Man, I know you have your mistletoe And I know you have your snowman And I know you have chandeliers hanging high But dat just doh make me feel blue Because I have mih own share too Ah have mih belly full of rum And a big sky full ah sun And a West Indian Christmas, a West Indian Christmas Drink yuh rum until yuh belly bus, bus, bus Den yuh go cross by yuh neighbour Say, Nabe come cross by me later With a old cuatro an ah old guitar singing sereno, sereno, sera
Sereno, sereno, sereno, sera ha Sereno, sereno, sereno, say rum Sereno, sereno, sereno, sereno, say rum Sereno, sereno, gih yuh neighbour some, ay yay.
And you go dashing through the snow And that’s the way you have fun To have mine, I go dashing through the sun You listen as sleighbell ring I hear calyspsonian sing I love the songs when parang fill de air An dat’s a West Indian Christmas, a West Indian Christmas Drink yuh rum until yuh belly bus, bus, bus Den yuh go cross by yuh niehgbour Yuh say, Nabe come cross by me later With a old cuatro an ah old guitar and is sereno, sera.
Sereno, sereno, sereno, say ham Sereno, sereno, I don’t give a dam Sereno, sereno, sereno, say black cake Sereno, sereno, I makin no mistake. Ah want some!
Have you ever heard a bamboo buss As we simulate a cannon? Smell the smell of ham boiling in a pitchoil pan? The aroma of sweet bread being baked? Lick de batter stick that beats de cake? And if you do, then you know it’s no mistake, ay And dat's a West Indian Christmas, a West Indian Christmas Drink yuh rum, drink yuh rum until yuh belly bus, bus, bus Den yuh go cross by yuh neighbour You say, Nabe come cross by me later With a old cuatro an ah old guitar and is sereno, sera
Sereno, sereno, say pastelle Sereno, sereno, I love dat very well Sereno, sereno, sereno, sereno, say whiskey Sereno, sereno, please save some for me, I like dat.
Sereno, sereno, sereno, say gingerbeer Sereno, sereno, you leave de children share Sereno, sereno, sereno, say sorrel Sereno sereno, dat gives me such a thrill.
Sereno, sereno, sereno, say rum Sereno, sereno, gih yuh neigbour some Sereno, sereno, sereno, say wine Sereno, sereno, doh let dat blow yuh mine.
Sereno, sereno, sereno Sereno, say guitar, say cuatro Sereno, sereno, say chac chac Sereno, sereno, haya!
Sereno, sereno, sereno, say rum Sereno, sereno, gih yuh neigbour some Sereno, sereno, sereno, say wine Sereno, sereno, doh let it blow yuh mind.
Sereno, sereno...
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.
I don't give ah...I don't give ah... I don't give ah... I don't give ah dam I don't give ah... I don't give ah... I don't give ah dam. I don't give ah dam What dey go do, what dey go say? What dey go do, what dey go say? What dey go, what dey go, what dey go, what dey go?
What dey go do, what dey go say When dey realise that dey can’t push you across the line? Don’t you go over! Don’t you go over!
I don't really give ah dam what people say 'Cause you know they going to say it anyway Oye, just between me and you I’m more concerned with what they do. And when I say I don't care what people say I talking about de ole talk and lacouray Oye, bangarang and ratiray Every day is another taylaylay.
What dey go do, what dey go say When dey realise that dey can’t push you across the line? Don’t you go over! Don’t you go over! What dey go say when dey realise That dey can’t push you across the line? Man Don’t you go over! Don’t you go over!
Say, Mister Short Fuse and ready to trip Take a deep breath, relax it You got to centre yuhself boy, focus yuhself boy Organize yuhself to redeem yuhself Talk to yuhself then talk to the Lord Talk to yuhself again trust in the Lord With Jah as yuh counsel, who could provoke yuh? Jah as yuh guider, who could frustrate yuh?
What dey go do, what dey go say When dey realise that dey can’t push you across the line? Boy, don’t you go over! Don’t you go over! What dey say when dey realise That dey can’t push you across the line? Boy, don’t you go over! Don’t you go over!
I don't give ah... I don't give ah... I don't give ah…. What dey go do, what dey go say? What dey go do, what dey go say? What dey go, what dey go, what dey go, what dey go?
Although some times there are some people in this life Who want to fill your heart with strife But don’t you go over!… Hmm And yes, I know the situation in this world Could make you want to lose control But don’t you go over! Don’t you go over!
What you go do, what you go say When you realise that dey done push you across the line? Boy, don’t you go over! Don’t you go over! What you go say when you realise That dey done push you across the line? Boy, don’t you go over! Don’t you go over!
I don't really give ah dam what people say Cause you know they going to say it anyway Oye, just between me and you I’m more concerned with what they do. And when I say I don't care what people say I talking ‘bout de ole talk and lacouray Oye, bangarang and ratiray Every day is another taylaylay.
What dey go do, what dey go say When dey realise that dey can’t push you across the line? Man, don’t you go over! Don’t you go over! What dey say when dey realise that dey can’t push you across the line? Man, don’t you go over! No, don’t you go over!
I don't give ah... I don't give ah... I don't give ah... I don't give ah dam… What dey go do, what dey go say? What dey go do, what dey go say? What dey go, what dey go, what dey go, what dey go? I don't give ah…
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
Feeling stressed by society’s demands, expectations, provocations, whether real or imagined? This song is about the traps into which we allow ourselves to walk. Perhaps influenced heavily by the backdrop of violent crime among other things, the scene that immediately came to mind when I first listened to the lyrics was one where one party was provoking another to physical violence. The song’s repeated message (and you can almost hear the incoming flurry of Guardian Angel’s wings) “Boy/Man, don’t you go over! No, don’t you go over!” is not just a call to avert disaster but also a challenge to reclaim control over one’s destiny.
This song leads me to think about so much more.
Most of us have never crossed that line to physically hurt another human being but we might have hurt each other in other ways. Even more inexplicable when you consider a human being’s natural instinct for self preservation, is the frequency with which we cross the line to harm ourselves because we feel that we are being pressured by others into conforming. We think we have no choice, or we know that there is a choice but the path of least resistance is so much easier.
It is easier to suppress by whatever means, or to ignore the nagging unease that tells us that someone or something else is living our lives. We are not our own men and women. All around us our peers are being refashioned in the image of whatever god is in season and some of us fall in line so that we will fit in.
And so, how do we go about arriving at the point where we can, like the singer, also not give a dam about things that in the end are really not worth a damn? And even more importantly, how do we arrive at this state on our own two legs and without the assistance of alcohol, drugs, hidebound institutions and other stupefying excesses?
Well I think we should meditate upon a dizzying conundrum which we know to be the reality:
The same society that impacts on us, is the one that we create by our actions (or inaction).
Or you could say it this way:
There is an inverse proportion between the positive activism that you undertake in your own life and the negative pressure that society can impose on your real self.
Borderline is telling us that there is a point at which we all arrive in our lives where we are challenged to take a stand. The consequences of going along to get along are often not as obvious as in the case of Mister Short Fuse with the smoking gun running away from the scene of a murder. It is something that can come to you at any minute of the day, the realization that you have betrayed yourself. The song asks:
What you go do, what you go say When you realise that dey done push you across the line?
Be honest with yourself, and if you can accept the responsibility for whatever you did or didn't do, you will more readily admit that in the end “dey” were just the ones who dangled the hook. You, however, took the bite.
Thank you, 3CANAL!
"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.
Between Canada and de North Pole
Ah wonder which more cold?
Canada and de North Pole,
Ah wonder which more cold?
Ah nearly dead in Canada
The intention was to hold it further
But after freezing from head to toe
I write mih mother and she told me, No
Oh lawd!
Chorus:
Canada had me so cold, I need some sunshine
I’m going back to the land I left behind
Ah regret the day ah pay mih dollar
And say ah was going to Canada
Is cold, cold, cold, oh mih lawd!
So ah walk back to Trinidad.
Oh ya
Ten o’ clock in de morning
The Lord still trembling
Man, I frighten to go for coffee
Ah fraid de cold kill me
Montreal is just like Paradise
But Papa de cold ent eating nice
De boys at de hotel give me a line
In only in summer de sun does shine.
Oh ya!
Chorus:
Canada had me so cold, I need some sunshine
I’m going back to the land I left behind
Ah regret the day ah pay mih dollar
And say ah was going to Canada
Is cold, cold, cold, oh mih lawd!
So ah walk back to Trinidad.
O lawd!
Speaking in term of menu
No crab, no calalloo
---------- pork chop and chilli
Dat crap isn’t for me
De Canadian woman a little shy
But the French Canadian will let yuh try
Believe me boys, I am proud and glad
To be back here in Trinidad.
Oh lawd!
Chorus:
Canada had me so cold, I need some sunshine
I am going back to the land I left behind
Ah regret the day ah pay mih dollar
And say ah was going to Canada
Is cold, cold, cold, oh mih lawd!
So ah walk back to Trinidad.
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
On so many levels, Lord Melody, you have hit the nail on the head. I will write more on this at a later time.
"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.
Lord, Please walk beside me through this day. Clear the heavy air with the lightness of Your Presence. Guide my hands and steady my heart that I may give comfort when I cannot give hope, that I may give relief when I do not have a cure, and that I may radiate Your healing peace when the limits of science, time, and the human body overwhelm us all. Amen
Source
Sáncte Míchael Archángele, defénde nos in proélio, cóntra nequítiam et insídias diáboli ésto præsídium. Ímperet ílli Déus, súpplices deprecámur: tuque, prínceps milítiæ cæléstis, Sátanam aliósque spíritus malígnos, qui ad perditiónem animárum pervagántur in múndo, divína virtúte, in inférnum detrúde. Ámen
