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.
Shout For Freedom
Jimmy Cliff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lord, there is none like You;
All of my days I want to praise
The wonders of Your mighty love.
My comfort, my shelter,
Tower of refuge and strength;
Let every breath, all that I am
Never cease to worship You.
Let us sing
Power and majesty, praise to the (King);
Mountains bow down (mountains bow down) and the seas will roar
At the sound of Your name.
I sing for joy at the work of Your hands,
Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand,
Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.
(My Jesus) To my Savior (my Savior),
Oh, Lord there is nothing like You;
All of my days I want to praise
The wonders of Your mighty love.
You're my comfort (my comfort), and my shelter, yes (my shelter),
You're my tower of refuge and strength;
Let every breath, and all that I am
Never cease to worship You.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
Let us sing
Power and majesty, praise to the King;
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar
At the sound of Your name.
I sing for joy at the work of Your hands,
Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand,
Nothing compares to the promise I have in...
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
Let us sing, yeah,
Power and majesty, praise to the King;
Mountains bow down (mountains bow down and the seas will roar)
At the sound of Your name.
I sing for joy at the work of Your hands,
Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand,
Nothing compares to the promise I have in You...
(Nothing compares to the promise I have in You...)
Oh, nothing compares to the promise I have in you.
The lyrics to Jimmy Cliff's "Shout for Freedom" begin with a powerful expression of faith in Jesus. The song celebrates the greatness of God’s love and mercy as the source of comfort and shelter, and declares the desire to praise and worship Him all of one's days. The lyrics then move to a call for all of the earth to join in singing and praising the majesty and power of God. The mountains and seas are portrayed as bowing down and roaring at the sound of His name. The singer also finds joy in the works of God's hands and promises to love and stand by Him forever. The song concludes with the repetition of the phrase "nothing compares to the promise I have in You," which underscores the message of the song - that a life lived in faith and devotion to God is one of fulfilling promise and purpose.
At its core, "Shout for Freedom" is a song of emancipation, deconstructing the barriers that separate individuals from their humanity and true selves. Cliff's sublime vocals, richly textured harmonies, and powerful instrumentation, combined with the encouraging lyrics, create an uplifting and empowering anthem for anyone weary of the challenges and limitations of modern living. The song's message is clear: whatever the circumstances, there is hope in a life of faith, rooted in and sustained by the grace and mercy of God.
Line by Line Meaning
My Jesus, my Savior,
You are my savior, Jesus.
Lord, there is none like You;
You are incomparable, Lord.
All of my days I want to praise
I want to praise you every day
The wonders of Your mighty love.
I want to sing about the incredible love you have shown me.
My comfort, my shelter,
You are my source of comfort and shelter
Tower of refuge and strength;
You are a tower of strength where I can find refuge
Let every breath, all that I am
With every breath, with all my being
Never cease to worship You.
I will never stop worshiping you.
Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
All the people of the earth, let's shout to the Lord
Let us sing
And let's sing
Power and majesty, praise to the King;
We praise the King for his might and majesty
Mountains bow down (mountains bow down) and the seas will roar
Even the mountains and seas will submit to you
At the sound of Your name.
At the mention of your name
I sing for joy at the work of Your hands,
I rejoice in the amazing things you do
Forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand,
I will love you forever and always stand by you
Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.
The promise you gave me is beyond compare
Oh, nothing compares to the promise I have in you.
There is nothing that can compare to the promise you have given me
Contributed by Ryan Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Guy Roland KOMAN
Great song!
Noel Conceição Sousa
Que foda de som . !!!!!!!
chilufya chibwe
I remember seeing my father dancing to this energetically
Mat Black
Uncle Jimmy and O.K. Jazz!!!!! So good
Dr. Joanny Liu, TCMD
Very appropriate for these times!
Minu Nianda
This is not Samba Reggae but Congolese Rumba. Jimmy Cliff featuring the legendary T.P. O.K. Jazz.
beatrice gunu
@Cheikh Tidiane NDAO but this is Congolese Sukus
Cheikh Tidiane NDAO
The album called "Samba Reggae"
ERA
yes sir...respect....
Ursula Bornhauser
me have de album................jus listen to it.....africa has to be free....blessup jimmy