Nigel,
The Melodians (a popular Jamaican ska/rocksteady group in the late 1960s and
early 1970s) recorded "Rivers of Babylon". (I'll have to check my record
collection -yes, I still have vinyl records!- and/or CDs for the actual year it
was recorded and released).
"King Alpha" refers to Ras Tafari ... or as he became better known, Emperor
Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. The reference is used to reflect the growing
consciousness of Rastafarian beliefs/doctrines occurring in Jamaica during that
period. The reference in the Bible (KJV) to "alpha and omega, the beginning
and the end", I suppose indicates the all-powerful, omniscient nature of God
... the term "King Alpha" was used (by Rastas) to refer to Haile Selassie ...
believed to be a divine incarnation (correspondingly, "Queen Omega" was a term
used to refer to his consort). See http://www.crosscurrents.org/murrell.htm
for a more detailed academic analysis.
I hope that this helps.
Regards,
Aldrin E. Sweeney
==========
Quoting Nigel Bolland <[log in to unmask]>:
> Dear Caribbeanists,
> In the song "Rivers of Babylon" which is heard in "The Harder They
> Come," there is a line, "How can we sing King Alpha song in a strange
> land" - who was King Alpha? I'm told by a reliable expert that in Psalms
> 137, where there is reference to the Rivers of Babylon, there is no
> mention of King Alpha, so where does he come from?
> Thanks for any suggestions,
> Nigel Bolland
**********
Aldrin E. Sweeney, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Science Education
Undergraduate/Graduate Program Coordinator & Program Advisor
Department of Teaching & Learning Principles
College of Education (123 L)
University of Central Florida
Orlando, FL 32816-1250
Tel: (407) 823-2561
Fax: (407) 823-2815
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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