Roots Archives Forum

*And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke*
Acts 2:19

Ok, now that I have your attention.

Two of my very favorite songwriters Justin Hinds and Prince Alla both draw on a spiritual known as "So High" for two of their greatest compositions.

The spiritual includes a chorus that goes something like this:

*My God is so high, you can't get over Him,
He's so low, you can't get under Him,
He's so wide, you can't get around Him--
You must come in by and through the Lamb.*

or

* My Lord is so high-
You can't get over Him.
So low-
You can't under Him.
So wide-
You can't get around Him.
You must come in at the door*

Hinds and Prince Alla have quite different takes:

**Justin Hinds & the Dominoes "Fire Is The Desire"**

*The fire is burning
People are yearning
In this time, In this time, In this time
(Fire is burning)
The fire is so hot you can't get close to it.
(Fire is burning)
The flame is so high that you can't get above it.
(Fire is burning)
The sparks are so wide that you can't get around it.
(Fire is burning).
The heat is so deep you can't under it.
(Fire is burning)*

**Prince Alla "Stone"**

*I man saw a stone
Just a come to mash down Rome
Dread, dread stone
Just a come to mash down Rome
To mash down Rome
To mash down Rome

They can't run
No, I know that they can't hide
For that stone was so big and it so wide
And it so low, don't you know,
They can't get under it
And it so high, Babylon,
You can't get over it
Get over it
Get over it*

Does anyone know when the "So High" spiritual was introduced to Jamaica? The earliest reference to it I can find in the US is 1924.

The chorus also shows up in versions of a spiritual known as "Rock-a My Soul" which concerns the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man. And given Prince Alla's use of the word "stone" and the emphasis on divine justice (the rich man gets his just deserts in hell), I suspect that this is the source of Hinds and Alla's lyric.

* Anyone from Jamaica familiar with these spirituals: "So High" or "Rock-a My Soul"?

* Do you know when either of these spirituals might have been introduced to Jamaica? I've read that Hinds was raised in as a Seventh Day Adventist (perhaps they were the source?)

* Do you know of any other roots songs that use the "so high, so low, so wide" figure/ theme?

Thanks and bless

Following up, Prince Alla's "Stone" may have a bit of the spirituals "Daniel Saw the Stone" and "So Glad I've Got the Stone" in it as well.


**"Daniel Saw the Stone"**

*Daniel saw the stone
Rollin’, rollin’
Daniel saw the stone
Cut out the mountain without hands

Never saw such a man before
Cut out the mountain without hands
Spite call them wicked men
Cut out the mountain without hands

Daniel pray’d in the lions’ den
Cut out the mountain without hands
Drive the devil far away
Cut out the mountain without hands*

I found this in an interview http://www.reggae-vibes.com/concert/pri ... palla3.htm,
making me suspect that Prince Alla knew "Daniel Saw the Stone".

*Q:* /Tell me the inspiration for that tune?/

*A:* You know, it's really outa the bible. Beca' you know when we out at the Bobo camp we read the bible so.. every day. That's weh you a remember.. you have some certain passage in the bible when, you know, it always hold you. Like when you hear "Daniel in the lion's den!", or you.. "I man saw a stone fe mash down Rome!", and you a say "Lot's wife turned a pillar of salt!". You know, dem likkle stories deh, y'know. About "Jonah in the belly of the whale!". Certain likkle stories in the bible, yunno. We used to.. you take it, y'know? So "(I Man Saw A) Stone" was like a t'ing in the bible that I really see in a I-self, y'know. Yes.

The Blood and Fire compilation *Only Love Can Conquer* refers to the song as "Stone". I noticed, that Prince Alla himself refers to the song as "(I Man Saw A) Stone". He puts himself in Daniel's place.

**"So Glad I've Got the Stone"**

*Ezekiel saw the stone that was hewed out the mountain

Hewed out the mountain
Come rollin' through Babylon
Come tearing down the kingdom of the world

Oh, my mama had the stone…

Oh, my father had the stone…

Oh, my preacher had the stone…

So glad I got that stone…

Oh my brother got the stone…

Oh, my deacon had the stone…

Oh, my sister got the stone…*

another one using the 'so high' theme is the excellent 'what do you say' from garnett silk.

'what do you say
you dont love haile selassie
fire gonna burn you and your family
what do you say
you dont worship the king
blessed is the king
who cometh in the name of the lord
sorry you cant cross him
he's wider than broad
you cant get over him
he's the highest
you cant get under him
he's deeper than the deep blue sea
jah is without ending.....

ital kemar