Axis of Logic
Finding Clarity in the 21st Century Mediaplex

Music and Entertainment
Jimmy Cliff. "The Harder They Come."
By Jimmy Cliff. Axis of Logic
Axis of Logic
Wednesday, Dec 26, 2012

December 26, 2012 - For those who don't know, Jimmy Cliff, about 64 years old now, is a Jamaican musician and I think, an excellent actor. My rastafarian friends in Boston introduced me to his music years ago and word then was that Jimmy was Bob Marley's mentor. Whether true or not, he's considered by many to be the Father of Reggae. He produced the following music video from, The Harder They Come - a Jamaican crime film and as I remember it, the movie depicts the rich-poor schizm in the island country and a poor Jamaican who decided to make some money selling pot to tourists. He ran into the white-backed-black mafia that controlled the sale of marijuana, one of the things for which Jamaican tourism is famous and it goes on from there. But please don't depend on my memory - I saw it what? about 30 years ago? I think you'd like the movie very much ... but of course, only if you can view it with an open mind and have the bread. It costs less than 8 bucks and it's worth any penny. Otherwise, hopefully some of you tech-pirates have other means. I'll throw in the lyrics below for free :-)

- Les Blough in Venezuela

The Harder They Come

Well they tell me of a pie up in the sky
Waiting for me when I die
But between the day you're born and when you die
They never seem to hear even your cry

So as sure as the sun will shine
I'm gonna get my share now of what's mine
And then the harder they come the harder they'll fall, one and all
Ooh the harder they come the harder they'll fall, one and all

Well the officers are trying to keep me down
Trying to drive me underground
And they think that they have got the battle won
I say forgive them Lord, they know not what they've done

ooh yeah oh yeah woh yeah ooooh

And I keep on fighting for the things I want
Though I know that when you're dead you can't
But I'd rather be a free man in my grave
Than living as a puppet or a slave

Yeah, the harder they come, the harder they'll fall one and all
What I say now, what I say now, awww
What I say now, what I say one time
The harder they come the harder they'll fall one and all
Ooh the harder they come the harder they'll fall one and all

And if you want more - Jimmy's I can see clearly now with all-Jamaican images, from the island's scenic splendor to the beautiful people and scenes from the Jamaican national bobsleigh team in international bobsledding competitions. The latter is another movie worth seeing, Cool Runnings