Cliff moved to Kingston in 1962. After he released two singles that failed to make much of an impression, his career took off when his "Hurricane Hattie" became a hit, while he was aged just 14; it was produced by Leslie Kong, with whom Cliff would remain until Kong's death. Later local hit singles included "King of Kings", "Dearest Beverley" and "Pride and Passion". In 1964, Cliff was chosen as one of the Jamaican representatives at the World's Fair, and Cliff soon signed to Island Records and moved to Britain. Island initially (and unsuccessfully) tried to sell Cliff to the rock audience, but his career took off in the late 1960s. His international debut album was Hard Road to Travel, which received excellent reviews and included "Waterfall", a Brazilian hit that won the International Song Festival.
"Waterfall" was followed in 1969 by "Wonderful World, Beautiful People" and "Vietnam" in 1970, both popular throughout most of the world. Folk rock singer-songwriter Bob Dylan even called "Vietnam" the best protest song he'd ever heard. Wonderful World included a cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World", which was a success in 1970.
Leslie Kong died of a heart attack in 1971. The soundtrack to the reggae film The Harder They Come was a huge success that sold well across the world, but did not break Cliff into the mainstream. After a series of albums, Cliff took a break and traveled to Africa, exploring his newfound Muslim spirituality. He quickly returned to music, touring for several years before he recorded with Kool & the Gang for Power & the Glory (1983). (During the 1981 River Tour, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band added Cliff's little-known "Trapped" to their live set; it achieved great prominence when included on 1985's We Are the World benefit album.) The follow-up, Cliff Hanger (1985) won a Grammy Award, though it was his last major success in the U.S. until 1993. He continued to sell well in Jamaica and, to a lesser extent, the UK, returning to the mainstream pop charts in the U.S. and elsewhere with a version of Johnny Nash's "I Can See Clearly Now" on the Cool Runnings film soundtrack in 1993 .
In 2002, Cliff released his new album, Fantastic Plastic People in Europe, after first providing free downloads using Delacove's People Music Media p2p software. This album featured collaborations with Joe Strummer, Annie Lennox, and Sting as well as new songs that were very reminiscent of Cliff's original hits. In 2004 Cliff completely reworked the songs, dropping the traditional reggae in favor of an electronica sound, for inclusion in Black Magic.
Cliff has also covered the famous African song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".
His recording of 'You Can Get It If You Really Want' was used as a campaign anthem by the Sandinista National Liberation Front in the 1990 election in Nicaragua (they lost). It was also adopted by the British Conservative Party during their annual conference in October, 2007. It is unclear whether Mr Cliff endorsed either party. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame March 15,2010.
Every Tub
Jimmy Cliff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every man afi stand on his own two feet x2
Well I know am your brother
And we're servants for each other
So we got to pull up together
Inna any kind of weather
Yes its one a watch the other
But don't be a lazy bone
Or you'll end up Inna slumber
Every tub afi sit on his own bottom
Every man afi stand on his own two feet x2
In this continuous chain of life
Every one must ply a part
What you say from you mouth
You should mean if in your heart
We're leaning on each other
So you must understand
If you bear me up I'll bear you up
For the good of every one
Every tub afi sit on his own bottom
Every man afi stand on his own two feet x2
Every man for himself
And God for us all
If I see you start to tumble
I'll catch you before you fall
But you got to help yourself
Before you help someone else
If you don't do for yourself
You cant turn to no one else
Every tub afi sit on his own bottom
Every man afi stand on his own two feet x2
Well I know am your brother
And we're servants for each other
So we got to pull up together
Inna any kind of weather
Yes its one a watch the other
And we got to live together
But don't be a lazy bone
Or you'll end up Inna slumber
Every tub afi sit on his own bottom
Every man afi stand on his own two feet x2
The song Every Tub by Jimmy Cliff is an anthem of self-reliance, community support, and responsibility for one's actions. The lyrics urge every person to take charge of their own lives, to be self-sufficient and not depend on others for their well-being. This is evident in the repeated line "Every tub afi sit on his own bottom, every man afi stand on his own two feet." This means that every person must take responsibility for themselves and not rely on others to carry them through life.
The song also emphasizes the importance of brotherhood and mutual support. The line "Well I know am your brother, and we're servants for each other" highlights the need for people to support each other, to help one another through difficult times, and to work together towards a common goal. The song acknowledges that every person has a role to play in life's continuous chain and that every individual's contribution is essential to achieving the common good.
Another message conveyed in the song is the need for individuals to do for themselves before seeking help from others. The line "But you got to help yourself before you help someone else, if you don't do for yourself, you can't turn to no one else" makes it clear that individuals must first take responsibility for their situation and be proactive in finding solutions to their problems before expecting help from others.
Line by Line Meaning
Every tub afi sit on his own bottom
Everyone is responsible for their own actions and their own outcomes.
Every man afi stand on his own two feet
Every person must be self-sufficient and capable of sustaining themselves.
Well I know am your brother
I recognize that we are all part of the same community.
And we're servants for each other
We should help and support each other.
So we got to pull up together
We must work together to overcome challenges.
Inna any kind of weather
No matter what happens, we must stick together.
Yes its one a watch the other
We must keep an eye out for each other's well-being.
And we got to live together
We must coexist and cooperate with each other.
But don't be a lazy bone
We must not be idle or rely on others to do everything for us.
Or you'll end up Inna slumber
If we don't take action, we will fail to achieve our goals.
In this continuous chain of life
Life is a cycle that we all go through together.
Every one must ply a part
Each person has a role to play in life.
What you say from you mouth
We must speak truthfully.
You should mean if in your heart
Our words should reflect our true beliefs and intentions.
We're leaning on each other
We must rely on each other for support.
So you must understand
We must be empathetic and understanding towards others.
If you bear me up I'll bear you up
If we support each other, we can achieve great things together.
For the good of every one
We must work towards the betterment of the entire community.
Every man for himself
We must be independent and self-sufficient.
And God for us all
We can rely on a higher power to guide us and provide for us.
If I see you start to tumble
If I notice someone struggling, I will help them.
I'll catch you before you fall
I will do everything in my power to prevent someone from failing.
But you got to help yourself
We must take responsibility for our own success.
Before you help someone else
We must secure our own needs before we can assist others.
If you don't do for yourself
If we don't take action for ourselves, we cannot rely on others to do it for us.
You cant turn to no one else
We must be self-sufficient and responsible for our own well-being.
Contributed by Liam G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@josephineolowu2546
Every time I listen to Jimmy cliff I shed tears, I would want to stop but found it difficult, guess am addicted to his music because he speaks reality of life!
@tablarasa3862
Josephine Olowu ! Welcome to the club and...thank you.
@madoseaman2532
Jimmy Cliff is one of the greatest when come to music,his songs never dies
@reallink6398
A underrated song
@emilioortega1525
La primera canción que escuche de esta maravillosa música, en un casette en el año 1990
@nathalierosant8108
Donovan
@cameroneuler5322
I truly love this song
My psychiatrist is African and this song made him become a psychiatrists today
You can help others but also help yourself too 😁😁
@emmanuelyorke155
He is speaking sense . Real sense its a masterpiece
@kodankyi
Jimmy Cliff . OMG This song reminds me of the cassette tape days: slot it in, snap it on and press the play button and let it play.!
@hilarynwaokolo3612
straight talk from a loving heart