Junior Byles (Kerrie Byles Junior, most known for his 'Fade Away' is a regg… Read Full Bio ↴Junior Byles (Kerrie Byles Junior, most known for his 'Fade Away' is a reggae artist born in the poor parts of Kingston, Jamaica 1948. 'Fade Away', with its strong spiritual warnings for materialism and egoism, was recorded in 1975 for producer Joseph Hoo Kim. It was a massive hit in Jamaica and was also a big success in the UK, and was covered five years later by among others Adrian Sherwood's New Age Steppers group and by Salmonella Dub NZ, made a special version of it. By 1975, Byles' health had begun to decline. Suffering from depression, he was deeply affected by the death of Haile Selassie, unable to reconcile this with his belief in Selassie's divinity, and attempted suicide, but survived. He then had a very though life and was living on the street in USA, scavenging for food in dumpsters, and begging from passers-by. Byles occasionally resurfaced, recording albums 1989, and 1992. He returned to live performance in 2004 in Jamaica, receiving positive reviews. His legacy of recordings from the 1970s, however, maintain his status as one of roots reggae's leading talents.
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Junior Byles (Kerrie Byles Junior, aka King Chubby) was born in Kingston, Jamaica 1948.

He first formed The Versatiles with friends Ben Davis and Dudley Earl, and they were soon recording. Their first songs were cut for Joe Gibbs, with Lynn Tait's Band under Lee Perry's direction. From these sessions came "The Time Has Come", which was entered for the 1967 festival.

Another festival entry was 1971's "Rub Up" in 1971, but Byles' debut solo single (1970) was "What The World Is Coming To" c/w "Live As One", and released in the UK with strings and vocal chorus.

In 1971 Byles also recorded "Beat Down Babylon" (co-written by friend Harold Meikle) for Lee "Scratch" Perry, backed by The Now Generation Band (including Val Douglas Bass, Mikey Chung Guitar, and Wire Lindo Organ).

Following the critical acclaim "Babylon" received, Byles then worked with Perry for the whole of 1972. These sessions produced 12 tracks, 10 of which formed the album "Beat Down Babylon".

In what must have been some incredible moments of musical genius, Perry recorded Junior Byles' monumental hit "A Place Called Africa" at the same session that produced Bunny Wailer's phenomenal hit "Dreamland". The musicians at these sessions included the Barrett brothers, Tony Chin (lead guitar), Glen Adams (organ), and the rhythm guitar of Reggie Lewis.

During the mid to late 1970's he was reduced to homelessness, hunger and mental turmoil, and spent much of his life living at the street level. Indeed, his mental condition was so frail at this time, that upon hearing of Haile Selassies' death on August 27 1975, he tried suicide. This resulted in a long stay at Kingstons Bellevue mental hospital.

Byles still managed to record during these troubled times, with releases on Thing, Micron, Lovepower, Well Charge, Clocktower, Hot Shot, Impact, Treasure Isle, Observer, Advance, Soul Beat, Upsetter, Justice League, Wizzdom and Orchid.

Aside from the tracks already mentioned, "The Long Way", "Chant Down Babylon", "Bury O Boy", "Fade Away" and the incredible "Curley Locks" all rank as some of the greatest music Jamaica has ever produced.

Apart from the retrospective looks at his career, Byles still occasionally releases new material, as well as composing for other artist's. He recently performed his first show in the U.S. at the Sierra Nevada Festival in Marysville and the Ocean Rooms in Hackney, though he appeared less than 100% mentally well at the latter.

Don't Know Why
Junior Byles Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If you don't know me by now
You will never never never know me

All the things
That we've been through
You should understand me
Like I understand you
Now girl I know the difference

Between right and wrong
I ain't gonna do nothing
To break up our happy home
Don't get so excited
When I come home
A little late at night
'Cause we only act like children
When we argue fuss and fight

If you don't know me by now
You will never never never know me

We've all got our
Own funny moods
I've got mine,
Woman you've got yours too
Just trust in me like I trust in you
As long as we've been together
It should be so easy to do
Just get yourself together
Or we might as well say goodbye
What good is a love affair
When you can't see eye to eye

If you don't know me by now

You will never
Never never know me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Junior Byles's song Don't Know Why speak of a strong relationship between two people who have been through a lot together. The opening line "If you don't know me by now, you will never never never know me" suggests that the singer is frustrated with their partner's lack of understanding or empathy towards them. The following lines "All the things that we've been through, you should understand me like I understand you" emphasize how much the singer feels they have invested into the relationship and expects their partner to reciprocate that understanding.

The song then goes on to describe how the singer intends to maintain the relationship and not do anything to jeopardize the happiness they have built together. The lines "Now girl I know the difference between right and wrong, I ain't gonna do nothing to break up our happy home" show a sense of responsibility and commitment towards the relationship. The singer also acknowledges that arguments and fights are inevitable in any relationship, but asserts that they need to maturely handle these conflicts as adults, hence the lines "Don't get so excited when I come home a little late at night 'cause we only act like children when we argue fuss and fight."

The chorus repeats the opening line of the song, driving home the message that a lack of understanding and empathy will ultimately lead to the breakdown of the relationship. The final verse encourages both partners to trust each other and make an effort to work through their differences otherwise they might as well say goodbye.

Overall, the song speaks of the importance of mutual understanding, trust, and maturity in a relationship, and warns about the consequences of taking each other for granted.

Line by Line Meaning

If you don’t know me by now
If you haven't figured me out yet

You will never never never know me
You'll never understand me fully

All the things that we've been through
We've been through a lot together

You should understand me like I understand you
We ought to have a deep understanding of each other

Now girl I know the difference between right and wrong
I have my moral compass

I ain't gonna do nothing to break up our happy home
I wouldn't ever do anything to destroy what we have together

Don't get so excited when I come home a little late at night
Don't be too suspicious or angry when I come home late

'Cause we only act like children when we argue fuss and fight
Our arguments only reflect childish behavior

We've all got our own funny moods
We all have our own quirks and idiosyncrasies

I've got mine, Woman you've got yours too
I have mine and you have yours

Just trust in me like I trust in you
We should trust each other

As long as we've been together it should be so easy to do
We've been together for so long that trusting each other should come easy

Just get yourself together or we might as well say goodbye
Pull yourself together or our relationship is done for

What good is a love affair when you can't see eye to eye
A relationship is pointless if we can't come to a mutual agreement or understanding

If you don't know me by now You will never Never never know me
If you still can't understand me, you never will

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, ONErpm, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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