Description

One day Joseph Hill had a vision, while riding a bus, of 1977 as a year of judgement- when two sevens clash- when past injustices would be avenged, a vision rooted in prophecies made by Marcus Garvey. Lyrics and melodies came into his head as he rode and thus was born the song “Two Sevens Clash, ” which became a massive hit in reggae circles both in Jamaica and abroad.

The prophecies noted by the lyrics so profoundly captured the imagination of the people that on July 7, 1977- the day when sevens fully clashed (seventh day, seventh month, seventy-seventh year) a hush descended on Kingston; many people did not go outdoors, shops were closed, an air of foreboding and expectation permeated the city. The song opens with a wailing, harmonized chorus: “What a liv an bamba yay… when the two sevens clash!” creating expectation for Hill’s frenzied testifying. Culture was singing a new kind of hymn with soaring melodies, prophetic lyrics relating great historical events to present suffering, com