McKay moved to New York City at the age of 17 to study architecture. In 1969 McKay launched the group "Exuma" with his then-partner and lifelong friend Sally O'Brien. He enlisted several musician friends, forming his backup band, the Junk Band. The band included O'Brien (as Princess Sally), Bogie, Lord Wellington, Villy, Spy Boy Thielheim, Mildred Vaney, Frankie Gearing, Diana Claudia Bunea (as Princess Diana), and his good friend Peppy Castro (Emil Thielhelm, lead singer of the Blues Magoos).
By the 1980s McKay had moved to New Orleans and was a regular at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.
Over the years the group Exuma played and / or toured with Patti LaBelle, Curtis Mayfield, Rita Marley, Peter Tosh, Toots & the Maytals, Sly and the Family Stone, Steppenwolf, Black Flag and the Neville Brothers. Numerous artists performed on his recordings and in his stage shows.
After growing up on Cat Island, Tony McKay moved to New York City at the age of 17 to study architecture. However, he did not complete his studies and soon entered the music industry in a group called Tony McKay and the Islanders. In New York's 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene McKay often found himself performing with such greats as Bob Dylan, Richie Havens, Jimi Hendrix, and Barbra Streisand among others.
He soon gained the attention of Blues Magoos manager Bob Wyld. Wyld brought McKay to Mercury Records and convinced them to sign him. In 1970 McKay, now redubbed Exuma, released the albums Exuma and Exuma II. From those albums he released the singles "Exuma, The Obeah Man", "Junkanoo", "Damn Fool", and "Zandoo". Exuma also garnered recognition for his song "You Don't Know What's Going On", which was featured on the soundtrack to John G. Avilsen's 1970 film Joe starring Peter Boyle, Susan Sarandon, and Dennis Patrick.
Exuma left Mercury in 1971 to sign with the Kama Sutra label, where he released the albums Do Wah Nanny (1971), Snake (1972), Reincarnation (1972), and Life (1973). From these albums he released the singles "Do Wah Nanny", "The Bowery", "Brown Girl", "Rushing Through the Crowd", and a cover of Paul McCartney's "Monkberry Moon Delight". After low sales and seeking the freedom of independence, Exuma was no longer featured on a major record label for the rest of his career. He released Penny Sausage, Going to Cat Island, Universal Exuma and Street Life in the early 1980s, but none of these albums received much exposure.By this time, Exuma was enjoying his greatest recognition. In the Bahamas, he even scored two hit singles, "Shirlene" and "Rose Mary Smith." He had moved to New Orleans and was a regular at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage festival. He performed regularly at the Old Absinthe Bar. These nights could become jam sessions, as he had a habit of starting songs that were not in the set list and he still attracted great musicians, such as Bill Wyman and Bob Dylan's backing band. In 1986 under the ROIR label, Exuma released Rude Boy, which garnered slightly more attention and featured songs from some of his previous 1980s releases.
Over the years Exuma has played and/or toured with Patti LaBelle, Curtis Mayfield, Rita Marley, Peter Tosh, Toots & the Maytals, Sly and the Family Stone, Steppenwolf, Black Flag and the Neville Brothers. Exuma was even recognised by Queen Elizabeth II in 1978 when she awarded him the British Empire Medal for his contributions to Bahamian culture.
In the late 1980s, Exuma suffered a mild heart attack, and thus devoted much more of his time to painting, his other great talent. His paintings have been exhibited several times and collected by many art lovers. Never abandoning his music however, he still wrote and performed his original music. He continued to perform at the New Orleans Jazz Festival until 1991. The last years of his life saw him splitting his time between Miami, Florida and Nassau, in a house that his mother had left him. He died in his sleep in 1997.
Professor and fellow Bahamian Alfred M. Sears stated that Exuma was "A Bahamian visionary, humanistic philosopher and people's poet. Exuma gives expression to the beauty and power of the cultural life of the Bahamas - the people's every day experiences, folklore, myths, stories, junkanoo, rake and scrape, pain, joy, struggle and survival. His life and art reflect the wonderful cultural heritage and personality of Bahamians, drawing on the roots of Africa and the branches of the Amerindians, Europeans and Americans."[2]
Tony McKay had many children including Gavin, Kenyatta, Acklins and Jahleena. His first son, Shaw and his mother, "Sammy" were murdered in the early 1970s in New York's Lower East Side. Both Acklins and Kenyatta Alisha are vocal artists, carrying on the tradition of their father through their individual genres.
A Place Called Earth
Exuma Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Baäl will cause
your downfall
you will fall down
in your hole
then you'll find
you'll find
you've lost your Soul
you cursed the moon
and you fought
I saw you fighting the Sun
your hand is withered
and your life
your life is done
in the manger oh
in the manger
in the manger
there is
big danger
you have crucified
your sacred saintly
king
now now now
you don't have
you don't have anything
Baäl Baäl
oh Baäl
Baäl Baäl
Baäl will cause
your downfall
you've born your babies
oh they eat your flesh
they said they'll put your souls
your souls at rest
your big search
your big search
big search for Gold
made you kill your Young
now your blood
your blood runs old
from life
to your death
you've lived without your son
you were shooting everybody
everybody
with a paper money gun
money money money Money
money has been your Baäl
money's been your Baäl
now for eternity
oh your Soul
your soul's in jail
jail
jail
Baäl Baäl
Baäl oh Baäl
Baäl will cause
your
your downfall
Baäl Baäl
oh Baäl
ohh Baäl
Baäl will cause
your
your downfall
Baäl will cause
is gonna cause
your downfall
Baäl will cause
your
your downfall
The lyrics to Exuma's song "A Place Called Earth" appear to be warning people about the dangers of greed and the pursuit of material wealth. Baäl is referenced as a force that will cause a person's downfall if they become too focused on accumulating money and power. The verses describe the consequences of this kind of lifestyle, with imagery of withered hands, lost souls, and even cannibalism among family members. The chorus repeats the warning of Baäl's power to bring one's downfall, emphasizing the message that materialism will ultimately lead to ruin.
The reference to Baäl in the lyrics alludes to a Canaanite deity associated with fertility, but also with cult practices that were considered immoral and corrupt. This reinforces the picture of a culture that has abandoned sacred values in favor of more superficial pursuits. The reference to crucifying a "sacred saintly king" implies a rejection of spiritual guidance in favor of a self-serving pursuit of money and power. The references to family members eating each other and killing their own children suggest a collapse of social morality in the pursuit of wealth.
Overall, the lyrics of "A Place Called Earth" convey a message of caution about the dangers of greed and materialism. The repetition of the warning about Baäl's power to cause downfall emphasizes the point that those who pursue money and power at the expense of spiritual values will ultimately suffer the consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
Baäl Baäl Baäl oh Baäl
Baäl, the ancient deity, is being invoked as a foreboding presence
Baäl will cause
your downfall
The worship of Baäl will bring ruin and destruction
you will fall down
in your hole
then you'll find
you'll find
you've lost your Soul
Those who succumb to Baäl's influence will become lost and spiritually empty
you cursed the moon
and you fought
I saw you fighting the Sun
your hand is withered
and your life
your life is done
Metaphorical expressions of defeat and death caused by the worship of Baäl
in the manger oh
in the manger
in the manger
there is
big danger
The manger is a place of peril and potential destruction
you have crucified
your sacred saintly
king
now now now
you don't have
you don't have anything
The ultimate tragedy of betraying and rejecting one's own savior
you've born your babies
oh they eat your flesh
they said they'll put your souls
your souls at rest
The offspring of those who worship Baäl will metaphorically consume them and consign them to death
your big search
your big search
big search for Gold
made you kill your Young
now your blood
your blood runs old
The unwavering desire for wealth and material things will corrupt and destroy society
from life
to your death
you've lived without your son
you were shooting everybody
everybody
with a paper money gun
The self-centered and greedy pursuit of wealth and power will lead to a lonely and ultimately empty existence
money money money Money
money has been your Baäl
money's been your Baäl
now for eternity
oh your Soul
your soul's in jail
The worship of money as a substitute for spiritual fulfillment will have dire and eternal consequences
Baäl will cause
is gonna cause
your downfall
The same warning repeated as a closing statement
Baäl will cause
your
your downfall
The same warning repeated as a closing statement
Contributed by Elena C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.