( Matthew 25:40 )


There is trouble in the valley
There is trouble in the hills
There is trouble on the river
I gotta drive it out
I gotta drum and shout

There is trouble in the forest
There is trouble down below
There is trouble in my heart Lord
I gotta drive it out
I gotta drum and shout

Stretch me over this hallowed log
make me a trinity of goat and tree
Come on and beat it down so we all can rise up
walk like a panther and set the world free

It's the black snake moaning pipelines
drinking up the oil and the tar sands
through the roof comes global warming
fueled by the greed of the rich man

the screams of the last rainforest
echoing the call that we can't breathe
voices of the dead now join the chorus
in resistance against extraction companies

but we keep drillin and frackin and hackin and killin
the Earth is our mother, we actin like villians
are you ready to change? who out there is willin?
to fight for life, join in the rhythm

Soliwoulen comin out to give the tribe an inspection
and remind us all that something is wrong
the panther's claws shall remove the infection
repent, turn around, join the song

What you do to the least of these
you have done to me
What you do to the beasts and trees
you have done to me
What you do to the birds and bees
you have done to me
What you do to the lakes and seas
you have done to me
We better get down on our knees
and pray til we can see
that the Earth is alive and She's not for sale
She's not our private property

there is nothing left
we can hear the drums
there is nothing left
we can still hear the drums

Bring the pure wine of
love and freedom.
But don't u see? a tornado is swirling!
More wine, i tell you, we'll teach this storm
A thing or two about whirling.

There is a warrior inside you
a mighty mirror-masked dancer
let the Holy Spirit flow through
rise and walk like a panther.

Kodonbale, kodonbale eeeh, iye kodonbale,
kodonbale soli bara djara ye djara walero
Malinke Translation:

(The sun rises in the east. The place where the sun rises is called in Malinke: Kodon. The place where the sun rises is also always the place where the thunderstorms start.
But as often in African lyrics, the topic is rather metaphorical. They seem to talk about the Kodonba(le) coming and equal it with the threat of a panther (soli) and a lion (djara) appearing in the middle of the village, it means: "The panther has seen the lion"
"djara walerö" - the lion is in the bush.
A panther could be seen as weaker than a lion. The panther could stand for the people, the lion for the coming storm. They have seen the "lion" coming and know they have to hurry.
The Söliwoulen is a much-feared masker who is charged with protecting the bilakoro (the uninitiated young ones.) The word Söli is given to the ceremony proper, whilst Söliwoulen can be translated as "the red panther", referring to his strength and to the colour of his costume of panther skins that has also been studded with mirrors and amulets to add to his terrifying appearance. He dances alone and his arrival in the village spreads fear when he is seen to pass the entry.