Comments on: Draw Your Brakes–A Jamaican Creole Shout

By: Steve Cotler

Steve Cotler — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:45:49 +0000

Your interpretation is imaginative, but I’m more confident about the academic’s research on the patois.

By: emme

emme — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 20:29:20 +0000

I spent a lot of time in Jamaica a long time ago. I always took these lyrics a bit literally and thought “forward and fiaca” translated as “forward and fire car (as in train car)”, “menacle” meaning manacle or lock the cars together and “den gosaka” – well, I never was got sure about that part, I liked to think it meant “go southward” but in patois it could be anything. But anyone who has listened to the song for the last 40 years is pretty sure that it is “fiaca” and “menacle.”

By: Paul E K

Paul E K — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:06:26 +0000

Yeeeees! I was just listening to this song and FINALLY I remembered to look this intro up(it only took me 8 years…haha)

Well done!

By: Natureboy

Natureboy — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 12:56:55 +0000

Thanks for this. Ras Yodahe’s comment is illuminating, stop that train indeed. I always thought it was ‘Manacle’ as in handcuffs, not ‘Manhangle’.

What prompted a search for this was here on Cape Cod, lots of Jamaicans are working summer jobs, (lotsa ‘rhydim’ a gwan on, ta raas!) I actually asked the meaning of this phrase last night after 35 years, and someone actually knew! He said it was the ‘old slang’, but I still wanted to confirm…

I think I read that ‘novelization’ in a hammock in Negril about 25 years ago, was that the one that used the term ‘Riggin’? Always wondered what that meant (‘raging’?).

I miss Reggae (or was that what they used to call Rocksteady?)

By: Ras Yodahe

Ras Yodahe — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:59:47 +0000

And I forgot to say kudos
Thanks for your work

By: Ras Yodahe

Ras Yodahe — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 10:53:33 +0000

The song is about the singer’s girl going away for another man, and hence, “go and take away a next man’s girl, grab her and then go have sex with her.” is a message intended to the one who stole his girl, to the one his girl is running to.
Do not say it was a message inteded for pimps. If anything, it reinforces the song’s main theme.

By: Steve Cotler

Steve Cotler — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:50:18 +0000

Thanks. I’ll check it out. Novelizations, of course, are always written after the film and, as such, can patch things up.

By: Brian Phillips

Brian Phillips — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:43:23 +0000

Thanks for the cameo information. I like the film, I’ve seen it several times. I will look for those people when I see it next time.

It’s sad that Cliff refused to make any movies after that, because he was proud of his work in THTC, only to end up in the dreadful, “Club Paradise”.

By: Brian Phillips

Brian Phillips — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 21:35:22 +0000

The movie is decidedly rough and it is also known as one of the first ENGLISH language movies to need English subtitles. If you want a fuller version of the story, read the novelization of the film by Michael Thelwell. It starts out back in Ivan’s village and fleshes out a lot of characters. A fantastic read!

By: Stuart Salsbury

Stuart Salsbury — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 23:09:33 +0000

I’m so glad I found this post. Thank you! I’ll stop saying this to people unless I mean it!!! Yikes!