I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright, bright sun-shining day
It's gonna be a bright, bright sun-shining day
I think I can make it now, the pain has gone
All of the bad feelings have disappeared
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for
It's gonna be a bright, bright sun-shining day
Look all around, there's nothing but blue sky
Look straight ahead, nothing but blue sky
I can see clearly now, the rain has gone
I can see all obstacles in my way
Gone're the dark clouds that had me blind
It's gonna be a bright, bright sun-shining day
It's gonna be a bright, bright sun-shining day
Gonna be a bright, bright sun-shining day
Gonna be a bright, bright, bright sun-shining day
John Lester Nash Jr. (August 19, 1940 – October 6, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter, best known in the United States for his 1972 hit "I Can See Clearly Now". Primarily a reggae and pop singer, he was one of the first non-Jamaican artists to record reggae music in Kingston.
Signing with ABC-Paramount, Nash made his major label debut in 1957 with the single "A Teenager Sings the Blues". He had his first chart hit in early 1958 with a cover of Doris Day's "A Very Special Love". Marketed as a rival to Johnny Mathis, Nash also enjoyed success as an actor early in his career, appearing in the screen version of playwright Louis S. Peterson's Take a Giant Step in 1959. Nash won a Silver Sail Award for his performance from the Locarno International Film Festival. Nash continued releasing singles on a variety of labels such as Groove, Chess, Argo, and Warner Bros.
In 1964, Nash and manager Danny Sims formed JoDa Records in New York. JoDa released The Cowsills' single "All I Really Want to Be Is Me". Although JoDa filed for bankruptcy after only two years, Nash and Sims moved on to marketing American singers to Jamaica, owing to the low cost of recording in that country.
Around 1966 or 1967, Neville Willoughby took Nash to a Rastafarian party where Bob Marley & The Wailing Wailers were performing. Members Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, and Rita Marley introduced Nash to the local music scene. Nash signed all four to an exclusive publishing contract with Cayman Music for J$50 a week.
Nash's 1972 reggae-influenced single "I Can See Clearly Now" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc by the R.I.A.A. in November 1972. The I Can See Clearly Now album includes four original Marley compositions published by JAD: "Guava Jelly", "Comma Comma", "You Poured Sugar on Me", and the follow-up hit "Stir It Up". "There Are More Questions Than Answers" was a third hit single taken from the album.
After a cover of Sam Cooke's "Wonderful World" in 1976 and "Let's Go Dancing" in 1979, for many years Nash seemed to have dropped out of sight. He had a brief resurgence in the mid-1980s with the album Here Again (1986), which was preceded by the minor UK hit, "Rock Me Baby". In May 2006, Nash was singing again at SugarHill Recording Studios and at Tierra Studios in his native Houston.
Nash died peacefully of natural causes in his home, surrounded by close family in Houston on October 6, 2020, after a period of declining health. He was 80.
References
It was a wintry day. I was driving the delivery van.
The top of the hill was coated with black ice. This song was on the radio — the theme music as the van spun lazily out of my control and careened slowly but fast enough, on the decline, to really fuck up the cars it was inevitably going to smash into.
I can see clearly, still, as I howled as the van smacked into that parked Dodge Charger.
Larry didn't fire me. He saw my post-accident distress. He laughed. Said his f'in insurance broker could have the heartburn.
Larry was terrific.
I hear this song and am transported back to February 1974.
It was a wintry day. I was driving the delivery van.
The top of the hill was coated with black ice. This song was on the radio — the theme music as the van spun lazily out of my control and careened slowly but fast enough, on the decline, to really fuck up the cars it was inevitably going to smash into.
I can see clearly, still, as I howled as the van smacked into that parked Dodge Charger.
Larry didn't fire me. He saw my post-accident distress. He laughed. Said his f'in insurance broker could have the heartburn.
Larry was terrific.
I hear this song and am transported back to February 1974.
Great story!
This is a big part of why I like music so much: it can take you back to moments that happened decades ago in a heart beat.
Thank you for sharing this memory!
EDIT
...2 minutes and one Google / wiki search later...
It is a common misconception<by whom?> that the song was written and/or previously performed by Bob Marley, possibly based on the fact that The Wailers were the backing band on Nash's original recording. Marley wrote Nash's next single, "Stir It Up". Nash wrote this song himself and recorded it in London with members of The Average White Band
By the bucket load!
Memories like this make it so worthwhile.
I remember helping a cover band in the Philippines transcribe these lyrics, listening to the jukebox - then back to the war.
My first real job was working in a dry cleaning store in my NJ hometown.
It was a wintry day. I was driving the delivery van.
The top of the hill was coated with black ice. This song was on the radio — the theme music as the van spun lazily out of my control and careened slowly but fast enough, on the decline, to really fuck up the cars it was inevitably going to smash into.
I can see clearly, still, as I howled as the van smacked into that parked Dodge Charger.
Larry didn't fire me. He saw my post-accident distress. He laughed. Said his f'in insurance broker could have the heartburn.
Larry was terrific.
I hear this song and am transported back to February 1974.
Great story!
I had a similar experience when I was in my late teens. My friends call me in the middle of the night because their car broke down in a neighboring city. They had been out drinking. I know; dumb teens drinking and driving. Anyway, I go to pick them up and take each friend to his home, three in total. They surprise me with a case of Miller or some other such crappy beer. It was the eighties. We put it in the trunk.
On the way to the first home, we pass through the thickest fog of the year - zero visibility. I slow the car down to a crawl, but it's impossible to see more than a few feet in front of us and we end up encountering a hairpin curve. It's too late to correct and we dip one tire into the ditch. Then, as if in slow motion, the car flips over completely into the ditch. There we are, the four of us, strapped into the seatbelts, hanging upside down in shock. And what's rolling on the cassette player? Genesis - "There must be some misunderstanding. There must be some kind of mistake."
Perhaps you had a bad experience when it was playing, when you were young. I think even the angels in heaven would love this song, if they exist. ;)
A guy with a girlfriend, named Lorraine, had tried many times to break up with her. Finally, after all his failed attempts, he invited her to a bridge to look out at the spectacular view. When Lorraine leaned over the railing for a better look, he gave her a shove.
Then he began to sing, "I can see clearly, now Lorraine is gone."
I was introduced to this song by a friend singing "I can see Deidre now Lorraine is gone" and it took quite a while for me to hear it any other way. I'm glad I can now because this recording is gorgeous.
EDIT
...2 minutes and one Google / wiki search later...
It is a common misconception<by whom?> that the song was written and/or previously performed by Bob Marley, possibly based on the fact that The Wailers were the backing band on Nash's original recording. Marley wrote Nash's next single, "Stir It Up". Nash wrote this song himself and recorded it in London with members of The Average White Band
Small correction: the backing band was the Fabulous Five Inc., not the Average White Band, which did not form until a couple years after Nash produced this track.