St. James [Song]

ST. JAMES
By Kobo Town

Bright night, no respite from the clamour
Of the day, no relief, no delay in the drama on the street
Where the heat makes you sway and stagger
Where light cuts through the night like a dagger
Where sounds beat down on the ground like a hammer
And signs catch minds with the glare of the glamour
The glitter of means beyond the dreams
Of the people passing down beneath.

Chorus:
St. James, night is falling down [St. James]
Like a blanket drawn over the town [St. James]
The whole place like a boil ready to buss [St. James]
St. James, pray for us [St. James]
St James, night is coming down [St. James]
Like an eyelid closing on the town [St. James]
A crown is rolling in the dust [St. James]
St. James, pray for us.

On this night between light and squalour
Where all lose sight and shadows taller than men
Brought to life by the nightfall,
Pass the hours liming 'gainst the wall
While power lines like vines hang over the scene
A circus net to catch falling dreams
While drains fetch rains to feed hidden streams
Hope like a hammock hangs between
Dusk and dawn, sin and grace
Sky and earth and want and waste
Death and birth, toil and slumber
The world above and the one boiling under.

Chorus:
St. James, night is falling down [St. James]
Like a blanket drawn over the town [St. James]
The whole place like a boil ready to buss [St. James]
St. James, pray for us [St. James]
St James, night is coming down [St. James]
Like an eyelid closing on the town [St. James]
A crown is rolling in the dust [St. James]
St. James, pray for us.

Hope through the gutter, through the drain like a rat,
Silent as a shadow, like a roach through the crack
Of the wall of the house, the shack of the brain
Creeping like a mouse, hope has no shame,
And like light bleeds the shadow and rust eats the chain,
Wind feeds the fire and rain drowns the flame
Like love tames desire and love buries blame
Hope has come down to do the same.
Down, down, ready to drown
In the pool of our sorrow, in the sea of our wrong,
Like a pothound sniffing the ground for a bone
Looking for something thrown away to call his own.

First stop, rumshop by the doubles man
By the alley, behind the Play Whe stand
Hope whispers into the air of night
“Brother, haul yuh tail, this town is mine!”

Chorus:
St. James, night is falling down [St. James]
All over the town [St. James]
St. James, night is coming down [St. James]
All over the town [St. James]
St. James, night is coming down [St. James]
All over the town [St. James]
St. James, night is falling down [St. James]
Over, over [St. James]
St. James, night is falling down [St. James]
All over the town [St. James]

St. James, pray for us!

Source: The lyrics posted on this blog are often transcribed directly from performances. Although it is my intention to faithfully transcribe I do not get all the words and I have a knack for hearing the wrong thing. Please feel free to correct me or to fill in the words that I miss by dropping me a message via e-mail. I'd be forever grateful. Thanks in advance!
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A Note From The Gull

The genius blows my mind every time! Thank you, Kobo Town. Still loving your music and lyrics!

"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare