General Trees' Gone a Negril records his experiences on a trip to the town famous for tourism, but it is not the only song about a Jamaican destination.
'Cottage in Negril' by Tyrone Taylor
A standout, laid-back roots rocking reggae song about the delights of the tourist town, from which the singer is thinking about his missing love. Taylor sings "from a little cottage in Negril, I wrote these lines to you" in the chorus, the tale of longing continues with "gee whee I miss you, how my lips want to kiss you, called you on the phone, to my surprise you were not home". In the second verse there is a general description of happenings in Negril, with "some sniffing cocaine, some getting high licking the sensimilla pipe", closing with "sunset at the Rick's Café". Cottage in Negril has been done over by Duane Stephenson.
'Buff Bay' by Goofy
Deejay Goofy links the name of the Portland town with certain female physical attributes. He deejays "nobody cyaa tell me dem gal na com from Buff Bay, see dem inna shorts an me sure dem come from Buff Bay, see dem innaa tights an' me know dem come from Buff Bay", Nuff buff said.
'Sweet Life' by Cocoa Tea
The man from Clarendon sang about the joys of life "down in Montego Bay". On the 'foreign' side, Bobby Bloom also sang about "Montego Bay", harking back to a time of a long gone aeroplane:
"Vernon'll meet me when the Boac lands
Keys to the MG will be in his hands
Adjust to the driving, 'n' I'm on my way
It's all on the right side in Montego Bay ...
And he concludes:
"I'll lay on a lilo till I'm lobster red
I still feel the motion here at home in bed
I tell you it's hard for me to stay away
You ain't been till you been high in Montego Bay"
Montego Bay also gets mentioned in the Beach Boys' Kokomo.
- MC