the release of their first album. I'd like to spare you the details, as it is a long story, and I am more concerned with the actual music. However, the album Satta Massagana is also known as Forward Unto Zion, although it does not contain the last four songs. We will come to its meaning when discussing the title track. The 'Declaration Of Rights' tells all brothers and sisters to "get up and fight for your right". "Brought us away from civilization, brought us to slave in this big plantation" while we are "fussing and fighting among ourselves". What follows is a track accompanied by the flute about being send down to earth by 'The Good Lord'. As mentioned previously, a different version of this album is known by the name 'Forward Unto Zion', a call upon the leaders and heads of society, to free everyone of captivity to be send to Zion. A strong Reggae beats continues and we hear that "tomorrow will be to let", so 'Know Jah Today'. I have personally always loved this album for the track 'Abendigo'. The song is about the Bible story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego who were thrown into a fiery furnace because of their stance to exclusively serve their own God. They were then saved by an angel, the fourth in the furnace. In the track we also hear them sing 'Yim Mas Gan' which is Amharic for "let him be praised". It is also the name of the sixth track. On many versions of the album the track is called 'Y Mas Gan', but they originally released the single as 'Yim Mas Gan'. They ask the question why the black men must always sweat and strain, in 'Black Man's Strain'. The title track on this album has become a worldwide Reggae anthem, being covered and sampled numerous times, 'Satta Massagana', which means "give thanks" in Amharic. The film Rockers opens with a nyahbinghi version of this song. The line 'I And I' is endlessly repeated in the song that carries that same name. 'African Race' has an acoustic introduction and this track is often accompanied by a loud hiss sound, which has been reduced on the Roots Reggae Library. The Abyssinians sing about their forefathers who were taken away in ships, bound by shackles. They are slave descendants, "I speak Amharic, my sister speaks Swahili, they put us together now that's why we can't understand". Humming, The Abyssinians sing 'Leggo Beast', also known as 'Wicked Men'. The song is a story of racial discrimination. As Israel Vibration does in 'Ball Of Fire' on The Same Song, The Abyssinians sing about the careless Ethiopians in 'Peculiar Number'. A very oldskool Reggae beat is heard in 'Reason Time', where love for your brothers and sisters is propagated. Rather than fussing and fighting we should move forward they sing. Although it is the end of the album, 'This Is Not The End' is the name of the last track. To prolongue the end even further, the track on the Roots Reggae Library is a longer version of the song that usually features on Satta Massagana. There are two versions of this song. The one normally found on Satta Massagana is called 'There Is No End', the longer version is known as 'This Is Not The End'.

The Abyssinians - Forward

01. Forward Jah

02. Prophecy

03. Jerusalem

04. Praise Him

05. Satta Me No Born Yah

06. Tenayistillin Wandimae

07. Poor Jason Whyte

08. Let My Days Be Long

09. Crashie Sweeps

10. Love Comes And Goes

11. Mabrak

The album Forward on the Roots Reggae Library is not constructed in the way as you will find it elsewhere. It has been crafted into an album with songs of The Abyssinians that do not feature on either the previous Satta Massagana or the next album, Arise. These are songs that that can be found as singles, or on the albums Forward released by Alligator Records and Best Of The Abyssinians of the French Musidisc label. The album is named after the first track 'Forward Jah'. The Abyssinians need help in the land of fire and sorrow. The killing on this earth does not withhold them to sing about the 'Prophecy', which is a living reality. The gates of 'Jerusalem', "such holy place". A very beautiful track about the city that has quite a few Reggae tracks named after it. One example is the Alpha Blondy song, which also serves as the title track on his album Jerusalem. The Abyssinians sing they will visit the city one day. A song dedicated to the reign of Jah Rastafari, 'Praise Him', with lines similar to 'Exodus' of Bob Marley, "Jah come to break downpression to set the captives free". A different take of 'Satta Massagana' is 'Satta Me No Born Yah'. The immense succes of the track had the Abyssinians revoice it a couple of times. "Weep not not by brethren", for we have a beautiful track by Lynford Manning that was quite popular in the United Kingdom, 'Tenayistillin Wandimae', an Amharic greeting.'Poor Jason Whyte' tells the story of Jason Whyte, who was lost at sea with his father, who died during the 14 days on open sea. The same rhythm tempo sets in for 'Let My Days Be Long', dedicated once again to Jah. 'Crashie Sweeps' is similar to the recording of 'Jerusalem', with different lyrics. The treasure of love is besieged in 'Love Comes And Goes'. This album finds its end with a spoken track, 'Mabrak', on which Donald Manning explains some of the Amharic used for previous songs.

The Abyssinians - Arise

01. This Land Is For Everyone

02. Dem A Come

03. Meditation

04. Jah Loves

05. South African Enlistment

06. Hey You

07. Let My Days Be Long

08. Wicked Man

09. Mightiest Of All

10. Oh Lord

The Abyssinians found a sweet opening for Arise, singing that 'This Land Is For Everyone'. Although it is the third album in the discography of The Abyssinians on the Roots Reggae Library, it is the second album officially released. The first two tracks on this album are sometimes found with skipping sounds after the one minute mark. As you are used to, on the Roots Reggae Library this is not the case. While telling the story of slavery in 'Dem A Come', we learn how to count to ten in Amharic; and, hulätt, sost, aratt, ammist, siddist, säbatt, simmint, zät'äñ, assir. Doing and feeling their 'Meditation', getting rid of all the temptations in life. One of the lessons is not to beg, steal or borrow. A fruity Reggae rhythm for 'Jah Loves', with a message similar to that of The Gladiators in 'Greatest Love', although The Abyssinians bring it a bit more calm. The story is of slavery is continued in 'South African Enlistment', singing about their forefathers and how they were whipped, kicked and tricked. No one would have been surprised if this track was called 'I'm Coming Home'. Love is clearly gone in 'Hey You', where lead and background vocals are beautifully mixed, even more so then in 'Meditation', where they did this too. 'Let My Days Be Long' is something we heard The Abyssinians sing on Forward as well, but the music has been completely altered. The lyrics are the same. 'Wicked Man' is almost the same track as 'Leggo Beast' on Satta Massagana, however, The Abyssinians added an intro, speeded the rhythm up slightly and there is more instrumental variation on this track. Of course Jah is the 'Mightiest Of All', "igziabeher, yim mas gan, ulaghize". He is asked to release us of the wicked man, referring back to the leggo beast of the previous song. Jah is strong and a redeemer, and the love for Jah is exhaled again in 'Oh Lord'. He is asked for help in the struggle of life. In general this album is brought forward in a very calm style, both musically and lyrically.

The Abyssinians - 19.95 + Tax

01. Come Along

02. Do Good

03. Ethiopia

04. Power Of Evil

05. Arise

06. Holy Man

07. Wolves

08. Child Abuse

09. Smokey Joe

10. In A Kalda

11. 19.95 + Tax

12. Say It Again

13. Going Home

14. Jah Is The Way

15. Nyahbinghi Passage

Eighteen years after Arise The Abyssinians released a new album. Tesfa Gabriel is simply a nickname for Donald Manning. It is hard to find a good album cover of this album, so I have tried to improve it slightly in terms of colours. If you come from either America or from Africa, going to Australia, born in Jamaica, parents from Canada, or living in London, just 'Come Along', "let's all join together". The electrical guitar finds its introduction in 'Do Good', which centers around prophecies. If you do good and praise Far I you will get your reward from Jah Jah. You would have expected The Abyssinians to drop a song called 'Ethiopia' much earlier on one of their albums. It is a critique song about what is being taught in schools and movies. More should be focussed on Mother Africa, its culture the black Pharaos, Moses and Salomon. The rhythm of 'Satta Massagana' returns for 'Power Of Evil', in which is sung about scripture and the power of Jah love. It is remarkable that the track 'Arise' is found on 19.95 + Tax rather than on Arise. Every man must arise for the fulfillment of time. If not, you are surely going to die. "Too much corruption is going around in the city, where there is no pity". That is why they all fled to the mountains. The lyrics of 'Holy Man' might linger on a while in your head. "Wolves in sheep's clothing. One day they are your brother, next day they are your friends, they sometimes are your enemies, they change again and again". In 'Wolves' the question ponders, "where is the love?" They only way to show the love is to teach the children the right path. 'Child Abuse' is a bit more pop-like, and is slightly different from other songs by this group. The Reggae rhythm gladly returns in 'Smokey Joe', which lyrics partially tells the story of Moses and the burning bush, found in Exodus. It is told from first person perspective. Trumpeted 'In A Kilda' with a Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Ricans and Spanish on the race track. The tempo is faster than what we are used to, because the beat is played to the rhythm of the horse's feet. The title track for this album is originally in its name to say the least. It opens slowly but rises soon enough. While living in the USA they find that there is everything you'd ever wish. "All you need '19.95 + Tax', and find it, and they will ship it to you"! 'Say It Again' is found on Reunion, an album very similar to 19.95 + Tax. It is basically the same album released again, excluding 'Come Along' and 'Do Good', but including 'Say It Again'. 'Going Home' is a single by Bernard Collins that was probably recorded in 1997, and released in Switzerland. The song is centered around repatriation, inspired by Marcus Garvey. Originally the album contains two more tracks that are omitted on the Roots Reggae Library version of this album. One is 'The Right', which is a dub version of 'Declaration Of Rights'. The other is 'A No So', a new cut of 'Mabrak' which is found on Forward. It is very much the same track as 'Mabrak', and therefore not rendered necessary for this album. These two numbers not found on this album often have their name switched. One might also be confused when listening to the album recorded Live In San Francisco as one of the tracks is called 'A No So', where in reality it is 'Know Jah Today'. Two tracks taken from a live acoustic set are added to this album. The first is 'Jah Is The Way' and the other is called 'Nyahbinghi Passage'. This acoustic set is called Terrible And Dreadful and was recorded in 1991.

The Abyssinians - Last Days

01. Jah Marley

02. Soon We'll Be Free

03. African Princss

04. Young Wings

05. When You're Down

06. Jahovah

07. Keep On

08. Tell Me

09. Wareika Hill

10. Too Young

11. Swing Low

12. Last Days

13. Satta Don

This final album by The Abyssinians is largely a solo effort by Bernard Collins, except for two tracks which has the Manning brothers on background vocals. It sets of with a strong tribute to Bob Marley, called 'Jah Marley'. "You told us how you shot the sheriff" and "you said to the woman, no woman, no cry" as well as "you reminded the children that Jah Jah lives". More references to his songs follow in a string of lines bringing together a good ode. 'Soon We'll Be Free' from our misery. We should fight until we are free, no matter how long it will take. A shout out to South Africa, Rhodesia. This album took a long time to record, from 1988 until 1994. It was released as late as 1999 and is therefore not very accurate, as Apartheid had been abolished by then. After all, Bernard Collins was quite right by saying they would be free soon. 'African Princess' is one of the tracks recorded together with the full Abyssinians trio. Even though it was recorded earlier than most other songs on this album, it is followed seamlessly by 'Young Wings'. "Young wings can't fly". Remember Jah in case you need a hand, and 'When You're Down'. The irie feeling deep down in your soul is caused by the support from Jah. We therefore need not fear evil. Having being lead over rocks and valleys and across the Red Sea and the River Jordan, Collins wants to thank 'Jahovah', almighty Jah. A happy melody created for 'Keep On' fills the ears, "so now is my time, cause I've been pushed around many a time, but I still think I can make it". This album includes a pure love song too, 'Tell Me', "that you want me, not just for money". The female background voice fits the song good. Bernard sings about his memories and the reality of 'Wareika Hill'. As 'Tell Me' two songs ago, the song 'Too Young' is also a love song. Not too young to know about love. The sound of the music of 'Swing Low' is somewhat similar to 'Too Young', but it is a bit more powerful in its lyrics. The line "swing low" is meant for a woman. On this album three more songs follow. The next one is the title track, 'Last Days', which was recorded with the other two Abyssinians as well. The two after are exclusive additions on this website, and consequently on the Youtube Channel. 'Satta Don' was taken from Tree Of Satta on which a large variety of artists sing a version on the 'Satta Massagana' rhythm. 'Satta Don' is by Bernard Collins and is also in remembrance of the old days in which The Abyssinians used to sing 'Satta' together. 'Blowin' In The Wind' is of course an cover of the Bob Dylan song. It features on Blowin' In The Wind: A Reggae Tribute To Bob Dylan. That album was released in 2006, but since there are no later albums of The Abyssinians than this 1999 album, it features here.

Studio Albums Discography
««««« (1976) Satta Massagana
««««« (1977) Forward
««««« (1978) Arise
««««« (1996) 19.95 + Tax
««««« (1999) Last Days

Original Date Of Publishing: February 2015