Don't Hate [Song]


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DON'T HATE
By Colin Lucas
Arranged by Colin Lucas
Album: One-Foot Man | Coral | T&T 1995

"You damn coolie! Yes, yuh dutty nigger!"
Cruel words of hate propelled by deep-rooted anger
"You son of a slave!" and "You from indentured labour!"
Statements of fact and yet not cause to despise your neighbour.
We might be different, it's true, many creeds and races
Forged together right here from many different places
But now we got to chart a new course before it's too late
I say, we got to love one another. Don't hate.

So if Ramsingh house up in the air because he start a business there
[Don't hate] Say, "Well done!" [Congratulate]
If when the profits start to soar, he buy the property next door
[Don't hate] Do just like he. [Emulate]
And if he want to chop he big daughter because she love a nigger
Still [Don't hate] Show him that he wrong. [Educate]
I say, "Don't hate." [Educate.]

Divide and rule, schemed the old slave master
It was his ace in the hole, his tool to control our lives
But now he gone, we jump from the pot to the fire
'Cause under the guise of Independence, colonialism still thrives
Beware the new vanguard, I say, with their evil ambition
Clutching the reins of power with a racist tension
But we must expose and derail their plans to segregate
Fight back with the power of love. Don't hate.

So if Wong Ping, the next door Chinee, open up he fifth laundry
[Don't hate] Say, "Great job!" [Congratulate]
And if he save he last penny to send he kids university
[Don't hate] Learn from him. [Emulate]
And if he want to gamble 'way he life, lost he house and he wife
Still [Don't hate] Pull him aside. [Educate]
I say, "Don't hate." What to do? [Educate] You now talking!

They say that hate consumes the hater
While the hated and pure of heart moves blissfully on
Expel that hate from your heart right now, not later
Or you will soon become just an evil pawn
Come, let us unite Trinbago, build a stronger nation
With discipline, tolerance and production
And in the process of bonding, we will demonstrate
The full potential of love, not hate.

So if Joe, the blackest boy in school come first in test, prove he ent no fool
[Don't hate] Say, "Yeah, man!" [Congratulate]
And if added to that great report, he could play music and he tops in sport
[Don't hate] Do just like he. [Emulate]
But if instead of that, the young fella hooked on marijuana
Still [Don't hate] Set him right. [Educate]
I say, "Don't hate." Sing it. [Educate] Yeah!

Spoken lines: Too much hate in the world. How you could just watch a man and because he's a indian or a negro or a white man or a chinee just hate him, just so? Nah man, don't hate at all. Keep your heart full of love. Trinidad and Tobago, the West Indies, the world, only love could keep us going on the right track. Keep it tight, keep it tight! Respect!

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


Thank you, Colin Lucas, for a disturbing glimpse into a reality which inspired this song. It wasn't my reality though. My parents never displayed the slightest inclination to envy or to hate anyone for success of any kind, and there were always others around us who had much, much more than we could afford when we were growing up.

We were always taught that material wealth, for example, was there for the making, whether by honest or dishonest means, the latter route involving vigorous "pulling of the Devil's tail" according to my very religious parents. Unless you had inherited all your wealth, it was going to be hard work whichever road you chose. If you were not prepared to do the hard honest work or the hard dishonest work, then you should not envy the people who were so inclined. My mother would say, "Don't envy anyone. You don't know what people have to do and to go through to be where they are."

Of course, the fact that we never went hungry a day in our lives, and were sheltered, clothed, educated, loved and prayed over ever single day by two parents who had no intention, come hell or high water, as God was their witness, to ever abandon each other or their children, played no small part in making us feel that we were richer than most.

But if I imagine what it is like to stand in the shoes of brothers and sisters who lack the basic necessities, some through no fault of their own or even through the greed of others, I can see how despair can sometimes lead to envy and resentment and hatred.

Violence often springs out of an inequality which is perceived to be unjust.

It might sound strange that I am implying that there are inequalities that can be perceived as just, but if you think about it, many people support inequalities like monarchies and the benefits which are directed towards persons/institutions which are traditionally regarded as somehow deserving of a larger share of wealth. If you live in a society, for example, which is based on a religion which supports a caste system, as long as you are a believer, you will accept your lot in life as just, even if you are barely clinging to the lowest rung. The impulse behind colonialism and imperialism is fueled by the conviction that the world is its oyster and it is just that all others bend to accommodate its ambitions. The targets with the slavish mentalities accept and often facilitate their machinations as inevitable and part of Nature's plan. Over time, many of these slaves have occupied leadership positions in our country.

Democracy should allow us all to have a say in making the decisions that have far reaching impacts on our lives. We expect free and fair elections, we expect that there will be opportunities for our active participation in the civic and political spheres; we take as a given the rule of law and we anticipate that all the laws and procedures will apply equally to us all, and as citizens, we are confident that our rights as human beings will be protected.

Unjust inequality is the kind that is not democratically agreed upon. I did not agree that if the blue collar criminal commits a crime, he or she will be punished but not the platinum collar criminal. I did not agree that my government should make decisions that cause harm to one section of the population to enrich another section. While I agree that our creativity should be encouraged, I did not agree that exorbitant prizes should be heaped on entertainers while the citizens who have been making the more urgently needed contributions to their society are going unrecognised and unrewarded.

Most recently in the USA, Congress was bypassed in a decision to engage in a war that the country cannot afford on so many levels. This is not the "democracy" that I want for citizens anywhere but there are minds in our country that are clearly in shocking phototropic lockstep with the policies that are enforced there. This never fails to cause me deep disappointment but as I am not in the majority, I can only continue to fervently pray for my country's awakening.

"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

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