It Mek

Does anyone know what the heck the Desmond Dekker song "It Mek" is about? You can listen to it here (and you should do so, because it's an amazing song), and the lyrics are here (accurate but phonetically transcribed) Is the person who's shamming being hurt (the "you") also the "she" who's "crying out fe ice water"? I mean, I assume so. So some chick is pretending to get hurt falling off a wall, and cries out for ice water, but then when he does get to her she's "cold." Insufficiently grateful? But...what...and the goat...? Help me out here, people.

Comments

[Nakku]

Well, the nanny goat, I don't know.
But she's not 'cold' (no matter what the lyrics say), she's 'cool', as in not hurt. Anyway, I say you don't question Desmond. He knows what it's all about.

[Joe Victor]

I think it's about seeing his little sister fall off a wall and hurt herself. "It mek" means "it hurts."

[Anatoly Vorobey]

On some reflection, perhaps it's about his indifference to her getting hurt, because even though he checked her our and dug her, she was cold to him.

So let her run around wildly and fall and cry for ice water; he warned her before (the goat line - when a goat runs around wildly he'll drop on his belly - I think he sings "drop belly down", not "belly good") once and twice, but it's no use; but she's cold to him anyway, so whatever.

It's either that, or he digs her cold body out the ground and she becomes a zombie and runs away to jump over walls.

[Anatoly Vorobey]

"Ah it mek" itself seems to mean "so that's why" according to Wikipedia and some other pages; it makes sense because "mek" is the widest sense of make/let in the patois.

[belle waring]

OK, that makes sense, I hadn't thought of it as maybe happening to kids and that's his sister, and it seemed like a bizarre interaction for a boyfriend/girlfriend pair. I agree he's saying "cool, girl" not "cold, girl." whenever the girls fall down Tena's reaction is "you see! always like that one!" which means, I told you if you did x you would fall down, i.e. it mek.

[Jon Mandle]

For what it's worth, the liner notes to "Rockin' Steady" say: "The phrase 'A It Mek' was a common Jamaican school-yard taunt, loosely translated as 'That's what you get.' The song used a poignant native proverb in the lyrics: 'What a sweet nanny-goat a go run him belly' (roughly, what a nanny-goat likes, he will overeat and he will thus get the runs). The moral: if you like something, don't do it too much."

[Davis X. Machina]

Now that that's cleared up, anyone want to tackle the lyrics of "Draw Your Brakes"?

Forward and fiaca
Menacle and den gosaca.

[belle waring]

yeah, no idea there! I've wondered about that since I was a little kid.

[Robert Halford]

It appears to mean "let's go steal somebody's girlfriend, manhandle her, and then get it on." At least, according to this:

http://stevecotler.com/tales/2008/09/20/draw-your-brakes-a-jamaican-creole-shout/

[Robert Halford]

It appears to mean "let's go steal somebody's girlfriend, manhandle her, and then get it on." At least, according to this:

http://stevecotler.com/tales/2008/09/20/draw-your-brakes-a-jamaican-creole-shout/

[Robert Halford]

It appears to mean "let's go steal somebody's girlfriend, manhandle her, and then get it on." At least, according to this:

http://stevecotler.com/tales/2008/09/20/draw-your-brakes-a-jamaican-creole-shout/

[Robert Halford]

Whoops.

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[Hoots]

It mek means: that's the reason

[gene krupa]

"What sweet nanny goat a go run him belly" evidently is a cautionary proverb meaning "what's sweet to the nanny goat will ruin his belly". It may seem good now, but...

[Laurasilver]

I heard this played by Cerys Matthews on BBC Radio 6 and can't stop listeneing to it - LOVE IT.

To me it says "You do it to yourself" followed by "fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me".

I think these things (falling over, having a hangover) are being done to draw attention to herself, and he is the sweet nanny goat rubbing her belly good : )

[Laurasilver]

Reading the other comments, I think that's right about her being cold - I think he does say 'cold' - yet crying out for ice water.

Mek is 'make' - what you do is what makes it happen. "you do it to yourself" is still the best way I can think of to translate 'a it mek' (in Lancashire dialect that might he she makes it happen) (but with a = uh = her).

[Swoles]

Isn't it about taking a girls virginity?