"Pass the Dutchie" is a 1982 song performed by British-Jamaican

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

Musical Youth Musical Youth are a British-Jamaican reggae band formed in 1979 in Birmingham, England. They are best remembered for their 1982 single "Pass the Dutchie", which was a number 1 in multiple charts around the world. Their other hits include "Youth ...

, taken from their debut studio album, ''

The Youth of Today ''The Youth of Today'' is the first album from the British Jamaican reggae musical ensemble, band Musical Youth, released in 1982. The album includes the #1 UK hit "Pass the Dutchie" which also hit number 10 on the United States, US Billboard Hot ...

''. It was produced by Toney Owens from

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

. The song was a major hit, hitting number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, and at least five other international charts. It peaked at 10 in the United States and sold over 5 million copies worldwide.

Background

The song was the band's first release on a major label. Following a shouted intro taken from

U Roy Ewart Beckford OD (21 September 1942 – 17 February 2021), known by the stage name U-Roy, was a Jamaican vocalist and pioneer of toasting.Jo-Ann GreeneU-Roy Biography, AllMusic. Retrieved 11 April 2013. U-Roy was known for a melodic style ...

's "Rule the Nation" with words slightly altered, the track combined two songs: "Gimme the Music" by

U Brown Huford Brown (born 8 June 1956, Kingston, Jamaica), better known by the stage name U Brown, is a reggae deejay who released eleven albums between 1976 and 1984. Biography Brown grew up in Bond Street in Kingston, living two doors away from Du ...

, and "

Pass the Kouchie "Pass the Kouchie" is a 1981 Jamaican reggae song by the Mighty Diamonds. The song is based around Rastafarian use of cannabis via cannabis pipes. It was later adapted by the British-Jamaican group Musical Youth as "Pass the Dutchie". History " ...

" by

Mighty Diamonds The Mighty Diamonds were a Jamaican harmony trio, recording roots reggae with a strong Rastafarian influence. The group was formed in 1969 and were best known for their 1976 debut album, ''Right Time'', produced by Joseph Hoo Kim, and the 1979 ...

, which deals with the recreational use of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

( kouchie being slang for a cannabis pipe). For the cover version, the song's title was

bowdlerised Expurgation, also known as bowdlerization, is a form of censorship that involves purging anything deemed noxious or offensive from an artistic work or other type of writing or media. The term ''bowdlerization'' is a pejorative term for the practi ...

to "Pass the Dutchie", the new word being a

patois ''Patois'' (, pl. same or ) is speech or language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. As such, ''patois'' can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects or vernaculars, but not commonly to jargon or ...

term for a

Dutch oven A Dutch oven (not to be confused with masonry oven) is a thick-walled cooking pot with a tight-fitting lid. Dutch ovens are usually made of seasoned cast iron; however, some Dutch ovens are instead made of cast aluminium, or ceramic. Some metal ...

, a type of

cooking pot Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware ...

. All obvious drug references were removed from the lyrics; e.g., instead of the original "How does it feel when you got no herb?", the cover version refers to "food" instead. The song was first championed by radio DJ Zach Diezel and became an instant hit when it was picked up by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc., which later became part of Universal Music Group. Pre-history MCA Inc., a powerful talent agency and a television production company, entered the recorded music business in 1962 wit ...

in September 1982. It debuted at #26 on the UK chart and rose to #1 the following week. In February 1983, it reached #10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart in the USA. Though they would have subsequent Top 40 hits in other countries, "Pass the Dutchie" remains their only hit in the US. The song also scored the #1 position in at least five other countries, eventually selling more than five million copies worldwide. After the song was featured in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Prod ...

'' in 2022, it experienced a resurgence of popularity, re-entering a number of international charts.

Music video

The video, directed by

Don Letts Donovan "Don" Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band B ...

, was shot partly on the southern banks of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, by

Lambeth Bridge Lambeth Bridge is a road traffic and footbridge crossing the River Thames in an east–west direction in central London. The river flows north at the crossing point. Downstream, the next bridge is Westminster Bridge; upstream, the next bridge i ...

. It depicts the band performing the song and playing instruments. At the same time, a school official appears to arrest them, wherein he ends up falling down and breaking his arm. This footage is interspersed with courtroom scenes (featuring

Julian Firth Julian Firth (born 8 January 1961) is an English actor, best known for his roles as troubled inmate Davis in the cinematic version of the film '' Scum'' and as Brother Jerome in the long-running television series ''Cadfael''. Firth has enjoyed ...

), where the band is put on trial. The trial ends with the jury finding the band not guilty, leading them to celebrate in the courtroom.

Track listing

*7" single :A. "Pass the Dutchie" – 3:25 :B. "Please Give Love a Chance" – 3:36 *12" single :A. "Pass the Dutchie" – 6:05 :B. "Pass the Dutchie" (Special Dub Mix) – 4:40 *CD maxi single (1994) # "Pass the Dutchie" (Molella Mega Club Mix) – 4:20 # "Pass the Dutchie" (Molella Hard Ragga Mix) – 5:00 # "Pass the Dutchie" (Molella Radio Mix) – 3:40 # "Pass the Dutchie" (Original 7" Version) – 3:23 *Digital single (2008) # "Pass the Dutchie" (Exclusive Version) – 3:40 # "Pass the Dutchie" (Singalong Version) – 3:40 *Digital maxi single (2011) # "Pass the Dutchie" (Re-Recorded / Remastered) – 3:40 # "Pass the Dutchie" (Dubstep Kings Remix) – 4:05 # "Pass the Dutchie" (Singalong Version) – 3:40 # "Pass the Dutchie" (Dubstep Kings Instrumental Remix) – 4:05 *Digital single (2016) # "Pass the Dutchie" (Odjbox Remix) – 3:42 *Digital single (2019) # "Pass the Dutchie" (

Star Slinger Star Slinger (born Darren Williams) is an electronic music producer and DJ based in Manchester, UK, taking influences mainly from house and hip hop. Star Slinger first came to attention after self-releasing a beat tape in the summer of 2010 ent ...

Remix) – 3:42 *Digital single (2020) # "Pass the Dutchie 21" – 4:33

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

* The song was parodied by a band from the Seychelles Islands Dezil' under the title "Laisse tomber les filles (qui se maquillent)", and peaked at #13 in France and #47 in Switzerland in 2006.

References

{{Authority control 1982 debut singles 1982 songs Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Musical Youth songs Number-one singles in Australia Number-one singles in Israel Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Spain Number-one singles in Switzerland RPM Top Singles number-one singles Reggae fusion songs Song recordings produced by Peter Collins (record producer) UK Singles Chart number-one singles Ultratop 50 Singles (Flanders) number-one singles Songs involved in royalties controversies 2022 singles Music videos directed by Don Letts