Barry G is still amazed by Rodigan’s devotion to the history of reggae and his willingness to learn the history and origin of a song.“He makes it his duty to experience it; he has mastered it.
Jamaica, its people and its culture still elude and bemuse the most earnest of wannabes. David Rodigan is no wannabe. As far as Jamaicans are concerned, he’s not only on the inside, he’s ranking. Come down, selector!
Ring The Alarm
David Rodigan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
R-r-r-r-rring!
Hey, ring de alarm!
Hey, whoah! Ring de alarm!
And not a sound is dying whoah!
Hey, ring de alarm!
And not a sound is dying whoah!
Some sound sound like a big drum pan
Listen de sound it a champion
Ram the dance Inna any session
Rock up the woman and rock up the man
Ring me alarm and not a sound is dying whoah!
Hey, ring de alarm!
And not a sound is dying whoah!
Hey,
Tee tar toe, we beat'em all in a row
Donkey waan water but dem hol' Im trough
Tee tar toe we beat'em all in a row
Dark has waan water but, hol' im trough
Ring me alarm
Four big sound Inna one big land
The don sound a play de other three team come
Four big sound Inna one big land
De boom sound a play de other three team gone
Ring me alarm
Remember this sound it de talk of the down
Talk of the country, hey
Rock mr. Charlie, rock ms Munchy
Talk of the country, so
Ring me alarm and not a sound is dying
I know, I know
Ring me alarm and not a sound is suffering
Whoah! Hey
Watch de sound man a-tremble
Watch de sound man a-pray
Watch de sound man a-tremble
Watch de sound man a-pray
Ring me alarm and not a sound is dying
I know, I know
Ring me alarm and not a sound is suffering
Whoah! Hey
Little of this and little of that
Rock sister Carmen, rock mr. Rat
Rock the white and rock up the black
Sweet reggae music gaan pan de attack yes a
Pan de attack it gaan pan de attack
Sweet reggae music gaan straight non-stop
Ring me alarm and not a sound is dying
Whoah! Hey
Ring me alarm and not a sound is suffering
Whoah! Hey
Some sounds sound like a big drum pan
Listen de sound it a champion
Ram de dance Inna any session
Rank the woman and groove up the man
Ring me alarm and not a sound is suffering
Whoah! Hey
Ring me alarm and not a sound is dying
Whoah! Hey
Beat 'em there an' we beat 'em there
We beat 'em all over dis athmosphere
Champion sound, we jus' don' care
"Ring The Alarm" by David Rodigan is a reggae song that calls for an alarm in the dancehall. The first verse of the song urges the DJ to ring the alarm and make sure not a sound is dying. The second verse talks about the sound system and how the music is like a champion. The following verse again calls for an alarm and talks about the intense beats of the song. The fourth verse describes the competition amongst the sound systems and how the other teams are gone when the boom sound plays. The song continues with the fifth verse talking about the popularity of the song and how it's the talk of the country.
The chorus of the song repeats the line "Ring me alarm and not a sound is dying." The verses use different music jargons such as "tee tar toe," "big drum pan," and "rank the woman and groove up the man" to make a reference to individuals in the dancehall such as the DJs, the audience, the other sound systems, and the competitors.
In summary, "Ring The Alarm" is a lively song that calls for an alarm to make sure not a sound is dying while celebrating reggae music and the competition amongst the sound systems.
Line by Line Meaning
R-r-r-r-rring!
The sound system is starting up.
Hey, ring de alarm!
Start playing the music loudly.
Hey, whoah! Ring de alarm!
Play the music in such a way that it excites everyone.
And not a sound is dying whoah!
The music is so exhilarating that no one is bored.
Some sound sound like a big drum pan
Some sound systems sound like big drums.
Listen de sound it a champion
Listen to the sound, it is the best.
Ram the dance Inna any session
Play music for a long period of time at the party.
Rock up the woman and rock up the man
Make sure everyone is dancing especially the ladies and the guys.
Tee tar toe, we beat'em all in a row
The sound system won every competition.
Donkey waan water but dem hol' Im trough
The donkey wants water, but they are holding it down.
Four big sound Inna one big land
There are four giant sound systems in the same area.
The don sound a play de other three team come
One don sound is playing music while the other three came to listen.
Remember this sound it de talk of the down
This sound system is the talk of the town.
Rock mr. Charlie, rock ms Munchy
Make sure everyone is dancing regardless of their name.
Watch de sound man a-tremble
See the person controlling the sound system shake with excitement.
Watch de sound man a-pray
See the person controlling the sound system pray for success.
Little of this and little of that
Mix different genres of music.
Sweet reggae music gaan pan de attack yes a
Play reggae music in an exciting way.
Pan de attack it gaan pan de attack
Keep playing exciting music.
We beat 'em all over dis athmosphere
The sound system is the best in the area.
Champion sound, we jus' don' care
The sound system is the champion and they do not care about any other sound system.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Clive Anthony Bright, Damon Hayes, Keshia Chante Harper, Kristal Oliver, Michelle Kuteyi, Rupert Lloyd Gayle, Scott Macfarland Carter, Winston Delano Riley, DANIEL ROLAND LANOIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Hegelian Dialectric Company
How can Rodigan ever lose with dubplate like these?
Druidar Reynolds
He don’t loose
Tom Driver
Not that i know an example of this,but there are sounds still active who can drawn Rodigan with Tenor Saw dubs. He has this one only. Same goes for Garnett Silk dubs. And not that i want to discredit him in any way,respect the man a lot
Ziggyman
@Tom Driver no sound has more than two Tenor Saw dubs that I know of. And it’s only Jaro that I know that even has as much as two
Tom Driver
@Ziggyman so what would Rodigan do if an opponent would play 2 and ask him to play a second one or lockoff?
Hence the original question here,how can he loose any clash with a dub like this? Super easy,there are sounds who have more "dub like this"
Ziggyman
@Tom Driver But bro, how can it be super easy for him to lose a clash if there are only just one or two sounds who have a dub like that? It means that it's hard for him to lose a clash, because he has a weapon that most other sounds do not have.
In any event tho, there's actually a clip on here where a sound with some white guys killed a Tenor Saw dub played by Freddie on Jaro.
Brian Wells
Tune give me goose bumps!
Paul Lane
LOVE IT
Stephen Burke
Ring the alarm,this sound is never dyin whao 🎼 🤛.
Mr.J
Best dubplate ever