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Jamaica Dandy
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We know the white boys come from America To Jamaica searching for the Rasta And when they meet teeth flash in the alleyway Green dollars for Jamaican ganja He come down from the hills with a golden load It tastes like cake or candy Heavy cats from New York hanging down by the wharf They dealing with Jamaica Dandy Loading ships on moonlit bays Blue Mountain hideaways Nobody sitting in the bushes with a submachine gun Lord I miss those golden days We were living in a ganja haze I want to go back to a time before it all got crazed Jamaica Dandy, I miss you The man three times older than the white boys Swing two machetes in the hot sun He baled 70 ki's on his hands and knees Nobody looking if he took one But then the word came down out of Kingston Town Cool it on the white connection Dandy heard it but he told the American boys We gonna make it through the next election Loading ships on moonlit bays Blue Mountain hideaways Nobody sitting in the bushes with a submachine gun Lord I miss those golden days We were living in a ganja haze I want to go back to a time before it all got crazed Jamaica Dandy, I miss you It was in 1974, my friend, the heat come in from Miami There was hell to pay from the DEA guns looking for Jamaica Dandy But when they broke down the door in the dead of night Smell of the herb so alarming It was a Rasta joke, empty room full of smoke He back in the Blue Hills farming Loading ships on moonlit bays Blue Mountain hideaways Nobody sitting in the bushes with a submachine gun Lord I miss those golden days We were living in a ganja haze I want to go back to a time before it all got crazed Jamaica Dandy, I miss you |
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Credits: Guitars: Philip Gnarly Bass: Eric Morton Drums: Dean Butterworth Percussion: Michael Tempo Sax: Johnny Bamont Vocals: Peter Cross and the Crossants Engineering in LA: Philip Gnarly and Jimbo Head Engineering in SF: Jay Bowman and Lance Thomason Final Mix: Mark Needham Commentary: Oh my, a song about Mary Jane! Now when was the last time you heard a song about that lady on the radio? And do you care? This song is for real. There really was a man known as Dandy living all over the island of Jamaica but mostly in Negril, where Peter Cross met him. Dandy was about 90 years old at the time and had been smoking since he was 7, or so he said, and nobody disputed him. He took Peter up into the Blue Mountains near Port Antonio, introduced him to the Rastafarians who immediately inducted him and gave him the Rastafarian name Jahman. Yes, Peter Cross is one of the only caucasian Rastafarians around, or maybe the only one left who can still make some sense out of it. It was a flash in time, a rare occasion, and it generated a song. What more can a songwriter want? Basic tracks were recorded at the Tiki Hut in Hollyweird with the usual team of Philip, Eric, and Deano. Philip played the "percolator" guitar part that gave the basic track its true reggae feeling. Eric created the awesome bass part, which is unusual only because Peter often writes bass lines that are integral to the song structure, but not this time. Eric is a great bass player and a truly unique human being. He also played on "Rastafarian", and one of the verses was written about him. If you like our reggae, check out "Rastafarian" and read some more about Eric. Michael Tempo played a hundred little percussion instruments on this song and on "Rastafarian". He sits in the middle of the studio floor with all these strange looking percussion toys around him, picks them up one at a time or in combinations, and appears to play at random, but he's really not. Whatever he played was perfect, and it was all played on the first take. Let's face it, these guys can play reggae. |
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