Experience The Songs Online

If reading the lyrics of these songs has sparked your interest in hearing the audio, you can listen to many of these and more on the Internet at the sources listed below. Have a listen and you might just decide that they are worth a visit to your music store around the corner or online, to add to your collection.

New! Melodycenta.com

If you want to listen to samples and perhaps buy some of our older music, Smithsonian Folkways Recordings is a great place to start. Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution, the national museum of the United States. The revenue received from sales and institutional subscriptions supports the creation of new educational content and is shared with archival partners, who in turn pass on a portion of those revenues for the benefit of artists and their communities.

YouTube is always my first stop when I am looking for songs to transcribe. You will find that many lovers and sharers of our music - too numerous to mention here - have been introducing the world to Trinbagonian treasures which they might not have encountered otherwise. I acknowledge them below every song that is embedded on this blog. Apart from YouTube, the following sites are also repositories:

Obi's Favourite Kaisos (calypsos)
Island Events.com Music
Island Events.com Soca Layout
Irwin Chusid's Muriel's Treasure: Calypso and soca
The Root's Music Listening Room
Toronto Lime Soca Music Jukebox
Trini Jungle Juice.com Soca Music
we7

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Could not find an email address anywhere, but for Phillip My Dear I make the lyrics to the 3rd verse (or stanza, since it's really POETRY, rigt?!)to be as follows. AND I, TOO, CAN BE WRONG: it happened before - I think.
"In Buckingham, no one respond to the alarm
So this plunderer displayed inside my boudoir
A tool made for agriculture. I stood there in awe
With a man in my bedroom, seven feet or more
He told me, "Come hither!” … and void: all my good linen he soil,
He was so obscene!
There was a man in my bedroom, so nasty and mean,
Telling me, "Now, Let God save the queen!"

I've got a copy of the song from the "Man In My Bedroom" CD Album -with a long monlogue at the start. Maybe you heard it also?

Guanaguanare said...

Unknown,
Thanks for visiting and leaving your comment with suggestions.

Although you have the text, I usually transcribe directly from the performance and in this one he sings:

Singing to me, "God go save the queen!"

I will go with what he actually sings although what you have sent:

"Now, Let God save the queen!" is equally effective.

About the word "void" I find that I am hearing a word that ends in 'l' and not 'd'. I don't know if I am just instinctively needing to hear a word that rhymes with soil but have a listen again and tell me what you think.

No, I have never heart the monologue. What is it about?

Thanks so much for communicating. I am going to listen to this again focusing on where he sings 'void' according to your source.

Blessings

John Leonhardt said...

In my search for lyrics, this week I've been hammering myself and any site who can help me with a few lyrics of Maestros' "Champion of De Road", here's most of the body.........I do a good bit of transcribing, and if the artiste is alive, I will ask him/her myself. Which includes Super Blue, Poser, Scrunter, Carl Jacobs, David Rudder,Stalin,Sparrow and others, too bad Kitch passed before I discovered the root of this rich genre!

Vs. #1.....
Play!! Come On!!.........Tell me dis steelbands man, why de calysponian get first class attention in de competition...... shouldn't take flight, taking some for a ride, racket and politics should never mix in music

Chorus #1.....I said steelbandman if yuh honestly and truly plan to really have a fair road march competition, brother, man here's how you do it....Do it ! Do it! I said.....Do it! Do it!
Yuh try one of Shorty tunes, well yuh try one from Shadow, yuh take one that Blakie croon, well yuh try one from Brigo and then man who carry de load, it's de champion, champion of de road!!

Vs. #2....
Lovely tunes are wasted, young singers frustrated, when we keep supporting, only dem big king pin, steelband men must appear with de best tune yuh hear and to hell with who high and mighty, or who win from ten time already......

Chorus # 2.....I said steelbandman, if yuh honestly and truly plan to really have a fair road march competition, brother, man here's how you do it........Do it! Do it! I said "Do it Do it!!"
Yuh take a tune from Viking, or yuh try one from Squibby, one from de Mighty Stalin, or yuh try one from Bally, and then ??????????? man who carry de load, it's de champion champion of de road.....come on.....do it.....

Vs. #3....
Well if Lord Parakeet, have a dream that's real sweet, it's de panman duty to beat it out loudly....but de best is suppressed, so de rest would progress, if you ent have money to throw away, when they rip you up Carnival Day
Chorus #3....Steelbandman, if yuh honestly and truly plan to really have a fair road march competition brother, man here's how you do it......Do it ! Do it!!.....I said...."Do it.....Do it!!"
You take something from Lord ??????, well you take one from Princess, one from the Mighty Duke, or yuh take one from Rex West, and ??????man who carry de load, it's de champion, champion of de road!!
Vs. #4....
Winston break de long span when he came with Bassman....the same band who make him, the next year dey break him, so you see where we stand.????????????????? grand....what I want you panmen and them do, give credit where credit is due......
Chorus #4.....Steelbandman, if yuh honestly and truly plan to really have a fair road march competition, brother, man here's how you do it......Do it! Do it!! I said "Do it Do it!!"
You take a tune from Plainclothes, well yuh take one from Francine, one from Calypso Rose, and de Mighty Saccharine........and when ????????????????? man who carry de load, it's de champion, champion of de road!!

John Leonhardt said...

By the way Gull, I will post ALL the songs I've transcribed over the past 18 years if you wish. They belong to everyone!

Guanaguanare said...

Dear John,
Thanks for your comments. I had a listen to Maestro's Champion of the Road and you've already got most of it. That bit before "man who carry the load" escaped us both and if you ever figure it out, please let me know what he is saying. Feel free to continue to ask me about lyrics. The more ears the merrier.
By the way, have you already posted all the lyrics for the songs that you have already transcribed? I'd like to visit your site.
Blessings,
Guanaguanare

Tell me dis steelbands man, why we calysponian
Get first class attention in de competition
Panmen shouldn't take sides, taking some for a ride,
Racket and politics should never mix in music.

Chorus: I say, steelband man if yuh honestly and truly plan
To really have a fair Road March competition,
Brother man here's how you do it.[Do it, do it] I say [Do it]

You try one of Shorty tune or you try one from Shadow,
You take one that Blakie croon or you try one from Brigo
And then when ----- man who carry the load
Is the champion, champion of the road.

Lovely tunes are wasted, young singers frustrated
When we keep supporting only them big kingpin
Steelband men must be fair, beat the best tune you hear
And to hell with who high and mighty or who win crown ten time already.

You take a tune from Viking or you try one from Squiggy
One from the Mighty Stalin or you try one from Valley
And then when ----- man who carry the load
Is the champion, champion of the road.

Well, if Lord Parakeet have a tune that's real sweet
Is the panmen duty to beat it out loudly
But the best they suppress so the rest could progress
If you ent have money to throw 'way
Well they rip you off Carnival day.

You take something from Lord Fluke or you take one from Princess
One from the Mighty Duke or you take one from Rex West
And then when -------- man who carry the load
Is the champion, champion of the road.

Winston break the long span when he came with Bassman
The same bands who make him, the next year they break him
So you see where we stand, but this thing could be grand
What I want the panmen and them do, give credit where credit is due.

You take a tune from Plainclothes or you take one from Francine
One from Calypso Rose or the Mighty Saccharine
And then when -------- man who carry the load
Is the champion, champion of the road.