I want to call these the offerings of Anti-everything Trinbagonian patriots. I found them on boatshrimp's YouTube channel and loved the youthful, "The Emperor has NO clothes!", no holds barred assessment of the state of our country. I will update this post if I learn more about this band and the fighting spirits behind it. Until then, you may visit their website or their blog and do give these voices an ear.
THE OPPOSITION
By Anti-Everything
The opposition says, "Vote for change."
But we know better, because they’re just the fucking same
They have no new ideas, all the policies will remain
Words are only rhetoric, they’re spoken all in vain
And this is [they are] doomed to fail. [Repeat]
I can sound just like you, if I really wanted to
It’s really quite simple, if you follow this principle
Take a few key words strung together in a speech
Which you then preach like you care - education, heath care
Take a long......dramatic pause.
And vaguely criticize the laws
That you say will be rejected, if you get elected
Never mention strategy to move forward from here.
The opposition says, "Vote for change."
But we know better, because they’re just the fucking same
They have no new ideas, all the policies will remain
Words are only rhetoric, they’re spoken all in vain
And this is [they are] doomed to fail. [Repeat]
And yes I agree - we need to oust this regime
But what we really need to do is dismantle the belief
That the natural equilibrium is two parties
Colonial philosophy that only breeds apathy.
Because no real choice means no real voice
And “Ah voting by race, cuz daz wha they teach meh”!"
So instead of my MP, I voting for the party
It’s a misinterpretation of our democracy.
The opposition says, "Vote for change."
But we know better, 'cause they’re just the fucking same
They have no new ideas, all the policies will remain
Words are only rhetoric, they’re spoken all in vain
And this is [they are] doomed to fail. [Repeat]
The opposition says, "Vote for change."
But we know better, 'cause they’re just the fucking same
They have no new ideas, all the policies will remain
Their words are only rhetoric, it's only platform rhetoric
It's only platform...
And yes we all want change
But our problems are deeper than they say
Arbitrary politicians with a cliche catchphrase
Words are only rhetoric
With no strategy in place, you'll repeat your mistakes
The opposition says, "Vote for change."
But I know better, because they’re just the fucking same
They have no new ideas, all the policies will remain
Words are only rhetoric, they're spoken all in vain
And this is doomed to fail.
And yes we all want change
But our problems are deeper than they say
Arbitrary politicians with a cliche catchphrase
Words are only rhetoric,
No strategy in place, you'll repeat your mistakes.
I'Z DE MAN
By Anti-Everything
I’z de man, I'z de man, I not shame,
Sabotage the Declaration of Port of Spain.
Say I'z de man who do dat, I'z de man
And I’z de man tell yuh wave yuh rag,
While I spend two million dollars on a flag
Say I’z de man who do dat, I'z de man
I'z de man but not the man that you thought,
Is me who start the rumor of the children in the port
Say I’z de man who do dat, I'z de man
And I'z de man, I’z de man yuh watch hard,
Build a smelter plant right in yuh back yard.
Say I'z de man who do dat, I'z de man.
Cause I’z de man, and you’z de man,
Third World and proud we doh have a plan.
Development - we’ll never get a bligh,
When ‘Vision 2020’ have cokey-eye.
But I'z de man. Woh oh woh oh oh oh oh
Iz de man movin real outta time
Convince the whole Integrity Commission to resign
I'z de man who do that and I proud now,
Nobody know about my foreign bank account.
'Cause I’z de man who does lime with Calder Hart -
Get the inside contract from UDeCoTT
'Cause I'z de man who do dat
Yes it's true, and don’t you know
I had a piece in the Piarco airport too.
And I’z de man, I'z de man don’t you know, don't you know,
I teif all the money from CLICO
'Cause I'z de man just in case yuh ask,
Make you pay for the bailout with a property tax.
And I’z d man, doh make no contribution,
But I coming out supporting the Draft Constitution.
I'z de man who do dat
Cause I'z de man who draft that.
Because I'z de man, and you’z de man,
Third World and proud we doh have a plan.
‘Vision 2020’ is just a scam,
So tighten yuh belt for hard time to come.
Recession or a blip? - It's just semantic
'Cause all the money, oil and gas won’t make a difference of it.
If development we’ll never get a bligh
When ‘Vision 2020’ have cokey-eye
But I'z de man. Woh oh wo oh oh oh oh
Did it in the name of Discipline, Production, Tolerance, Corruption.
Discipline, Production, Tolerance, Corruption.
What the point of Discipline for Production
When you have Tolerance for Corruption?
What the point of Discipline for Production
When you have Tolerance for Corruption?
SINKING SHIP
By Anti-Everything
This is an SOS from the Trinidad.
Location - 11 km off the cost of Venezuela.
SOS. SOS. Mayday. Mayday....Help. Help.
Trinidad - a luxury liner, with wealth that few surpassed.
And in her day she sailed majestically over the Caribbean Sea
There were so few in her class.
And faithfully she fulfilled all her citizen’s needs
Until some were so overpowered by greed
That they decided to pilfer slow
Some even tried to take by bulk before they go
Now she look dull, she’s at a lull, could barely sit on her hull
Captain - this ship is sinking
Captain - these seas are rough
We gas tank almost empty, no electricity
and the oil reserves looking low.
Shall we abandon ship? Or shall we stay on it?
We sinking low, we don’t know. We don’t know.
...So Captain tell us what to do
Now today - finger pointing
Suspicions and allegations running strong
Just who’s to be blamed for all her failures?
Just who’s to be blamed for doing her wrong?
Now please remember, I’m warning you
For so many years, she’s had the same crew
Who held the keys to her vault,
So we know exactly just who’s at fault
Now it’s up to you, it’s up to me...
...to make her worthy to go back to sea.
Captain - this ship is sinking
Captain - these seas are rough
We gas tank almost empty, no electricity
and the oil reserves looking low.
Shall we abandon ship? Or shall we stay on it?
And perish slow, we don’t know. We don’t know.
...So Captain tell us what to do
Thing start to fall, meh blood crawl...
...ah hold meh head when the sailors bawl
Captain - this ship is sinking...
TRINIDAD SUCKS
By Anti-Everything
1,2, ...forged from the love of
liberty. In the fires of gas and oil.
There’s been no real democracy since colonial history,
When the campaign platform is a fete.
So salute to the illusion that we’re free
Vote for the motion because...
The government is corrupt
And the opposition just a bunch of crooks
And in case you did not realize
...our whole country is fucked
So make this your new anthem, and burn your national flag.
You take a few racist pigs and you put them in a race,
While the cost of living rises everyday.
They couldn’t balance a budget on their heads,
All the citizens of the country suffer when...
The government is corrupt
And the opposition - bunch of fucking crooks
And in case you did not realize
...Trinidad and Tobago is fucked
Trinidad is fucked.
Together we aspire, together we achieve
But together they conspire, together they deceive
And all what them ah say, the people dem believe
Still at the end of the day, none ah dem nah free
Lack of honor - nobody fit to run the country
That’s why elections have to call early
Westminster system - promoting fascism
Inevitable outcome of all the isms and schisms.
...(Call early.)
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!
..............................................................................................................................
A Note From The Gull
Thank you, boatshrimp, for uploading these videos. You say that "Trinidad is fucked" but I want to believe that that is a warning of a possible outcome if we don't wake up now, rather than a statement of fact. I want to thank you for your music and your spirit and most of all for coming outside the ambit of the individual's concerns to address matters that affect us all.
"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
11 comments:
Thank's for sharing, love the lyrics!:-)
Thanks, Wsteffie, for reading and commenting on the lyrics. They caught my attention also. If you are familiar with our music, you probably know that "Sinking Ship" is their version of the original Sinking Ship by Gypsy. The lyrics are taken from the original but this particular rendition, I think, carries the degree of urgency up a few notches.
Apart from this, I am excited to witness protest music delivered in this style in Trinidad and Tobago. We are very familiar with the more traditional vehicle of calypso and perhaps this familiarity has incorporated calypso so completely into our comfort zone that it has lost some of its ability to pull us out of ourselves. Just thoughts. Maybe music on the whole has a counter-revolutionary, status quo preserving effect by functioning as a pressure release valve. But what is certain is that this new style of protest music will appeal to younger audiences in Trinbago. If you know anything about my preferences in music, you'd know that I go for the heart rate lowering stuff (like the sweet introduction to "The Opposition") rather than the intensity of sustained, driving beats but I am moved to make an exception in this case because the messenger is as welcome as the message. This medium, I think, is very appropriate for the intensity of the situation in which we find ourselves.
Wow! Music just never stops giving. I lurrrrve the fire! Good luck to the band. Good luck to my country.
Blessings
I'm not that familiar with Trini music but I will see if I can find Gypsy on YouTube. I know It will be gentler on my old ears. My punk days are more than 30 years ago.:-)Even though I could not listen to the sound of Anti Everything all day, I'm happy to see this band has a message and they're not trying to make a fashion statement.
There is nothing more refreshing than seeing/hearing non violent protest from the younger generation. Hopefully they will inspire a lot of other people to emerge from apathy.
I agree, Music never stops giving, it's powerful and healing.(with the exception of german folk music!)
Speaking of music: Last year someone pointed me to some Extempo (on YouTube) and I was amazed. Sounds like Rap originated in T&T.
Wsteffie, thanks for your reply. I know what you mean but that's the great thing about music also, how it can take you down paths of exploration upon which you had never cared to venture. I am glad that I found this band and I think my time was well spent listening to the music and the lyrics a few times.
About the German folk music, I don't know anything about it, not one song have I ever heard, so I cannot comment but I suspect that you were joking. I cannot believe that any folk music would not meet some of the needs of its people. Didn't any of it make you laugh even? That's healing.
No, I wouldn't say that Rap originated in Trinbago, unless somehow the original African American MC's in the Bronx had been influenced by West Indian musical traditions. I always think of rap as an African American invention and since I don't know enough about it to say that it had developed earlier or simultaneously elsewhere in the world, then America remains the birthplace for me. Your comment is interesting though and I will look out for others who might have made similar associations.
I really appreciate your thoughts.
Blessings
Hey 'guanaguanaresingsat',
We want to thank you for posting our songs on your blog, and we want to remind all your readers that the material is available for FREE download at www.antieverything.net. We really love your comments about the power of music as tool for social protest, and the observation that while calypso music has had a critical role in the development of our nation by addressing issues, it is time to expand this attitude into different genres of music and art forms. After all, art and culture has the power to transcend all boundaries.
You can touch base with us at any time at info@antieverything.net, and we would love continue these discussions some time!
Keep us the great work, and thanks again for the support.
Peace and Love.
Anti-Everything
Anti-Everything,
Now I'm so embarrassed. I should have been the one to contact you directly and thank you instead of just running off to show off your musical gems. Thank YOU! I enjoyed the music and I felt that others would too. So far, apart from my post and the comments that came in, I've even seen this tweet announcing your music. I have to tell you also that "The Opposition" has now achieved earworm status in my head. I cannot stop singing the chorus - very, very infectious. I am blown away by the music. This simply made my day.
Blessings
Dear Guanaguanare,
What also keeps on giving is this immense repository of creativity and critical analysis that is diminutively called your "blog."
I was extremely happy to see that Anti-Everything found your post! And I am very grateful that you introduced me to their music. I have listened to the songs about a dozen times already, with many more to come.
Salutes to both you and Anti-Everything!
Max, Thanks so much for visiting and your kind comment. I hope that Anti-Everything will see that they have another fan in you. You know that I always say that the real stars are the songs and the composers behind the music and the performers in front delivering them to us. This blog is simply an adoring satellite and it would not exist without these amazingly creative people.
Blessings
Everyday I wade through my usual TT online sources, the newspapers and the comments by the readers. This has become an increasingly depressing chore as the election approaches. No insight is attempted, no light shed on any of the myriad critical issues.
The songs you have published were such a welcome relief from that "bacchanal" that passes for journalism and campaigning.
Thanks.
Louis,
Thanks so much for visiting and commenting. I almost brought up the topic with you recently but I decided against it. I know exactly what you mean about the noise and maybe I've concluded that my voice on the topic will only add to the cacophony. If I do say anything it will be as a result of your instigation.
I am just concentrating on breathing deeply and obsessively checking the calendar every day as if I'm afraid that if I am not vigilant, the dates will rearrange themselves.
I keep saying my little prayer for Trinbago over and over:
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.
Blessings to you too!
Guanaguanare I was not kidding about the traditinal german music.:-) But I'm only speaking for myself, there are lot's of people that do enjoy it.There is lot's of musical talent over here though.
As for Rap, I do know that it originated in the US but I think it's possible that that Extempo was one of the influences.
Thank's for replying.:-)
I hope that life will improve in T&T after the election.
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