Anthony Moses Davis (born August 22, 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica), better kno… Read Full Bio ↴Anthony Moses Davis (born August 22, 1973 in Kingston, Jamaica), better known by the stage name Beenie Man, is a well established reggae artist and DJ. He was involved in the music industry from a young age when he won the Tastee Talent contest in 1981. Only one year later, when he was eight years old, he recorded a single, "Too Fancy", with record producer "Junjo" Lawes. By 1983, Beenie Man was recording with heavyweight DJs, such as Dillinger and Fathead and released his debut album, The Invincible Beenie Man: The Ten Year Old DJ Wonder and the single "Over the Sea".

He was booed off stage at a show celebrating the visit of Nelson Mandela. In 1993 at the very popular show Sting he accused fellow deejay Bounty Killer that the elder artist had stolen his catchphrase, "people dead". This triggered a lyrical battle which continued on the air with each artist counteracting the other's songs. Finally, in 1995, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer settled their differences on the air by actually signing a peace treaty and the two recorded an album together, Guns Out. This was followed by a single, "No Mama No Cry", a rehash of the Bob Marley classic "No Woman No Cry", speaking out against violence and inspired by the murder of Pan Head, another popular Deejay.

Partially as a result of prodding from his producers, Sly and Robbie, Beenie Man soon converted to the Rastafari movement.

In 1994, he was signed by Island Records and released the critically acclaimed album Blessed.

In 1995, Beenie Man released a remix of Barrington Levy's "Under Mi Sensi" in the United Kingdom, and collaborated with Dennis Brown and Triston Palma to release Three Against War and Lt. Stitchie on Mad Cobra Meets Lt. Stitchie & Beenie Man. He took another step up the ladder in 1996, releasing the seminal Maestro, produced by Patrick Roberts and shot him to UK fame. During the period from the mid to late '90s, Beenie Man dominated the Jamaican charts to the extent that he perhaps had a good claim to the crown of "Dancehall King", a title only bestowed previously on Yellowman in the early 1980s.

In 1998, Beenie Man signed to Virgin Records to release albums in the United States. His first American offering was The Doctor (1998). In 2000, Beenie Man teamed up with Arturo Sandoval and Wyclef Jean (The Fugees) to release The Art & Life. During the late 1990s, Beenie Man began his conquest of America with the hits, "Romie", "Who Am I" and "Girls Dem Sugar", which featured American R&B singer, Mya.

In 2002, he had a sizeable hit with a duet with Janet Jackson called "Feel It Boy", but his biggest break in America came in early 2004 with the release of a remix of "Dude", featuring guest vocals by fellow Jamaican Ms. Thing, as well as rhymes by Shawnna.

Jerusalem
Beenie Man Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Whoa deh deh, oh lord
Whoa these words, these words of thy mouth
Whoa deh deh, woh these words, yes now

I lift my head unto the almighty god
He showed me what I had he said
Stand firm and beat thy drums
An prepare all thy children of Israel

Then wait for thy coming d-a-a-a-why

So I beat the kette drum
And mek it sound in a Jerusalem
And echo round a Jordon-dan-dan
Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Bethlehem
Echo up in a Zion

So man mi beat di kette, kette
Beat di kette drum 'cause man a no streggae, streggae
From di kette drum unoo get di reggae, reggae
People dem a come an all a say, say ,say ,say
Never know say shocking vibes did deh, deh, deh, deh
Africans a sing a lot a yelleh, yelleh
Beat di kette drum an mek we
Woh, nigh, nigh, Africans a come an dem a
Woh, nigh, nigh, that's why mi sing say

Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Jerusalem
An echo back in a Jordan-dan-dan
Beat di kette drum mek it sound in a Bethlehem
An echo back in a Zion-on-on

So Bingi Man a beat di kette drum, knock di kette drum
Lick di kette drum Congo Man deh come down
Kick di kette drum, knock di kette drum
Lick di kette drum, Guad Man a come
Marcus Garvey was a prophet, but him still dis di king
Call di king all a coward, and fly a flag against him
Marcus Garvey face death, a could a judgement tek him
But Selassie done did bless him
But 1966 when di king come visit
Ole heap a kette drum a beat a rastaman a beat it
Welve tribe from Israel, Gaud Man dem star it
Watch di bobo dread come, come join it
Well house a dread a come

Beat di kette drum, knock di kette drum
Beat di kette drum, Bingi Man deh come down
Lick di kette drum, bust di kette drum
Knock di kette drum, Congo Man deh come down
Fi beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Jerusalem
An echo up in a Jordan-dan-dan
Kick di kette drum an mek it sound in a Bethlehem
An echo up in a Zion, one more time
Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Jerusalem
Echo back round a Jordan-dan-dan
Lick di kette drum an mek it sound in a Bethlehem
Whoa lord, lord, woh nigh

Whoa, all sons of Selassie me a talk
If unoo love di reggae music, mek di kette drum talk
Indian a beat di kette drum when a war
Ethiopian a answer back from far
Now Jamaicans a beat di kette an a dance
People all a jump an prance
But hear mi sing

[Chorus]

Beat di kette drum, knock di kette drum
Gimmi di kette drum til morning come down
Lick di kette drum, knock di kette drum
Gimmi di kette drum til a morning come

I lift my head unto the almighty god
He showed me what I had he said
Stand firm and beat thy drums
An prepare all thy children of Israel
Then wait for thy coming d-a-a-a-why

So I beat the kette drum
And mek it sound in a Jerusalem
And echo round a Jordon-dan-dan
Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Bethlehem
Echo up in a Zion

Beat di kette drum, bust di kette drum
Lick di kette drum til a morning come down
Beat di kette drum, knock di kette drum
Beat di kette til a morning, woh lord

Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Jerusalem

An echo back round a Jordan-dan-dan
Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Bethlehem

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Beenie Man’s song “Jerusalem” heavily reference Rastafarian beliefs and culture. The song begins with a prayer-like verse, where Beenie Man lifts his head to the Almighty God, who told him to prepare the children of Israel for his coming. This is a reference to the Rastafarian belief that Ethiopia, particularly the city of Shashemene, is the true Jerusalem, and that the Emperor Haile Selassie is the returned messiah. Beenie Man then beats the kette drum and echoes ring out in Jerusalem, Jordan, Bethlehem, and Zion. These locations are not the original ones in the Bible, but rather represent important places in Rastafarian culture. Jerusalem represents Ethiopia, Jordan represents Africa and the struggle for freedom and equality, Bethlehem represents the birth of Rastafarianism and Zion represents the new world in the African diaspora.

In the rest of the song, Beenie Man references important figures in Rastafarianism such as Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican political leader who promoted Black nationalism and Pan-Africanism, and uses language unique to the Rastafarian dialect, such as calling the kette drum the “kete” drum. Other lyrics reference the unity of different cultures and religions through reggae music and the kette drum, which is an important instrument in African culture.

Line by Line Meaning

Whoa deh deh, oh lord
These words are powerful and elevated

I lift my head unto the almighty god
I am praying to God and looking for guidance

He showed me what I had he said
God revealed my purpose to me

Stand firm and beat thy drums
Remain steadfast and express yourself through music

An prepare all thy children of Israel
Get yourself and your community ready for what's to come

Then wait for thy coming d-a-a-a-why
And be patient for God's arrival

Beat di kette drum an mek it sound in a Jerusalem
Play the traditional Congolese drum in Jerusalem

And echo round a Jordon-dan-dan
Let the sound reverberate around the Jordan River

So man mi beat di kette, kette
So I, along with others, played the drum

From di kette drum unoo get di reggae, reggae
The rhythm of the drum influenced the creation of reggae music

Never know say shocking vibes did deh, deh, deh, deh
We didn't realize the powerful impact our music would have

Marcus Garvey was a prophet, but him still dis di king
Marcus Garvey was a respected leader, but he opposed the ruling monarch

Call di king all a coward, and fly a flag against him
He called the king a coward and protested against him

But Selassie done did bless him
But Emperor Selassie had already shown Garvey favor

Ethiopian a answer back from far
Musicians in Ethiopia responded to the drumming from afar

Gimmi di kette drum til morning come down
Play the drum all night long

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MOSES ANTHONY DAVIS, DONALD DENNIS, MELBOURNE GEORGE MILLER, PATRICK ROBERTS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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