According to the Tejumola Olaniyan biography Arrest the Music! Fela and His Rebel Art and Politics, "Zombie" gave the youth of Africa "a handy concept that dramatized the intellectual shallowness of the military dictatorships rampaging the continent."
It is clear to anyone who knows anything about the man and his music what inspired this song. On February 18, 1977, Fela's residence was sacked by nearly a thousand soldiers. "Residents - including Fela - and guests were brutally beaten and bayoneted and scores ended up with broken heads, legs, backs, shoulders, arms, and ribs; women were sexually assaulted; Fela's ailing mother... was tossed from a second-floor window; and the house itself was razed."
When Fela performed this song the following year in Accra, the capital of neighboring Ghana, riots broke out, and he was deported and banned from the country. >>Zombie o, zombie (Zombie o, zombie)
Zombie o, zombie (Zombie o, zombie)
Zombie no go go, unless you tell am to go (Zombie)
Zombie no go stop, unless you tell am to stop (Zombie)
Zombie no go turn, unless you tell am to turn (Zombie)
Zombie no go think, unless you tell am to think (Zombie)
Zombie o, zombie (Zombie o, zombie)
Zombie o, zombie (Zombie o, zombie)
Zombie no go go, unless you tell am to go (Zombie)
Zombie no go stop, unless you tell am to stop (Zombie)
Zombie no go turn, unless you tell am to turn (Zombie)
Zombie no go think, unless you tell am to think (Zombie)
Zombie o, zombie (Zombie o, zombie)
Zombie o, zombie (Zombie o, zombie)
[Verse 2]
Tell them to go straight, a joro, jara, joro
No break, no job, no sense, a joro, jara, joro
Tell them to go kill, a joro, jara, joro
No break, no job, no sense, a joro, jara, joro
Tell them to go quench, a joro, jara, joro
No break, no job, no sense, a joro, jara, joro
Go and kill! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Go and die! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Go and quench! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Put am for reverse! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Go and quench! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Go and kill! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Go and die! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Put am for reverse! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Go and die! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Go and quench! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Go and kill! (Joro, jaro, joro)
Put am for reverse! (Joro, jaro, joro)
[Bridge]
Joro, jara, joro, zombie wey na one way
Joro, jara, joro, zombie wey na one way
Joro, jara, joro, zombie wey na one way
Joro, jara, joro
[Chorus]
Attention! Quick march! (Zombie)
Slow march! Left turn! (Zombie)
Right turn! About turn! (Zombie)
Double up! Salute! (Zombie)
Open your hat! Stand at ease! (Zombie)
Fall in! Fall out! (Zombie)
Fall down! Get ready! (Zombie)
Attention! Quick march! (Zombie)
Slow march! Left turn! (Zombie)
Right turn! About turn! (Zombie)
Double up! Salute! (Zombie)
Open your hat! Stand at ease! (Zombie)
Fall in! Fall out! (Zombie)
(Zombie)
[Bridge]
Halt!
Order!
[Chorus]
Attention! Quick march! (Zombie)
Slow march! Left turn! (Zombie)
Right turn! About turn! (Zombie)
Double up! Salute! (Zombie)
Open your hat! Stand at ease! (Zombie)
Fall in! Fall out! (Zombie)
Fall down! Get ready! (Zombie)
Attention! Quick march! (Zombie)
Slow march! Left turn! (Zombie)
Right turn! About turn! (Zombie)
Double up! Salute! (Zombie)
Open your hat! Stand at ease! (Zombie)
Fall in! Fall out! (Zombie)
Fall down! Get ready! Halt! (Zombie)
[Bridge]
Order!
One more time everybody
[Chorus]
Attention! Quick march! (Zombie)
Slow march! Left turn! (Zombie)
Right turn! About turn! (Zombie)
Double up! Salute! (Zombie)
Open your hat! Stand at ease! (Zombie)
Fall in! Fall out! (Zombie)
Fall down! Get ready! (Zombie)
Attention! Quick march! (Zombie)
Slow march! Left turn! (Zombie)
Right turn! A
found here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kVkNtOdM-Q
"Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938[1] – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the pioneer of Afrobeat, an African music genre that combines West African music with American funk and jazz.[2] At the height of his popularity, he was referred to as one of Africa's most "challenging and charismatic music performers".[3] AllMusic described him as a musical and sociopolitical voice of international significance.[4]
Kuti was the son of Nigerian women's rights activist Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti. After early experiences abroad, he and his band Africa 70 (featuring drummer and musical director Tony Allen) shot to stardom in Nigeria during the 1970s, during which he was an outspoken critic and target of Nigeria's military juntas.[4] In 1970, he founded the Kalakuta Republic commune, which declared itself independent from military rule. The commune was destroyed in a 1978 raid.[5] He was jailed by the government of Muhammadu Buhari in 1984, but released after 20 months. He continued to record and perform through the 1980s and 1990s.
