the song is about an event that happened in JA in the fall of 1970. there was a story about a 3-wheeled coffin with three "crows" (a vulture in JA is commonly called a John Crow, the 3 "crows" atop a 3 wheeled coffin is an old bit of Jamaican folklore) running about the countryside, scaring the crap out of people.
some back story: at the time, the belief in the supernatural was very common among ordinary Jamaicans, especially those who came from the country. to this day, you can still find perfectly intelligent and reasonable people who insist that duppies, obeah, and spirits in general are all too real (allegedly, including a former PM)
the story started somewhere by word of mouth in the country somewhere, and soon the story spread...hence, the "from Mandeville to Sligoville" lyric.
by the time the story eventually reached Spanish Town and West Kingston, someone had "seen it", and the story became more embellished as time went on. at one point there were hundreds of people out looking for the coffin downtown around the Parade Square area, and even barging into the notorious Tivoli Gardens to have a look.
the three crows were apparently dressed in suits and asking people for a "Mr. Brown", people were fainting, a Spanish Town cop "shot at it", a boy's foot allegedly got run over by the coffin, etc. etc.... and yet no one could give a credible first hand account.
as one might imagine, this made for 1) great comedy, or 2) "rahhh-tid! serious bumbu-clot duppy business!", depending on your beliefs. it all made the Oct. 29, 1970 Gleaner, with a front page article describing the goings-on. there were other "Mr. Brown" songs put out at the time, since it was such a newsworthy "event".
every great once in a while, it's still possible to read of "duppy sightings" that make the paper. there was one back in 2010 of a boy in St. Catherine who was being bothered constantly by a spirit. newspaper and TV reports it just like regular news....
yikes... OK, settle down, drug conspiricists...
the song is about an event that happened in JA in the fall of 1970. there was a story about a 3-wheeled coffin with three "crows" (a vulture in JA is commonly called a John Crow, the 3 "crows" atop a 3 wheeled coffin is an old bit of Jamaican folklore) running about the countryside, scaring the crap out of people.
some back story: at the time, the belief in the supernatural was very common among ordinary Jamaicans, especially those who came from the country. to this day, you can still find perfectly intelligent and reasonable people who insist that duppies, obeah, and spirits in general are all too real (allegedly, including a former PM)
the story started somewhere by word of mouth in the country somewhere, and soon the story spread...hence, the "from Mandeville to Sligoville" lyric.
by the time the story eventually reached Spanish Town and West Kingston, someone had "seen it", and the story became more embellished as time went on. at one point there were hundreds of people out looking for the coffin downtown around the Parade Square area, and even barging into the notorious Tivoli Gardens to have a look.
the three crows were apparently dressed in suits and asking people for a "Mr. Brown", people were fainting, a Spanish Town cop "shot at it", a boy's foot allegedly got run over by the coffin, etc. etc.... and yet no one could give a credible first hand account.
as one might imagine, this made for 1) great comedy, or 2) "rahhh-tid! serious bumbu-clot duppy business!", depending on your beliefs. it all made the Oct. 29, 1970 Gleaner, with a front page article describing the goings-on. there were other "Mr. Brown" songs put out at the time, since it was such a newsworthy "event".
every great once in a while, it's still possible to read of "duppy sightings" that make the paper. there was one back in 2010 of a boy in St. Catherine who was being bothered constantly by a spirit. newspaper and TV reports it just like regular news....