Song of the day: War by Bob Marley

On this anniversary of the armistice of 1918, marking the end of the First World War (the “Der des Ders”), we dedicate our piece of the day to Warof Bob Marley & The Wailers.

To do this, we must move forward a little in time, to October 6, 1963 precisely, the day on which Haile Selassié gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly. It is this famous speech which is included in the song War by Bob Marley on the album Rastaman Vibrationreleased in 1976.

War is a piece steeped in history with its message of peace served by powerful and evocative words, written by Lorenzo Tazaz, one of the main authors of Haile Selassié's speeches. Recorded at Harry J Studio with musicians such as Chinna Smith, the Barett Brothers and Tyrone Downie, War remains one of the most legendary pieces of Bob Marley's work.

In 1997, at the initiative of Bruno Blum, Haile Selasie's original speech in the Amharic language was placed on the Wailers riddim.html”>Wailers and released on vinyl by the Rastafari Records label.

And here is a translated extract from that speech:
Until the philosophy which distinguishes between a superior and an inferior race is finally and forever discredited and abandoned; as long as there are still first and second class citizens in certain nations; until the color of a man's skin has more meaning than the color of his eyes; until fundamental human rights are equally guaranteed to all without distinction of race; Until this day, the dream of lasting peace, global citizenship and a rule of international morality will remain only a fleeting illusion that we pursue without ever achieving it. And until the vile and sinister regimes which hold our brothers in slavery in Angola, Mozambique and South Africa have not been overthrown and destroyed; and until fanaticism, prejudice, malice and self-interest have been replaced by understanding, tolerance and good will; until all Africans can stand up and express themselves as free human beings, equal in the eyes of all men as they are in the eyes of God; Until that day, the African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight if necessary, and we know that we will win, so confident are we in the victory of good over evil.