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.
Johnny Too Bad
Jimmy Cliff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With your pistol in your waist
Johnny you're too bad (oh boy)
Walking down the road
With your ratchet in your waist
Johnny you're too bad (oh boy)
You're just robbing and you're stabbing and you're looting and you're shooting
You're just robbing and you're stabbing and you're looting and you're shooting
Now you're too bad (too bad)
One of these days when you hear a voice say come
Where you gonna run to (oh boy)
One of these days when you hear a voice say come
Where you gonna run to (oh boy)
You're gonna run to the rock for rescue
There will be no rock
You're gonna run to the rock for rescue
There will be no rock
Walking down the road
With your pistol in your waist
Johnny you're too bad (oh boy)
Walking down the road
With your ratchet in your waist
Johnny you're too bad (oh boy)
You're just robbing and you're stabbing and you're looting and you're shooting
Boy you're too bad (too bad)
You're just robbing and you're stabbing and you're looting and you're shooting
Boy you're too bad (too bad)
One of these days when you hear a voice say come
Where you gonna run to (oh boy)
One of these days when you hear a voice say come
Where you gonna run to (oh boy)
You're gonna run to the rock for rescue
There will be no rock
You're gonna run to the rock for rescue
There will be no rock (no rock)
You're gonna run to the rock for rescue
There will be no rock (no rock)
The song "Johnny Too Bad" by Jimmy Cliff was released in 1971 and has since become a classic in the reggae genre. The lyrics are a cautionary tale about a criminal, Johnny, who is too bad, meaning he is too extreme and beyond redemption. The song describes Johnny walking down the road with both a pistol and a ratchet, symbols of his criminal activities. Jimmy Cliff sings about how Johnny is robbing, stabbing, looting, and shooting, making him too bad to be saved.
The song takes a spiritual turn as Cliff warns Johnny that one day he will hear a voice call out to him, and he will have nowhere to run. The singer tells Johnny that he will run to the rock for rescue, but there will be no rock to save him. The rock is a biblical reference to a place of refuge or safety. The underlying message is that no one can escape judgment for their actions, no matter how bad they are.
The song's message resonated with many listeners, particularly those living in poverty and struggling to survive in Jamaica during the 1970s. The song is a powerful condemnation of violence and the consequences that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Walking down the road
With your pistol in your waist
Johnny you're too bad (oh boy)
You walk with a pistol in your waist, and that makes you a bad person.
Walking down the road
With your ratchet in your waist
Johnny you're too bad (oh boy)
You walk with a ratchet in your waist, and that makes you a bad person.
You're just robbing and you're stabbing and you're looting and you're shooting
Now you're too bad (too bad)
You commit robbery, stabbing, looting, and shooting, which makes you a very bad person.
Boy you're too bad (too bad)
You're a very bad person, boy.
One of these days when you hear a voice say come
Where you gonna run to (oh boy)
When someone calls you, where will you go?
You're gonna run to the rock for rescue
There will be no rock
You think you can hide behind the rock for rescue, but there will be nowhere to run and hide.
You're gonna run to the rock for rescue
There will be no rock (no rock)
You still think you can seek refuge behind the rock, but again, there won't be any rock or protection available for you.
You're gonna run to the rock for rescue
There will be no rock (no rock)
Once more, you foolishly believe that you can run to the rock for help, but the rock will not be there.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DERRICK CROOKS, HYLTON BECKFORD, TREVOR WILSON, WINSTON BAILEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
木内bin
Love this song 💓
Scopex
ALL HAIL JIMMY! This is a song UB40 covered SUPERB!
Electric Eye
i love this song version, thank you Jimmy
Zalina Ghanie
Love this song
Alex suzuki araujo
A melhor versao de Johnny too bad.
Boognish247
This will be erased soon enough, but I love this version... Thanks for posting it.
Nick Gerow
yes, very very soon... lol :P
John McCabe
Fantastic
I never heard this version before by Jimmy..
Only The Slickers..
Iiking it though👌✅🆒✔
aneily
This version‘s musical backing sounds like it’s a comedy song we’re listening to or the worst karaoke ever
Chester McCoy
Saw JC in DC.Go if they come to your town. It will be highly worth it. Saw Marley in 1976. He is equal to if not better. You will not be disappointed. Stay for the two encores.