# Dat (song)

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"**Dat**" is a song by Jamaican singer [Pluto Shervington](/source/Pluto_Shervington), released as a [single](/source/Single_(music)) by him, on the Opal Records record label, in 1976.

The single reached number 6 in the [UK Singles Chart](/source/UK_Singles_Chart) on 6 March 1976, staying in the charts for a total of eight weeks. It was Shervington's biggest hit in the UK.[1]

The song is about a [Rastafarian](/source/Rastafarian), contrary to the [faith](/source/Kashrut), trying to buy pork without actually naming it to the butcher, within earshot of his "brethren", thereby saving enough money to be able to afford [marijuana](/source/Marijuana):

- Rasta Ozzy, from up the hill
- Decide fi check on 'im grocery bill
- And when 'im add up de things 'im need
- Di dooney done, weh him save fi buy little weed

Unable to get the butcher to take the hint, he asks for a pound of "Dat t'ing dere".[2][3]

Although released in the UK as a [novelty song](/source/Novelty_song), it reflects on the financial situation faced by many people at the time in the ghettos of [Kingston, Jamaica](/source/Kingston,_Jamaica).[4]

On 19 February 1976 Shervington appeared on video, performing the song, on BBC's *[Top of the Pops](/source/Top_of_the_Pops)*[5] and appeared again in the video the following week on 4 March.[6] [Trojan Records](/source/Trojan_Records) capitalized on this success by reissuing his first single, "Ram Goat Liver", which peaked just outside the top 40 in the UK.[7][8]

## References

1. ["DAT"](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/pluto-shervington-dat/). *Official Charts*. February 7, 1976.

1. Campbell, Joy L. (26 May 2017). ["Seven of Jamaica's Funniest Songs"](https://jamaicans.com/seven-of-jamaicas-funniest-songs/). *Jamaicans.com*. Retrieved 21 January 2024.

1. ["'Ram Goat Liver' singer Pluto Shervington has died"](https://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/entertainment/20240119/ram-goat-liver-singer-pluto-shervington-has-died#google_vignette). *[The Gleaner](/source/The_Gleaner)*. 19 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.

1. ["Pluto Shervington"](https://web.archive.org/web/20211103113722/https://trojanrecords.com/artist/pluto-shervington/). *Trojanrecords.com*. Archived from [the original](https://trojanrecords.com/artist/pluto-shervington/) on 2021-11-03. Retrieved 2024-01-21.

1. ["Top of the Pops – 19 February 1976"](https://thetvdb.com/series/top-of-the-pops-uk/episodes/5845313). *Thetvdb.com*. Retrieved 20 January 2024.

1. ["Top of the Pops – 4th March 1976"](https://thetvdb.com/series/top-of-the-pops-uk/episodes/5845315). *Thetvdb.com*

1. [Larkin, Colin](/source/Colin_Larkin) (1998), *The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae*, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9

1. ["Pluto Shervington | Biography"](http://www.allmusic.com/artist/pluto-shervington-mn0000293679). *AllMusic*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140203134919/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/pluto-shervington-mn0000293679) 3 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 28 January 2014.

## External links

- ["Dat"](https://www.discogs.com/master/394498-Pluto-Dat) at Discogs.com
- [Pluto Shervington](https://www.45cat.com/artist/pluto) at 45cat.com

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dat (song)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dat_(song)) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dat_(song)?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.