“Pass the Dutchie” by Musical Youth
The meaning of “Pass the Dutchie” may come off as being a bit confusing, shall we say, due to the fact that it is actually a somewhat-impromptu combination of a couple of tracks by other artists which preceded it. But just for the record, the titular “dutchie” which the boys are asking to be passed was actually a slang term for a cooking pot. And accordingly, what the song primarily focuses on is the singer(s) apparently being hungry. Secondly, being that one of the aforementioned tracks (“Gimme the Music” by U Brown) is more of a party song, there are also quite a few references to dancing contained in “Pass the Dutchie”.
The other song which is interpolated into this classic is called “Pass the Kouchie”. The said track, succinctly put, is about the vocalists sharing a “grass” spliff. Moreover in places like late 20th century America, the word Dutch became a colloquial term for a “grass” blunt (having nothing to do with song). So those are the logical reasons (on top of this indeed being a reggae tune) that many people may have presumed that “Pass the Dutchie” is about weed. But these are youth after all, which is why the lyrics were modified to reflect a desire for food as opposed to herb.
Facts about “Pass the Dutchie”
This track is from a band called Musical Youth, who despite of Jamaican origin were actually form in England. It is the signature tune of the short-lived and somewhat tragic group. It was actually the only single from their maiden album, “The Youth of Today”.
MCA Records released the tune on 17 September 1982.
This song was a big international hit. In fact in peaking at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was perhaps the first track to usher in the mainstream acceptance of reggae music in the States. For instance, it was the main impetus in Musical Youth receiving a Best New Artist Grammy nomination in 1984.
And the song’s music video, which had Don Letts as its director, holds the distinction of being the first song by Black artists to receive regular airplay on MTV. Musical Youth were also the first black band interviewed by Music Television.
Additionally, owing to the massive success of this classic, the boys got to meet A+ list celebrities such as the following:
- Michael Jackson
- Prince
- James Brown
- Paul McCartney
“Pass the Dutchie” was even more successful in Musical Youth’s homeland, where it topped the UK Singles Chart. And it also reached number 1 in almost 10 other countries, including Canada.
Writing of “Pass the Dutchie”
This classic was written by the pair of Jackie Mittoo and Leroy Sibbles. The song samples, but perhaps we can more accurately serves as a cover, of a 1981 track by a true Jamaican band, Mighty Diamonds, entitled “Pass the Kouchie” (1981). That is to say that the lyrics between the two songs are fundamentally the same, albeit “Pass the Kouchie” being about weed.
Where lyrical differences occur is where Musical Youth rather use wording from another song in the chorus. And that song is the aforementioned U Brown’s “Gimme the Music”, which was apparently first released during the 1970s.
Royalty Issues
As alluded to earlier despite the mega success of “Pass the Dutchie”, Musical Youth went on to have it quite rough. This was partially due to the fact that they were gypped out of royalties, accordingly filing a number of lawsuits amongst the surviving members reaching adulthood. And whereas they were not always successful in court, they did ultimately reach a settlement with their label.
BARK BARK BARF MEOW NEIIIGHHHHHHHH
A dutchie is a little cart for street vendors.