Don't Panic, Bob Marley and Zimbabwe
Someone asked me today if I was serious in my Don't Panic column this week about Zimbabwe inaugurating its nationhood with a Bob Marley concert.
I was completely serious. As luck would have it, footage from the concert is on YouTube.
Here's Bob Marley & The Wailers performing the song "Zimbabwe," in Zimbabwe, minutes after it became Zimbabwe:
At the 33 second mark, you can see Prince Charles (in a military uniform) and Robert Mugabe at a podium together. Note as well the banner that refers to Zimbabwe's capital city, Harare, by it's British colonial name, Salisbury.
It's an amazing song — anthemic and hopeful, but also politically astute. The song's final verse actually predicts Zimbabwe's sad fate:
''So soon we'll find out who is the real revolutionaries
And I don't want my people to be tricked by mercenaries.
Zimbabwe was indeed tricked by mercenaries and phony revolutionaries.
Rebel leader Robert Mugabe and his cronies promised Zimbabwe's people independence.
It gave them misery.''