Abatina [Song]

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ABATINA
By Kobo Town

[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]
[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]

We knew Tina was no deceiver, but few were inclined to believe her
[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]
We said she was lucky to marry a man rich and handsome like Mr. Harry
[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?] 
You see Harry was a charmer, no one believed he could harm her
[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]

He called her sugar and spice, bought her everything nice
And she ignored her best friend’s advice
He had money, words like honey, never considered the price
As he bought, sweet talked his way into her life
Felt lucky to be loved, thrilled to be wanted
To be held, to be kept, to be flaunted
To be sought, to be caught, to be pursued
How could she foresee what ensued?

[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]

Well, the wedding was the talk of the town
Tina went down the aisle in a long, white gown
[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]
We said she wanted to marry above her;
All she sought was someone to love her
[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]
When the news first came, we called her a liar;
She made no sound, mouth full of wire.
[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]

Long before the wedding came the signs and the times
Sweet lines to settle the doubts in her mind
Trials, denials, promises all would be fine
Too late, she was already resigned
Lucky to be loved, thrilled to be wanted
To be held, to be kept, to be flaunted
Sought, caught, to be pursued
How could she foresee what ensued?

[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]

In the end Tina was buried in the yard by the church where she was married
[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]
Tina was young and should have outlived us
Now we pray that she could forgive us
[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]
We knew Tina was no deceiver, but few were inclined to believe her
[Abatina oh, who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]
Abatina oh, [who is it yuh have there breaking down the door?]

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, Kobo Town. 

This hauntingly beautiful song gives me the chills. The choice of instruments, the arrangement of the music, the chorus, the message, a seductive combination of horror and beauty. Trinbagonians know about such tantalising incongruities. How else would garlic and pepper end up in the sweet tamarind ball or slices of sweet pineapple be turned into peppery chow. I see that the international market is catching up.  Chili and salt infused chocolates have been produced by Lindt. "Been there, done that!" was what I thought when I saw the flavours appearing on the shelves. But back to the story of Abatina, which, by the way, I would like to sweep under the carpet.

Abatina is a cautionary tale about what could happen when women [or countries] fall for silver beaks and bling. Abatina is about becoming resigned and not listening to the doubts, not even when they become more than doubts and the actual blows start to rain down. Abatina is about people standing around and not believing the nightmare unfolding before their eyes, or even worse, muttering, "Yuh look fuh dat." 

Lines that grab me by the throat are: 

"How could she foresee what ensued?" How could she indeed? Like my mother used to say, "Come see me, come live with me." Even when you have no doubts, you won't really know what is what or who is who until you are in the kitchen, sometimes not until it is too late.

"Well, the wedding was the talk of the town / Tina went down the aisle in a long, white gown" That image of the white gown on this woman - the white of the sacrificial lamb, the white of the burial shroud....more chills.

"We knew Tina was no deceiver, but few were inclined to believe her..

When the news first came, we called her a liar; / She made no sound, mouth full of wire." The aloneness of this woman is heartbreaking. How many of our sisters are living in hellish situations like Abatina without support, without rescue?

"We said she wanted to marry above her; / All she sought was someone to love her."

Again the callousness of onlookers in the community, summing up another person's motives in the most unsympathetic terms.

"In the end Tina was buried in the yard by the church where she was married" Tonnerre!! Wedding dress/funeral shroud, church/graveyard, plenty hope/deepest despair, marriage as life bringer/marriage as bringer of death...

"Tina was young and should have outlived us / Now we pray that she could forgive us"... Enough said!

If you or someone you know is in a similar situation, listen to the song one more time and get some professional advice about how to proceed.

"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