This Land [Song]

Uploaded by Edward Spencer
THIS LAND
By Natasha Wilson

This land, [this land] this land I love so dear
This land, [this land] mih navel string bury here
I see because we money gone low, everybody packing to go
Long, long line in the embassy from the Savannah to Caroni.

But not me, [not me] watch and see
I am going to stay and help to rebuild daily
Not to rob and kill but use whatever little skill that I possess
All who want to desert, desert but I pledge to stay under oath
To always do my endeavour for Trinidad and Tobago forever
And ever and ever and ever and ever.

This land, [this land] this land is a sacred trust
This land, [this land] - a legacy for us
I never thought I would see the day educated people running away
Lying on the the country like Mahabir to get legal status in Canada.

No sir, [no sir] ----- much too far
I am going to stay and help to rebuild daily
Not to rob and kill but use whatever little skill that I possess
All who want to desert, desert but I pledge to stay under oath
To always do my endeavour for Trinidad and Tobago forever
And ever and ever and ever and ever.

I am going to stay and help to rebuild daily
Not to rob and kill but use whatever little skill that I possess
All who want to desert, desert but I pledge to stay under oath
To always do my endeavour for Trinidad and Tobago forever
And ever and ever and ever and ever.

This land, [this land] oh, this blessed plot on earth!
This land, [this land] has had its share of pain and hurt
Whatever problems are there about, we could all try to work it out
Not as soon as a pressure hit, pack up and run like a Jack Rabbit.

I'll never quit, no, not a bit
I am going to stay and help to rebuild daily
Not to rob and kill but use whatever little skill that I possess
All who want to desert, desert but I pledge to stay under oath
To always do my endeavour for Trinidad and Tobago forever
And ever and ever and ever and ever.

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, Natasha Wilson. I agree completely and believe that our country has lost many of its assets, including the human variety, to other destinations. You are now based in New York, proving that there are many worthy and irresistible pull factors that remove many Trinbagonians, often permanently, from the country that they may continue to love forever and ever and ever and ever and ever. This is a beautiful and moving song, delivered with Natasha Wilson's warmth and inimitable sweetness. It leaves me appreciating even more than I usually do, the countrymen who stand by our homeland through thick and thin.

"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

What You willing to die for? [Song]

Uploaded by KMP MUSICLAB
WHAT YOU WILLING TO DIE FOR?
Sung by Joanna "Tigress" Rowley
Written by Andre Jeffers & Kenny Phillips
Produced by Kenny Phillips of KMP Music Lab

Trinidad and Tobago, are we truly a patriotic people? Do you love your country?

They say he crazy, a delusional fool
They say he selfish and want things my way
I say they lazy, they too nonchalant and cool
His cause is bigger than just a highway
They calling him fraud, say he cannot be of God
And whether he die or not, it don't matter
But what they don't see is a man who'll die for country
I'll call him a patriot and martyr.

Dr. Kublalsingh took a stand against corruption
The naysayers say life is too precious for that
They say surely he must have had a better option
The thing [is], we all willing to die, tell me for what and why
For something noble or just to get a bligh? Oy!

[Are you willing to die?] Just for some nicotine?
[Are you willing to die?] You smoking cigarettes by the pack
[Are you willing to die?] Just for the thrill of speed?
[Are you willing to die?] The highway is your drag race track.
[Are you willing to die?] Just for sexual antics?
[Are you willing to die?] Risking AIDS and HIV?
[Are you willing to die?] Like Dr. Kublalsingh?
[Are you willing to die?] No water, no food, not even IV?

What you willing to die for? Tell me!
What you will lose your life for?
Will you die for your country?
Trinidad, come! Will you die for your country? Hear me!

Now, a legal pillar who stood for justice and truth
Senior counsel and lead prosecutor
Some coward killers, now almost one year removed
Up to now, they still can't find that shooter
Justice reform on her plate, high profile work for the state
And pro bono work for those who can't afford
In return, what did she get? A cold case that can't solve yet
She deserve the nation's highest award.

Dana Seetahal died in service to this nation
She lived a life of purpose, fighting crime
Her legacy goes beyond the legislation
You see, we all going to die with no promise to say Bye-bye
Every man have their own appointed time. Oy!

[Are you willing to die?] To jump and wine in a band?
[Are you willing to die?] When Ebola is a serious threat?
[Are you willing to die?] Hey, you, the smuggler man!
[Are you willing to die?] You swallowing all these cocaine pellets. You fool!
[Are you willing to die?] To protest the cabal?
[Are you willing to die?] They disgusting and worthless.
[Are you willing to die?] Like Dana Seetahal?
[Are you willing to die?] To stand for truth and justice? Oy!

What you willing to die for? Tell me.
[What you willing to die for?']
Will you die for your country?
Lose your life for your country?

This one really hits home. ------------ this one is for you,  for the love of my country.

A mother of six, grandmother of eight
In the media she is known as Good Granny
A tower of bricks, Marlene Grant was her name
Fought the gangsters with no damn apology
They threatened and warned her, the bad boys call her informer
She didn't bat an eye or even hide in fear
They tried to kill her with fire, they even had guns for hire
Had the whole community running in tears.

Marlene Grant took a stand against them vultures
No police protection despite all the threats
That why we have a "Me-ent-see-nothing" friggin' culture
Man 'fraid to snitch and die but to cheat death they willing to lie
Seeing wickedness, then turning a blind eye. Oy!

[Are you willing to die?] Just for your B13, or even your Wingroad?
[Are you willing to die?] For your taxi money coil?
[Are you willing to die?] Just for some KFC?
[Are you willing to die?] You just might get some hot oil.
[Are you willing to die?] Just not to be a Mammy?
[Are you willing to die?] And abort that child you had?
[Are you willing to die?] Like that brave, brave granny?
[Are you willing to die?] To stand up against the gang. Oy!

What you willing to die for? Tell me.
What you will lose your life for?
Will you die for your country?
To save your community. Tell me.

This one is for the leaders.

Left hand on the Bible or the Bhagavad Gita
Some swear with the Qu'ran, right hand upraised
Sworn to serve our country but watch how you raping her
Break and take and yet, you are still not phased
Who lie before God will be surely put to the sword
You could find that in any scripture
Public office life should be a great sacrifice
But every politician leaving richer.

Willingness to die isn't just physical
Are you willing to die to self and serve?
But the parliament full of thugs and political criminals
Most of them ent willing to die, they just full of mamaguy
Which leaders can we watch and exemplify? None!

[Are you willing to die?] Just for financial power?
[Are you willing to die?] With corruption all over the place?
[Are you willing to die?] For the almighty dollar?
[Are you willing to die?] Or like Anil, who left in disgrace?
[Are you willing to die?] For a political change?
[Are you willing to die?] Or are you going to stand, run your mouth and do nothing?
[Are you willing to die?] Money for vote is nothing strange
[Are you willing to die?] Trinbago, we must stand for something! Ey!

What you willing to die for?
What you will lose your life for?
[What you willing to die for?] Will you die for your country?
[What you willing to die for?] Will you die for your country?
[What you willing to die for?] Ey!
[What you willing to die for?] Trinidad and Tobago, let us get up!
[What you willing to die for?] Stand firm with our RED, WHITE and BLACK.
[What you willing to die for?]
What you will lose your life for?
[What you willing to die for?]
Will you die for your country?
[What you willing to die for?]
God bless our nation, Trinidad and Tobago.
[What you willing to die for?]
[What you willing to die for?]

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! ..............................................................................................................................
"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

I believe [Song]

Uploaded by Chuck Gordon
I BELIEVE
By Chucky Gordon

I believe in you!

Trinbago, this once blessed twin island
Godfather of the whole Caribbean
All them neighbours used to look up at we
Now they hardly taking us seriously, you see
Because we going through some hard times
The axe getting harder to grind
Although we going down a slippery slope
I would never ever give up hope.

Because I don't believe that any politician
Should succeed in dividing this nation
I don't believe in all the gloom nor the prophecies of doom
Divided we all shall fall, so time to heed a nation's call.
I say, I don't believe that the solution
Lies in the hands of the trade union
But I believe that we will come back
And I believe in the Red, White and Black
I believe that we will pull through
'Cause Trinidad and Tobago, I believe in you
Yes, my people, I believe in you.

As soon as things start getting little harder,
I see people seeking greener pastures
People who I thought woulda stay and fight
See them hustling to get on the first flight, so trite
But I not abandoning ship, no way
'Cause I on board for the whole trip, yay-yay
And I'm sure that I'm not alone
So let's work hard and rebuild our home.

Because I don't believe the preacher on the pulpit
Is more sacred than the Imam and Pundit
No one race is superior to feel they could rule forever
Using us for fortune and fame,
Making us as pawns in their chess game
I say, I don't believe my people so mad
To follow them cassa dealing their race card
But I believe that we will come back
And I believe in the Red, White and Black
I believe that we will pull through
'Cause Trinidad and Tobago, I believe in you
Yes, my people, I believe in you.

I don't believe that this nation could be held to ransom
And that no Trinbagonian has a better vision
I don't believe that my people would sit and allow evil
And no patriotic Trini put party before country

But I believe that we will come back
And I believe in the Red, White and Black
I believe that we will pull through
'Cause Trinidad and Tobago, I believe in you
Yes, my people, I believe in you.

I not pointing fingers at anybody
But it hurts when I feel and I see
How this lil Trinabgo, the land of our birth
Should be our favourite place on earth, real worth
From Africa, Europe and Asia
Trinbago gave us food and shelter
We too wealthy here to be poor
So let's ensure we settle the score.

Because I don't believe my people are losing heart
And allowing everything to fall apart
I don't believe we are so blind to give citizenship to crime
I don't believe that none of we
Will sell out for cellphone and jersey
I say, I don't believe all this corruption
Could continue in such oblivion
But I believe that we will come back
And I believe in the Red, White and Black
I believe that we will pull through
'Cause Trinidad and Tobago, I believe in you
[I believe] Yes, my people, [I believe-I believe]
I believe in you. [I believe ] You're responsible [I believe-I believe]
I believe in you. [I believe] Don't mind the trouble [I believe-I believe]
I believe in you [I believe] We well capable [I believe-I believe]
Yay! [I believe, I believe-I believe]
I believe in you [I believe, I believe-I believe]
I believe in you  [I believe, I believe-I believe]
I believe in you.

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, Chucky Gordon!

"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

Unity/Lend A Hand [Song]

Uploaded by roger ramirez
UNITY/LEND A HAND
By The Mighty Sparrow

Now is the time to rebuild
Make up your mind to climb the hill
It's reconstruction time in Trinidad
So put your shoulders to the wheel, mih lad
Move on, don't stop 'til you reach the top.

Chorus:
You put a hand and I put a hand and we will see
For big and for small, in no time at all, prosperity
There's no other way to do it, show your patriotic spirit
Unity, somehow, if Trinidad ever needed you, it's now.

Trinidadians, one and all, hear my plea, answer my call
The peace and happiness we had before
Was lost with everybody fighting war
Let's hope that done, so move on upwards, come on.

Chorus:
You put a hand and I put a hand and we will see
In no time at all, for big and for small, prosperity
There's no other way to do it, show your patriotic spirit
Unity, somehow, if Trinidad ever needed you, it's now.

Forget political policy and political ties
And rebuild your country before the good name dies
If everyone will learn to play their part
That is enough to make a useful start
Soon we'll have had a better Trinidad.

Chorus:
You put a hand and I put a hand and we will see
In no time at all, for big and for small, prosperity
There's no other way to do it, show your patriotic spirit
Unity, somehow, if Trinidad ever needed you, it's now.
..............................................................................................................................


A Note From The Gull

Thank you, Mighty Sparrow.

"You have two hands. One to help yourself, the second to help others."

-- Audrey Hepburn

Gayap and Get It Done.

"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

The Way (Unity) [Song]

Uploaded by Edward Spencer
THE WAY (UNITY)
By Brother Marvin

The time has come to give unity a chance
Grab this opportunity before it's too late
In our long years of Independence
At last we came up with such unique mandate
History, everyone say, history, world class, talking 'bout true world class
We have the chance to show all and sundry what's a true democratic country
Hand in hand, we could take this nation to heights unknown
Where we could stand proud and say, "T&T is we own!"

Forged from the love of liberty, one goal, one people, one identity
If we really want to aspire to build a rainbow empire
Side by side and with pride we must pray together
That way we go stay together, harmoniously love together in unity
That is right road for T&T.

Never listen to prophets of doom
Your country and your fellow men, they must come first
For pettiness and grudges, there is no room
Appreciation for all we must rehearse
We doh want no racists to make it their business to charm we into enmity
As long as things doh go in their favour,
They make statements I view with horror
They say, "No Indian could run this country for we."
Well, I'll tell you as man, I have a solution. Hear me.

We go take all dem racial neemakaram
Send them on a one way trip to oblivion
Then the true Trinbagonian, those who really care 'bout this nation
Go come together and pray together
That way we go stay together, harmoniously love together in unity
And that is right road for T&T.

Ethnicity should be something of the past
A feeling of patriotism must be at heart
Racism and hate is not of world class
These are ugly monsters that will block our path
This country - paradise T&T,
This society could be the world's envy
Come, let us build a solid foundation
To create a nation of nations
Time to get rid of all ------------- let good sense prevail
So that the young ones to come, they would follow the trail.

Oh, islands of the blue Caribbean Sea
Now is the time to enhance your beauty
For unity to last in this country
We have got to make it a duty
To come together and pray together
That way we go stay together, harmoniously love together in unity
And that is right road for T&T. Hear me.

I have a dream I know will come true
The Indians, Africans, Chinese and Syrians
Carib and Arawak - the remaining few
And douglas will walk this blessed land, hand in hand
No division, no reservation, proudly and with dignity
Dedicating our lives to this country
Oh, how glorious that era would be
But the time is ticking away like a metronome
So let us be colour blind and make this a better home.

Oh, in the fires of hope and prayer
Now is the time to make sure we get there
There could be no success without problems
But we owe it all to the children to come together and pray together
That way we go stay together, harmoniously love together in unity
That is right road for T&T.

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, Brother Marvin.

"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

A Nation's Call [Song]

Uploaded by KMP MUSICLAB
A NATION'S CALL
By Duane O'Connor

This is a call to the nation. It's time to fight for your country.

Trinidad and Tobago, come to attention
Too much red in the rainbow, blood in the nation
Society in a crisis, lives being cut short
We are on some nations' blacklist, they blanking Trini port
The issues we cannot duck 'cause passing the blame doh work
The solutions have to come from within we rank
So we have to stop looking for some outside formula
To fix we social concerns, we have the answers.

A nation's call, we need ALL
Police man and soldier, pundit or pastor
From White Hall to market stall
All hands on deck to save Trinbago from further wreck
Every Trinbagonian, every man and woman
We got to rally for we country
NGOs and party, every conscious lobby
Nation never need you more, time to restore.

Get up, get up, get up, Trinidad and Tobago!
Too much red in the rainbow.

Whenever justice waivers, people get angry
Because deviant behaviours gain ascendancy
And no gambage or guntalk can fix these problems
Firstly all ------ must get caught in the legal system
Where there is no mutual trust in stakeholders among us
All your crime initiatives, they going to fail
Law-abiding citizens must see justice being done
Then confidence will be won, that's one solution.

A nation's call, we need ALL
Deosaran and Ryan, trade union and oil man
From White Hall to market stall
All hands on deck to save Trinbago from further wreck
Every Trinbagonian, every man and woman
We got to rally for we country
NGOs and party, every conscious lobby
Nation never need you more, time to restore.

Oh, Trinidad and Tobago, too much anger, too much murder!

This problem is much bigger than holding office
Because since bygone era we sowed the genesis
So no knee-jerk reaction or blaming each other
Cannot replace the strong plan that looks to the future
And serious interdiction for all the drugs and gun
CCTV, public eye and neighbourhood watch
Rogue cops and crooked soldiers must be made to pay
Opposition must not play games, strong nation is the aim.

A nation's call, we need ALL
Bongo drum and tassa, ---------- dragon dancer
From White Hall to market stall
All hands on deck to save Trinbago from further wreck
Every Trinbagonian, every man and woman
We got to rally for we country
NGOs and party, every conscious lobby
Nation never need you more, time to restore.

Let's pray, let's pray, kneel down and pray, help the youth, help the youth
Let's save the youth of this nation.

So here we are at the crossroads, we future in balance
Everywhere must bear their load, teachers and parents
From Parliament back to the church, PSA, NOC
Take the personal approach - all for T&T
True change, it begins with youth, the community first fruit
Time to harness youthful energy into national service
Socioeconomic initiatives for long term progress
Trinbago is we birthright, for country we go fight.

A nation's call, we need ALL
UTT and UWI, we fixing T&T
From White Hall to market stall
All hands on deck to save Trinbago from further wreck
Every Trinbagonian, every man and woman
We got to rally for we country
NGOs and party, every conscious lobby
Nation never need you more, time to restore.

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, Duane O'Connor.  

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

Chaudhvin ka chand, ya Aaftab ho?

SUHANI RAAT AND CHAUDHVIN KA CHAND

Mashup performed by Aakash Gandhi [ft Jonita Gandhi and Studiounplugged]

SUHANI RAAT

Suhani raat dhal chuki, na jaane tum kab aaoge

The beautiful night has slipped away, don't know when you will come.

Suhani raat dhal chuki, na jaane tum kab aaoge

The beautiful night has slipped away, don't know when you will come.

Jahan ki rut badal chuki, na jaane tum kab aaoge

Throughout the world the seasons have changed, don't know when you will come.

Suhani raat dhal chuki, na jaane tum kab aaoge

The beautiful night has slipped away, don't know when you will come.

Nazaarein apni mastiyaan dikha dikhaake so gaye

The sights have shown their beautiful effects and are gone now

Sitaarein apni roshni luta lutaake so gaye

The stars shone and now are no more.

Suhani raat dhal chuki, na jaane tum kab aaoge

The beautiful night has slipped away, don't know when you will come.

Jahan ki rut badal chuki, na jaane tum kab aaoge

Throughout the world the seasons have changed, don't know when you will come.

CHAUDHVIN KA CHAND

Chaudhvin ka chand ho, ya aaftaab ho

Are you the full moon, or the dazzling sun?

Jo bhi ho tum Khuda ki kasam, laajawab ho

Whatever you may be, I swear to God, you are beyond compare!

Chaudhvin ka chand ho?

Are you the full moon?

Zulfein hain jaise kaandhon pe baadal jhuke hue

Your hair is like a soft cloud kissing your shoulders

Aankhen hain jaisi mey ke peyaale bhare hue

Your eyes are like two goblets

Masti hai jis mein pyar ki, tum woh sharaab ho

And you are the wine that fills them with a zest for love.

Chaudhvin ka chand ho, ya aaftaab ho

Are you the full moon, or the sun?

Jo bhi ho tum Khuda ki kasam, laajawab ho

Whatever you may be, I swear to God, you are beyond compare!

Mohammed Rafi sang the original songs: Suhani Raat and Chaudhvin Ka Chand

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



A Note From The Gull

Listening to this haunting mashup tonight, I am writing through this terrible sadness that I am feeling. When I first listened to this soulful performance, I heard my conversation with my country. These words, "Suhani raat dhal chuki, na jaane tum kab aaoge" and "Chaudhvin ka chand ho, ya aaftaab ho " are now never far from my lips and I find myself spontaneously saying them softly to myself as I go about my daily activities.

For me, three states are expressed in this beautiful remake:

1. Love and desire.

Jo bhi ho tum Khuda ki kasam, laajawab ho | Whatever you may be, I swear to God, you are beyond compare!

2. Anxious, lingering, persistent hope.

Suhani raat dhal chuki, na jaane tum kab aaoge | The beautiful night has slipped away, don't know when you will come.

3. An undercurrent of growing despair that that hope may not be realised.

The painful possibility that the "don't know when you will come" will be replaced with, "You never came. My heart is broken."

I have always felt these for my country. I feel these with Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh. The two, the man and my country, are one and the same for me.  For over two months many of us who are still capable of paying attention for more than three seconds have been inspired, embarrassed, challenged, disturbed, frustrated, threatened and outed by this man, the one who some have callously named "the human reptile."

I believe instead, that Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh is The ProtoTrinbagonian and only time will tell if he is one of the last of a trial breed on the verge of extinction or a viable precursor of what is to come. I prefer to hope that like a lance, he is opening the way and leading our advance. Roman Catholic priest, Father Clyde Harvey, suggests that it may not be that we are losing our soul as a nation but that at this moment in time, we, our leaders included, are being offered the precious opportunity to create it for the first time.

Like Father Harvey advises, we have to look beyond personalities. They, like the thousand and one upsets which have had our heads spinning over the past few years, not to mention what went before, are only symptoms, just pustules on the back of the beast, the same beast to which many of us have been furtively throwing scraps under the dinner table. They are symptoms being used as distractions, symptoms labelled disease to condemn us to an infinity of applying and reapplying plasters to societal sores that predictably continue to weep profusely. They are symptoms which confound and enervate, unsettle and exhaust, to dumb down this country with punishing, mindless dissembling...not a day of peace, not a day of intelligence, not a day of hope that isn't doomed to betrayal. I am beside myself with exhaustion and I am just a witness from afar.

To borrow the title of Neil Bissoondath's novel, there is a casual brutality about the way in which we regard and treat each other in this country.  Others have given much thought to explaining why this is so but I have no time tonight.  WE have no time. There will come a day of darkness when the hearts of the conscious will be even more broken than they are today. They will not dare to ask themselves the question: What could we have done? because the answer in all its clarity will come when it is too late. On that day, those who still have the capacity to recognise loss and to mourn it will say:

Sitaarein apni roshni luta lutaake so gaye | The stars shone and now are gone.

"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

Below the Surface [Song]

TRUTH, TRANSPARENCY, TRUST.
Trikuta meri, na jaane tum kab aaoge.

Patriot Dr. Wayne Kublalsingh
"For the more injustice rages, the more they fight."

Uploaded by edward spencer

BELOW THE SURFACE
By Mystic Prowler

Sometimes I does get angry when I see somebody watch a next man achievement
And declare that that was easy.
They doh see all the struggle and all the failure
They quickly form allegiance to toast the winner
But in this life there's a truth and every tree you see have a root
And is from way below the surface you bring up your fruit.

Now, Thomas Edison, the light bulb inventor
Is two thousand times he fail before the bulb could light
And when, when he reach age sixty-seven, a fire cost him two million
That's when his studio burned to the ground one December night
But he stood strong, faithful to his craft
And three weeks later released his first phonograph.

You see, he had the stuff great men are made of
Is the stuff you could miss unless you look below the surface
I say, he had the stuff great men are made of
Is the stuff you could miss unless you look below the surface.

They say that pressure, it does make diamonds out of rock
And is the same with the human character when our dreams are downstruck
In a jail, two men looking out through the same bars
One will fail 'cause he see mud while the other see stars
You see, while pressure humbles the weak it strengthens who earnestly seek
It's the barometer that measures the strong and the weak

Because Martin Luther and South African Nelson Mandela
The darkness in their jail cell couldn't dim their lights
And civil rights atrocities only fuel more energies
For the more injustice rages, the more they fight
And for twenty-seven years Nelson Mandela suffer
And from jail became President of South Africa.

You see, Nelson had the stuff that great men are made of
Is the stuff you could miss unless you look below the surface
Potential, I say, he had the stuff that great men are made of
Is the stuff you could miss unless you look below the surface.

Check any success story, take any one you wish
And you'll see the road is often littered with blocks and rubbish
When as you clear one hurdle, you will meet another
And as you lift one burden, you will hit a next gutter
You see while your progress is slow, your determination must grow
Just affirm and profess the success you already know.

Don't you know Elvis Presley was fired by Jimmy Denny?
After just one show, he was told, "Go back, go back and drive truck."
And the great Beethoven of music, imagine he was deaf at forty-six?
But that's when he produced his greatest musical stock
And the great Caruso stood firm by his choice
Although his teacher told him, "You can't sing and you have no voice."

But he had the stuff great men are made of
Is the stuff you could miss unless you look below the surface
Oh, he had the stuff great men are made of
Is the stuff you could miss unless you look below the surface.

As a nation, we would do well to train our young
Not to adopt a luck and chance approach or a gaming disposition
For they will dream of easy money and sweet tomorrow
From a get rich scheme with their one in one hundred thousand ratio
We need to teach foundations of truth, trees that send down good roots
Not parasites that suck at ill-gotten fruits.

Don't you know Basdeo Panday walked so many miles barefoot to school
Land in England with six dollars to take his law course?
And Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson, imagine he was shot and imprisoned?
Half blind and dying he said, "Attack, attack, attack with full force!"
For such men with belly, leadership was meant
No wonder they are Prime Minister and President.

You see, they had the stuff great men are made of
Is the stuff you could miss unless you look below the surface
I say, they had the stuff great men are made of
Is the stuff you could miss unless you look below the surface.

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, Mystic Prowler.  What can I say now that I have not said before? Concerned Trinbagonians, with the exception of a small minority, are impotent and struck dumb - cat got our tongue and catfish gone with our lignum vitae. So tonight I can only rest whatever hope I have left on the wisdom of the message generously shared by Trinbagonian Roman Catholic priest, Father Clyde Harvey:

"A man fasting for a cause challenges us about our soul. Where is the soul of the nation?

With the first hunger strike, Wayne Kublalsingh gave me, and I tried to communicate it to others, three words which I think can help us find our soul - Truth, Transparency, Trust.

And the Armstrong Report which is at the center of all of this is not about the Honourable Prime Minister. It's not even about Wayne Kublalsingh. It's about whether or not we, as a people, can develop principles and processes which allow us to believe in ourselves, to always stand for truth and to try to be transparent about what we do.

Unless I can believe in your truth when you speak to me, when you relate to me, nothing is possible. I can't trust you.  Unless to some extent I can think that I am seeing through you, the real you, in the way and the process that we are engaged in, I can't trust you. And people who don't trust each other can't form relationships. No nation can endure.

So we are faced today with that challenge and a man fasting is challenging us to ask ourselves - Is there anything that we are willing to die for? Do we love anything enough, in this case Trinidad and Tobago, to identify what are the values, what are the things that I would lay down my life for as a citizen of this country?

Unless some citizens have that sense, we're are not a Republic. We are still subjects of some monarch, whatever, whoever that monarch is, and we won't survive.

So, today as we face this, let's forget about the personalities and let's think Trinidad and Tobago."

--Father Clyde Harvey, Trinidad and Tobago.

"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

We Going Strong [Song]

Uploaded by OvertimeTT TV
WE GOING STRONG
By Abbi Blackman

Trinbago, Trinbago, Trinbago.

The Almighty, from the corners of the earth build this nation
Blessings flowing down, a beauty abounding from creation
As we reach this time, this time of maturity
We embrace this decade - the golden fifties.

Sportsmen and sportswomen excelling
Calypsonian feeling the pulse of the people and commenting
Politicans extempoing to the rhythm of brethren and sistren
Forming and reforming and we agreeing and disagreeing
And I is I and you is you and we is we.

Trinbago we growing, we not failing
Despite all the crisis, we've reached the fifties
And we going strong, that doh mean we ent do nothing wrong
Keep on going, keep on growing strong!

We reach the fifties, hold your head high, high, high [Trinbago going strong]
The red, white and black flying in the sky [Trinbago going strong]
When we fall, we doh stay down, down, down [Trinbago going strong]
I ent leaving here, is here that I love and belong [Trinbago going strong]
The iron in the pan ringing the world over [Trinbago going strong]
The tassa saying come, come, come, come, come [Trinbago going strong]
Remember, is we who invented soca
Strong! Trinbago going strong!

Trinbago, Trinbago.

I, Mother T&T, sounding the gong for the old and the young
You are all different, different cultures but to me you belong
Indian, Chinese, Syrian, European, Africans
We all hitched to one another - true Trinbagonians
Let us bond in love with heart and soul
Casting away evil and lust, unity is fine goal[?].

Kamla, Manning, Panday and Jack
Ella, Gypsy, Leroy Clarke and David
Marionetttes, Desperadoes
Minshall, MacFarlane, Patricia, Wong Sang, Capildeo, ------ Lara
Makandal, Daaga, Russell Latapy, Ato, Sparrow
Eric Williams, Shorty I, all these names are our heroes
They -------- this society to reach the fifties
And we going strong, time for us to right the wrong
Keep on going, keep on growing strong.

We reach the fifties, hold your head high, high, high [Trinbago going strong]
The red, white and black flying in the sky [Trinbago going strong]
When we fall, we doh stay down, down, down [Trinbago going strong]
I ent leaving here, is here that I love and belong [Trinbago going strong]
The iron in the pan ringing the world over [Trinbago going strong]
The tassa saying come, come, come, come, come [Trinbago going strong]
Remember, is we who invented soca

Trinbago, Trinbago, Trinbago.

The guns popping in the hills and in the streets
Making mothers weep, the missing generation heaps
And the life blood seeping deep
Creating a pool of bitterness for us to reap
And the drugs swelling the pockets of lords and creeps.

My children, your reputation ent nice
You too big, drugs, thieving and killing - the Devil's device
You too big, wake up, you sleeping
So many years more nations should be building
Calypsonians, prophets, you not hearing
Mothers bawling, children falling, not enough justice
As T&T, oh gosh, I shame, I have to say this
Listen Trinbago, we ----------------
Red, white, black and yellow, this is the golden fifties
And we going strong, the killing going on too long
Keep on going, keep on growing strong!

We reach the fifties, hold your head high, high, high [Trinbago going strong]
The red, white and black flying in the sky [Trinbago going strong]
When we fall, we doh stay down, down, down [Trinbago going strong]
I ent leaving here, is here that I love and belong [Trinbago going strong]

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, Abbi Blackman.  A wonderful, uplifting song especially for this time.

For those of you who will be in the thick of things for the Carnival, try to be safe in everything that you do. Make sure that your children are left with responsible, adult carers if you have to go out without them. Look out for each other. Be grateful for and respect each other as you celebrate being alive and Trinbagonian.

"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

Show Your Colours [Song]

Uploaded by JulianspromosTV | Soca Music
SHOW YOUR COLOURS
By Sheldon Blackman

This thing, it does really baffle me
Sometimes it could really trouble me
All the things that happening in the world
And even right here in my island
Murders, violence so common
This thing, it does truly hurt my soul.

But we still find joy and relaxation
And we still hold the fires of meditation
Well, I've been all over the world
And can tell you as a fact
That's worth more than gold.

Red, white and black in flight, show your colours, unite
Be stronger together forever, Trinidad and Tobago
Red, white and black in flight, show your colours, unite
Be stronger together forever, Trinidad and Tobago
Up, up, up, up, up, Trinidad and Tobago
Up, up, up, up, up, I want a brighter tomorrow
Show me a brighter tomorrow. Oh yeah!

Show me love....

True reason for soca chutney
Create unity and harmony
This we can share with the whole wide world
We have wealth and beauty in this island
Enough for every man, child and woman
Share and live as one, we have to learn
And we go find more joy and relaxation
And we go hold more good vibes and meditation
Well, I've been all over the world
And can tell you as a fact
That's worth more than gold. Oh yeah!

Red, white and black in flight, show your colours, unite
Be stronger together forever, Trinidad and Tobago
Red, white and black in flight, show your colours, unite
Be stronger together forever, Trinidad and Tobago
Up, up, up, up, up, Trinidad and Tobago
Up, up, up, up, up, I want a brighter tomorrow
Show me a brighter tomorrow. Oh yeah!

Show me love....

Listen, I say, come leh we, come leh we bubble a pot
Bubble, we bubbling hot, hot, hot
Leh we drink and dance and have a good time
Leh we done with the hate, leh we done with the crime
Trinidad and Tobago is where we come from
Leh we love up we culture, love up yourself
Love up your neighbour, love up your brother
Come show me love, come show me love, come.

Red, white and black in flight, show your colours, unite
Be stronger together forever, Trinidad and Tobago
Red, white and black in flight, show your colours, unite
Be stronger together forever, Trinidad and Tobago
Up, up, up, up, up, Trinidad and Tobago
Up, up, up, up, up, I want a brighter tomorrow
Show me a brighter tomorrow. show me love.

Red, white and black!

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, Sheldon Blackman.  Upliftment!

"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

La Trinity [Song]

Uploaded by Premchan Sookram
(Don't Cry For Me) LA TRINITY
By Denyse Plummer

No longer may I seem to be a paradise of glory
Or a river of pleasure running out to the sea
But I take my refuge in a higher power you see
My body will be restored and my heritage is still beautiful to me.

Don't cry for me, my children, [Don't cry] for all the fire that falls upon me
Don't cry for me, my children, [Don't cry] it was given to me to test me
But I will not be shaken, I am La Trinity
And there is no destruction, if you look you still see
There is a mountaintop, there is the sea and sand
Child, I am your rock, I am your island.

Children, I am strong, immovable, so keep working, forget the pain
Always knowing that your toil is never in vain
Many hands make light work, I have two million, I am told
Just like my soldiers, they will never,
No, my children will never abandon my soul.

Rise up all my children, [Rise up!] forget the fire that falls upon me
There is no misconception, [Rise up!] you are the power and strength inside me
And I will not be shaken, I am La Trinity
No chaos and confusion, no doom, no tragedy
-------------------- may crack on solid foundation
Child, I am your rock, I am your island.

Look in the mirror, tell me what you see
- a beautiful child of La Trinity
Look in the mirror, tell me what you see
- a beautiful child of La Trinity.

Tortured minds crying out for help, child, you have some place to go
Don't be anxious for your life or your tomorrow
The birds, they don't sow or reap and yet their children they feed
I shall provide abundantly
For you are worth to me much more than a bird in a tree.

Don't cry for me, my children, [Don't cry] for all the fire that falls upon me
Don't cry for me, my children, [Don't cry] it was given to me to test me
But I will not be shaken, I am La Trinity
And there is no destruction, if you look, you still see
There is a mountaintop, there is the sea and sand
Child, I am your rock, I am your island.

Condemnation to all who meddle and destroy my sacred contents
Only a weak one can the Devil ever torment
But my children, you are my power, you are the substance that make me strong
And tomorrow you will see,
I will be a land once again bountiful and free.

Rise up all my children, [Rise up!] forget the fire that falls upon me
There is no misconception, [Rise up!] you are the power and strength inside me
And I will not be shaken, I am La Trinity
Land of your creation, blessed and almighty
And when one door is locked, another one will open
Child I am your rock, I am your island.

Look in the mirror, tell me what you see
- a beautiful child of La Trinity
Look in the mirror, tell me what you see
- a beautiful child of La Trinity
I say to look in the mirror, tell me what you see
- a beautiful child of La Trinity
Look, look, look, look in the mirror now and tell me now what you see
- a beautiful child of La Trinity
Look in the mirror, tell me what you see -
[I see] a beautiful child of La Trinity...

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, Denyse Plummer.

"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

The Plan [Song]

Uploaded by cool4rocknroll
THE PLAN
By Machel Montano

Soca country starting to bawl, things ent looking rosy at all
Index finger starting to screel, wonder if is bad card he deal
But we ent want no bacchanal [We just want to break away]
Specially 'round Carnival [Mankind come to waylaylay]
No, we ent want no bacchanal [We are still a paradise]
This is just an interval [Like a phoenix we go rise]

Come leh we organise and plan how to straighten out this land
'Cause we share the spoils, time to share the toils
Come leh we organise and plan how to straighten out this land
Not for selfish good but for nationhood
Look in the mirror and you'll see
Whose responsibility is the welfare of this land
Time to show your hand.

Social fabric weave up like wool, crucial threads beginning to pull
Old complexes back on the job, new associations and clubs
But we ent want no bacchanal [We just want to break away]
Specially 'round Carnival [Mankind come to waylaylay]
No, we ent want no bacchanal [This country is callaloo]
So doh try to bring no war [Put your pepper in the stew]

Come leh we organise and plan how to straighten out this land
'Cause we share the spoils, time to share the toils
Come leh we organise and plan how to straighten out this land
Not for selfish good but for nationhood
Look in the mirror and you'll see
Whose responsibility is the welfare of this land
Time to show your hand.

Dealers with a license to kill, pushing poison powder at will
College students out on the drag, shiny bookmarkers in dey bag
But we ent want no bacchanal [We just want to break away]
Specially 'round Carnival [Mankind come to waylaylay]
No, we ent want no bacchanal [----- patriotism in its pride]
'Cause progress is integral [Like cooperation move with -------]

Come leh we organise and plan how to straighten out this land
'Cause we share the spoils, time to share the toils
Come leh we organise and plan how to straighten out this land
Not for selfish good but for nationhood
Look in the mirror and you'll see
Whose responsibility is the welfare of this land
Time to show your hand.

Balancing a budget is tears, watching how your cash disappears
As you find a dollar or two, taxes making sweet eye at you
But we ent want no bacchanal [We just want to break away]
Specially 'round Carnival [Mankind come to waylaylay]
No, we ent want no bacchanal ['Cause to live we ---- ]
No time to be cynical [When we moving positive]

Come leh we organise and plan how to straighten out this land
'Cause we share the spoils, time to share the toils
Come leh we organise and plan how to straighten out this land
Not for selfish good but for nationhood
Look in the mirror and you'll see
Whose responsibility is the welfare of this land
Time to show your hand.

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!

..............................................................................................................................
"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

Beloved [Song]

Listen to David Rudder's "Beloved" courtesy Melodycenta.com
[Link will open in new window..]
BELOVED
Composed and performed by David Rudder (1998

You may say I’m swimming against the tide,
You may say it’s just my sense of pride,
But I still say no one can match our natural energy.
You may say we running on empty,
But I still believe we in the land of plenty,
I can see it in the sensuous way our woman walk.

And the devils might come and the devils might go
Devils on the run. Look! The devil so and so.
Watch my people, people on the move,
One lovely nation, one lovely groove.

Living in the music, living with a fire
Call it beloved, beloved of the Lord. Yeah!
This fine day, see my people break away
See my people move and sway, Alleluia!

Look, I went to the market, I saw Miss Ida
She say, "Look David, take this, give yuh mother."
I went down the road, I saw Miss Pearl
She say, "Boy, come and eat something today."
Saw a brother on the street, a sister he did meet
He say, "Oh god doudou. How yuh lookin sexy so!"

Devils might come, devils might go
Devils on the run, devil so and so
I still see good people, people on the move
One lovely nation, lovely groove.

Living with the music, living with the fire
Call it beloved, the rhythm never lie. No!
So this fine night everything go be alright
See your troubles out of sight, Alleluia!

Look, Miss Chrissie house just burn down
Mr Singh and he sons just come around
Next thing you know, the whole village come
A new house build up on the land.
They never ask for no pay, just a plate of she pelau today
'Cause everybody know Miss Chrissie have the sweetest hand.

Devils might come, devils might go
The devil on the run. Look! The devil so and so
I still see my people, a nation on the move
One lovely nation, one lovely groove

Living in the music, Living with a fire
Call it beloved, the music never lie. No
This fine day, see my people break away
See my sisters move and sway, my beloved!

You may say that I’m swimming against the tide
You may say that it’s just my sense of pride
But I still feel that no one, no one can match our natural energy
Even though we seem to be running on empty
I still believe we in the land of plenty
I can see it in the sweet lilting way that we talk.

Hear me now.

Devils might come, devils might go
Devils on the run. The devil so and so
I still see my people, people on the move
One lovely nation, one lovely groove.

Living in the music, living with a fire
Call it beloved, the rhythm never lie. Oh!
The rhythm say, this fine night everything go be alright
See your troubles out of sight, Alleluia!

Jubilation time! Celebration time. Yeah!
Jubilation time! Celebration time!
Tomorrow is a new day!
Tomorrow is a new way!
Jubilation time! Jubilation time!

Let me tell you now!

Devils might come, devils might go
I see the devil on the run
Tell him, the devil so and so
I see my good people, people on the move
One lovely nation, one lovely groove.

Living in the music, living with a fire
Call it beloved, the music don’t lie. No
This fine night everything go be alright
See our troubles out of sight, Alleluia!!

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!
..............................................................................................................................
"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

Patriotism By Decree?

...More Than The Sum Of Its Parts.

This story in the Trinidad & Tobago Express, got my attention. It mentioned some of the issues which really interest me: Patriotism, Equity, Unity among our citizens and the First Nations peoples of Trinidad and Tobago. Have a read and we will continue below:

Hello, I'm a Trinbagonian!
Trinidad & Tobago Express | Oct 11, 2010

It is the People's Partnership government's intention, as part of a patriotism framework, to rebrand "Trinidadians" as Trinbagonians.

This was stated yesterday by Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Rodger Samuel, in an address at the launch of Amerindian Heritage Week at the Town Hall in Arima yesterday.

"We want to take away that identity crisis that we have about Trinidadians and Tobagonians," Samuel said.

He said to a loud round of applause, "It is our intention to rebrand Trinidadians so that our nationality would be known as Trinbagonian. There would be no disparity between you being a Trinidadian and you being a Tobagonian. That is where we are heading in this country."

He said that part of his responsibility as a Minister within the Office of the Prime Minister is to develop a "patriotism framework."

One of the objectives of the framework, he said , was to preserve, conserve and develop the nation's heritage—including the heritage of Trinidad and Tobago's indigenous peoples. This would be done in conjunction with the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism, he added.

"as part of a patriotism framework", - What exactly is a "patriotism framework"? I need in the worst way for this to be explained. You see, just as I become very uneasy when I hear the president general of a trade union, the OWTU, making blatant and blindly partisan statements, the notion of a government being involved in "creating" patriotism leaves me with a million questions which are never answered by sound bites.

"to rebrand "Trinidadians" as Trinbagonians." Yes, I know that I have been using Trinbagonians on this blog to save myself the trouble of having to type two long words connected by "and" but I am aware that not everyone likes "Trinbagonians". Some people still want to be described as Trinidadians or Tobagonians, just like, I imagine, identical twins probably prefer to have separate names and not be referred to as the "Johnson twins" or the "Cabrera twins." They know that they have a special bond, they know that they are equal but they also don't want anyone to forget that they are separate and unique entities despite their having emerged from one egg.

Referendum time, perhaps? I understand that this is a government that listens to the people and that mechanisms for referenda have been promised.

On the other hand, it may simply be that the government is hoping to engage in rebranding "Trinidad and Tobago" and the "patriotism framework" is among its exploratory steps. I hate being downwind of Americay's trends, so maybe it is best that "nation branding" and "patriotism framework" were not mentioned together in my presence.

"We want to take away that identity crisis that we have about Trinidadians and Tobagonians," What identity crisis exactly? I was born in Trinidad. I've worked in Trinidad with people who were born in Tobago. We knew who we were and I don't remember even getting the slightest impression that the Tobagonian citizens of this twin-island state had any identity crisis, and neither did I.

There would be no disparity between you being a Trinidadian and you being a Tobagonian. And even if there were any disparity between Trinidadians and Tobagonians, which I strongly dispute, calling us Trinbagonians is going to magically alleviate the problem [which does not exist]?

"One of the objectives of the framework, he said , was to preserve, conserve and develop the nation's heritage—including the heritage of Trinidad and Tobago's indigenous peoples." Well I liked the sound of that but still didn't see this as falling under a "patriotism framework". This is the work of all the Ministries, not so? Aren't there Ministries responsible for preserving, conserving and developing:

the environment?
our natural resources?
the bountiful earth?
the creative and willing minds and hands of our people and especially our children?
the cultural gifts which we inherited and which we are continually creating/recreating?
the wellness of all citizens?
our pursuit of justice and democratic ideals
our cultural ties with our neighbourhood of the Caribbean and Latin America?

All these form part of our heritage and perhaps the descendants, both genetic and spiritual, of the First Nations of these islands can symbolise that rootedness. But heritage is not just a noun or an artifact, heritage is also a way of doing, heritage is also what we hand to the future. And therefore we admit that there are ways of doing that we can improve upon and there are aspects of our heritage(s) that we might consider jettisoning and saying a farewell prayer over before moving on together to do better.

True patriotism is first about how we value ourselves as individuals. It is next about what we feel about our place in this land and no government can be in charge of orchestrating that. We will naturally come to love our country and to defend it if we feel rooted here, if we feel that we are well served and that we also have opportunities to serve, if we can prosper according to our different ambitions and be respected for the uniqueness of our contributions. Patriotism is not always pro-state or pro-government, so can a government be disinterested enough in its own preservation to encourage its citizens to think critically and independently. Will this "patriotism framework" support a patriotism that is true and non-partisan?

Patriot Wayne Kublalsingh

COPS STOP ACTIVIST'S SIT- IN
By Andre Bagoo | T&T's Newsday Friday, November 20 2009

There is no government fiat that can create "true" patriotism [unless we are blessed with a government that is also a champion of the cultivation of intelligence in its citizens] and what I fear is that this engineering can be taken to the extreme of ideological brainwashing leading to the mindless jingoism that is often made to masquerade as "patriotism". Governments of such "patriotized" populations can then use the flimsiest of slogans to effect the required Pavlovian responses.

I do not mean to suggest that populations are always gullible and lacking in intelligence but there is that human weakness, against we must always struggle, to take the easier, or what is perceived to be the easier, route and this manifests itself even more rabidly in populations that are already stressed [like ours] and therefore more unlikely to want to face harsh truths and take action against them.

In 1993, Midnight Oil, an Australian rock band from Sydney, produced the brilliant song "My Country" This song expresses my fears about the dangers of flag waving patriotism taken to the extreme, when we get to the stage where it does not matter when something is terribly wrong and we insist on using the flag to cover up the rotten core and even worse, to discourage criticism and dissent. We unscrew our heads, take out our brains and whether our country is right or wrong, we salute the flag:

"And did I hear you say,
My country, right or wrong
My country, oh so strong
My country, right or wrong
My country, right or wrong
My country going wrong
My country, right or wrong?"

I hear you say the truth must take a beating
The flag, a camouflage for your deceiving..."

Just like there must be separation between church and state, I feel that no government should be trusted with "creating" patriotism. This is why I fully endorse Black Stalin's words in his song, "Sing For The Land":

"I alone know how much this country do for me
So I alone could say how much I could do for the country
So how could any man or woman Trinidadian
Tell me how I must contribute to this land?
Because since I born, this country been taking care of me
And I making sure that I do the same carefully
Because this is just a warning to my fellow Trinbagonian
That I go lay my life down any time at all for the land.

"Is Trinbago who give Stalin the privilege
Just to find out I'm an African after the Middle Passage
So it's my obligation to make sure the twin island
That how I meet it, I could leave it in a better condition
So then I can't wait on no PM, no Opposition, or no party
You see I got to do the little that I could do
And do it wholeheartedly for this country. One love!"

I didn't learn to love my country from the government or my teachers, even though they were responsible for teaching about the national symbols and it was in Primary School that I learned the "National Anthem", "Our Nation's Dawning" and "God Bless Our Nation." I learned to love my land from my parents because they were more like country people and they had a deep connection with the natural environment. My father was the first environmentalist that I ever knew and I had the good fortune from childhood to be more in tune with the rhythms of nature than with manmade fashions and pleasures. He predicted all the environmental problems that T&T would experience because he took note of the savagery with which the land was being handled. He predicted the social problems because of the way in which people were being used and allowing themselves to be used. Today, I am grateful that we were brought to the same non-partisan understanding that Black Stalin shares.

Some time ago I wrote on this topic of patriotism and I concluded with embedding a speech by American Republican Ron Paul, who presented a surprisingly enlightened view of what constitutes patriotism.

Here are some quotes from that speech. If you wish, you can read the text or view the videos at my post, here.

In it Ron Paul makes a distinction between true patriotism and the "other" patriotism which the state often prefers and fosters because it allows it to pursue its agenda without opposition from the citizens.

"I accept the definition of patriotism as that effort to resist oppressive state power.

"The true patriot is motivated by a sense of responsibility and out of self-interest for himself, his family, and the future of his country to resist government abuse of power. He rejects the notion that patriotism means obedience to the state. Resistance need not be violent, but the civil disobedience that might be required involves confrontation with the state and invites possible imprisonment.

"Peaceful, nonviolent revolutions against tyranny have been every bit as successful as those involving military confrontation. Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., achieved great political successes by practicing nonviolence, and yet they suffered physically at the hands of the state. But whether the resistance against government tyrants is nonviolent or physically violent, the effort to overthrow state oppression qualifies as true patriotism.
"True patriotism today has gotten a bad name, at least from the government and the press. Those who now challenge the unconstitutional methods of imposing an income tax on us, or force us to use a monetary system designed to serve the rich at the expense of the poor are routinely condemned. These American patriots are sadly looked down upon by many. They are never praised as champions of liberty as Gandhi and Martin Luther King have been.

"Liberals, who withhold their taxes as a protest against war, are vilified as well, especially by conservatives. Unquestioned loyalty to the state is especially demanded in times of war. Lack of support for a war policy is said to be unpatriotic. Arguments against a particular policy that endorses a war, once it is started, are always said to be endangering the troops in the field. This, they blatantly claim, is unpatriotic, and all dissent must stop. Yet, it is dissent from government policies that defines the true patriot and champion of liberty.

"Out of fear of being labeled unpatriotic, most of the citizens become compliant and accept the argument that some loss of liberty is required to fight the war in order to remain safe.

"This is a bad trade-off, in my estimation, especially when done in the name of patriotism. Loyalty to the state and to autocratic leaders is substituted for true patriotism; that is, a willingness to challenge the state and defend the country, the people and the culture. The more difficult the times, the stronger the admonition comes that the leaders be not criticized.

"Statism depends on the idea that the government owns us and citizens must obey.

"Our government was originally designed to protect our liberties, but it has now, instead, become the usurper of those liberties.

"We currently live in the most difficult of times for guarding against an expanding central government with a steady erosion of our freedoms.

"The true patriot challenges the state when the state embarks on enhancing its power at the expense of the individual.

"Before the war in the Middle East spreads and becomes a world conflict for which we will be held responsible, or the liberties of all Americans become so suppressed we can no longer resist, much has to be done. Time is short, but our course of action should be clear. Resistance to illegal and unconstitutional usurpation of our rights is required. Each of us must choose which course of action we should take: education, conventional political action, or even peaceful civil disobedience to bring about necessary changes.

"But let it not be said that we did nothing. Let not those who love the power of the welfare/warfare state label the dissenters of authoritarianism as unpatriotic or uncaring. Patriotism is more closely linked to dissent than it is to conformity and a blind desire for safety and security. Understanding the magnificent rewards of a free society makes us unbashful in its promotion, fully realizing that maximum wealth is created and the greatest chance for peace comes from a society respectful of individual liberty."

I will end by saying that we must question everything that is said to us, even if at first blush we make the mistake of applauding wildly. Go away and think about it. If you are uneasy, discuss it with others. If the uneasiness does not go away, demand clearer explanations from the speech makers. Don't let anything creep up on you.

This questioning is patriotism in action...true patriotism.


Sing For The Land - Black Stalin. See lyrics.

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"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