During 1967 Osbourne became lead vocalist of The Wildcats, and recorded for producer Winston Riley, although nothing was issued. The Wildcats' manager then financed a session at Coxsone Dodd's Studio One, from which his debut single, "All I Have Is Love", was released. In 1969 he recorded an album, Come Back Darling, again for Riley. On the day that he completed the album, Osbourne emigrated to Toronto, Canada, to join his family. After singing with various soul and reggae groups, he became lead vocalist for Ishan People, and recorded two albums with them. The group broke up in 1979, and Osbourne decided to return to Jamaica.[2]
Shortly after returning, he recorded "Forgive Them" and "Jealousy, Heartache And Pain" for the Studio One label. Through late 1979 and early 1980 he recorded extensively for Dodd, with these sessions culminating in Truths And Rights. In 1979 he also had a hit for King Jammy (then Prince Jammy) with "Folly Ranking", and an album of the same name followed in 1980. The success of these recordings made him one of the most in-demand vocalists on the island, and a glut of material was released, including Fally Lover, Warrior, Innah Disco Style and Never Stop Fighting, between 1980 and 1982. In 1983, he began the year with two big hits, "Yo Yo" and "Lend Me A Chopper", and later in the year enjoyed further success with "Water Pumping", an adaptation of Hopeton Lewis' "Take It Easy", which had also served as the basis for Johnny Clarke's 1976 hit "Rockers Time Now".
The hits continued with "Get Cracking", "Check For You", "Rewind" (1984), "Buddy Bye", "No Sound Like We" and "In The Area" (1985). In the late 1980s he was particularly successful when recording for Bobby Digital, and had hits with "Good Time Rock" (1988) and "Rude Boy Skank" (1988), both of which are included on his 1989 album, Rougher Than Them. Throughout the 80s he continued to record for Coxsone Dodd, and singles included "Keep That Light", "Unity" and "A We Run Things", but a long-promised second album from Dodd has not materialized.
Love Is Universal
Johnny Osbourne Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Strange How we love
Strange How we kiss
Strange How we give our hearts away, oh lord
(verse 1)
Strange how we love, and give our hearts away
when we know, we couldnt live without our hearts, not even for a day
could i be in my right senses, to tell one girl "i love your darling" and not tell another the same
because love is a confidential, yes love is an international
love is a supernatural, yes love is a universal thing, oh lord
(verse 2)
oh, strange how we love, and strange the things we say
because love is a confidential, yes love is an international
love is a supernatural, yes love is a universal thing
(verse 3)
could i be in my right senses, to tell one girl that i love you madly and not tell the another the same
if im even lying, its better than to go away with all the blame
because love is a confidential, yes love is an international
love is a supernatural, yes love is a universal thing, i wanna tell you bout it
love is more i-fficial yes love is international love is confidential
yes love is supernatural and love is an international affair
The song "Love Is Universal" by Johnny Osbourne explores the complexities and mysteries of love. The first verse reflects on the contradictory nature of love, as it leads us to give our hearts away and yet we cannot live without them. The singer wonders how they could declare their love for one person without causing jealousy and problems with others. The chorus repeats the idea that love is confidential, international, supernatural, and universal- suggesting that it is an all-encompassing force that transcends borders and cultures.
The second verse highlights the strange things we say and do when we are in love- perhaps making promises or expressing feelings that seem out of character or illogical. The final verse shows the singer's acknowledgement that it may be better to lie about their feelings than to hurt someone or cause drama. The repetition of the chorus reinforces the idea that love is a powerful and complex emotion that touches us all.
Overall, "Love Is Universal" is a reflective and introspective song that encourages listeners to ponder the nature of love and its impact on our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Strange How we love
It is strange how humans love.
Strange How we kiss
It is strange how humans express love through kissing.
Strange How we give our hearts away, oh lord
It is strange how humans trust and give their hearts to others, even to the point of vulnerability.
Strange how we love, and give our hearts away
when we know, we couldnt live without our hearts, not even for a day
It is strange how humans still give their hearts away, even though they know they cannot live without them.
could i be in my right senses, to tell one girl "i love your darling" and not tell another the same
it would bring jealousy, and make it really bad for me
It is not sensible to tell one person you love them and not tell another, as it could cause jealousy and problems.
because love is a confidential, yes love is an international
love is a supernatural, yes love is a universal thing, oh lord
Love is a confidential and international feeling that seems supernatural and universal.
oh, strange how we love, and strange the things we say
Humans say and do strange things when they are in love.
could i be in my right senses, to tell one girl that i love you madly and not tell the another the same
if im even lying, its better than to go away with all the blame
It is still not sensible to tell one person you love them and not tell another, even if you have to lie to spare their feelings and avoid any blame.
love is more i-fficial yes love is international love is confidential
yes love is supernatural and love is an international affair
Love is an important, international, confidential, and supernatural affair that affects people on a global level.
Writer(s): Johnny Osbourne, Henry Lawes Copyright: Greensleeves Publishing Limited
Contributed by Maria F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
jorge romero garrido
Extraño, cómo amamos,
Extraño, cómo nos besamos,
Extraño, cómo damos nuestro corazón lejos, oh Señor.
Extraño, cómo amamos,
Y da nuestros corazones,
Cuando lo sabemos,
No podríamos vivir sin un corazón,
Ni siquiera, por un día.
Sina Olowoake
Henry Junjo Lawes is associated with the greatest era of reggae and dancehall. The quality of the musicians who played and the artistes who voiced for him was simply phenomenal . Rest in Peace Junjo
Steve
brilliant, simply brilliant; sounds and visuals, well done Juweeltjes, bravo!
Jhonnata Lincoln
O SOM MAIS LINDO !!
Noelito
Osbourne Ruddock (King Tubby) may have invented Dub but his once protégé, Hopeton Brown (aka SCIENTIST, the Dub Chemist) is, frankly, peerless; especially in the ingenious way that his mark was left on THIS track. 1982??? Could've been yesterday...it certainly continues to stand the test of time :-)
DAILY SHORTS
Facts
lost world
When I play this on vinyl my walls are vibrating..
Robert Frost
Like the steam engine achieved perfection in the 1930s, reggae did with Henry Lawes recording the Roots Radics at Channel One around 1980, with his heavily compressed, tightly-gated sound.
Noelito
@The Ruler Word!! 😁
The Ruler
Thanks for the info though very helpful, I subscribed to your channu, I love the sound of your studio, it's sounds so much like the rub a dub era at channel one. Low key kinda jealous. 😂
The Ruler
The late 70's up to the mid 80'd is my favourite time of reggae specially the sound of channel one, I would do anything to recreate the sound they had.