The vocal trio was originally formed in 1968 by Bernard Collins and Donald Manning. Their first song was "Satta Massagana", which was strongly influenced by Carlton Manning's "Happy Land". "Satta Massagana" is a Rastafarian hymn sung partly in the ancient Ethiopian Amharic language. They recruited a third vocalist, who was still at school and often unable to attend rehearsals; he was soon replaced by Donald's brother Lynford Manning, who had previously been a member of their brother Carlton Manning's group Carlton and The Shoes.
"Satta Massagana" was first recorded for producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd in March 1969, but he decided against releasing it, seeing no commercial potential for what he saw as a song constituting cultural subversion. In 1971, the group purchased the master tapes from Dodd for £90 and released it on their own Clinch label, the single becoming a massive success, prompting Dodd to release his own instrumental and deejay versions. The group released further takes on the song on Clinch by Tommy McCook, Big Youth, and Dillinger, as well as their own "Mabrak", featuring the group reciting passages from the Old Testament. It has since been recorded by dozens of artists. The group's second release, "Declaration of Rights", featured Leroy Sibbles on backing vocals, and like their first was a huge hit in Jamaica, (and subsequently in the international market) and has been covered several times since. Their 1973 single "Y Mas Gan" was similar to "Satta" in its use of Amharic.
The group continued to record throughout the 1970s for producers including Lloyd Daley, Tommy Cowan, and Geoffrey Chung, and their debut album, Forward on to Zion was produced by Clive Hunt and released in 1976. The follow-up, Arise (1978), was recorded under stressful conditions with internal rivalries threatening to break up the group, and after the album's release, Collins left the band, to be eventually replaced by Carlton Manning. This line-up performed at the 1979 Reggae Sunsplash festival, but split up the following year.
Donald Manning had a brief solo career in the early 1980s, in which he recorded as Donald Abyssinian.
Bernard Collins launched his own version of the group in the late 1980s, with two versions of the group existing for a time. The original line-up reunited in 1998 and went on to record new material, including the singles "African Princess" and "Swing Low" and the album Reunion, although Collins was not involved in songwriting at this time. Collins left again in 1999 and released material as Bernard Collins & the Abyssinians, releasing an album the same year.
The Abyssinians are credited on "Slave Song", from Sade's 2002 album, Lovers Live.
Discography
Studio albums
1976 : Satta Massagana - Jam Sounds (reissued 1988 on Clinch, 1993, 2007 on Heartbeat, also released as Satta and Forward on to Zion)
1978 : Arise - Tuff Gong/Virgin/Clinch
1998 : Reunion - Artists Only
Compilation albums
1982 : Forward - Alligator
1994 : Best of the Abyssinians - Musidisc
1996 : 19.95 + TAX
1998 : Satta Dub - Tabou 1
1998 : Declaration of Dub - Heartbeat
1999 : Last Days - Clinch (credited to Bernard Collins)
2003 : Abyssinians & Friends Tree of Satta vol. 1 - Blood & Fire
Live albums
2002 : Live in San Francisco - 2b1 II
Zion I
The Abyssinians Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We walk, we walk fe forward on a yard
I call upon the leaders of this time
To send the children, oh, now in this time
I call upon the head of society
To free the children now of captivity
Send us unto Zion
Send us, send us on
Fe go drink milk and honey
Send us unto Zion
Beautiful Zion
We walk, we walk fe forward on a yard
We walk, we walk fe forward on a yard
They say that slavery was abolished
Long, long time ago, oh yeah
And man should forward, oh, now in this time
Now I know, oh please
Send us unto Zion city
Send us unto Zion, you've got to
Send us, send us on
Fe go drink milk and honey
Send us unto Zion
Beautiful Zion
We walk, we walk fe forward on a yard
We walk, we walk fe forward on a yard
We haffe forward a yard
We must forward on
We haffe forward a yard
The Abyssinians, a Jamaican roots reggae group, wrote the song Forward Unto Zion in 1975. The song is a rallying call to the leaders of society to free the children from captivity and send them to Zion city. The lyrics assert that although slavery was abolished, captivity still exists, and it is the responsibility of society's leaders to liberate the oppressed. The reference to Zion city is a symbolic representation of a utopian society, a place of peace, equality, and prosperity for all. The reggae music genre is known for its political and social commentary, and this song is a perfect example of that.
The lyrics of the song are straightforward, but their message is profound. The singer implores society's leaders to take action and create a better world for future generations. The repetition of the phrase "we walk, we walk fe forward on a yard" emphasizes the importance of moving towards progress and change, even if it is a small step forward. The use of the word "haffe" instead of "have to" in the last line of the song is a nod to Jamaican Patois, a dialect of English spoken in Jamaica. It means "have to."
Line by Line Meaning
We walk, we walk fe forward on a yard
We continue to move forward on our journey
I call upon the leaders of this time
I implore the leaders of today
To send the children, oh, now in this time
To emancipate the youth of this era
I call upon the head of society
I urge the head of the establishment
To free the children now of captivity
To release the children from enslavement
And send us unto Zion city
And transport us to the promised land
Send us unto Zion, you've got to
You have to send us to Zion
Fe go drink milk and honey
So we can enjoy the abundance of the land
They say that slavery was abolished
They claim that slavery was abolished
Long, long time ago, oh yeah
A very long time back, yes
And man should forward, oh, now in this time
And humanity should progress in this era
Now I know, oh please
Now I understand, oh please
We haffe forward a yard
We must proceed in our journey
We must forward on
We have to keep moving forward
Contributed by Kaelyn G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@florrodriguez843
We walk, we walk fe forward on a yard
We walk, we walk fe forward on a yard
I call upon the leaders of this time
To send the children, oh, now in this time
I call upon the head of society
To free the children now of captivity
And send us unto Zion city
Send us unto Zion
Send us, send us on
Fe go drink milk and honey
Send us unto Zion
Beautiful Zion
We walk, we walk fe forward on a yard
We walk, we walk fe forward on a yard
They say that slavery was abolished
Long, long time ago, oh yeah
And man should forward, oh, now in this time
Now I know, oh please
Send us unto Zion city
Send us unto Zion, you've got to
Send us, send us on
Fe go drink milk and honey
Send us unto Zion
Beautiful Zion
We walk, we walk fe forward on a yard
We walk, we walk fe forward on a yard
We haffe forward a yard
We must forward on
We haffe forward a yard
@ShaunBacchas
Can't wait to to be honest. The sooner this world returns to its original form the better. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust. Bun dung the whole place (spiritually) 🔥🔥🔥
@cedricsteele7350
Picture this: first date with a beautiful, intelligent black princess, we end up back at her place. She asks if I wanna hear some music, I say yeah. She picks up the Abyssinians' Satta Massagana, LP of note and goes straight to this track, my favourite. It's at this point that you realise that the universe makes sense...
@CarpathiaGame
then i wake up
@SoNoFTheMoSt
I hope you put a ring on her finger :)
@ianomole7181
When is your anniversary??
@MsWildberry1
Love this takes me back to the raving days. Beautiful tune, powerful lyrics.
@teddy-bearfeet3069
getting older is not much fun but listening to old tunes brings me right back to youth.
@dehdehblacks2086
The Abbyssinians... Featuring my good bredren Bernard Collins, (third from left) singing lead. Send us home to beautiful Zion.
@Ishijah1
On of the greatest roots tune of all time
@cheeky1733
Roots history 🙏🏾 One of the best roots records ever produced.