FELA'S BEAST OF NO NATION EXPLAINED

Song Explanation.

Beast of No Nation is the first song Fela wrote in 1986, after he was liberated from prison—serving two years from a five year prison sentence for trumped-up foreign currency violation charges. Everywhere he went after his release, people were asking him what he was going to sing about: ‘Fela wetin you go sing about? Them go worry me!”. People wanted to hear him sing about his prison experience, like he had done with the songs like: Alagbon Close, Kalakuta Show, and Expensive Shit. Finally, he decided to sing about the world we live in—with particular reference to Nigeria. He said when he was in prison he called it ‘Inside World’, out of prison he called it ‘Outside World’. But for him it is actually ‘Craze World’. Otherwise, what name can one give a world with: police brutality, army oppression, courts without justice, magistrates who are supposed to uphold the law, obviously seen bending the law to please some special interest. As further proof of the craze world, he sings about the judge who sent him to jail for five years on a trumped up charge, only for the same judge to visit Fela in a prison hospital two years after. The judge apologized, claiming he was under pressure from the government to convict. This could only happen in a Craze World, Fela reasons. It can only be in a craze world that people sit and watch governments shoot down protesting students with impunity, like in Soweto(South Africa), Zaria and Ife(Nigeria). Bearing in mind that Nigeria like all craze world countries, condemn the apartheid regime in South Africa, yet committing crimes against humanity in their respective countries. Turning to another aspect of craze world policy of the Nigerian government.

In 1983, the Buhari/Idigabon military regime launched a public campaign dubbed ‘War Against Indiscipline’. This was the regime’s solution to corruption inherent in the Nigerian society. To justify this campaign, the Nigerian head of state, General Buhari and his deputy General Idiagbon publicly used words like: ‘…my people are useless! My people are senseless! My people are indisciplined!’ to describe Nigerian People.For Fela, only in a craze world can such remarks be made. Moreover, such statements could only have come from an ‘animal in human skin’. How could these two animals use such words to qualify a people who feed them? This being so, other leaders from other countries must either be animals themselves to associate with, or accept to co-habit under such an umbrella as the United Nations with a head of state that considers his people useless. Turning to the United Nations, Fela saw it as a majorly unhealthy organization that suffers major inadequacy in its organizational principles. It is absurd to organize the UN principle bodies; the Security Council and the General Assembly, in such an undemocratic manner as one member’s cote can veto the decision of the majority. Is this Democracy? “What is United about the UN?” Fela asked. Thatcher went to war with Argentina over Falkland—yet both counties are members of the world body. Reagan and Libya were at war. Israel versus Lebanon. Iran versus Iraq. East-West cold war. It looks more like a group of disunited nations, so how can such a body work to promote and encourage respect for human rights? For Fela, that is another kind of animal talk. How can people talk about ‘individual’ rights? No one has the right to deprive someone else of what belongs to the individual—only an animal would try to take away another person’s legitimate rights. People who hear Fela say things like this reminded him that he was sent to prison for having such opinions of government. He, in his defense, said it was not him who called members of the UN animals. It was Pik Botha, the former South Africa President at the peak of the anti-apartheid struggle, in reaction to the persistent riots against the racist regime. He came out with a statement that his regime would act more brutally if the riots did not stop: “…this uprising will bring out the beast in us”. Fela’s reminded us that President Reagan advocated: “..constructive engagement with the apartheid regime” among member nations of the UN. The same policy as Mrs. Thatcher – an indication that they were sharing the same friendship and animal characteristics as Botha. If this is so the UN can only be an assembly of Beasts of No Nation. (  Culled from www.Fela.net as written by  Mabinuori Kayode Idowu)

LYRICS OF BEAST OF NO NATION

Ah- Let’s get now into another, underground spiritual game
Just go to help me the answer, go to say, “Aiya-kata”- Oh ya

O’feshe-Lu
[CHORUS] AIYA-KATA *(after each line)
O’feshe- g’Boh
*(2x)

O’feshe-Woh
[CHORUS] AIYA-KATA *(after each line)
O’feshe-g’Beh
Aiya kata
Aiya Koto
Aiya Kiti
Aiya Kutu

O’feshe-Lu
[CHORUS] AIYA-KATA *(after each line)
O’feshe- g’Boh
*(2x)

Oh—–…….

Basket mouth wan start to leak again, oh-
[CHORUS] BASKET MOUTH WAN OPEN MOUTH AGAIN, OH
Abi** you don forget I say I sing, ee-oh **(is it not)
[CHORUS] BASKET MOUTH WAN OPEN MOUTH AGAIN, OH
Oh, I sing-ee say, I go my mouth like basket, ee-oh, malan biag bere
(stanza 2x)

Basket mouth wan start to leak again, oh-
[CHORUS] BASKET MOUTH WAN OPEN MOUTH AGAIN, OH

Fela, wetin you go sing about?
[CHORUS] DEM GO WORRY ME… *(after each line)
(3x)

Dem go worry me, worry me– worry, worry, worry, worry
[CHORUS] DEM GO WORRY ME *(After each line)
Dey wan to make us sing about prison
Dem go worry me, worry me– worry, worry all over da town
Dem wan to know about prison life
Dem go worry me, worry me– worry, worry all over da town
*(repeat stanza)

Fela, wetin you go sing about?
[CHORUS] DEM GO WORRY ME
Dem go worry me, worry me– worry, worry, worry, worry

The time weh I dey, for prison, I call am “inside world”
The time weh I dey outside prison, I call am “outside world”
Na craze world, na be outside world

[CHORUS] CRAZE** WORLD *(after each line) / **(crazy)
Na be outside- da police-i dey
Na be outside- da soldier-ha dey
Na be outside- da court dem dey
Na be outside- da magistrate dey
Na be outside- da judge dem dey
Na craze world be dat
Na be outside- Buhari* dey *(Nigerian Head of State via coup d’etat)
Na craze man be dat
Animal in craze-man skin-i
Na craze world be dat
Na be outside- Idiagbon* dey *(Chief of General Staff- 2nd in command)
Na craze man be dat
Animal in craze-man skin-i
Na craze world be dat
Na be outside- dem find me guilty
Na be outside- dem jail me five years
——————I no do nothing
Na be outside-dem judge dey beg ee-o
Na craze world be dat, Na craze world be dat
Na be outside- dem kill dem students
Soweto, Zaria, and Ife** (600+ students killed protesting Afrikaans schooling)
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat,
Na be outside- all dis dey happen
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh…..

Make you hear this one [sax responses]
War against indiscipline, ee-oh

Na Nigerian government, ee-oh
Dem dey talk ee-oh
“My people are us-e-less, My people are sens-i-less, My people lack discipline”

Na Nigerian government, ee-oh
Dem dey talk be dat
“My people are us-e-less, My people are sens-i-less, My people lack discipline”

I never hear dat before- oh
Make Government talk, ee-oh
“My people are us-e-less, My people are sens-i-less, My people lack discipline”

Na Nigerian government, ee-oh
Dem dey talk be dat
Which kind talk be dat- ee-oh?
Na craze talk be dat ee-oh
Na animal talk be dat ee-oh
Na animal talk be dat ee-oh

[CHORUS] MANY LEADERS AS YOU SEE DEM
[CHORUS] NA DIFFERENT DISGUISE DEM DEY-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMAL IN HUMAN SKIN
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U TIE-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I WEAR AGBADA* *(robe)
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U SUIT-U
*(2x- 2nd time with lead voc)

These disguising leaders ee-oh, na wah for dem [sax responses after each]
Dem hold meeting everywhere, dem reach America (2x stanza)

Dem call the place, the “United Nations” [sax responses after each]
Hear-oh another animal talk
Wetin united inside “United Nations”?
Who & who unite, for “United Nations”?
No be there Thatcher & Argentina dey
No be there Reagan & Lib-i-ya dey
Is-i-rael versus Lebanon
Iran-i-oh versus Iraq-i
East West Block versus West Block East
No be there dem dey oh- United Nations
Dis “united” United Nations
One veto vote is equal to 92 […OR MORE, OR MORE]
What kind sense be dat, na animal sense (2x)

[CHORUS] MANY LEADERS AS YOU SEE DEM
[CHORUS] NA DIFFERENT DISGUISE DEM DEY-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMAL IN HUMAN SKIN
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U TIE-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I WEAR AGBADA
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U SUIT-U
*(2x- 2nd time with lead voc)

Dem go hold meeting, oh, Dem go start yab* human beings *(tease/bother)
Animal talk don start again
Dash* dem, human rights *(give/grant)
*(repeat stanza)

How animal go know-say dem no born me as slave?
How animal go know say slave trade don pass?
And, dey wan dash us human rights
Animal must talk to human beings
Give dem human rights

I beg-ee, oh , make you hear me well-u well
I beg-ee, oh, make you hear me very well

Human rights na my property
So therefore, you can’t dash me my property
Human rights na my property
Dey want dash us human rights

Some people say, “Why I dey talk like dis,”
No be talk like dis, dem take to carry me go prision ee-oh”
No be me dey talk, na Prime Minister Botha* dey talk, ee-oh (2x) *(PM of S.Africa)

Him say, “this uprising will bring out the beast in us”
[CHORUS] THIS UPRISING WILL BRING OUT THE BEAST IN US
(repeat stanza 3x)

Eh Ji Keke- my argument

Botha na friend to Thatcher & Reagan
Botha na friend to some other leaders too
And together dem wan dash us human rights
Animals wan dash us human rights
Animal can’t dash me human rights
Animal can’t dash us human rights

[CHORUS] MANY LEADERS AS YOU SEE DEM
[CHORUS] NA DIFFERENT DISGUISE DEM DEY-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMAL IN HUMAN SKIN
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U TIE-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I WEAR AGBADA
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U SUIT-U
*(2x- 2nd time with lead voc)

Beasts of no nation- Egbe Ke Gbe na bad society

[CHORUS] BEASTS OF NO NATION, EGBE KE GBE
[CHORUS] BEASTS OF NO NATION, OTURU GBE KE
(repeat stanza many x, lead vamp)

Easy… easy

[solos]

- See more at: http://nigeriamusicbox.com/fela-kutis-songs-lyrics/#.dpuf