Song Of Freedom [Song]


Uploaded by mistou68

SONG OF FREEDOM
By King Selewa & His Calypsonians

Spoken: This is a song of freedom. This is a song about slavery...

Dis song of freedom you would not understand
De words our forefathers sang far from their land
Dis song of freedom you would not understand
De words our forefathers sang far from their land.

And dis melody (on de roads of slavery)
Far from all humanity (one day we all shall be free)
In de slave ships, "Lord Ligonnier", "Adelaide", "Salamander"
Yes, who remembers?

De Burru drummers from the shores of Ghana
Dem callin' fi Kumina, "Tom kum adampa"
Dem leader Suru chanted dis song for you
Wid words of loss and magic too: "Maman Boubou"

And dis melody (on de roads of slavery]
Far from all humanity (one day we all shall be free)
In de slave ships, "Lord Ligonnier", "Adelaide", "Salamander"
Yes, who remembers?

Dis song of freedom you would not understand
De words our forefathers sang far from their land
Dis song of freedom you would not understand
De words our forefathers sang far from their land.

And dis melody (on de roads of slavery]
Far from all humanity (one day we all shall be free)
In de slave ships, "Lord Ligonnier", "Adelaide", "Salamander"
But who remembers?

De Burru drummers from the shores of Ghana
Dem callin' fi Kumina, "Tom kum adampa"
Dem leader Suru chanted dis song for you
Wid words of loss and magic too: "Maman Boubou"

..............................................................................................................................



A Note From The Gull


GLORIOUS!! MYSTICAL! I am bowing low, King Selewa!

Mistou, generous spirit, I am not ashamed to say that tears of sadness, but more of joy and pride and gratitude are flowing. You must convey to Lord Selewa, my unending praise for his genius. Thank you so much for gently placing this jewel into my hand on this morning. I feel so blessed. The Universe has been channeling a series of special deliveries through the creative hearts of her musician messengers.

This most recent offering from King Selewa & his Calypsonians, illustrated by a beautifully arranged video, contemplates the experience of African slavery while reaching out to all humanity, "One day we all shall be free." It reminds us of and celebrates that resilience and pride and impulse to survive in the human spirit which has the power (if we can summon and sustain it) to go under or above the adversity and savagery that the world can throw at it, and to emerge on the other side, battle-worn but radiant.

This is healing music. This is life-affirming. This is a promise and a fulfillment. This is what happens when musicians are true. The Universe will speak with their voices.

The ancestors are pleased.

"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

26 comments:

wsteffie said...

Beautiful, music as well as the lyrics. Thank's for sharing.:-)
I have doubts about all beeing free one day.

Guanaguanare said...

Wsteffie,
Thanks for your visit and comment. Yes, as far as I am concerned, this piece is pure perfection....very, very moving.

I understand your doubts about us all being free one day. I saw it more as a wish for all humanity. There are those who believe that life as most of us experience it here on this earth IS bondage. They expect that we will all escape it eventually by death or when we experience spiritual enlightenment. They will have no problem agreeing that it is true that we will all be free one day, if not in this life, or iteration, then certainly when we have attained Nirvana.

About the German folk music, could you do me a big favour and guide me to the best samples on YouTube? I have no idea where to start without doing research. I will tell you what I think.

I haven't had a chance yet to check out that extempo/rap connection.

Thanks so much for sending Trinbago your best wishes regarding the upcoming elections. We are certainly at a crossroads and how we vote is going to have immediate and lasting effects on the future of the nation.

Blessings

mistou68 said...

I'm without words... without voice..
I autorized just myself to take yours, & put on You Tube.
Thanxsfull, Guana... from the bottom of my ♥.

Guanaguanare said...

Mistou,
You are always free to do this. Anything that I do or say is insignificant when compared with the gift that is this music. I am just grateful that you know that I receive it always with wonder and joy and much gratitude.
Blessings

wsteffie said...

Hello Guanaguanare,you are right,Freedom is a wish for all humanity. Since that wish is not shared by all though it's important that the free people stand up for the opressed!
Lol,yust remember that you asked for the german Volkmusic links.( should it put you to sleep or make you feel nauseated).:-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sJxxikKk8Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5In_zdJhss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2_7jfONGOQ
Even tough the above is quiet popular, there is quiet a lot of other good music been made over here.:-)
Good luck with the election, hopefully it will bring some positive changes.

Guanaguanare said...

Wsteffie, Thanks again for the links. In all, I liked Heino the best because although I cannot say this with any certainty, I felt that this was closer to the folk music. The other two seemed like the more familiar pop. So my reaction to the Heino's songs (music alone since I do not understand German) is that this music is solely for enlivening the spirits of the listeners. This is happy music for dancing or singing along. The insistence and regularity of that rhythm seems to say, "Dance I say and dance you will!" I absolutely cannot imagine sad or angry lyrics being put to this music. (I certainly was not nauseated or put to sleep!)

I did a quick check on German folk music on the Internet and it mentions a difference between Schlager and Volkmusik. Is Heino's music more Volkmusik than Schlager? Are the other two - Michael Wendler's "Heuchler" and Andrea Berg's "Die Gefühle Haben Schweigepflicht" examples of Schlager or Schlager(rized) Volkmusik? I also found a mention of Liedermacher which seems to be the German equivalent of calypso since it provides commentary about social and political issues.

Wsteffie, I am happy to be introduced to this music and you must feel free to send me anything that you would like to share. Thanks again for your inputs and also for your positive vibrations for Trinbago.

Blessings

Mistou said...

Each time a new lp of King Selewa's out it's the same problem for me: why did I choose this song rather than another one to share it with you?

"Jamaican roots" has 22 gems and it's quite complicated...I think that I'll ask your advice next time!

But it seemed obvious to me: "spellbound" was the tune...deep and dark, mysterious, as often with King's tunes, its melody sounds so pure to me...I really dig it...from the bottom of my heart...

So if you have 5mn to spare then have a listen, you won't regret it I bet...
thank you so much for reading me and listening to King's haunting regga...

All the best for you, Guanaguanare!

Guanaguanare said...

Mistou,
Thanks for sending me another gem - Spellbound from King Selewa's most recent CD release, "Jamaican Roots".

Sorry about the delayed response. I had to download and strip the sound off before I could listen to it. Every now and then this computer decides that it will not allow me to view YouTube videos. Finally got the song though and listened to it.

As far as the music goes, it took me back with a bang to the time when I lived in Jamaica for a while and I was a huge fan of Bunny Wailer's music. The bassline in Spellbound reminded me of Cool Runnings. I turned the volume up as far as it would go so I could really enjoy the layering of the guitar rhythms. Woot! This is sweet, sweet dancing music.

Well, the lyrics left me happily clueless. Is this a love song? Is it about something's or someone's resilience, persistence, timelessness? Is the singer laughing because his "mind is a clown" or because he knows that we will never know for certain what he means?

I think that we get to laugh also because it's what the listener thinks it means that matters. I feel that it means that the Mus[e]ic is everything. We can either close our eyes, hug ourselves and look inwards as we dance to it or throw our arms out and look up at the sky but the meaning is in that wonderful, haunting rhythm and it will find us wherever we are at.

Convey my congratulations to King Selewa on his continuing success and many thanks again to you, Mistou, for sharing.

As soon as I fix the problem with the computer, I will watch the video on YouTube. I am sure that that will be another layer of beauty to experience.
Blessings

Guanaguanare said...

Mistou, This song is like a key unlocking so many memories. I'm spellbound! Thankfully, my schedule [a.k.a. insomnia] allows me the dubious privilege of being up at 3:15 a.m. I'm closing off the night listening to Spellbound. I am remembering being driven along the North Coast. Friends are around me and I am blown away by the beauty. When we arrive at Doctor's Cave Beach, I will be blinded by white sand and psychotropical aquamarine water..."Spellbound after all this time, No, I never, never frown."
Merci, merci, merci!
Blessings

Mistou said...

As usual, Guana, I can't say nothing more after you.... Oh... may be one thing... just one... You listen King's songs with all your soul, all your "open" mind.. It's the better gift you can give to him..
I'm sad to have a so bad english, & by this fact, I'm unable to say what I really want to say... but you say for me.. & it's great..
When your computer return in good disposition, have a run on You Tube, to listen One More Day... A true jewel too..
One million thanxs for you, Guana..

Mistou said...

An other jewel on line yesterday, Guana..
The first time I heard this track I had just one will: share my emotion at once.
And today I can say that it's done!
My Christmas gift for you... Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvtSk4fS5Tk

Guanaguanare said...

Thank you Mistou for the wonderful Christmas gift!

I thought that I had no knowledge of the Christine Collins story so I found this on Wikipedia and I learned about Christine Collins and the disappearance of her young son, Walter Collins, eighty-two years ago. I realised then that the 2008 movie, Changeling, which I saw, was based on that story. This is a touching tribute to a mother and her lost son. I also loved the song's video. Now I have to ask you two questions, if you know the answers, How did King Selewa come to focus on this particular story? and who are the Lefthanders??

Thanks again for my first Christmas present!!!
Blessings to you and King Selewa.

Anonymous said...

Hi there!
this is king speaking :)

regarding your questions guana, it happened by chance, I was just watching that film and the words "Christine Collins cries" came to my mind...so I decided to push further my inspiration and the song came out quite easily cos I had the melody in my head.

the lefthanders is my new band, very different from what I used to do before, hope you'll like it, still have great tunes!

all the best!
peace!

Guanaguanare said...

So good to hear from you King Selewa! Thanks for answering my questions. Now that I know that The Lefthanders is your new band I will go back and listen to all the songs. I thought that you might have been just visiting with another band. Does this mean that your older band is no more??? I loved that band!!! Have the members all migrated with you to the new band or do you now have two bands. I wish you every success, as always and anticipate more great music.
If we don't communicate before the end of the year, I want to wish you and yours a joyful Christmas and a New Year filled with happy surprises.
Blessings

Mistou said...

My best wishes for the new year to you, the laughing gull! Hoping that we share a very long time our eyes and our feelings on the excellent music of Mr. King :-)

I sent you a whisper in the new year .. and I will retire on tiptoes to let you fully appreciate ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrhZn_qAkVw

Guanaguanare said...

Thank you so much, Mistou, for this song and your best wishes for the new year.

I sent you and King Selewa a Christmas greeting here.

This song is one of my favourites. After you sent me last year that last gift of "Christine Collins cries", I went to listen to some more of the Lefthanders. In this song the music is perfect. I cannot think of how it could have been better.

I especially like "The Tiger" by Blake. You'd know it:

The Tiger

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?


...and I think it complements the poem "The Panther" by Rainer Maria Rilke, translation here by Steven Mitchell:

The Panther
--In the Jardin des Plantes, Paris

His vision, from the constantly passing bars,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold anything else.
It seems to him there are
a thousand bars, and behind the bars, no world.

As he paces in cramped circles, over and over,
the movement of his powerful soft strides
is like a ritual dance around a center
in which a mighty will stands paralyzed.

Only at times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly. An image enters in,
rushes down through the tense, arrested muscles,
plunges into the heart and is gone.


In German "Der Panther"

In "The Panther", Blake's Tiger in the form of the magnificent brooding panther is not free and in its natural state but trapped behind bars in a zoo. So many of us have felt like this panther all our lives because we've never forgotten what we were born to be. Maybe luckily for some, they never realise it and they happily mistake the bars for the "comfort" of security.

Thank you, Mistou, for all the thoughts inspired this morning by your whisper of this song.
Blessings

Mistou said...

To thank you for these two poems ... what do you think of a February's gift :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUjrZmlz3QU

Blessings, The Laughing Gull.

Guanaguanare said...

Tonnerre!
Mistou, "Le miel est doux, mais I'abeille pique." Moi, je n'aime pas etre fou d'amour - trop dangereux, trop humiliant. J'écoute les mots et je pense que le chanteur comprend le danger. La répétition est hypnotique, les images sont fascinantes, mais je vois seulement un côté sombre. J'aime les mots: "It changes its bed like a river...Mad with love."
L'amour fou prend un coup dans cette chanson et je reste tres content. LOL!
Blessings

Mistou said...

Nobody wants to have the flu ... it falls on you, without you ask .. You can always try to protect you, it's a waste..
I agree with you for the "dangerous" side of the fool for love ... but I'm not with that one of the humiliating .. We could talk hours on the subject .. I prefer the word "humility". We are nothing, we are nobody without the presence of the beloved ... We feel so humble ... So little .. The beloved account so much, we forget ourselves .. And then, there's no danger .. The ego disappears, forgotten itself. It's at this precisely time it can give completely. It's like pure meditation .. a revelation that we can find in ourself and alone .. Strictly alone.. It's only when we confronted mad love to the reality and to the others with their skimpy vision and their mechanisms, it can become a "humiliating" ... Anyway, it's a master piece of music, & a great song, coming out of the ordinary, as always with Terry :-) I'm also glad that you've seen it's dark side ... Not easy to transpose it with pictures .. Thank you, The laughing gull .. it's always a pleasure to read your feelings! And in french, it's a pure delight !!

Guanaguanare said...

Mistou,
Je pense que vous avez plus de courage que moi. J'ai été vacciné contre l'amour fou et chaque année je prends une dose de rappel!
Blessings

Mistou said...

Je ne suis pas courageuse du tout :-)

Je te souhaite un week-end tout chaud, rempli de soleil... avec une superbe reprise de "Summertime"!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5uumF92Ghc

A bientôt, mon ami!!

Guanaguanare said...

Easy breezy, Mistou!
C'est Mercredi des Cendres et apres Carnaval, Trinidadiens disent la meme chose, "Je ne vais pas travailler aujourd'hui." Certainement la musique bleus d'aquamarine! Merci pour ce beau cadeau! Ma gratitude et mon respect aussi au Roi Selewa.
Blessings

Mistou said...

Long ago I haven't given sign of life ... but you'll not blame me, right?

I drop here, at your home, just to tell you that Terry has now his own channel on You Tube .. 3 new great songs are online .. I let you discover in peace .. Thanking you by advance for your time. And for your words always so fair.

See you soon! Blessings..

http://www.youtube.com/user/HereTerryDaKing

Guanaguanare said...

Thanks Mistou,
You are very right! No worries, no apologies. Always glad to hear from you, whenever you have the chance! Hope you are happy and well.
Thanks for the link. I will check it out soon.
Blessings

Mistou said...

I didn't realize you had the sign of Legba at the top of your website .... and I don't remember if I've already played this track for U ... Osine De .. Good day to you, the laughing gull .. With all my thoughts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_X4oNJl9Bw

Guanaguanare said...

Sorry about the delay, Mistou. I have been away from the blog for a while. Thank you very much for the link. I listened to this song and I loved it. King Selewa captured the energy. Have you hear Roaring Lion's version here? King Selewa is faithful to the original. I am going now to listen to more of Da King's music!
Blessings