regabilly hill

[BamaBreezer]

I definitely think it has religious undertones, but nontheless, I relly like the song.

[nutmeg]

I saw where someone else posted that they thought it was about a volcano. That was my first impression too. But all the other comments make sense too.

Guess we need to have the writer join BN and enlighten us!

[RinglingRingling]

I gotta go with the slaughter/genocide imagery myself.

[Quiet and Shy]

I did some internet searching on Michael Garrett and couldn't come up with anything meaningful. The song was written back in '83, so I suppose he could be deceased??

Michael Garrett is alive and well.

Can anyone figure out how to track him down to ask?

[RinglingRingling]

I did some internet searching on Michael Garrett and couldn't come up with anything meaningful. The song was written back in '83, so I suppose he could be deceased??

Michael Garrett is alive and well.

Can anyone figure out how to track him down to ask?

he probably doesn't have a personal jet....

[sonofabeach]

I gotta go with the slaughter/genocide imagery myself.

True, it sounds like there might be an execution or two in there.

[jonesbeach10]

I asked my mom (PH) on this, and she thought of maybe it relates to some country (most likely with a large gap between the rich and poor) getting over a war.

I'm still sticking to my theory that it has something to do with the recovery effort of NOLA after Katrina.

[MNflyBoy]

The lyrics in this song sound like the connection between a performer and the crowd, as well as the individual connection between fans through the artist's music.

"hungry little children ate until they had their fill...."

That lyric in the song just sounds like people taking in or "'eating up" as much of the music as possible

[Pleasin & Teasin]

Can anyone figure out how to track him down to ask? {Michael garret}

Googled him, found his web site and have sent a message asking about the lyrics....and telling him how much we admire his song....if I get a reply, I will report

[conched]

Can anyone figure out how to track him down to ask? {Michael garret}

Googled him, found his web site and have sent a message asking about the lyrics....and telling him how much we admire his song....if I get a reply, I will report

Is he the rocker in California? That's the only one I could find.

http://www.michaelgarrett.net/index1.htm
I'm sure this isn't THE Michael Garrett in the photo with Emmylou.

[Burnie]

From Michael Garrett to BN ‘ers.

In 1982 I came home from work to what sounded like Bill Monroe on
helium and acid on the record player. My kids, 5, 3, and 2 years old at the time, were jumping around playing Bob Marley's Stir It Up at 78 rpm. I had an instantaneous vision of Marley, the Wailers & I-Threes sharing a stage and microphones with Bill Monroe & The Bluegrass Boys at some post-apocalyptic festival paradise ladder to heaven.
Later that night at the laundromat it all got hammered into a song.
Now 24 years later I am honored with this recording.
My thanks go to my sweetheart, Dee, for her love and support.
Thanks to the kids, Amanda, Jesse and Annie not only for speeding up the record player but for being good, kind people who continue
to inspire me.
Thanks to Jared Tyler for including the song on his debut, Blue Alleluia, produced by Russ Titelman. Thanks to Russ for taking it to Jimmy.
Thanks to Jimmy, Mac and Mike and all the players and singers.
Great job on the track!
Thanks to Jimmy’s phlock for enjoying and taking an interest in the song.
It has been very interesting reading this discussion.
Every interpretation brings out a different aspect of what I envisioned and felt when I wrote the song. The meaning continues to unfold, even for me.
Do you remember the old tale of the blind men and the elephant?
You know, they all had a grasp on different parts of the elephant. One thought the elephant was like a tree because he had his arms around a leg. The one holding the tail thought an elephant was like a rope. Another held the trunk and declared the creature like a hose. Holding on to an ear, yet another exclaimed that the elephant was like a fan….
Songs are bigger than songwriters, and I feel like I’m just one of the blind men.

For me it was like a movie, part Mad Max, part Logan’s Run, part Close Encounters… It was the Reagan era and the threat of nuclear winter seemed imminent. I saw the survivors heading towards the equator and coming together
at this place where for one brief shining moment, humans unite and hold all things in common and take care of one another as they one by one shuffle
off this mortal coil.

Jimmy got it exactly right about the musicological aspect when he was talking about American radio stations (including WSM and the Grand Ole Opry) being broadcast into the Caribbean. (the Bob Marley/Bill Monroe image.)

Conched – You’re right in that I had never talked to Jimmy about the meaning.

Backbeat- You’re right about the epic event aspect, and you also said it might be made up. On another thread you also picked up on the 7/4 verse quirkiness.

Jones Beach 10- The theme of coming together through catastrophe is central and after Katrina I remember seeing that interpretation myself.
Hippolyte- In the movie in my mind, the end of the class system was definitely a strong element. And to your son, he’s right as well in that the results of aggression and power are the same throughout time. From ancient tribal times to Babylon to Rome to the colonial powers to modern day Rome (the USA), the blood of innocents flows through history.

Green 1- You’re right, the Adoration of the Everlasting Will is at the core of this vision. And stigmata are one possibility for the wound that would not heal.

Sonofabeach- Thank you, you got it on the most elemental level of all, pure musicality.
I also love the vocals.

Scarlet B- Again, the core speaks.

Soroya- I agree. This song seems to expand its meaning to fit the needs of the listener. And it does have nothing to do with Christianity, though it has everything to do with the themes in Jesus’ own story, as well as our own.

Coconuts- 24 years and I don’t really understand it, either.

Rain Tree- I hope this sheds light for you.

Conched- This one amazes me. I have to admit, I was not aware of this event, but the parallels are so intriguing. If I had to invent a meaning to the song, this would be it. Thanks for the information.

Wino you know- Thank you…a LOT.

Drluk- Fire…blood…sand… ocean… another very poignant connection to an actual historical event with suffering and people coming together to take care of one another. Amazing.

LIPH- Thanks for perhaps the most profound comment of all.

Schoolgirl Heart- I agree. And I think the picture we draw with a song is like a line sketch which the listener fills in with their own shading and color.

Carolinadreamin’- Totally. Word association… procession…processional…the song “Pomp and Circumstance”…”Pomp and Pride” by Toots and the Maytals, one of my favorite tunes and now that I think about it, a not too distant relative of “Reggabilly Hill”.

Couganata- Lava is definitely an image that fits both the chorus and last verse.
Having been burned on nearly half my body since I wrote the song, this meaning has significant resonance for me.

Pleasin’ and Teasin’- As above, yes with the themes and I continue to be amazed at historical parallels with a number of events.

Quiet and Shy- It’s a wonder I’m not deceased. And Jimmy has captured the mysticism well.

Wanderingtoes- I’m glad the song keeps drawing you back in. Thanks.

BamaBreezer- I’m glad you like it in spite of any meaning it may or may not have.

Nutmeg- Responding to your call.

RinglingRingling- Yes again. Unfortunately, slaughter and genocide are never that far away, are they?

Mnflyboy- Yes. Based on this mythical concert, the music is the message.
I like the hungry for music idea.

Conched- Not the rocker in California. A house painter in Arkansas with no web presence.

Thanks to smlchng for moderating.

Thanks to everybody for participating in this discussion.

Michael Garrett

[chippewa]

From Michael Garrett to BN ‘ers.

In 1982 I came home from work...

...Michael Garrett

How kewl was that?
Nice job!

[LIPH]

From Michael Garrett to BN ‘ers.

From one BN'er to Michael Garrett - thanks for a great song.

[SMLCHNG]

From Michael Garrett to BN ‘ers.
In 1982 I came home from work...
...Michael Garrett

How kewl was that?
Nice job!

Very.

[Pleasin & Teasin]

WOW!!! We got a whole lot more than we expected.

WOW!! Facinating, and how kind of Mr Garrett to respond to each of us...I'm just blown away!!

If we didnt find HIM, I wonder how the devil he found US?? But great that he did! Sure makes you wonder what else he has written?????????? Maybe Burnie can tell us?????? I suspect, as Mr Garrett said he had had severe burns, that 'Burnie' may be Mr. Garrett

And someone should make sure Mr. Buffett sees this explanation....I'm sure he'll be interested

[YuppieParrothead]

Amazing what this BN group can accomplish. Thanks for tracking him down. Was truly incredible to read some meaning into a song from the writer himself. This is easily my favorite cover from Jimmy in many, many albums. I find myself listening to this song more than any other on the album and was the first on the album that I learned all of the words to. Thank you for writing such a wonderful song. I'm glad we have all been introduced to it so many years later.

[~Hippolyte~]

It was this line, "a river of blood flowed down" that made my almost 12 year-old son ask if it had to do with Rome or Roman history.

These lines, "The ones who had it all and the ones who’d made a name, were walkin’ side by side with the naked and the lame. Hungry little children ate until they had their fill." made me wonder if it has to do with the contrast in class that befalls so many of the Caribbean islands??

From Michael Garrett to BN ‘ers.....

Hippolyte- In the movie in my mind, the end of the class system was definitely a strong element. And to your son, he’s right as well in that the results of aggression and power are the same throughout time. From ancient tribal times to Babylon to Rome to the colonial powers to modern day Rome (the USA), the blood of innocents flows through history.

.....Michael Garrett

I am SO letting my son know he had a good insight to the song and it's meaning. He didn't even know we were all talking about it. He's just listened to the song with me and started talking about what he thought and how it related to what he learned at school.

HE'S LEARNING!!!!

[Soraya]

I asked my mom (PH) on this, and she thought of maybe it relates to some country (most likely with a large gap between the rich and poor) getting over a war.

I'm still sticking to my theory that it has something to do with the recovery effort of NOLA after Katrina.

There are many similarities between the two (NOLA suffers from the same large socio-economic gap) that you couldn’t apply the symbolism of the song to both.

[Couganata]

Thank you for sharing this with all of us! We are all honoured to have this information! Wonderful Song and tonight on my way home from work I will play it and think that its creator!

Take care!

Cougs!

[LIPH]

BTW, I think that's the first time my name and profound have ever been used in the same sentence.