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Sweet And Dandy Lyrics
Etty in the room a cry
Mama say she must wipe her eye
Papa say she no fi foolish
Like she never been to school at all
It is no wonder
It's a perfect ponder
While they were dancing in that bar room last night
Johnson in the room afret
Uncle say he must hold up him head
Aunty say she no fi foolish
Like a no time fi him wedding day
It is no wonder
It's a perfect ponder
While they were dancing in that bar room last night
One pound ten for the wedding cake
Plenty bottle of kola wine
All the people them dress up in a white
Fi go eat out Johnson wedding cake
It is no wonder
It's a perfect ponder
While they were dancing in that bar room last night, yeah, yeah
Etty in the room a cry
Mama say she must wipe her eye
Papa say she no fi foolish
Like she never been to school at all
It is no wonder
It's a perfect ponder
While they were dancing in that bar room last night
Johnson in the room afret
Uncle say he must hold up him head
Aunty say she no fi foolish
Like a no time fi him wedding day
It is no wonder
It's a perfect ponder
While they were dancing in that bar room last night
One pound ten for the wedding cake
Plenty bottle of kola wine
All the people them dress up in a white
Fi go eat out Johnson wedding cake
It is no wonder
It's a perfect ponder
While they were dancing in that bar room last night, yeah, yeah
Yeah there was sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Oh, sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy, sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy, sweet and dandy
Mama say she must wipe her eye
Papa say she no fi foolish
Like she never been to school at all
It is no wonder
It's a perfect ponder
While they were dancing in that bar room last night
Uncle say he must hold up him head
Aunty say she no fi foolish
Like a no time fi him wedding day
It is no wonder
It's a perfect ponder
While they were dancing in that bar room last night
One pound ten for the wedding cake
Plenty bottle of kola wine
All the people them dress up in a white
Fi go eat out Johnson wedding cake
It is no wonder
It's a perfect ponder
While they were dancing in that bar room last night, yeah, yeah
Mama say she must wipe her eye
Papa say she no fi foolish
Like she never been to school at all
It is no wonder
It's a perfect ponder
While they were dancing in that bar room last night
Uncle say he must hold up him head
Aunty say she no fi foolish
Like a no time fi him wedding day
It is no wonder
It's a perfect ponder
While they were dancing in that bar room last night
One pound ten for the wedding cake
Plenty bottle of kola wine
All the people them dress up in a white
Fi go eat out Johnson wedding cake
It is no wonder
It's a perfect ponder
While they were dancing in that bar room last night, yeah, yeah
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy
Oh, sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy
There was sweet and dandy, sweet and dandy
Sweet and dandy, sweet and dandy
Song Info
Submitted by
badphish On Jan 24, 2006
More Toots And The Maytals
Pressure Drop
Pomp And Pride
Revolution
Monkey Man
54-46 That's My Number
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
scrappy123, I think you're wrong about the family's skepticism. It's about the nerves of Johnson and Ettie before their wedding: She is crying and he is fretting in their rooms. Their families are reassuring them.
Ettie is being calmed by her mother, and being told by her father that she mustn't act foolish, as if she's never been to school. The first verse is about Ettie, not Johnson, and she has been to school, but her father is saying she is acting as if she hasn't.
Johnson is told by his uncle to hold up his head, and his aunty is saying he can't act foolish as if it's not his wedding day. The guests are dressed up and waiting to celebrate, and in the end everything is sweet and dandy.
Agree with you about the lyric generally, but can someone explain " it's a perfect pander" ? Why pander is it a dialect thing or what? mowers
Agree with you about the lyric generally, but can someone explain " it's a perfect pander" ? Why pander is it a dialect thing or what? mowers
i think the lyrics are wrong there. its supposed to be "it's a perfect wonder"
i think the lyrics are wrong there. its supposed to be "it's a perfect wonder"
whoops my bad, lol, was just thinking in my head and completely forgot the actual lyrics! sorry, but i'm afraid i can't help you with "pander"
whoops my bad, lol, was just thinking in my head and completely forgot the actual lyrics! sorry, but i'm afraid i can't help you with "pander"
Don't you think "pander" (as it is written here) is more likely to be 'ponder'? As in, to ponder the meaning or reason of something. It goes well as a simple emphasis of the previous line.
Don't you think "pander" (as it is written here) is more likely to be 'ponder'? As in, to ponder the meaning or reason of something. It goes well as a simple emphasis of the previous line.
The spelling "pander" could either be a mis-hearing, mis-typing or just the more common patois spelling of 'ponder'.
The spelling "pander" could either be a mis-hearing, mis-typing or just the more common patois spelling of 'ponder'.
I always thought i t was "He's a perfect partner"! As he made up his mind about the wedding drama ("am i ready for this kind of commitment?") and everything went well in the end...! Since it´s jamaican patois, most people are not used to understanding english with this accent and tend to translate in many ways. I´ve seen this as "partner", "pander"... it´s actually "ponder" - as it is written on the inside of the original vinil record. Oh, and it also says this tune won the 1969 Jamaica Song Festival.
It says: "The main characters in the song are a young couple about to get married but who are having second thoughts, even as the weeding guests wait to drink and make merry. It´s a brilliant concept and written with a fine eye of detail.
"When you finish schooling, you´re supposed to come out with knowledge, whether it´s writting songs or writting a love letter, said toots. "You learn about people, and that´s what I did. I say Im going to write this song and make a hit of it because because all these people were invited to the wedding of a guy named Johnson and this girl Etty, and it neve work out like it should. I wrote this song off one of my nieces whose name was Etta, so I just change it round and say ´Etty in her room a cry, mama say she must wipe her eye. Papa say she no fi foolish, like she´s never been to school at all´... then I say, ´It is no wonder, it's a perfect ponder,wWhile they were dancing in that bar room last night...".
[Edit: wrongful spelling]
A simple song about the drama of weddings, and a family's skepticism of a young couples marriage. Some of the lyrics are wrong, and the first verse is about the man (Johnson) never having been to school, not Etty.
One of the greatest songs ever in raggae. I plan to get married to this song...
A simple song about the drama of weddings, and a family's skepticism of a young couples marriage. Some of the lyrics are wrong, and the first verse is about the man (Johnson) never having been to school, not Etty.
One of the greatest songs ever in raggae. I plan to get married to this song...
One of the first songs that got me into Reggae around 1976. I was a kid about 12 years old. I thought the lingo was so strange - almost like it wasn't English. But I liked the music. It was on soundtrack to The Harder They Come.
I love roots reggae.