Reggae: the Essential Facts

"I've got many rivers to cross" sings the prominent reggae artist Jimmy Cliff. Fortunately Mr Cliff lives in the age of the suspension bridge, so fording these watery obstructions will not present him with any great difficulty. Even a relatively primitive pontoon bridge, one presumes, should suffice for the task at hand. Alternatively, the swift if somewhat haphazard trajectory supplied by a human catapult provides Mr Cliff with yet another option when considering how best to reach the opposite bank.
This is pretty much all you need to know about reggae, except that neither Bach, Mozart nor Beethoven ever composed a single bar of music in this style, and that it was a form of song form unfavored by both the great Caruso and Maria Callas.

Comments

[OutOfContext]

While you are correct about reggae, my copy of Callas Goes Calypso is one of my prized possessions. There is a forty-three second Dey-oh in her version of The Banana Boat Song that never fails to thrill me.

[stephenesque]

Frankly, I've always admired her "I've Got A Lovely Bunch Of Coconuts"

[Edward Williams]

"Put the lime in the coconut, and drink the both together." Harry Nilson.

[Johnbull Akenuwa]

Sir,

There might be bridges now for the great Jimmy Cliff. Note that he created or built such bridges for himself and his musical genre.

He came from a long way off where bridges were absent and you have to struggle to succeed.This pains and resilence you can find in songs like "You can get it if you really want" Going back west" and "Harder they come".

Never assume this bridges were there in his formative years.

Jb