SONG Book of RulesSONGWRITERS Barry Llewellyn, Derrick Morgan, Leroy Sibbles
PERFORMER The Heptones
APPEARS ON The Meaning of Life: The Best of the Heptones 1966-1976 (1999), Rockers (Original Soundtrack, 1980), The Reggae Box (2001)
NOTE "Book of Rules" is not only an essential Heptones track, it is one the essential songs of the reggae canon. If your reggae collection does not include "Book of Rules," it is incomplete.
In this beautiful song, the Heptones express the conviction that ultimately it is the spirituality of the common people that makes history. The couplet introducing the first stanza dismisses the elite as ultimately irrelevant -- the doings of "princesses and kings" are nothing but "clown-ragged capers." The next two introductory couplets stress the importance of a balanced life ("Each must make his life flowing") amid a general optimism about the world ("the sun will be only missing for a little while").
The heart of "Book" is of course the chorus. It begins with the declarative statement that everyday people are the ones who matter -- "Common people like you and me/We'll be builders for eternity." We are assured of the gift of three things to assist our building: "A bag of tools/A shapeless mass and the Book of Rules." Why a shapeless mass? Because what we construct is not predestined: The future depends on what we make of it with our spirituality and intellect (the bag of tools) and the divine guidance we receive from the Book of Rules.
As to the specific nature of the Book of Rules, I don't think it matters whether the book is the Bible or the Quran or the Bhagavad Gita or something entirely different. In the end, the book is the set of ethics that informs our choices -- our conscience, if you will. It, too, is a shapeless mass that we have an obligation to develop for use in building eternity. After all, the future depends on it.
LYRICS
Isn't it strange how princesses and kings
in clown-ragged capers in sawdust ringsWhile common people like you and me
we'll be builders for eternity
each is given a bag of tools
a shapeless mass and the Book of Rules
Each must make his life as flowing in
tumbling block on a stepping stone
While common people like you and me
we'll be builders for eternity
each is given a bag of tools
a shapeless mass and the Book of Rules
Look when the rain has fallen from the sky
you know the sun will be only missing for a little while
While common people like you and me
we'll be builders for eternity
each is given a bag of tools
a shapeless mass and the Book of Rules
Killer tune, great post.
ReplyDeleteIs there a version/dub of this out there?
GREAT post...incredible song...insightful analysis...
ReplyDeleteTiny thing -- in the last verse, pretty sure it's "the sun will be only missing for awhile".
Thanks to both of you. Linda Ana, I have to go with you on the last verse, which changes my interpretation slightly.
ReplyDeleteWatcherman, I don't know about a dub version, but I'll check around.
I first heard this song too many years ago on This Is Reggae Music, Vol. 1, a terrific anthology that never made it to CD. Boy, did my ears perk up when "Book of Rules" came on. It's one of the few songs that not only never gets old, it gets better every time I hear it.
(after some research) + answering my own question for the benefit of all
ReplyDeleteThere's a forgettable Coxsone version (not a real dub) on Dictionary of Dub, which is a compilation of various underworked Heptones flipsides.
Book of Ruleing Dub (sic) manages to lose everything good about the original, therefore to be avoided at all costs. Coxsone may have worked with some fine artists but King Tubby he ain't.
still and all:
http://www.roots-archives.com/release/53
You've been warned!
Great track selection - a wonderful song! And in the finest tradition of the best Reggae works, has a powerful beating social heart!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the essay too. I think we'll be borrowing this one!
I read a poem today in the newspaper and I knew I heard part of it in a song before. The lyrics are from the lae 1940's a poem by R. Lee Sharpe called "A Bag of Tools"
ReplyDeleteEach is given a list of rules, A shapeless mass: a bag of tools.
And each must fasion, ere life is flown,
A stumbling block or a stepping stone.
The first two lines are exact from the poem.
This is from a poem by R. Lee Sharpe in the late 1940's.
ReplyDeleteA Bag of Tools
First two ines are the same, then this
Each is given a list of rules, A shapeless mass: a bag of tools
And each must fasion, ere life is folwn, A stumbling block or a stepping stone.
Great stuff, Greg. Thanks for adding such a key element to the entry.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed enjoyed this post, and thanks Greg for a very handy bit of info.
ReplyDeleteWatcherman - the version here is a Harry J production, and there is a pretty decent dub on the b-side of the original 7" on Jaywax. There's also an organ cut called 'Book Master', also on Jaywax, by Reco-Boaco & the Stepping Stones that has a great bongo and guitar version on the b-side.
Brilliant tune to this day.
ReplyDelete