Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band - Diddy Wah Diddy (1966)

Captain Beefheart was the stage persona of Dan Van Vliet, born in Glendale, California 1941. In his teen years, he became friends with Frank Zappa (later of The Mothers of Invention) and the two had a hot and cold friendship lined with a streak of rivalry. In 1965, Van Vliet joined the newly created Magic Band and the group began recording blues-inspired songs. As with the rest of the civilized world in ’66 and ‘67, their music took a psychedelic turn in nature, but he and his Magic Band were unique in taking a strong experimental/avant-garde approach, which was unique even at the time. Known as being very demanding and impossible to work with, The Magic Band often had a changing lineup of members. With only a few public appearances after his 1982 retirement from music, Van Vliet passed away on December 17th, 2010, attributed to complications from multiple sclerosis.

Originally co-written and recorded by Bo Diddley in 1956, this song refers to the mythical city of Diddy Wah Diddy. In the first half of the 20th century, it was common for African Americans to refer to mythical, utopian towns such as this one as if they were real. This version of the song was Beefheart and his band’s first single and became a regional hit in California. It was produced by David Gates, who would later go on to be the frontman of the band Bread.



Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band - Diddy Wah Diddy (1966)

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Lyrics:

I got a gal in Diddy Wah Diddy
Ain't no town and it ain't no city
She loves her man ‘til it's a pity
Crazy 'bout my girl in Diddy Wah Diddy

(Diddy Wah)
(Diddy Wah)
(Diddy Wah)

This little gal’s as sweet as she can be
I know she's in love with me
Lovely thing, she's so pretty
She live way down in Diddy Wah Diddy

(Diddy Wah)
(Diddy Wah)
(Diddy Wah)

Ain't no town, ain't no city
Woah, how they love in Diddy Wah Diddy

She kiss me all the time
Gonna drive me outta my mind
Any day she say she ready
Take her right back to Diddy Wah Diddy

(Diddy Wah)
(Diddy Wah)
(Diddy Wah)

Strawberry Alarm Clock - Tomorrow (1968)

Originally named Thee Sixpence when they formed in 1967, this group was inspired to change their name after hearing The Beatles’ song “Strawberry Fields Forever”. Primarily remembered for their most successful song, “Incense and Peppermints” (which was originally released under the Thee Sixpence name), they are often mistakenly thought of as a one-hit wonder. The group actually had five hit songs (with two in the Top 40: one mentioend above and one heard below) and was essential to the development of the bubblegum pop genre. One of the group’s guitarists, Ed King, would later in his career join Lynyrd Skynyrd. Another of their guitarists, Steve Bartek, would later in his career join Oingo Boingo with pre-famed-composer Danny Elfman.

This song’s original version came from the group’s second album Wake Up…It’s Tomorrow released in 1968. It was the last album to include the group’s original lineup, which included both Ed King and Steve Bartek. This particular version of the song, however, was the mono version released in 1997. The most noticeable differences between this version and the original are the vastly different organ arrangement and guitar solo. Personally, I enjoy this version better than the original.



Strawberry Alarm Clock - Tomorrow [Mono Version] (1968)

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Lyrics:

Tomorrow
Things won't be the same
Tomorrow
Life would be a different game

But, right now, I am with you and
Together we can make it through

Forever
Our love might last
Forever
Will come too fast

But, right now, I am with you and
Together we can make it through

We live in a world
Of carnivals and clowns
And buildings to the sky
That make us want to fly

We live in a world
Of carnivals and clowns
And buildings to the sky
That make us want to fly

But, right now, I am with you and
Together we can make it through

But, right now, I am with you and
Together we can make it through

Wow!

Joni Mitchell - The Fiddle and the Drum (1969)

One night in late ’67 or early ’68 at The Gaslight South, a club in Coconut Grove, FL, a performance was being put on by Joni Mitchell. In attendance was David Crosby (of The Byrds and CSN), who was amazed with her beauty and musical prowess. He convinced Mitchell to go back to Los Angeles with him where he would introduce her and her music to his friends in the business. He even convinced Reprise Records to allow her to record a purely acoustic album, successfully avoiding their desire to use the overdubs that were popular at the time. Although many songs of hers had been recorded by other artists, Joni Mitchell was about to release her first album, Song to a Seagull. You can hear a track from that album on one of our previous posts.

This song comes from Mitchell’s second album, Clouds, released in 1969. The album cover featured a self-portrait painting of Mitchell with a background featuring her hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Mitchell performed this song on The Dick Cavett Show in August 1969. It was also covered in 2004 by A Perfect Circle who found a new use for it in protesting the Iraq War. In 2007, the song’s title was used for a ballet authorized by Mitchell.



Joni Mitchell - The Fiddle and the Drum (1969)

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Lyrics:

And so, once again
My dear Johnny, my dear friend
And so, once again
You are fighting us all
And when I ask you ‘why?’
You raise your sticks and cry and I fall
Oh, my friend
How did you come
To trade the fiddle for the drum?

You say I have turned
Like the enemies you've earned
But I can remember
All the good things you are
And so I ask you, “Please,
Can I help you find the peace and the star?”
Oh, my friend
What time is this
To trade the handshake for the fist?

And so, once again
Oh, America, my friend
And so, once again
You are fighting us all
And when we ask you ‘why?’
You raise your sticks and cry and we fall
Oh, my friend
How did you come
To trade the fiddle for the drum?

You say we have turned
Like the enemies you've earned
But we can remember
All the good things you are
And so we ask you, “Please,
Can we help you find the peace and the star?”
Oh, my friend
We have all come
To fear the beating of your drum

Mountain - Pride and Passion (1971)

Formed in 1969 around Leslie West, this group is another good example of a band that influenced the heavy metal genre popular in the 1970s. Influenced themselves by Cream, they named themselves after a solo album put out by West, Mountain, which in turn was named after West’s enormous size. It’s a common misconception that the Mountain album was put out by this group. It was actually a solo release by West which featured future Mountain members Felix Pappalardi and N.D. Smart. The group performed at Woodstock, is primarily remembered for “Mississippi Queen,” and broke up in 1972, only to get back together (with varying members) countless times since 1973.

This song comes from the group’s third album, Flowers of Evil, released in 1971. As the fifth track on the album, it’s the last track featured to be recorded in the studio. The second side of the album, comprised of the sixth and seventh tracks, was recorded live at the Filmore East in New York, June 27th, 1971. By the time of this album, drummer N.D. Smart had been replaced by Corky Laing.

You’ll have to give this one well over a minute before it really gets started.



Mountain - Pride and Passion (1971)

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Lyrics:

One man's life passed all in needing
Words out loud that want repeating
Fathers passed to sons their craving
Woman's loved, their children saving
Kings who walk in banners waving still

I have no heart for listening to the men who talk of peace
They're putting all their nonsense in my way
Won't you please, my love, please rest your tired little hands?
We've been talking half the night and there's so much more to say

Mothers asking for just one more time before their babies come
And whistlin’ in the smells of dusty tea
Someplace there's bed of timeless loving turned to stone
But the sun is shinin’ yellow and it's turned to shine on me

Sons are breathing discontent in the circling vapor light
And frozen little soldiers guard their homeland through the night
And a million nameless candles flicker out this one last time
And the heartbeat in that aching crowd
No, it will not beat with mine

The answers were all given to the faces now in tears
And Heaven led us all into the war
The children who once laughed have disappeared behind the Sun
It's the season for re-living, but they're living here no more

Sons are breathing discontent in the circling vapor light
And frozen little soldiers guard their homeland through the night
So, a million nameless candles flicker out this one last time
And the heartbeat in that aching crowd
No, it will not beat with mine

Hearts all filled of pride and passion
Sacrificed in blood of nations
Stand, we here, in humbled pleading
Save the souls who in retreating pray for peace
And ease their needing now

Jimi Hendrix & Curtis Knight and The Squires - I'm A Man [Live] (1964)

Curtis Knight, born in 1929, is often credited with the aid of helping “discover” Jimi Hendrix. It was Knight who acquainted Hendrix with record producer Ed Chalpin, whom Hendrix signed his first contract with. Unfortunately for Chalpin, Hendrix soon forgot that he had signed it and left for England to form The Jimi Hendrix Experience. After The Experience hit it big, Chalpin sued Hendrix and his management/record companies to no avail. But as the legal action was playing out, Chalpin released jam session material that he claimed Hendrix had been a part of, using Knight as his main witness. After Hendrix’s death in 1974, Knight would use his connection with Hendrix to write a book, Jimi: An Intimate Biography of Jimi Hendrix, and to keep his musical career alive for many years.

Inspired by Muddy Waters' 1954 song “Hoochie Coochie Man,” Bo Diddley wrote and released the original version of this song in 1955. This rare cover version featuring Hendrix and Knight was recorded in Hackensack, New Jersey, at Club 20 on December 26th, 1964. It's worth noting that Hendrix strays from the original lyrics and that some sources claim the recording took place in 1965 rather than '64.



Jimi Hendrix & Curtis Knight and The Squires - I'm A Man [Live] (1964)

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Lyrics:

Yeah!
Down in Louisiana a way, baby
Yeah, I’m gonna tell you somethin’
I’m gonna tell you how big and bad I am

Hey
When I was a little boy
At the age of five
I had somethin’ in my pocket, baby, woo
Keep a whole lot of folks alive

Now I’m a man
Age twenty-one
You know, baby
We can have us a whole lot of fun

‘cause I’m a man
Spelt with a capital “m”
“a,” child
“n,” boy
Mannish boy
What’d I say, baby?

Woo! I feel so suspicious
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh, aw!

All you big healthy women
Stand in line
I’m gonna make love to ya, baby
In an hour’s time

The line I shoot
Will never miss
The way I make love to ya, baby
Aw, you just can’t resist

Goin’ down south
To Kansas, do
Bring back my second cousin
Little Willie John the conqueroo

‘cause I’m a man
Spelled with a capital “a”
“n”
Man

A’like a rollin’ stone
Ain’t gonna gather no cannon moss
Oh, oh, oh, yeah!
Look out, baby
Woo! Woo!

All you pretty women
Like I said before
Stand in line
I’m gonna make love to ya, baby
In about an hour’s time

Goin’ down South
To Caroline
I’ve got a big ol’ fat pig down there
She’s lookin’ almost fine
Woah, hey, woah, yeah!

I got a girl
Named ‘Louise’
She’s out of sight, mama
She was goin’ to please

I got a little booga-bear
Her name is ‘Sue’
She ain’t all that handsome, but, uh
She know just what to do

There was two old maids
Layin’ in a bed
One say to the other one, brother
He looked up and said
“Wake up, old maid
You’ll just sleep so damn sound
You know whatcha promised
When you first laid down”

‘cause I’m a man
Spelled “m”
“a,” child
“n,” boy
What I’m sayin?

Mannish boy
Oh, oh, oh, stop! Oh
It’s alright, baby
To do it tonight
The snow is comin’ down
Still had no reason for bein’ around

What I say?

The Moody Blues - Departure / Ride My See-Saw (1968)

Heard below is actually a combination of two songs, “Departure” and “Ride My See-Saw”. As the opening tracks on the group’s third album, In Search of the Lost Chord, the songs are both somewhat unique on their own. “Departure,” written by the group’s drummer Graeme Edge, is a rare example of Edge performing lead vocals (or in this case, narration) for the group. “Ride My See-Saw,” on the other hand, was written by the group’s bassist John Lodge and was one of the first rock singles ever to be recorded on 8-track tape multi-track recording.

When “Ride My See-Saw” was released as a single in October 1968, the maniacal laughter spilling over from the previous track was removed from its beginning. The versions combined together below are from the July 1968 album release and melt into one another as originally intended.



The Moody Blues - Departure / Ride My See-Saw (1968)

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“Departure” Lyrics:

Be it sight, sound, smell, or touch
There's something inside that we need so much
The sight of a touch or the scent of a sound
Or the strength of an oak with roots deep in the ground
The wonder of flowers to be covered and then to burst up
Through tarmac to the sun again or to fly to the sun
Without burning a wing to lie in a meadow
And hear the grass sing; to have all these things
In our memory's hoard and to use them
To help us, to find
[laughter]

“Ride My See-Saw” Lyrics:

Ride
Ride my see-saw
Take this place
On this trip
Just for me

Ride
Take a free ride
Take my place
Have my seat
It's for free

I worked like a slave for years
Sweat so hard just to end my fears
Not to end my life a poor man
But by now, I know, I should have run

Run
Run my last race
Take my place
Have this number
Of mine

Run
Run like a fire
Don't you run in
In the lanes
Run for time

Left school with a first class pass
Started work, but as second class
School taught “one and one is two”
But right now, that answer just ain't true

My world is spinning ‘round
Everything is lost that I found
People run, come ride with me
Let's find another place that's free

Ride
Ride my see-saw
Take this place
On this trip
Just for me

Ride
Take a free ride
Take my place
Have my seat
It's for free

Ride my see-saw
Ride- ride- ride my see-saw
Ride my see-saw
Ri-…

Jackie Wilson - Lonely Teardrops (1958)

Born Jack Leroy Wilson, Jr. in 1934, “Mr. Excitement” was influential in shifting rhythm and blues music into the genre of soul. Dubbed by Elvis Presley as “The Black Elvis,” he was known for his dynamic stage presence which always involved high-energy dancing. He would often choose unattractive females from the audience to kiss him on stage, rationalizing that “if I kiss the ugliest girl in the audience, they’ll all think they can have me and keep coming back and buying my records.” His life was filled with numerous tragedies including multiple arrests, multiple gunshot wounds, and multiple offspring dying at a young age. Even his own life was cut short when a mid-performance heart-attack in 1975 would put him in an on-again off-again coma for the next nine years until his death.

This song was written by Roquel “Billy” Davis and the Gordy siblings, Berry Jr. and Gwen. The song reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as number one on the R&B charts. The popularity of the song not only led to wealth and stardom for Wilson, but much wealth for those who wrote it. Berry Gordy, Jr. would take his profits and start the recording giant Motown Records.



Jackie Wilson - Lonely Teardrops (1958)

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Lyrics:

Hey
Hey
Hey!

My heart is crying, crying
Lonely teardrops
My pillow never dry up
Lonely teardrops

Come home, come home
Just say you will, say you will (say you will)
Say you will (say you will)
Hey, hey (say you will)

My heart is crying, crying
Lonely teardrops
My pillow never dry up
Lonely teardrops

Come home, come home
Just say you will, say you will (say you will)
Say you will (say you will)
Hey, hey (say you will)

Just give me another chance
For our romance
Come on and tell me
That one day you'll return
‘cause everyday that you've been gone away
You'll know why my heart does nothing but burn, crying

Lonely teardrops
My pillows never dry up
Lonely teardrops

Come home, come home
Just say you will, say you will (say you will)
Say you will (say you will)
Hey, hey (say you will)

Say it right now, baby (say you will)
Come on, come on (say you will)
Say it, darling…

David Crosby - Laughing (1971)

Born in 1941, this iconic guitarist, singer, and songwriter is a founding member of The Byrds as well as Crosby, Stills & Nash (and sometimes Young). Raised in Los Angeles, California, he dropped out of college and moved to New York’s Greenwich Village where he came under the tutelage of Fred Neil (who also happened to be mentoring Bob Dylan at the time). From 1964 until 1967, he found immense success with The Byrds and continued that success from 1968 until 1970 with CSN. The remainder of his career has flourished with solo recordings, his groups’ reunions, television acting, voice acting, and an unfortunate short stint in prison. As of today, he is still touring with Crosby, Stills & Nash and was recently seen at the Occupy Wall Street protest movement.

This song is the fourth track on his first solo album If I Could Only Remember My Name, released in 1971. The album featured Graham Nash, Joni Mitchell, and members of the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Santana. This song in particular features vocals by David Crosby, Graham Nash, and Joni Mitchell; the Grateful Dead’s Phil Lesh and Bill Kreutzmann played bass and drums, respectively; and the pedal steel guitar is played by none other than the Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia.



David Crosby - Laughing (1971)

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Lyrics:

I thought I met a man
Who said he knew a man
Who knew what was going on

I was mistaken
Only another stranger
That I knew

And I thought that I had found light
To guide me through
My night and all this darkness

I was mistaken
Only reflections of a shadow
That I saw

And I thought, “I've seen someone
Who seemed at last
To know the truth”

I was mistaken
Only a child laughing
In the sun

In the sun

Syd Barrett - Bob Dylan Blues (1970)

Born in 1946, this man was the original frontman for the legendary group Pink Floyd. Not only did he start the group in 1965, but he was also the group’s primary songwriter, lead vocalist, and lead guitarist for their first few years. Pink Floyd’s early sound was psychedelic primarily because of his imagination. Sadly, years of drug use aided his mental health to deteriorate and he left the group in April 1968. After a couple solo albums, he decided to leave the public eye permanently and put himself in a self-imposed seclusion. Pink Floyd, without him, would go on to enormous success and recorded several tributes to him, most notably their 1975 album Wish You Were Here. On July 7th, 2006, after more than thirty years of seclusion, he fell victim to his pancreatic cancer and died in his home in Cambridge.

In 1964, Bob Dylan released “My Back Pages,” which mocked his own early political image. (You can hear The Byrds’ cover version of the song here.) But before Dylan was able to mock himself, Barrett had beaten him to the punch with this song. Written in 1963 after Barrett had seen Dylan in concert, this song both gently lampoons Dylan’s early political persona as well as pays an honoring tribute to him. Coming out of David Gilmour’s personal collection for the album The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me? released in 2001, it was originally recorded in 1970.



Syd Barrett - Bob Dylan Blues (1970)

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Lyrics:

Got the Bob Dylan blues
And the Bob Dylan shoes
And my clothes and my hair's in a mess
But, you know, I just couldn't care less

Gonna write me a song
'bout what's right and what's wrong
Got God and my girl and all that
Quiet while I make like a cat

‘cause I'm a poet, don’t’cha know it?
And the wind? You can blow it
‘cause I'm Mr. Dylan, the king
And I'm free as a bird on the wing

Roam from town to town
Guess I get people down
But I don't care too much about that
‘cause my gut and my wallet are fat

Make a whole lot of dough
But I deserve it, though
I got soul and a good heart of gold
So I'll sing about war in the Cold

‘cause I'm a poet, don’t’cha know it?
And the wind? You can blow it
‘cause I'm Mr. Dylan, the king
And I'm free as a bird on the wing

Well I sings about dreams
And I rhymes it with seams
‘cause it seems that my dream always means
That I can prophesy all kinds of things

Well the guy that digs me
Should try hard to see
That he buys all my discs in a hat
And when I'm in town, go see that

‘cause I'm a poet, don’t’cha know it?
And the wind? You can blow it
‘cause I'm Mr. Dylan, the king
And I'm free as a bird on the wing

Édith Piaf - Tu Es Partout (1941)

Born in Paris, France, in 1915, this artist was a French singer and cultural icon who became a worldwide star in the 1930s and ‘40s. Named after the British World War I nurse, Edith Cavell, she was abandoned by her parents at a young age and lived with her paternal grandmother in her grandmother’s brothel. Her big break came when she was discovered singing in the streets by a cabaret owner, Louis Leplée. Nicknaming her “la môme piaf,” or, “the little sparrow,” Piaf would later be a suspect when Leplée was murdered. She stood only four feet eight inches tall, claimed to be a part of the French Resistance while entertaining German Nazis at a nightclub in occupied France, and helped targeted individuals escape from Nazi persecution.

This song was released in 1941 for the movie Montmartre-sur-Seine and more recently appeared in Saving Private Ryan. It has been said that if she had been born as a black woman in the United States, she would have sung the blues. Her lyrics almost always surrounded her difficult upbringing and therefore represented a sad and lonely feeling. Below, an English translation of the lyrics to her song has been included to emphasize that her music was most definitely the blues.



Édith Piaf - Tu Es Partout (1941)

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Lyrics:

French Lyrics	English Lyrics
Nous nous aimions bien tendrement Comme s'aiment tous les amants Et puis un jour tu m'as quittee Depuis je suis desesperee Je te vois partout dans le ciel Je te vois partout sur la terre Tu es ma joie et mon soleil Ma nuit, mes jours, mes aubes claires Tu es partout car tu es dans mon coeur Tu es partout car tu es mon bonheur Toutes les choses qui sont autour de moi Meme la vie ne represente que toi Des fois je reve que je suis dans tes bras Et qu'a l'oreille tu me parles tout bas Tu dis des choses qui font fermer les yeux Et moi je trouve ca merveilleux Peut-etre un jour tu reviendras Je sais que mon coeur t'attendras Tu ne pourras pas oublier Les jours que nous avons passes Mes yeux te cherchent sans arret Ecoute bien mon coeur t'appelle Nous pourrons si bien nous aimer Tu verras la vie sera belle	We loved each other tenderly We loved like all lovers Then one day you left me Ever since, I’ve been desperate I see you everywhere in the sky I see you everywhere on the earth You are my joy and my sun My nights, my days, my clear dawns You are everywhere because you are in my heart You are everywhere because you are my happiness Everything that is around me Even life does not represent you Sometimes I dream that I am in your arms And you speak softly in my ears You say things that make me close my eyes And I find that marvelous Maybe one day you’ll return I know that my heart waits for you You cannot forget The past days we spent together My eyes never stop searching for you Listen well, my heart calls for you We can love each other again And you’ll see: life would be beautiful

Dave Mason & Cass Elliot - Something to Make You Happy (1970)

Having just recently removed himself from his psychedelic English group, Traffic, Dave Mason traveled to the United States. “Mama Cass,” Cass Elliot, of The Mamas and The Papas had already released two solo albums and was looking to get back into producing. The two were introduced to one another by a mutual friend, and they decided to work together professionally and release an album. Recorded in 1970 and released in 1971, that album, Dave Mason & Cass Elliot, reached number forty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, a moderate success.

From their only album came this song, the first single of two to be released. Co-written by Mason and Elliot, it is the only song on the album to have been written by both artists. Although each half of the duo expressed an interest in recording another album with one another, it would be their only collaborative effort. Mama Cass would pass away in 1974, just three short years after this album’s release.



Dave Mason & Cass Elliot - Something to Make You Happy (1970)

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Lyrics:

Laying here at night, I think of the love we made
Causing our mind and souls to fly
We talked to each other and silence was just a game
Seemed that we didn’t even have to try

We started the way we both had in mind to do
After a while, we went the wrong way
I tried to show you all the things that you needed to
Keep me in love and let me stay

La la la la la-la la-la
La la la la la la
La la la la la-la la-la
La la la la la

If all of our time is spent in misusing it
Nothing will come of what we say
Try to retain all the things that are near to us
Trying to love in a natural way

La la la la la-la la-la
La la la la la la

It comes from the heart, this love that I offer you
Don’t try and cage it like a wild beast
Love is as free as the spirits of destiny
Something to make you happy

La la la la la-la la-la
Something to make you happy
La la la la la-la la-la
Something to make you happy

The Shadows - Apache (1960)

The five years leading up to the music chart domination by The Beatles has been widely regarded as the “Before-Beatles” period. This group, also known as Cliff Richard and the Shadows, was the top UK group of that era. As John Lennon once said, “Before Cliff and the Shadows, there had been nothing worth listening to in British music.” Originally known as The Drifters, they had sixty-nine UK hit songs over a span of twenty-one years, with their most successful years occurring between 1960 and 1963. The group has featured numerous members and broken up on four occasions. As of their latest break-up in 2010, the group is still currently disbanded.

This song was written by the English songwriter Jerry Lordan. He initially gave the song to Bert Weedon, but was unhappy with the result. With that version’s release on hold, Lordan next taught the song to this group, who he was on tour with at the time. They were the first group to release the song (July 1960) and it went to number one in seven countries. Since, the song has found continued success from being covered or sampled by artists such as Jørgen Ingmann, the Incredible Bongo Band, The Sugarhill Gang, Sir Mix-A-Lot, and many others. Because the melody is now associated with classic hip hop, it’s nice to remember its roots.



The Shadows - Apache (1960)

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Lyrics:

(instrumental)

Peter Tosh w/Mick Jagger - (You Gotta Walk) Don't Look Back (1978)

Born Winston Hubert McIntosh, this reggae legend was a core member of The Wailers alongside Bob Marley and Bunny Livingston, as well as an accomplished solo artist. Raised by his aunt in Jamaica, Peter Tosh taught Marley and Livingston how to play guitar. A devout Rastafarian, he was responsible for writing (or co-writing) some of The Wailer’s most popular songs, including “Get Up, Stand Up,” “400 Years,” and “No Sympathy.” In 1973, a head on car-crash (not his fault) claimed the life of his girlfriend, Evonne, and fractured Tosh’s skull. Although he survived, it was said to have changed his personality and made him much more ill-tempered. Sadly, in 1987, Tosh was murdered by men who broke into his Jamaican home, attempting to rob and extort him.

This song, originally simplified “Don’t Look Back,” was written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White (members of The Miracles) for The Temptations. Originally released by The Temptations in 1965 and covered by Tosh’s Wailers in 1966, this reggae version of the song was released on Tosh’s 1978 solo album, Bush Doctor, noted for its marijuana-scented scratch-n-sniff sticker on the cover. The vocals are shared by Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones, while two other songs on the album, “Bush Doctor” and “Stand Firm,” featured The Rolling Stones’ Keith Richards on guitar.



Peter Tosh w/Mick Jagger - (You Gotta Walk) Don't Look Back (1978)

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Lyrics:

If it's love that you're runnin’ from
There is no hiding place
(You can't run, you can't hide, you can't run)

Just your problems; no one else's problems
You just have to face
(You can't run, you can't hide, you can't run)

So if you just put your hand in mine
We're gonna leave all our troubles behind
We gonna walk and don't look back
(Don't look back)
Gonna walk and don't look back
(Don't look back)

Now if your first lover let you down
There's somethin’ that can be done
(You can't run, you can't hide, you can't run)
Tell ‘er what to do, now

Don't heal your faith in love
Rememberin’ what's become
(You can't run, you can't hide, you can't run)
Oh, no

So if you just put your hand in mine
We're gonna leave all our troubles behind
We gonna walk and don't look back
(Don't look back)
Gonna walk and don't look back
(Don't look back)

If you just put your hand in mine
We're gonna leave all our troubles behind
We gonna walk and don't look back
(Don't look back)
Keep on walkin’
Gonna walk and don't look back
(Don't look back)

Places behind you
There to remind you

If your first lover broke your heart
Something can be done
(You can't run, you can't hide, you can't run)

Don't heal your faith in love
Rememberin’ what’s been lost
(You can't run, you can't hide, you can't run)

But if you just put your hand in mine
We're gonna leave all our troubles behind
We gonna walk and don't look back
(Don't look back)
We gonna walk and don't look back
(Don't look back)
Gonna walk and don’t look back!

How far you been walkin’, man?
About a hundred miles
(Keep on walkin’, don't look back)
You still got some more to walk, man
(Keep on walkin’, don't look back)
I know, go ahead and let it go
(Keep on walkin’, don't look back)
I'm gettin’ kinda tired, but I got to keep on walkin’
(Keep on walkin’, don't look back)
I'm walkin’ barefoot
(Keep on walkin’, don't look back)
You know…
(Keep on walkin’, don't look back)

Keep on walkin’
We got to walk and don't look back
(Keep on walkin’, don't look back)
A’keep on a’walkin’
We gonna walk and don't look back
(Keep on walkin’, don't look back)
A’keep on a’walkin’…