Perry began his career in the late 1950s working with Clement Coxsone Dodd's sound system. He eventually performed a variety of important tasks at Studio One as well as recording about thirty songs, but the pair eventually stopped working together due to personality and financial conflicts.
Working with Joe Gibbs, Perry continued his recording career, but once again, financial problems caused conflict. Perry broke ranks with Gibbs and formed his own label, Upsetter, in 1968. His first single "People Funny Boy", which was an insult directed at Gibbs, sold very well. It is notable for its innovative use of a sample (a crying baby) as well as a fast, chugging beat that would soon become identifiable as "reggae" (the new sound did not really have a name at this time). During the 1970s, Perry released numerous recordings on a variety of record labels that he controlled, and many of his songs were popular in both Jamaica and the U.K. He soon became known for his innovative production techniques as well as his eccentric character.
In the early 1970s, Perry was one of the producers whose mixing board experiments resulted in the creation of dub. In 1973, Perry built a studio in his back yard, The Black Ark, to have more control over his productions and continued to produce notable musicians such as Bob Marley & the Wailers, Junior Byles, The Heptones, and Max Romeo. With his own studio at his disposal, Perry's productions became more lavish, as the energetic producer was able to spend as much time as he wanted on the music he produced. It is important to note that virtually everything Perry recorded in The Black Ark was done using rather basic recording equipment; through sonic sleight-of-hand, Perry made it sound completely unique. Perry remained behind the mixing desk for many years, producing songs and albums that stand out as a high point in reggae history. By 1978, stress and unwanted outside influences began to take their toll: both Perry and The Black Ark quickly fell into a state of disrepair. Eventually, the studio burned to the ground. Perry has constantly insisted that he burned the Black Ark himself in a fit of rage, but it was most likely an accident caused by faulty wiring. After the demise of the Black Ark in the early 1980s, Perry spent time in England and the United States, performing live and making erratic records with a variety of collaborators. It was not until the late 1980s that Perry's career began to get back on solid ground again, after working with British producers Adrian Sherwood and Neil Fraser, better known as Mad Professor.
Perry lived in Switzerland for a while with his wife Mireille Campbell-Rüegg and two children. He continued to record and perform to enthusiastic audiences in Europe and North America late into his life. His later music is a far cry from his reggae days in Jamaica; many saw this part of Perry's career as more of a performance artist in several respects. In 2003, Perry won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album with the album Jamaican ET. He teamed up with a group of Swiss musicians and perform under the name Lee Perry and the White Belly Rats. in 2015, Perry’s recording studio in Switzerland was damaged by a fire that destroyed various unreleased recordings and some of his stage gear. In 2020 Perry moved with his wife to Jamaica, where he died on 29 August 2021.
At The End
Lee "Scratch" Perry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You'll find a pot of gold
At the end of a story
You'll find it's all been told
But our love has a treasure
Our hearts can always spend
And it has a story without any end
The water stops it's flow
At the end of a highway
There's no place you can go
But just tell me you love me
And you are only mine
And our love will go on
Till the end of time
Till the end of time
The lyrics to Lee "Scratch" Perry's song At The End are a poetic expression of eternal love. The song starts with an allusion to the common myth of a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow and how at the end of any story, everything is already told. However, unlike material treasures or predictable stories, the love shared by the singer and their loved one is a constant treasure that can always be spent. The love they share has an infinite story with no end in sight. It is a beautiful ode to the depth and wonder of love that transcends time and material possessions.
The second verse delves deeper into the theme of the song when it talks about how the end of a river marks the stoppage of the water's flow and even a highway has no destination. But despite these endings, the singer says that the love they share is eternal. All they need is to express their love for each other and promise to belong to each other forever. The expression of their love for each other is what keeps it shining bright endlessly. It is a profound idea that the song portrays with simple yet evocative lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
At the end of the rainbow
When you reach the end of the rainbow
You'll find a pot of gold
you'll find a valuable treasure
At the end of a story
When a story comes to a conclusion
You'll find it's all been told
You'll find that the story has been fully revealed
But our love has a treasure
But our love is valuable
Our hearts can always spend
We can always invest our emotions into it
And it has a story without any end
And it has an endless tale
At the end of a river
When a river comes to its final destination
The water stops its flow
The water ceases to move
At the end of a highway
When a highway reaches its ultimate point
There's no place you can go
There's nowhere else to go
But just tell me you love me
But if you just express your love to me
And you are only mine
And if you belong to me only
And our love will go on
Then our love will continue to exist
Till the end of time
Forever
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ROBERT CHARLES BIRCH, NICHOLAS HALLAM, CAROLE KING, TONI STERN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind