Lay for the Day: 10th April

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Lay for the Day 10th April

Happy birthday to Bunny Wailer, born in Kingston, Jamaica on this day in 1947.

The final survivor of the original trio of The Wailers (which he formed with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh), Jah B hasn’t had the same crossover success as his late brothers-in-song, partly because of his reluctance to leave his island home. His is one of the finest voices to emanate from Jamaica.

The song was inspired in part by ‘Pass It On’, one of two (the other being ‘Hallelujah Time’) that Bunny Wailer contributed to Burnin’, the last album by the original Wailers.

Little Children

Whenever did a man
Have to fight so hard
To get just what he can,
A little peace in his backyard?
Whenever did a woman
Feel such stress and fret,
Not knowing what’s a-comin’
From sunrise to set?
Oh little children,
Do you know whose you are?
A time of strife, a time of turmoil:
Peace and love are with Jah.
Peace and love are with Jah.

Some’ll say they’re doing right
While their brother’s doing time
And their sister’s doing time
Where the sun never shines.
For where one sees freedom,
Another sees crime.
Sometimes so-called wisdom
Is all reason, no rhyme.
Oh little children,
Do you know whose you are?
A time of strife, a time of turmoil:
Peace and love are with Jah.
Peace and love are with Jah.

Now your trouble’s thick and fast
And your wishes won’t come true
But this love was built to last
And it’s time to make it new.
Someone standing at your door,
Someone calling out your name,
Says he’ll love you ever more
And he’ll even take the blame.
Oh little children,
Do you know whose you are?
A time of strife, a time of turmoil:
Peace and love are with Jah.
Peace and love are with Jah.

Words and music by The Children
from In Memory of Grace

PS. Bunny Wailer’s given name is Neville O’Reilly Livingstone. Coincidentally, he has a musical namesake also born on 10th April, though in 1906, in South Carolina: Fud Livingstone, saxophonist who played with Red Nichols & His Five Pennies. And even more coincidentally, their unusual first names are both the surnames of cartoon characters: Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny. Isn’t astrology amazing?

PPS. On the original LP of Burnin’, ‘Pass It On’ and ‘Hallelujah Time’ were credited to Jean Watt – which, I seem to recall reading somewhere, was the name of Bunny’s wife – but they were Bunny’s compositions. How come, on my new CD copy of Burnin', while ‘Hallelujah Time’ is credited to “Neville Livingston”, ‘Pass It On’ is now credited to Bob Marley?

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