“Wa-Do-Dem” is a Jamaican Patois phrase. Eek-A-Mouse gave his own translation in a 1982 interview with the UK music paper Sounds. He called the phrase patois “saying ‘what’s the matter with them?'”
The song, a 1980s Eek-A-Mouse classic, uses the phrase to answer people who mocked a couple because she was short and he was tall. Eek-A-Mouse said the story came from his own life.
The True Story Behind the Song
When Sounds asked in 1982 whether the song was a true story, Eek-A-Mouse said yes. He explained that his girlfriend “is short, four feet eleven, and every time we walk on the road people always jeer us. He summed it up with “Reality, mon.”
His own height is the other half of the joke. In the same interview he described himself as “Six feet six inches above sea level.”
The figure of 6 feet 6 inches also appears in his Reggaeville biography, and a 2007 Jamaica Gleaner profile noted that his 6’6 is far from mousey and neither is his persona.
Lyrics Explained
This article does not reproduce the lyrics, but the story is simple. The narrator says he loves his “virgin girl,” praises how she dresses and carries herself, and notes that she doesn’t worship material possessions such as diamonds or pearls.
In the verses, the couple walk and talk around Kingston while onlookers laugh at the difference in their heights.
The repeated “a wa do dem” line is the narrator asking what is wrong with those people. He follows it by saying he does not know.
Writers have read the song in slightly different ways. One lyric guide calls the chorus a playful response to anyone who might criticize their relationship.
In a June 2009 essay for Perfect Sound Forever, Eric Doumerc grouped it with Eek-A-Mouse’s satirical songs about Jamaican habits, singling out gossiping with “Wa Do Dem”.
Some online explainers go further and describe it as commentary on poverty, corruption and inequality.
That reading does not match Eek-A-Mouse’s 1982 account, in which he called it a personal story about a height difference.
The Sound: Scatting and the Singjay Style
The way the song is sung matters as much as the words. Doumerc pointed out that the “lyrics” are mainly made up of scat-like improvisations which are reminiscent of Cab Calloway’s style and of Slim Gaillard’s language.
According to the 1982 Sounds feature, ‘Wa Do Dem’ is often seen as the first example of singjay. Eek-A-Mouse rejected the label in that interview: “But I no singjay, nor toast nor deejay.”
Release History: Two Versions
Sources agree there were two recordings of “Wa-Do-Dem,” but they disagree on some details.
Reggaeville’s biography says “Wah Do Dem” was the 1980 single that made his name in Jamaica, and that it and “Modelling Queen” were produced by singer Linval Thompson and issued on his Thompson Sound label in Jamaica.
AllMusic also credits the original to Linval Thompson. Doumerc’s 2009 essay, however, credits the 1980 hit to producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes.
Reggaeville and ReggaeCollector both say the song was kept off Jamaican radio because it was considered “too controversial.” Even so, ReggaeCollector reports that ‘Wa Do Dem’ was a huge hit and the UK release was also a massive seller.
AllMusic’s review says Eek-A-Mouse had hooked up with producer Henry “Junjo” Lawes in late 1980, and that a re-recording of “Wa-Do-Dem” (originally produced by Linval Thompson), rocketed the DJ to the top of the dancehall rat pack, leading to a string of hits.
Reggaeville adds that, backed by the Roots Radics, Eek cut “Virgin Girl” and “Noah’s Ark,” before having another go at “Wa-Do-Dem,” for Greensleeves. ReggaeCollector says the new version came out on Volcano in Jamaica and on Greensleeves in the UK.
The Wa-Do-Dem Album
The song is also the title track of the Greensleeves album. Its release year is disputed. AllMusic lists 1982, and Rate Your Music gives January 1982 on Greensleeves (catalog no. GREL 31; Vinyl LP). Other sources, including Norman Records and United Reggae, date it to 1981.
AllMusic credits the songwriting to R. “Eek-A-Mouse” Hylton / Henry “Junjo” Lawes. United Reggae says the album was recorded and mixed at Channel One and King Tubby’s studios.
Backed by The Roots Radics. Scientist, King Tubby and Barnabas are credited with the mixing. Greensleeves reissued the album in 2001, and United Reggae notes the reissue came with 3 bonus tracks.
Legacy
The song helped make Eek-A-Mouse a star. Doumerc wrote that the tune caught the Jamaican public’s imagination and turned Eek-A-Mouse into a national star.
In AllMusic’s review, Jo-Ann Greene described the album as one of the most astonishing DJ albums of ever recorded.
Decades later, the phrase “wa do dem” is still tied to a simple, true story about a tall man, a short woman and a crowd of people laughing at them.
