Born in St. Catherine, Jamaica, Nora Dean recorded as a member of The Soulettes (with Rita Marley) and The Ebony Sisters before recording as a solo artist. She recorded for Lee "Scratch" Perry, including the 1969 single "The Same Thing That You Gave to Daddy". Dean had her first hit in 1970 for producer Byron Smith with "Barbwire", based on The Techniques' "You Don't Care". She enjoyed further success with "Night Food Reggae". She went on to record for Sonia Pottinger, Harry Mudie ("Let Me Tell You Boy"), and Bunny Lee, including a version of "Que Sera Sera", retitled "Kay Sarah". She contributed backing vocals to Jimmy Cliff's 1973 album Unlimited. Dean moved to New York City in the mid-1970s, where she married. After several years away from music she returned in the 1980s, singing in a lovers rock style. In the 1990s she began recording again, now concentrating on gospel music, releasing several albums in the years that followed.
Dean moved to Connecticut in 2010, and died there on 29 September 2016, aged 72.
Nora Dean is one of reggae’s greatest mysteries. She sang solo as well as being a member of The Ebony Sisters, The Soul Sisters and The Soulettes. She did backing vocals on some recordings by Jimmy Cliff. Although she was not a prolific artist (especially by reggae standards), a number of her songs are very fondly remembered by fans of Jamaican music as true reggae classics. This is because Nora Dean brought something extra to her best songs, making them unusual and endlessly enjoyable. And yet, there is little biographical information about her anywhere. No interviews with her have ever been published. Photos seemed to be non-existent. Go through every reggae book, documentary, and liner note of the dozens of compilations her classic tracks appear on; you’ll learn that Nora Dean was born in 1952, and nothing more. Google until the search results are exhausted and, all you’ll learn is how many people share her name.
Somehow, the mystery is fitting for such an unusual singer.
Nora Dean is one of reggae’s best female vocalists. Listening to her music, it is immediately apparent that she has a great Jamaican voice. What might be slightly less obvious are the rich depths of her singing. This is what makes many of her recordings so special. An unexpected turn of melody, a well placed use of sounds instead of words, an emotional intensity and complexity that is very expressive. These are the hallmarks of the Nora Dean sound. Her songs are made all the more memorable by recording with some of Jamaica’s best producers, musicians and riddims. Oh, and there's also the sex. In all of her most memorable songs, there is sexuality. Each song presents a very different, unusual situation and the sexuality is always surprising. There's not a conventional love song in the bunch.
In “Barbwire” she plays babyishly naïve about a man’s advances. In “Mojo Girl”, she is serenely in full control. She lays down the law to her man, threatening him with black magic reprisals. In “Wreck A Buddy”, she is in desperate carnal need, with explicit lyrics to the melody of “Little Drummer Boy”. In “The Same Thing You Gave To Daddy”, she is in a battle of wills with her little boy, who won't go to sleep until he gets what Nora gave his daddy the night before. “Oh, no, no, no”, indeed! And in “Ay Ay Ay”, the music is deconstructed from reggae to a drone. Narrative is abandoned in favor of free association, and words become invocations that are supplemented with kisses, bird cries and groans of pure ecstasy.
But to be fair to the artist, Nora Dean would argue the point. She is a religious, righteous woman, who was born again in the late 1981. Some of her songs, she explained in early 2006, thought to be sexual in nature are actually misunderstood. In some cases, as a young girl she was pressured by producers to act outside of her character. (She was only about 15 when she started recording.) And at least one scandalous song, a cover of the mento song Night Food, Nora insists she did not record. She is upset that her name was affixed to a song she finds so repugnant.
The lyrical content aside, what is universally accepted is superb vocals and the enormous contribution that Nora Dean made to reggae music.
From www.noradean.com
Barb Wire
Nora Dean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I met a boy the other day, he got barbwire in his underpants
I got a brick in my back, I lick him hard upon his head
Ah ya ya
Oh, mama, ma ma ma!
I didn't trouble that boy, that why I lick him hard
Oh, mama, ma ma ma!
That boy is coming at me, that boy is coming at me
Ah ya ya
The lyrics to Nora Dean's song "Barb Wire" may seem nonsensical or even crude to some, but they actually use a metaphorical language to convey a message about tough love. The opening line "Oh, mama, ma ma ma!" sets a playful tone, which is immediately contrasted by the crude reference to barbwire in underpants. The use of barbwire as a metaphor for a prickly or uncomfortable situation sets the scene for the lyrics about a challenging relationship.
The singer then describes licking the boy hard upon his head to defend herself. This playful visual of defending oneself with a lick adds to the overall playful and humorous tone of the lyrics. The repetition of "Ah ya ya" and "Oh, mama, ma ma ma!" serve as interjections that add to the rhythm and flow, making them feel like part of the vocals rather than as distinct parts of the lyrics.
The final lines of the song describe the boy coming at the singer, which could refer to either physical or emotional confrontation. The use of the phrase "coming at me" adds a sense of urgency and pressure to the song, further highlighting the tough love theme.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, mama, ma ma ma!
Expressing surprise or enthusiasm
I met a boy the other day, he got barbwire in his underpants
I met a problematic and troublesome boy
I got a brick in my back, I lick him hard upon his head
I defended myself violently from the boy's aggression
Ah ya ya
Expressing pain or discomfort
I didn't trouble that boy, that why I lick him hard
I reacted fiercely to the boy's unprovoked attack
Oh, mama, ma ma ma!
Expressing surprise or enthusiasm
That boy is coming at me, that boy is coming at me
The boy is approaching me again, potentially posing a threat
Ah ya ya
Expressing pain or discomfort
Lyrics © CALDERWOOD, INC.
Written by: LEONORA LETITIA DEAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@lorenzo_firinu
Oh, mama, ma ma ma!
I met a boy the other day, he had barbwire in his underpants
I got a brick in my back, I lick him hard upon his head
Ah ya ya...
Oh, mama, ma ma ma!
I didn't trouble that boy, that why I lick him hard
Ah ya ya...
Oh, mama, ma ma ma!
That boy is coming at me, that boy is coming at me
Ah ya ya...
@kiokocurtis
2023 and we still got Barbwire!! Oh mama, one love to you all!
@natgordon268
Oh my
I remember going to family parties, this was a favourite, all the grown ups dancing
Yesssss great memories .. Tuneeeeee✌🎵🎶
@if6was985
My mum had this on the album Lochness Monster, loved it, a snot nosed pale and pasty white boy of 8 years old dancing around the living room to this on many an occasion!
Happy memories!
@vikkismith7497
Let's go back to the 70s in my teenage years, I love this song !
@gabrielgiovanni69
Whose still vibing to this in 2020
@CS-mn2yd
Me baby
@biker2911518
And me 👍
@odanewatson2081
🙌🏿
@queenieny4654
Me on Christmas Eve 2021…
@CheekyfromEssex
And in 2022!