The charismatic vocalist says he listened to everything from the 1970s soul of Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway to the New Jack swing of Guy and gangsta rap of Dr. Dre, when he was growing up in Brooklyn, New York.
Now, he gets the chance to play out those influences on his first full-scale solo project.
“It was nothing planned. We got a call from (producer) Salaam Remi last year about Gramps, Mojo and myself doing individual songs for an album he was doing,” Peetah explained. “The song I did (Salute Them) came out so well; I just got to thinking about doing something for myself.”
That ‘something’ is totally different from the rootsy songs ‘Heritage’ have belted out since the late 1990s, making them household names among reggae fans in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.
“It’s going to be more hip-hop and dancehall with some R&B overtones,” Peetah said.
Peetah worked with Shane Brown of Juke Boxx Productions on most of the songs, one of which includes the world beat-ish Save The World which gained steady airplay on Jamaican radio. Brown, one of reggae’s upcoming producers, is best known for his work with Chuck Fenda, Busy Signal, Mavado and Morgan Heritage.
The two plan to complete as many as forty songs by the end of February, 2009. They hope to release several of their productions in the first quarter of next year to get Peetah’s solo career off and running.
The dreadlocked singer is quick to point out that it is not the end of Morgan Heritage.
“It’s something we’ve (Morgan Heritage) discussed as a group. People know the group but don’t know each member as individuals. It was a collective decision to do some solo work,” he said.
Peetah was born to make music. He is one of Jamaican singer Denroy Morgan’s over twenty children and was born in Brooklyn, the New York City borough that has been home to thousands of Jamaicans since the 1960s.
Even though he and most of his siblings were born in the United States, Peetah recalls a strong Jamaican vibe in his household.
“Our parents raised us like Jamaicans. It was Americans at school but once we were home it was all about being Jamaican,” he said.
Peetah remembers his parents keeping the Jamaican music vibe alive in the home by playing the music of Toots and the Maytals and The Heptones, but says as a boy he was never consumed by Jamaican music. He was into the genius of Stevie Wonder and Donny Hathaway and later discovered the smoothness of vocal group Guy, and the funky West Coast beats of Dr Dre.
It was not until 1995 when new-wave roots singer Garnet Silk died in a mysterious explosion at his mother’s home in Manchester, Jamaica that Peetah found his reggae calling.
“I started listening to a lot of reggae when Silk passed away. There was just something about him,” he recalled.
Peetah admits writing songs without the rest of the Morgan clan has been the toughest aspect of his solo effort. “Just thinking about going out there by myself is nerve-wracking,” he said.
But come 2009, he is confident the butterflies would have long left his stomach. Enough for him to embark on his most ambitious venture to date.
Saying Goodbye
Peetah Morgan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I know you feel the same way for sure
Hey, I can see my life without you baby
Cause you're my one and only lady.
Listen
I don't wanna talk anymore
I just want love like we had it before
You say the same thing again and again and i don't reply
I know it gets on your nerves.ohh.oh
I can see it in your eyes it hurts, yeah a
And everytimes I made you cry I heard my mama's voice in my head
Tell me to make you walk away
And never let a good thin if
So...
Baby let us waste no more times
let waste no more times
Arguing about who's wrong or right
who's wrong or right
Our love is so strong, what we worry bout we hate us right now
lets now make the mistake of our lives
By saying goodbye
I don't want to say good bye no no no no
By saying goodbye
I don't want to say good bye no no no no
oh yea
Cause all it is, is up and down, baby
And all we've got to do is work it out
Baby at the end of the day we'll get stronger
And to have a love for a life time we got to work harder
Harder
And everytimes I made you cry I heard my mama's voice in my head
Tell me to make you walk away
And never let a good thin if
So...
Baby let us waste no more times
let waste no more times
Arguing about who's wrong or right
who's wrong or right
Our love is so strong, what we worry bout we hate us right now
lets now make the mistake of our lives
By saying goodbye
I don't want to say good bye no no no no
By saying goodbye
I don't want to say good bye
Cause love is like this
When you get mad then I get mad
Hurt each other then we end up sad
looking at each other, we've hurt in our lives
Oh ma, see we never had the winter
would'nt appreciate the summer
That summer see love, Tell her sweet love
But, everytimes I made you cry I heard my mama's voice in my head
Tell me to make you walk away
And never let a good thin if
So...
Baby let us waste no more times
let waste no more times
Arguing about who's wrong or right
who's wrong or right
Our love is so strong, what we worry bout we hate us right now
lets now make the mistake of our lives
By saying goodbye
I don't want to say good bye no no no no
By saying goodbye
I don't want to say good bye no no no no
In "Saying Goodbye," Peetah Morgan sings about the ups and downs of a relationship, and how sometimes it feels like walking out the door is the only option. However, he knows deep down that he doesn't want to say goodbye to his partner, and wants to work things out. He acknowledges that love can be tough, and arguments happen, but they just need to work harder to make it last. He also reflects on the times he made his partner cry, and hears his mother's voice telling him to never let a good thing go. Overall, the song is about the importance of communication, compromise, and fighting for love, rather than giving up at the first sign of trouble.
Line by Line Meaning
Sometimes I feel like walking out the door
There are moments where I contemplate leaving this relationship
And I know you feel the same way for sure
I have a sense that you also have thoughts of ending our relationship
Hey, I can see my life without you baby
I can imagine living without you in my life
Cause you're my one and only lady.
You are the only woman that I want in my life
I don't wanna talk anymore
I have reached a point where I do not want to discuss our problems any further
I just want love like we had it before
I am longing for the love we shared in the past
Playing and Playing games is so tired, oh yeah
The constant bickering back and forth is exhausting
You say the same thing again and again and i don't reply
I do not respond to your repetitive comments
I know it gets on your nerves.ohh.oh
I am aware that this bothers you
I can see it in your eyes it hurts, yeah a
It is evident by the expression on your face that it is painful
And everytimes I made you cry I heard my mama's voice in my head
Whenever I made you cry, I heard my mother's voice advising me to let you go
Tell me to make you walk away
My mother would encourage me to end our relationship
And never let a good thin if
She would warn me not to let a good thing slip away
So...
Therefore,
Baby let us waste no more times
We should not waste any more time arguing
Arguing about who's wrong or right
We should stop debating who is at fault
Our love is so strong, what we worry bout we hate us right now
Our love is powerful, and we should not let our current problems ruin it
lets now make the mistake of our lives
We should not make the worst mistake of our lives
By saying goodbye
By ending our relationship
I don't want to say good bye no no no no
I do not want to say goodbye
Cause all it is, is up and down, baby
Our relationship has its highs and lows
And all we've got to do is work it out
We just need to put in the effort to overcome our problems
Baby at the end of the day we'll get stronger
Ultimately, our bond will become even stronger
And to have a love for a life time we got to work harder
To make our love last a lifetime, we need to put in more effort
Cause love is like this
Because love is such
When you get mad then I get mad
If you get angry, it makes me upset too
Hurt each other then we end up sad
When we hurt each other, it leaves us both miserable
looking at each other, we've hurt in our lives
When we look at each other, we can see that we have both experienced hurt before
Oh ma, see we never had the winter
We have never faced great difficulties in our relationship
would'nt appreciate the summer
Therefore, we may not fully value the good times
That summer see love, Tell her sweet love
During the good times, let us cherish and express our love for each other
By saying goodbye
By ending our relationship
I don't want to say good bye no no no no
I do not want to say goodbye
By saying goodbye
By ending our relationship
I don't want to say good bye no no no no
I do not want to say goodbye
Contributed by Caroline I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@marionnemajouries.diaries.147
A legend has fallen it's so heartbreaking but we glad for the beautiful music that will continue to bless our hearts R.I.P❤😢
@tushyranx5860
Rest in power legend 😢
@serahwangui7697
May his soul rest in peace 😢
@user-kr7zy7tq1l
So true 😭😭😭
@tushyranx5860
@@serahwangui7697 ûyû nî aroirwo narua
@JoyceMabika-mr3vg
We lost a legend indeed you were appreciated together with your music in my country 🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼 it’s a black day for us too❤️. My zim people show some love to this legend.
@jahpeace30001
On the 25th of February 2024,
The Almighty called Peetah to join his heavenly choir, the world lost one of the most beautifully gifted voices!
Although it is a sad time, let's give thanks that we were blessed with his and his family's music!
Sending strength to all his siblings, his family, and all who loved him!!
Time to start your new journey!!
ONLY JAH KNOW ❤️💛💚
@cannabis1490
Only JAH know!
@kellybrown9973
Unbelievable!! Thankyou for blessing our hearts with great melodies. You'll be missed. Rest well legend. Lots of love from KE 🇰🇪🇰🇪
@djfrankeewalker001mombasakenya
A Real Golden Voice has fallen😭 A Legend at all given times, thank you for the great music forever we will see you through your Awesome music, I don't wanna say goodbye either! peace😭😭