He was born in St. Andrew, Jamaica and learned to play the organ in Kingston College School. It was at that point an unnamed girl lent him the melodica. Fascinated by the instrument, Pablo rarely put it down. He also met Herman Chin Loy; the Chin family owned an influential record store in Kingston. Swaby recorded “Iggy Iggy” in Clive’s father’s studio, Aquarius Records. He took the name Augustus Pablo for this recording.
After releasing a few more singles, Pablo came out with “East of the River Nile”, a unique blend of East Asian and Jamaican sounds, and the song became a moderate hit. Augustus Pablo popularized the use of the melodica (an instrument used primarily to teach children music in the Jamaican public schools) in reggae music. He soon joined Now Generation (Mikey Chung’s band) and played the keyboard with them while his friend, Clive, began his own career as a record producer. Pablo and Chin recorded “Java” (1972) together, as soon as Pablo quit Now Generation and Clive was able to get the studio time, the instrumental was a massive hit, and launched Pablo’s solo career. He recorded with Chin and various others, including Leonard Chin, his uncle, and Lee Perry. He scored another smash hit with “My Desire” (John Holt).
Pablo formed labels Hot Stuff, Message and Rockers (named after his brother’s soundsystem, Rockers), and released a steady stream of well-received instrumentals, mostly versions of older hits from Studio One. In spite of his success with Rockers, Pablo’s seminal 1974 album, This Is Augustus Pablo was recorded with Clive and Pat Chin. This was followed by a collaboration with the legendary reggae engineer King Tubby to great acclaim, releasing 1975’s Ital Dub.
In the later 1970s, Pablo produced a steady stream of hits, including the hit “Black Star Liner” (Fred Locks). He also worked with Dillinger, Norris Reid, I-Roy, Jacob Miller, Te -Track, The Immortals, Paul Blackman, Earl Sixteen, Roman Stewart, Lacksley Castell, The Heptones, Ricky Grant, Delroy Williams,Junior Delgado, Horace Andy and Freddy McKay. This period was eventually commemorated with critically acclaimed LP’s including King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown (1976) and Hugh Mundell’s classic Africa Must be Free by 1983. This was followed by East of the River Nile (1978, Original Rockers 1979 and Rockers Meets King Tubbys In A Firehouse, another acclaimed hit album.
In the 1980s, Pablo’s career slowed significantly. He had begun to establish an American audience, and released Rising Sun in 1986 to good reviews and sales. Pablo also produced memorable hits, including “Ragamuffin Year” (Junior Delgado), “Humble Yourself” (Asher & Tremble) and “Far Far Away” (Ricky Grant). In addition, Pablo toured extensively throughout the world, making a memorable live album in Tokyo in 1987. That same year, Rockers Come East re-established his career, and he began to release a series of critically acclaimed though somewhat inaccessible albums in the 1990s, including Blowing With the Wind and also producing several, such as Night & Day (Dawn Penn) and Jah Made Them All (Yami Bolo).
Pablo died as a result of a collapsed lung on May 18, 1999. He had been suffering for some time from the nerve disorder Myasthenia gravis.
He was known for his spiritual Rastafarian beliefs.
King Tubby Meets The Rockers U
Augustus Pablo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the two sevens clash
Wat a liiv an bambaie
When the two sevens clash
My good old prophet Marcus Garvey prophesize, say
"St. Jago de la Vega and Kingston is gonna read"
And I can see with mine own eyes
Wat a liiv an bambaie, it dread
When the two sevens clash
Wat a liiv an bambaie
When the two sevens clash
Look up a cotton tree out by Ferry police station
How beautiful it used to be
And it has been destroyed by lightning,
Earthquake and thunder, I say, what?
Wat a liiv an bambaie
When the two sevens clash - it dread
Wat a liiv an bambaie
When the two sevens clash
I take a ride sometimes
On Penn Overland and Bronx
And sometimes I ride on bus X-82, say what?
Wat a liiv an bambaie
When the two sevens clash
Wat a liiv an bambaie
When the two sevens clash
Marcus Garvey was inside of Spanish Town district Prison
And when they were about to take him out
He prophesied and said
"As I have passed through this gate"
"No other prisoner shall enter and get through"
And so it is until now
The gate has been locked, so what?
Wat a liiv an bambaie
When the two sevens clash, it dread
Wat a liiv an bambaie
When the two sevens clash, it bitter, bitter, bitter
Wat a liiv an bambaie
When the two sevens clash, a man a go feel it
Wat a liiv an bambaie
When the two sevens clash, you better do right
The above lyrics are from Augustus Pablo's song "King Tubby Meets Rocker Uptown." The song is an instrumental reggae track that features Augustus Pablo's signature melodica sound. The song is filled with references to Jamaican culture, particularly the Rastafari movement and the work of Marcus Garvey, a Jamaican political leader, philosopher, and activist. The song is a tribute to King Tubby, a Jamaican producer, and sound engineer who was influential in the development of dub music.
The lyrics start with a warning that something big is about to happen when the two sevens clash. The phrase "two sevens clash" refers to the belief in Rastafarianism that the end of the world would happen when the date July 7, 1977, arrived. The song then references Marcus Garvey's prophecy that St. Jago de la Vega and Kingston (two Jamaican cities) would unite. The lyricist notes that a housing scheme now divides the two places.
The song then references the destruction of a cotton tree near the Ferry police station and the prophetic vision of Marcus Garvey while he was in prison. The lyricist notes that the gate to the prison was locked after Garvey prophesied that no other prisoner would pass through it. The song ends with a warning that "when the two sevens clash, you better do right."
Overall, the lyrics talk about the importance of Jamaican culture, particularly the Rastafarian movement, and the need to do the right thing. The song is a tribute to the late King Tubby and his influence on the development of dub music.
Line by Line Meaning
Wat a liiv an bambaie
What a life and commotion
When the two sevens clash
When two unlucky events coincide
My good old prophet Marcus Garvey prophesize, say
My wise ancestor Marcus Garvey predicted
"St. Jago de la Vega and Kingston is gonna read"
"St. Jago de la Vega and Kingston are going to experience a great change"
And I can see with mine own eyes
And I can see with my own eyes
It's only a housing scheme that divide
It's only a housing project that divides people
Wat a liiv an bambaie, it dread
What a life and commotion, it's terrible
Look up a cotton tree out by Ferry police station
Look at the cotton tree near Ferry police station
How beautiful it used to be
It used to be so beautiful
And it has been destroyed by lightning, earthquake and thunder, I say, what?
And it has been destroyed by natural disasters, can you believe it?
I take a ride sometimes
Sometimes I take a ride
On Penn Overland and Bronx
On Penn Overland and the Bronx
And sometimes I ride on bus X-82, say what?
And sometimes I ride on bus X-82, can you believe it?
Marcus Garvey was inside of Spanish Town district Prison
Marcus Garvey was in Spanish Town district prison
And when they were about to take him out
And when they were about to release him
He prophesied and said
He predicted and said
"As I have passed through this gate"
"As I have passed through this gate"
"No other prisoner shall enter and get through"
"No other prisoner shall enter and get out"
And so it is until now
And it remains the same until now
The gate has been locked, so what?
The gate has been locked, what's the big deal?
Wat a liiv an bambaie, it bitter, bitter, bitter
What a life and commotion, it's bitter
A man a go feel it
A man is going to feel it
You better do right
You should do the right thing
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@RazorEdge2006
Way ahead of its time. Before the days of programmable drum machines and samplers, King Tubby was using tape delay effects produced from a Roland Sound Echo to produce EDM-like beats here. This song is an ancestor of hip hop, EDM, dancehall, ragga, jungle, drum & bass, and dubstep.
@abrahampalmer1153
Indeed
@sundaysloth4559
FE TRUE
@dameonkeller7454
I found one of Carlton's drum tracks alone online and I'm recording a track over it using melodica (of course,) guitar, piano and bass. The trick is he recorded the drums with a normal hi hat rhythm then recorded the 16th notes on hi hat on another track. The blasted out timbales instead of toms really smash the beats home. Then the effects just icing on the cake.
@vesnabelovaric7958
You trolled they fuck outta me i though it was a hair string on a phone and swiped it twice realising it is yo yt profile pic 😂😂
@demoxcro786
@@dameonkeller7454bro please explain a bit more,or even better make a video tutorial, thanks
@yangtse55
This one track changed my whole appreciation of music for ever.
@sirsteven831
+yangtse55 Me too mate....ahead of it's time
@terrylao1955
The 12" version is the best.
@blackpantherhi-fisoundsyst4712
This track will change yo life