Satta Massagana

• By: The Abyssinians
• Album: By The Rivers Of Babylon: Timeless Hymns of Rastafari

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
land /lænd/ A1	noun - the part of the earth's surface that is not covered by water, as opposed to the sea or the air
far /fɑːr/ A1	adjective - distant
night /naɪt/ A1	noun - the period from sunset to sunrise in each twenty-four hours
day /deɪ/ A1	noun - the period from sunrise to sunset
look /lʊk/ A1	verb - to direct one's gaze towards someone or something or in a specified direction
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death
see /siː/ A1	verb - perceive with the eyes; discern visually
King /kɪŋ/ A1	noun - a man who is the supreme ruler of a country
Lord /lɔːrd/ A2	noun - someone or something having power, authority, or influence; a master or ruler.
sit /sɪt/ A1	verb - adopt or be in a position in which one's weight is supported by one's buttocks rather than one's feet
throne /θroʊn/ B1	noun - a ceremonial chair for a sovereign, bishop, or other high-ranking person
rule /ruːl/ B1	verb - exercise ultimate power or authority over (a country or people).
book /bʊk/ A1	noun - a written or printed work consisting of pages glued or sewn together along one side and bound in covers.

Grammar:

• There is a land, far far away

  ➔ Existential 'there is/are'

  ➔ This uses the existential 'there is' to introduce the existence of something. It's followed by a singular noun phrase ('a land'). The repetition of 'far' emphasizes the distance.

• Where there's no night, there's only day

  ➔ Ellipsis and contrasting clauses

  ➔ The construction uses ellipsis ('there's' shortened from 'there is'). It also presents a direct contrast: the absence of night against the presence of only day. 'Where' here functions as a relative adverb.

• Look into the book of life, and you will see

  ➔ Imperative + coordinating conjunction + future simple

  ➔ This line starts with an imperative ('Look') followed by a coordinating conjunction ('and') which connects it to a clause in the future simple tense ('you will see'). This creates a sense of direct instruction and consequence.

• The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords

  ➔ Parallelism and superlative phrasing

  ➔ This phrase demonstrates parallelism ('King of Kings' mirrors 'Lord of Lords'), enhancing its impact. The use of 'of' to link the nouns creates a superlative effect, implying ultimate authority.

• Sit upon His throne and He rules us all

  ➔ Simple present tense for habitual action and third-person singular agreement

  ➔ 'Sit' and 'rules' are in the simple present tense, indicating a habitual or timeless truth. Note the third-person singular 's' on 'rules' agreeing with 'He'.

• Satta Massagana

  ➔ Non-English Phrase/Code Switching

  ➔ This phrase is in Amharic, the language of Ethiopia, and represents a form of code-switching. Code-switching is the practice of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation. In Rastafarian culture, Amharic holds spiritual significance.