Mr. Trinidad [Song]

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MR. TRINIDAD
By Maestro (1974)

Mr. Trinidad, tell me what scene you on?
Do you just like political confusion?
You criticizing the way you live
Yet you can't produce an alternative.
You say you against the power structure
You ent like the Opposition either
But take care you jump out the hot water
And end up in the centre of the fire.

Because you refuse to vote in election
But then you ent want revolution,
You strongly against Communism
You walk out on colonialism
You say Eric Williams had to go
But who to replace him, you ent know
So to make a long story short from in front
Trinidadians ent really know wey they want.

My friend, if you don't want democracy
The opposite is guerrilla activity
If you don't want democratic improvement
You had to want a revolutionist government
And yet when Guy Harewood went in the hills
With Jennifer [Beverly] Jones, you let them get kill
All you doing is grinning and skylarking
You come like the ass in the lion skin.

Because you say Robinson is a traitor
You say worse than that about Granger
You say Kamal seeking his own interests
You call Millette, a Marxist Leninist
You ent want DAC, neither DLP
And you say PNM is only ratchifee
Well, you tying up yourself, I go tell you why
Trinidadians just like plenty mamaguy.

Afro-Trinidadian talking Black Power
It’s not wrong for a man to love his culture
Yes, you walk around with your afro plaits
And you dragging alpagat and fat sapat
But although they rapping 'bout Africa
You eating roti like if you born in India
So who you go blame when you make your vote
And end up like a cat on a hot tin roof.

'Cause you saying you going Afro all the way
Yet you smile when they bring in Tony May
Williams say he want to retire
You beg him to stay a lil longer
You reject Karl's Act of Public Order
Now you want the same Karl for Prime Minister
Like your sense of reasoning goes and comes
It won’t surprise me if you call back Albert Gomes.

You say that you didn’t want no dictator
Yet you want one fella to reign forever
Abbot help Malik, you say he guilty
Parmessar did the same, yet you set him free
Long ago you didn’t want Fidel Castro
But now you say the same Castro is a hero
Well, this attitude like Humpty Dumpty
You might fall off the wall eventually.

Because you say Butler was too high handed
Stephen Maharaj uneducated
You say that we can't trust Jamadar
You find Seukeran too congosah
You say the accent is on the young man
Yet you went and call back Ashford Sinanan
'Cause you go call back until you call disaster
Like the colonial days of the slave master.

Indian-Trinidadian, naive as ever
That is why they form the Maha Sabha
They conservative, only talking race
Yet you seeing so much dougla all 'round the place
They say they doesn’t eat pork but then
How come them and black pudding is such good friend
You making your own self a pappyshow
You might end up just like Rumpelstiltskin-o

You call Batsford woman a bad john
Yet he spending your money in London
You say the country’s ace crime fighter
Is a regular ganja smoker
You call Raffique Shah a seditious traitor
Now that same traitor is a union leader
It won’t surprise me if you move Malik from Death Row
And make him Minister of Home Affairs tomorrow.

Rasta-Trinidadian walking, talking peace
Yet he always in trouble with the police
Saying "Peace and love, Right on brother man."
Yet if you watch him hard, he want to break your hand
They say they doesn’t eat pork but then how come
Them and black pudding is such good friend
They making their own self a pappyshow
You might end up just like Rumpelstiltskin-o.

Theodore Guerra prosecute soldiers
For that he get one set of horrors
And then when Murray gun down Walker
They run and they call the same Guerra
You say Mahabir too quiet and soft
And Victor Campbell is a big show off
You ent want Eric, Kamal, Karl neither Pat
If is a bad john you want, well call Doctor Rat.

My friend if you don't want democracy
The opposite is guerrilla activity
If you don't want democratic improvement
You had to want a revolutionist government
And yet when Guy Harewood went in the hills
With Jennifer [Beverly] Jones, you let them get kill
All you doing is grinning and skylarking
You come like the ass in the lion skin.

Because you call Robinson a traitor
You say worse than that about Granger
You say Kamal seeking his own interests
You call Millette a Marxist Leninist
You ent want DAC, neither DLP
Yet you say PNM is only ratchifee
Well, if you bringing back dead horses on the line
Well, is all right if you bring back Learie Constantine.

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

KAISO ! Thank you Maestro. I found this interesting bit of information submitted by Quelvisv about the recording of this calypso. It can be found among the visitors' comments below this calypso on YouTube:

"Many of us don't know the history and facts about this great calypso. This calypso was never recorded by Maestro this recording was recorded live at the Calypso Revue Tent at the Princess Building in city of Port Of Spain in 1974. It was not until after Maestro's death (August 31, 1977) when the late Rocky Mc Collin in around 1981 found it of vital importance to make this audio tape and record it for us today. One must thank Mr. Collin for his vision or this calypso would have been lost."

"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