“Stir It Up” by Johnny Nash
As noted in the trivia section, “Stir It Up” was actually penned by Bob Marley. And he wrote it specifically for the apple of his eye, that being Rita Marley. Or succinctly put, this is a love song. And the dominant phrase “stir it up” is what can be deemed as a mildly-ambiguous metaphor. But ultimately, it very much leads to the idea of making love.
So in entreating the addressee to “stir it up”, what the singer is fundamentally doing is inviting her to partake of some private intimacy with him. Indeed his entire disposition towards her is fueled by the fact that at times he becomes “thirsty” and “hot”. And as he has estimated, she is the only one who can “quench” and ‘cool him down’.
So again, any experienced adult would know what Johnny Nash is talking about. The language used throughout is allegorical, but at the same its meaning is quite obvious. And even though the wording is clearly amorous in nature, the way it is presented is tasteful and artistic. And that may be one of the reasons why “Stir It Up” overall has remained so popular throughout the years.
Facts about “Stir It Up”
This is a song which many people rightfully associate with the late Bob Marley (1945-1981). For it was actually Jah Bob who wrote this classic, in addition to recording a couple of versions himself. And all things considered, his rendition of the tune is more-recognizable than that of Johnny Nash.
Johnny and Bob Marley were regular collaborators. And even though, as aforementioned, more people are familiar with the latter’s version of “Stir It Up”, the former’s cover, which he produced himself, performed better chart-wise. For instance, it made it up to number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 13 on the UK Singles Chart. And overall, it appeared on music charts in three different continents.
Indeed the success of Nash’s rendition of “Stir It Up” marked the first time Bob Marley ever scored a hit song outside of his homeland of Jamaica. And that is kinda ironic considering that the Tuff Gong didn’t really appreciate Nash doing reggae music.
“Stir It Up” by Johnny Nash is categorized under the rocksteady genre. In fact Nash employed a reggae band from Jamaica known as Fabulous Five Inc. to lay down the instrumentals to this song. And for the record, rocksteady is a brand of popular music developed in Jamaica during the late-1960s that was a successor to ska and a predecessor to reggae itself.
Most of us in the 70s were first introduced to real Reggae music through Johnny Nash’s songs like ‘Stir It Up’. In fact, for me, Nash’s version of the song was and is far better than Bob’s because Bob’s 1973 version from the ‘Catch A Fire’ album appears like an afterthought, envious reaction to the passionate and international success of Nash’s version. Of course, I can’t even stand Bob’s original 1967 ska version which was essentially unknown because that has absolutely no groove. All in all, Nash’s ‘Stir It Up’ dominated my childhood, and, even though, it was written by Bob Marley, has continued to endear Johnny Nash to me. I emotionally associate ‘Stir It Up’ with Johnny Nash alone. May Nash’s soul rest in peace.