Originally called simply The Maytals, are considered legends of ska and reg… Read Full Bio ↴Originally called simply The Maytals, are considered legends of ska and reggae music. They are from Kingston, Jamaica. Their sound is a unique, original combination of gospel, ska, soul, reggae and rock. Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, the leader of the group, was born in May Pen in the Parish of Clarendon, Jamaica. He was the youngest of seven children. He grew up singing gospel music in a church choir, but moved to Kingston in 1961 at the age of sixteen.

In Kingston, he met Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and Nathaniel "Jerry" McCarthy, forming a group whose early recordings were attributed to "The Flames" and, possibly, "The Vikings". Having renamed the group the Maytals, the vocal trio recorded their first album, "Never Grow Old - presenting the Maytals", for producer Clement "Coxsone" Dodd at Studio One in 1962-63. With musical backing from Dodd's house band, the legendary Skatalites, the Maytals' close-harmony gospel singing ensured instant success for the 1964 release, overshadowing Dodd's other up-and-coming gospel trio, The Wailers. The original album augmented by studio out-takes from the Studio One sessions was re-released by Heartbeat/Rounder Records in 1997, and is essential listening for Maytals and Skatalites fans.

After staying at Studio One for about two years, the group moved on to do sessions for Prince Buster (released in 1974) before recording their second album produced by Byron Lee in 1965. However, the band's musical career was rudely interrupted in late 1966 when Hibbert was arrested and imprisoned on drugs possession charges.

Following Hibbert's release from jail towards the end of 1967, the band officially changed their name to Toots and the Maytals and began working with Chinese-Jamaican producer Leslie Kong, a collaboration which produced three classic albums and a string of hits throughout the late sixties and early seventies - "Do the Reggay", a 1968 single widely credited with coining the word reggae, "Pressure Drop", "54-46 was my number" and "Monkey Man", the group's first international hit in 1970. The group was featured in one of reggae's greatest breakthrough events - The Harder They Come, the 1972 film and soundtrack starring Jimmy Cliff.

Following Kong's death in 1971, the group continued to record with Kong's former sound engineer, Warwick Lyn; produced by Lyn and Chris Blackwell of Island Records, the group released three best-selling albums, and enjoyed international hits with "Funky Kingston" in 1973 and "Reggae Got Soul" in 1976.

The compositions of Toots & the Maytals (also known as Toots and the Maytals) would be given a second airing in 1978-80 during the reggae-punk and ska revival period in the UK, when the Specials included "Monkey Man" on their 1979 debut album and the Clash produced their version of "Pressure Drop", with other Maytals' covers being recorded by Sublime. Having toured throughout the world for many years, Toots and the Maytals disbanded in the early 1980s, but reformed in the early 90s to continue touring and recording successfully.

The band recently won the 2005 Grammy award for reggae for the album True Love, an album consisting of re-recorded versions of their classics alongside popular and legendary musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Eric Clapton, and Keith Richards, as well as popular artists today such as No Doubt, Ben Harper, The Roots, and Shaggy.

They also contributed to the album 'Radiodread' (a tribute to Radiohead's OK Computer).

If You Act This Way
Toots & The Maytals Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If you act this way,
You'll never be free.
You don't know good,
And you don't know good,
Don't know good from bad.

You'll never know,
How wrong you would be.

'Cause you can't see, see,
See what you have done to me.
You must remember you're the one,
Who told me that you were true.
So it's no use, stop you're crying,
There is nothing more I can do, do, do.

You'll never know,
How wrong you would be.
And you can't see, see,
See what you have done to me.

You must remember you're the one,
Who told me that you were true.
So it's no use, stop you're crying,
There is nothing more I can do, do, do.

You'll never know,
How wrong you would be.
And you can't see, see,
See what you have done to me.

If you act this way, way, way,
You'll never be free.

Overall Meaning

Toots & The Maytals's song "If You Act This Way" is a song about love and heartbreak. The lyrics warn someone that if they continue to act a certain way, they'll never be free from the consequences of their actions. The lines "You don't know good, And you don't know good, don't know good from bad" suggest that this person is making the wrong choices in their life, perhaps in their relationships. The singer also tells them that they'll never know how wrong they are and what they've done to the singer.

The repetition of the lines "You'll never know, how wrong you would be. And you can't see, see, see what you have done to me" emphasizes the singer's pain and frustration. They feel like they've been betrayed by this person who promised to be true to them. The lines "So it's no use, stop you're crying, there is nothing more I can do, do, do" suggest that the singer has tried to help this person see the error of their ways but to no avail. The final lines "If you act this way, way, way, you'll never be free" suggests that this person is trapped in their own behaviour and the consequences that come with it.

Overall, the song is a cautionary tale about the importance of honesty and integrity in relationships. It is a warning to those who might take advantage of the love and trust of others that their actions will eventually catch up with them.

Line by Line Meaning

If you act this way,
If you continue to behave like this,

You'll never be free.
You'll never be truly happy or at peace.

You don't know good,
You don't understand what's right or positive.

And you don't know good,
You lack the ability to recognize goodness.

Don't know good from bad.
You can't distinguish right from wrong.

You'll never know,
You'll never fully understand or realize.

How wrong you would be.
The degree to which you are incorrect or misguided.

'Cause you can't see, see,
Since you are unable to perceive or comprehend.

See what you have done to me.
Recognize the negative impact you have had on my life.

You must remember you're the one,
It's important to acknowledge that you are responsible for your actions.

Who told me that you were true.
You are the person who claimed to be honest and faithful.