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.
Wonderful world Beautiful people
Jimmy Cliff Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You and your girl, things could be pretty
But underneath this there is a secret
That nobody can reveal
Take a look at the world
And the state that it's in today
I am sure you'll agree
With our love put together
Everybody learn to love each other
Instead of fussing and fighting
Cheating but biting
Scandalizing and hating
Baby, we could have a wonderful world, beautiful people
You and your girl things could be pretty
But underneath this there is a secret
That nobody can reveal, yeah now
Man and woman, girl and boy
Let us try to give a helping hand
This I know and I'm sure
That with love we all could understand
This is our world, can't you see
Everybody wants to live and be free
Instead of fussing and fighting
Cheating but biting
Scandalizing and hating, yeah
We could have a wonderful world, beautiful people
You and your girl things could be pretty
But underneath this there is a secret
That nobody can reveal, mmh yeah, yeah
Talking about the wonderful world, beautiful people
You and your girl, talking about you,
Things could be pretty, talking about me
Wonderful world, talking about Nixon
Beautiful people, Harold Wilson
Wonderful world, power too
Beautiful people, and the Seagate
Wonderful world, beautiful people
Wonderful world, beautiful people
In Jimmy Cliff's song "Wonderful World Beautiful People," the lyrics paint a picture of an outwardly beautiful world, but with a cloud of secrecy lurking beneath its surface. The idea presented is that if we all come together and love one another, we can create an even more wonderful world where everyone can live freely and without fighting. The song's message is one of unity, love, and a desire to improve what we have.
The lyrics convey the singer’s wish for a world where love and respect prevail, without the misunderstandings and disagreements that cause division and conflict. He highlights the importance of people coming together to show love and compassion, urging us to stop fighting and hating each other. The message is clear: we can have a beautiful world if we work together, instead of tearing each other apart.
The chorus of “Wonderful World Beautiful People” is very upbeat and catchy, making it easy to sing along. Moreover, the song's message is so universal that it is still relevant years later. The song has transcended time and has remained relatable and inspirational across generations. It is a reminder that no matter what race, gender, or socio-economic class you come from, love and respect are the keys to living in harmony.
Line by Line Meaning
Eh-yeah, wonderful world, beautiful people
The world and the people in it are amazing and wonderful.
You and your girl, things could be pretty
Life could be great if you and your partner put in some work.
But underneath this there is a secret
That nobody can reveal
Even though everything may seem perfect on the surface, there are hidden struggles that nobody knows about.
Take a look at the world
And the state that it's in today
Look around and see the problems in the world today.
I am sure you'll agree
We all could make it a better way
We all have the power to improve the world.
With our love put together
Everybody learn to love each other
If we band together and love each other, we can create a better world.
Instead of fussing and fighting
Cheating but biting
Scandalizing and hating
We should stop fighting, cheating, gossiping, and hating.
Baby, we could have a wonderful world, beautiful people
You and your girl things could be pretty
But underneath this there is a secret
That nobody can reveal, yeah now
If we work together, we can create a beautiful world for ourselves and our loved ones, but we must acknowledge the hidden struggles that people face.
Man and woman, girl and boy
Let us try to give a helping hand
We should all strive to help each other regardless of gender.
This I know and I'm sure
That with love we all could understand
With love and empathy, we can create understanding between people.
This is our world, can't you see
Everybody wants to live and be free
We should all have the right to live freely in this world.
Talking about the wonderful world, beautiful people
You and your girl, talking about you,
Things could be pretty, talking about me
Wonderful world, talking about Nixon
Beautiful people, Harold Wilson
Wonderful world, power too
Beautiful people, and the Seagate
Wonderful world, beautiful people
Wonderful world, beautiful people
People from all walks of life can create a beautiful world together that is not limited by politics or power.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JIMMY CLIFF
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Laurel Thompson
Wonderful World, Beautiful People
Jimmy Cliff
Eh-yeah, wonderful world, beautiful people
You and your girl, things could be pretty
But underneath this there is a secret
That nobody can reveal
Take a look at the world
And the state that it's in today
I am sure you'll agree
We all could make it a better way
With our love put together
Everybody learn to love each other
Instead of fussing and fighting
Cheating but biting
Scandalizing and hating
Baby, we could have a wonderful world, beautiful people
You and your girl things could be pretty
But underneath this there is a secret
That nobody can reveal, yeah now
Man and woman, girl and boy
Let us try to give a helping hand
This I know and I'm sure
That with love we all could understand
This is our world, can't you see
Everybody wants to live…
Source: LyricFind
Caley Fae
Eh-yeah, wonderful world, beautiful people
You and your girl, things could be pretty
But underneath this there is a secret
That nobody can reveal
Take a look at the world
And the state that it's in today
I am sure you'll agree
We all could make it a better way
With our love put together
Everybody learn to love each other
Instead of fussing and fighting
Cheating but biting
Scandalizing and hating
Baby, we could have a wonderful world, beautiful people
You and your girl things could be pretty
But underneath this there is a secret
That nobody can reveal, yeah now
Man and woman, girl and boy
Let us try to give a helping hand
This I know and I'm sure
That with love we all could understand
This is our world, can't you see
Everybody wants to live and be free
Instead of fussing and fighting
Cheating but biting
Scandalizing and hating, yeah
We could have a wonderful world, beautiful people
You and your girl things could be pretty
But underneath this there is a secret
That nobody can reveal, mmh yeah, yeah
Talking about the wonderful world, beautiful people
You and your girl, talking about you,
Things could be pretty, talking about me
Wonderful world, talking about Nixon
Beautiful people, Harold Wilson
Wonderful world, power too
Beautiful people, and the Seagate
Wonderful world, beautiful people
Wonderful world, beautiful people
Juliet Pratt
Recently my daughter tragically died of cancer. We played this amazing song at her funeral and it was perfect. Thanks Jimmy. She was one of the beautiful people.
DMT
Bless up.
Juliet Pratt
Thanks Sassy. xx
Kirst M.
Juliet Pratt so so sorry for your loss. beautiful song choice xx
Juliet Pratt
Thank you Kirsty, much appreciated. The song was just right for my beautiful daughter. Bless you. xx
hint0122
sorry for your loss.
Cathy Smith
During this time of uncertainty, what better song can use as our anthem. Thank you, Jimmy, for your message.
philip norris
Quite right, Cathy.
Henry Larsson
Så sant
Stellardust13
💕