Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), profess… Read Full Bio ↴Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM (19 October 1944 – 11 September 1987), professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963–1976), after which he established himself as a successful solo artist and a promoter of Rastafari. He was murdered in 1987 during a home invasion.

Early music and with the Wailers
Tosh was born in Westmoreland, the westernmost parish of Jamaica. He was abandoned by his parents and "shuffled among relatives". When McIntosh was fifteen, his aunt died and he moved to Trenchtown in Kingston, Jamaica. He first learned guitar after watching a man in the country play a song that captivated him. He watched the man play the same song for half a day, memorizing everything his fingers were doing. He then picked up the guitar and played the song back to the man. The man then asked McIntosh who had taught him to play; McIntosh told him that he had. During the early 1960s, as an aspiring musician, Tosh went to vocal teacher Joe Higgs, who gave free music lessons to young people. Through his contact with Higgs, Tosh met Robert Nesta Marley (Bob Marley) and Neville O'Reilly Livingston (Bunny Wailer). He then changed his name to Peter Tosh and the trio started singing together in 1962. Higgs taught the trio to harmonise and while developing their music, they would often play on the street corners of Trenchtown.

In 1964 Tosh helped organise the band the Wailing Wailers, with Junior Braithwaite, a falsetto singer, and backup singers Beverley Kelso and Cherry Smith. Initially, Tosh was the only one in the group who could play musical instruments. According to Bunny Wailer, Tosh was critical to the band because he was a self-taught guitarist and keyboardist, and thus became an inspiration for the other band members to learn to play. The Wailing Wailers had a major ska hit with their first single, "Simmer Down", and recorded several more successful singles before Braithwaite, Kelso and Smith left the band in late 1965. Marley spent much of 1966 in Delaware in the United States with his mother, Cedella (née Malcolm) Marley-Booker, and for a brief time was working at a nearby Chrysler factory. He returned to Jamaica in early 1967 with a renewed interest in music and a new spirituality. Tosh and Bunny were already Rastafarians when Marley returned from the US, and the three became very involved with the Rastafari faith. Soon afterwards, they renamed the musical group the Wailers. Tosh would explain later that they chose the name Wailers because to "wail" means to mourn or to, as he put it, "...express one's feelings vocally". He also claims that he was the beginning of the group, and that it was he who first taught Bob Marley the guitar. Also according to Bunny Wailer, the early Wailers learned to play instruments from Tosh.

During the mid-1960s Tosh, along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, were introduced to Danny Sims and Johnny Nash who signed the three artists to an exclusive recording contract on Sims' and Nash's JAD Records label as well as an exclusive publishing agreement through Sims' music publishing company, Cayman Music. Rejecting the up-tempo dance of ska, the band slowed their music to a rocksteady pace, and infused their lyrics with political and social messages inspired by their new-found faith. The Wailers composed several songs for the American-born singer Nash before teaming with producer Lee "Scratch" Perry to record some of the earliest well-known reggae songs, including "Soul Rebel", "Duppy Conqueror", and "Small Axe". The collaboration had given birth to reggae music and in 1970 bassist Aston "Family Man" Barrett and his brother, drummer Carlton Barrett, joined the group. They recorded the album The Best of The Wailers, which was produced by Leslie Kong and released in 1971.[citation needed]

In 1972, Danny Sims assigned the balance of the JAD Records recording contract with the band to Chris Blackwell and Island Records company and released their debut, Catch a Fire, in 1973, following it with Burnin' the same year. The Wailers had moved from many producers after 1970 and there were instances where producers would record rehearsal sessions that Tosh did and release them in England under the name "Peter Touch".

In 1973, Tosh was driving home with his girlfriend Evonne when his car was hit by another car driving on the wrong side of the road. The accident killed Evonne and severely fractured Tosh's skull. After Island Records president Chris Blackwell refused to issue his solo album in 1974, Tosh and Bunny Wailer left the Wailers, citing the unfair treatment they received from Blackwell, to whom Tosh often referred with a derogatory play on Blackwell's surname, 'Whiteworst'. Tosh had written many of the Wailers' hit songs such as "Get Up, Stand Up", "400 Years", and "No Sympathy". Tosh began recording and released his solo debut, Legalize It, in 1976 with CBS Records company, and Treasure Isle. The title track soon became popular among endorsers of cannabis legalization, reggae music lovers and Rastafari all over the world, and was a favourite at Tosh's concerts.

That was his last album from the Wailers, Island Records. In 2013, a book co-written by French scholar Dr Jeremie Kroubo Dagnini and American Lee Jaffe, his former associate, says Tosh was part of a smuggling operation that raised money to fund this album.

Solo career
Tosh started to make his own albums with Rolling Stones Records and CBS Records Equal Rights followed in 1977, featuring his recording of a song co-written with Marley, "Get Up, Stand Up", and a cover of "Stepping Razor" that would also appear on the soundtrack to the film Rockers.

Tosh organised a backing band, Word, Sound and Power, who were to accompany him on tour for the next few years, and many of whom performed on his albums of this period. In 1978, the Rolling Stones record label Rolling Stones Records contracted with Tosh, on which the album Bush Doctor was released, introducing Tosh to a larger audience. The album featured Rolling Stones frontmen Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and the lead single – a cover version of The Temptations song "Don't Look Back" – was performed as a duet with Jagger.

During Bob Marley's free One Love Peace Concert of 1978, Tosh lit a marijuana spliff and lectured about legalising cannabis, lambasting attending dignitaries Michael Manley and Edward Seaga for their failure to enact such legislation. Several months later he was apprehended by police as he left Skateland dance hall in Kingston and was beaten severely while in police custody.

Mystic Man (1979), and Wanted Dread and Alive (1981) followed, both released on Rolling Stones Records. Tosh tried to gain some mainstream success while keeping his militant views, but was only moderately successful, especially when compared to Marley's achievements.

In 1984, after the release of 1983's album Mama Africa, Tosh went into self-imposed exile, seeking the spiritual advice of traditional medicine men in Africa, and trying to free himself from recording agreements that distributed his records in South Africa. Tosh had been at odds for several years with his label, EMI, over a perceived lack of promotion for his music.

Tosh also participated in the international opposition to South African apartheid by appearing at anti-apartheid concerts and by conveying his opinion in various songs like "Apartheid" (1977, re-recorded 1987), "Equal Rights" (1977), "Fight On" (1979), and "Not Gonna Give It Up" (1983). In 1987, Peter Tosh seemed to be having a career revival. He was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Performance in 1987 for No Nuclear War, his last record.

Death
On 11 September 1987, just after Tosh had returned to his home in Jamaica, a three-man gang came to his house on motorcycles demanding money. Tosh replied that he did not have any with him but the gang did not believe him. They stayed at his residence for several hours and tortured Tosh in an attempt to extort money from him. Over the hours, as various associates of Tosh arrived to visit him, they were also taken hostage by the gunmen. The gunmen became more and more frustrated, especially the chief thug, Dennis "Leppo" Lobban, a man whom Tosh had previously befriended and tried to help find work after a long jail sentence. Tosh said he did not have any money in the house, after which Lobban and the fellow gunmen began opening fire in a reckless manner. Tosh was shot twice in the head and killed. Herbalist Wilton "Doc" Brown and disc jockey Jeff 'Free I' Dixon also died as a result of wounds sustained during the robbery. Several others in the house were wounded, including Tosh's common law wife Andrea Marlene Brown, Free I's wife Yvonne ("Joy"); Tosh's drummer Carlton "Santa" Davis, and musician Michael Robinson.

According to Police Commissioner Herman Ricketts, Dennis "Leppo" Lobban surrendered and two other men were interrogated but not publicly named. Lobban went on to plead innocent during his trial, telling the court he had been drinking with friends. The trial was held in a closed court due to the involvement of illegal firearms. Lobban was ultimately found guilty by a jury of eight women and four men and sentenced to death by hanging. His sentence was commuted in 1995 and Lobban remains in jail. Another suspect was acquitted due to insufficient evidence. The other two gunmen were never identified by name.

Discography
Legalize It (1976)
Equal Rights (1977)
Bush Doctor (1978)
Mystic Man (1979)
Wanted Dread & Alive (1981)
Mama Africa (1983)
No Nuclear War (1987)

Apartheid
Peter Tosh Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Inna me land, quite illegal
You inna me land, dig out me gold, yes
Inna me land, diggin' out me pearl
Inna me land, dig out me diamond

We a go fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid
We got to fight, fight, fight

Fight 'gainst apartheid

You inna me land an' you build up your parliament
You inna me land, you build up your regime
You inna me land, only talk 'bout justice
You inna me land, handin' down injustice

We gonna fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid
Brothers got to fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid

You inna me land, you no build no schools for black children
You inna me land, no hospital for black people
You inna me land, you built your prison
You inna me land, you built your camp

We got to fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid
We gonna fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid

Africa is for black man, remember
But certain place in Africa
Black man got no recognition

So we have to fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid
Black man got to fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid

You cross the border, you shoot after children
Cross the border, shoot down women
Cross the border, you take your might
Cross the border to beat the right

We gonna fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid
We got to fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid

Ask for majority
Majority rule, yeah
You the minority
But that couldn't rule, yeah

So we go fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid
We gonna fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid

Break off, break off from Britain
You're quite illegal right where you are
You get sources from colonial powers
Takin' my diamond, fillin' ballistic missiles

Now we have to fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid
Black man got to fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid

Come on and you fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid
We got to fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid

We gonna fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid

We got to fight, fight, fight
Fight 'gainst apartheid

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Peter Tosh’s “Apartheid” express his anger and frustration towards the unjust system of apartheid that existed in South Africa at the time. The opening lines, “Inna me land, quite illegal / You inna me land, dig out me gold, yes / Inna me land, diggin' out me pearl / Inna me land, dig out me diamond,” reveal his resentment towards the exploitation of his homeland’s resources by foreign powers.

Tosh then speaks about the South African government’s oppressive regime and the lack of justice for black people. He mentions how they have built parliament and prisons but have neglected to provide basic necessities for black people such as schools and hospitals. In the lines, “You cross the border, you shoot after children / Cross the border, shoot down women / Cross the border, you take your might,” Tosh condemns the violent tactics used by the South African government to suppress the anti-apartheid movement.

Line by Line Meaning

Inna me land, quite illegal
In my own land, my rights are being violated and I have no legal authority to stop it.

You inna me land, dig out me gold, yes
You are in my land without permission and stealing the resources that belong to me.

Inna me land, diggin' out me pearl
You are excavating my land for its precious pearls without my consent.

Inna me land, dig out me diamond
You are looting my property by extracting its most valuable resource, a diamond, without any payment or approval.

We a go fight, fight, fight Fight 'gainst apartheid
We will engage in a prolonged struggle against the oppressive policies of apartheid.

You inna me land an' you build up your parliament
You have established a parliament in my land without the consent of the natives.

You inna me land, you build up your regime
You have imposed a political system on me that is not of my choosing and does not serve my interests.

You inna me land, only talk 'bout justice
You speak of justice, but your actions do not reflect your words.

You inna me land, handin' down injustice
Your policies are unjust and violate the human rights of the indigenous people.

We gonna fight, fight, fight Fight 'gainst apartheid Brothers got to fight, fight, fight Fight 'gainst apartheid
We will continue our struggle for freedom and equality against the apartheid regime, with solidarity among true brothers.

You inna me land, you no build no schools for black children
You deny educational opportunities for black children in my land.

You inna me land, no hospital for black people
You leave the black population with no medical facilities or resources in my land.

You inna me land, you built your prison
You built prisons and detention centers for black people in my land to oppress and control them.

You inna me land, you built your camp
You set up concentration camps and detainment facilities to unfairly imprison black people in my land.

Africa is for black man, remember But certain place in Africa Black man got no recognition
We should remember that Africa belongs to black people, but in certain places, including our own land, we face ongoing racism and discrimination.

So we have to fight, fight, fight Fight 'gainst apartheid Black man got to fight, fight, fight Fight 'gainst apartheid
In order to overturn the many injustices we face, we must be willing to fight relentlessly against apartheid and discrimination.

You cross the border, you shoot after children
You cross our borders and commit horrific acts of violence against innocent children.

Cross the border, shoot down women
You target women for violence and discrimination when crossing the borders of my land.

Cross the border, you take your might
You use your military strength to overpower and oppress us when you come to my land.

Cross the border to beat the right
You ignore the human rights of our people and use your power for your own benefit, disregarding our rights to the land.

Ask for majority Majority rule, yeah You the minority But that couldn't rule, yeah
We demand majority rule in our own land, as the current minority government is clearly tyrannical and oppressive.

Break off, break off from Britain
We must break the colonial ties that still exist between us and Britain.

You're quite illegal right where you are
Your presence in our land is illegal and unjustified.

You get sources from colonial powers
You receive your resources from colonial powers and employ them to oppress us in our own land.

Takin' my diamond, fillin' ballistic missiles
You steal our diamonds to fund your weaponry and militaristic goals.

Come on and you fight, fight, fight Fight 'gainst apartheid We got to fight, fight, fight Fight 'gainst apartheid
We must persist in our fight against apartheid and oppression in our own land.

We gonna fight, fight, fight Fight 'gainst apartheid We got to fight, fight, fight Fight 'gainst apartheid
We will continue to fight without relent against the oppressive apartheid regime in our land.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PETER TOSH

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS