View source for You Can Get It If You Really Want

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{more citations needed|date=September 2017}}{{Infobox song
| name       = You Can Get It If You Really Want
| cover      =
| alt        =
| caption    =
| type       = single
| artist     = [[Desmond Dekker]]
| album      = You Can Get It If You Really Want
| B-side     = "Perseverance"
| released   = {{start date|1970|7||df=yes}}
| recorded   =
| studio     =
| venue      =
| genre      = [[Reggae]]
| length     = {{duration|m=2|s=44}}
| label      = [[Trojan Records|Trojan]]
| writer     = [[Jimmy Cliff]]
| producer   = {{hlist|[[Leslie Kong]]|John Kelly}}
| prev_title = Pickney Gal
| prev_year  = 1969
| next_title = The Song We Used to Sing
| next_year  = 1970
}}
"'''You Can Get It If You Really Want'''" is a [[reggae]] song written and originally recorded by Jamaican singer songwriter [[Jimmy Cliff]] and released as a single in July 1970. Another version, recorded by Jamaican singer [[Desmond Dekker]] and released within a few weeks of Cliff's version, became a hit single in a number of markets, reaching number 2 on the [[UK Singles Chart]].<ref name= "UK"/>
==Charts==
===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Chart (1970–71)
! Peak<br />position
|-
!scope="row"|Australia (''[[Go-Set]]'')<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1971/19710109.html|title=Go-Set Australian charts - 9 January 1971|website=www.poparchives.com.au}}</ref>
|12
|-
!scope="row"|Australia ([[Kent Music Report]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.top100singles.net/2013/02/every-amr-top-100-single-in-1970.html|title=Every AMR Top 100 Single in 1970|website=www.top100singles.net}}</ref>
|17
|-
{{singlechart|Belgium (Wallonia)|35|artist=Desmond Dekker|song=Israelites|You Can Get It If You Really Want|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{singlechart|Germany|9|artist=Desmond Dekker|song=You Can Get It If You Really Want|songid=12955|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{singlechart|Dutch40|17|artist=Desmond Dekker|song=You Can Get It If You Really Want|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{singlechart|Dutch100|17|artist=Desmond Dekker|song=You Can Get It If You Really Want|rowheader=true}}
|-
{{singlechart|Ireland2|4|song=You Can Get It If You Really Want|rowheader=true}}
|-
!scope="row"|South Africa ([[Springbok Radio]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(D).html|title=SA Charts 1965 - 1989 Acts D|website=South Africa Rock Lists|access-date=24 June 2020}}</ref>
|4
|-
{{singlechart|UKsinglesbyname|2|artist=Desmond Dekker|rowheader=true|refname="UK"}}
|-
{{singlechart|Billboardbubbling100|3|artist=Desmond Dekker|rowheader=true}}
|}
===Year-end charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"
!Chart (1970)
!Position
|-
!scope="row"|UK Singles (Official Charts Company)<ref>{{Cite web|title=Top 100 1970 - UK Music Charts|url=http://www.uk-charts.top-source.info/top-100-1970.shtml|access-date=2020-06-24|website=www.uk-charts.top-source.info}}</ref>
|align="center"|23
|}
==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|region=United Kingdom|artist=Jimmy Cliff|title=You Can Get It If You Really Want It|award=Silver|certyear=2024|relyear=2004|id=20546-6953-1|access-date=December 2, 2024}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
==Covers==
*The UK's Jamaican origin [[reggae]] band [[The Cimarons]] released it as a single in 1974.
*The song has been covered by a great number of artists including by Italian pop singer [[Sabrina Salerno|Sabrina]] (Sabrina Salerno) in her 1991 album ''[[Over the Pop]]'' and by [[Stiff Little Fingers]] on their 1999 album ''[[Hope Street (album)|Hope Street]]'' where the song is retitled "You Can Get It (If Yu Really Want It)".
*French singer [[Johnny Hallyday]] sang it in French under the title ''T'as le bonjour de l'amour'' released on his album ''[[Hollywood (Johnny Hallyday album)|Hollywood]]'' in 1979.
*American ska band, [[The Siren Six]], covered the song for their album ''Young and Professional'' in 1998.
==In popular culture==
The Jimmy Cliff song was famously used in the 1972 film ''[[The Harder They Come]]''.
In 1990, the song was used on the album ''[[Sebastian from The Little Mermaid]]'' as most of the songs were performed by [[Samuel E. Wright]] as [[Sebastian (The Little Mermaid)|Sebastian the crab]]. Wright also performed this version in ''Sebastian's Caribbean Jambore''.
The Jimmy Cliff version was used in the [[Speed 2: Cruise Control (soundtrack)|soundtrack]] of the 1997 film ''[[Speed 2: Cruise Control]]''; the 2005 [[Will Smith]] film ''[[Hitch (film)|Hitch]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386588/soundtrack?ref_=tt_trv_snd|title=Hitch (2005) - IMDb|website=[[IMDb]]}}</ref> and the 2012 [[Aardman Animation]] film ''[[The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!]]''.
Cliff’s version was used as a musical number in the inaugural episode of the British television musical comedy drama serial ''[[Blackpool (TV serial)|Blackpool]]'', whereas Dekker's version was also used in the soundtrack of the 2010 British film ''[[Made in Dagenham]]''.
The Jimmy Cliff version was featured in the [[Marvel Studios]] ''[[I Am Groot]]'' short "Magnum Opus".
==Appearances==
Jimmy Cliff included his own version of the song on his 2004 compilation album ''[[Reggae Night (album)|Reggae Night]]''. The Dekker version on the other hand was included in the triple-disc compilation album released ''[[Now That's What I Call Reggae]]'' in June 2012.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:1970 songs]]
[[Category:1970 singles]]
[[Category:Jimmy Cliff songs]]
[[Category:Desmond Dekker songs]]
[[Category:Trojan Records singles]]