El Guanaguanare's Manifesto

We have to reach to that point where the quarrel is no longer with unrelenting, triumphal imperialist conquistadors of any gender, corporation, race, religion or nationality.

Neither should it be with those who fall before their onslaught, innocently or through self betrayal, with resignation or with impotent weapons drawn.

Rather, we should resent and strongly decry that fiat that perpetuates and finds justification for the careers of victims and oppressors alike.

We must denounce the uncritical acceptance of the existence of any subordination of, or domination by another creature, race, culture or nation.

We must recognize that the shunting of our individual and collective responsibilities for the realization or abortion of the potential for human development, to forces increasingly above and beyond, implies a complicity - a self-defeating conclusion that we are doomed to a steady state of arrested intelligence.

Trinbago and Trinbagonians, YOU and the DIRT upon which you stand are loved and blessed more that you can ever imagine.

Tobago is an island. Trinidad is an island. But no man, no woman, no child, no creature upon its surface is. We are most certainly our brothers' keepers. We depend on each other. We need each other.

Happy Interdependence Day!

"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

Sugar Island [Song]

Uploaded by candy8998
SUGAR ISLAND
By Carl Jacobs ft. Roger George

INTRO: Say wey yuh want, there is not a place on earth better
[Come for a holiday]
Say wey yuh want, I will love mih country forever, yeah

---------------------------- [Help wanted with transcription of these lines]

Island, my sugar island; sweet, sunny islands
My homeland is sweet for so!
Island, my sugar island; sweet precious islands
I would never let you go, no!

Sipping 1919 Angostura [Island sweet for so]
Dahl and roti, try some kuchela [Man, it sweet for so]
Curried wild meat with slight hot pepper [Man, it sweet for so]
Is pure and healthy coconut water. [Lord, it sweet for so]

Come, come for a holiday
Get some sunshine therapy
Melt all ah de stress away
Go forth to a better day
Come, come for a holiday
Play mas, sweet insanity
Jump from J'Ouvert 'til Tuesday
Lord, bless this sweet land, I pray.

Island, my sugar island; sweet, sunny islands
My homeland is sweet for so!
Island, my sugar island; sweet, precious islands
I would never let you go, no!

Come, come for holiday
Take a trip Maracas Bay
Try a bake and shark by Sea
My land cuisine so tasty
Come for a holiday,
Everyday is a blessed day
Island style reality
Man was meant to live this way.

Island, my sugar island; sweet, sunny islands
My homeland is sweet for so!
Island, my sugar island; sweet, precious islands
I would never let you go!

---------------------------- [Help wanted with transcription of these lines]

Doh ever leave this feeling of pride [Island sweet for so]
Yes God's country, that can't be denied [Man, it sweet for so]
Stand firm and free, working side by side [Man, it sweet for so]
------------------------, love will be your guide.

Come, come for holiday
Crusoe say so heavenly
Island food is therapy
Definitely God's country
Come for a holiday,
Bring a friend, yes, it's OK
Take a dip in sweet Store Bay
Wash all yuh troubles away!

Island, my sugar island; sweet, sunny islands
My homeland is sweet for so!
Island, my sugar islands; sweet, precious islands
I would never, never let you go!

Say wey yuh want, there's not a place on earth better
[These islands sweet]
Say wey yuh want, I will love mih country forever
[These islands sweet]
Say wey yuh want, there's not a place on earth better
[These islands sweet]
You could say wey yuh want, I love mih country forever
[These islands sweet]

Come, come for holiday
All ah we is family
My people are so friendly
Check out the Bird Sanctuary
Come for a holiday,
Fly on BWIA
The safest airline they say
Tomorrow is a brighter day.

Island, my sugar island; sweet, sunny islands
My homeland is sweet for so!
Island, my sugar islands; sweet, precious islands
I would never, ever let you go!

Island, my sugar island; sweet, sunny islands
My homeland is sweet for so!
Island, my sugar islands; sweet, precious islands
I would never, ever let you go!

---------------------------- [Help wanted with transcription of these lines]

I will never let you go...
Sweet, islands 'cause I love you so
I would never, ever let you go...
Sweet sunny islands, how I love, love you so!

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

Sweet fuh so! Thank you Carl Jacobs and Roger George!

"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

Pure Niceness [Song]

Uploaded by fetetv
PURE NICENESS
By Farmer Nappy

Pure niceness, pure sweetness, pure niceness, yeah
Everybody coming together
Pure niceness, pure sweetness, pure niceness, yeah
Loving harmony with each other

So durable and lasting
That's the nature of love
So party people, I'm asking
Please do away with the grudge

No warring, no hating, no fighting, yeah
We all have to unite
Just loving, just caring,just sharing, yeah
All dat fussing ain't right

Look Jimmy jumping up
And Sharon jumping up
And Susie wining on Sharon boyfriend
And she have no problem
Look East side jumping up
And West side jumping up
Cause in dis session there's no confusion
Just loving connection

Pure niceness, pure sweetness, pure niceness, yeah
Everybody coming together
Pure niceness, pure sweetness, pure niceness, yeah
Loving harmony with each other

Please understand what I'm saying
Part of the Master's plan
Is to see people laughing
As we walk hand in hand

No warring, no hating, no fighting, yeah
We all have to unite
Just loving, just caring,just sharin, yeah
All dat fussing ain't right

Look Jimmy jumping up
And Sharon jumping up
And Susie wining on Sharon boyfriend
And she have no problem
Look East side jumping up
And West side jumping up
Cause in dis session there's no confusion
Just loving connection

Pure niceness, pure sweetness, pure niceness, yeah
everybody coming together
Pure niceness, pure sweetness, pure niceness, yeah
Loving harmony with each other

Woy you yoy yoy yoy yoy you, ah ah ah
Woy you yoy yoy yoy yoy you, ah ah ah

Look Jimmy jumping up
And Sharon jumping up
And Susie wining on Sharon boyfriend
And she have no problem
Look East side jumping up
And West side jumping up
Cause in dis session there's no confusion
Just loving connection

Pure niceness, pure sweetness, pure niceness, yeah
Everybody coming together
Pure niceness, pure sweetness, pure niceness, yeah
Loving harmony with each other

Woy you yoy yoy yoy yoy you, ah ah ah
Woy you yoy yoy yoy yoy you, ah ah ah

Pure niceness, pure sweetness, pure niceness, yeah
Everybody coming together
Pure niceness, pure sweetness, pure niceness, yeah
Loving harmony with each other

Woy yoy yoy yoy yoy yoy yoy, ah ah ah
Woy yoy yoy yoy yoy yoy yoy, ah ah ah

Pure niceness, pure sweetness, pure niceness
Pure sweetness, pure niceness, pure sweetness, pure sweetness.

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

Pure niceness! Thank you Farmer Nappy.

"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

Having Carelessly Made Tracks For 'Gouti...

Patterned on a Warao magical song (hoa) for protection when confronting transformed agouti

You are coming towards us,
coming towards us,
coming towards us.

We are really here alone;
and you spirit of the night,
you, spirit of the darkness,
you are coming toward us,
coming toward us.

You do not know your name.
This is your name.
Yes, this is how you move.
This is your land, this is your name,
this is how you move, this is how you move.

Hear your name, Yes, this is your name -
A small agouti, a small agouti, a small agouti
Yes, this is your name, yes, your movement,
yes, this is your name

You do not know your food. There is your food.
Yes, we are not your food.
There is your food,
this is how you move, this is how you move.

You do not know our needs,
Yes, you come to bring us wants.
Yes, this is your game, this is your game, we are your game
Yes, your movement
Yes, this is how you kill us.

Go away from us, go away.
Go to where your house is in the earth, to your hole
Go to your thoughts, away from here, to your house,
and leave us, leave us, leave us
Take your thoughts with you and go away
Take your flesh with you and go away
Take your gifts with you and go away
Leave us,
go away.
Make your own path, go away, go away,
small agouti of the earth, small agouti.

Based on a Venezuelan Warao Magical Protection Power Song for Confronting Transformed Agouti by Jose Antonio Paez (Olsen Collection 74.7-1)
Source: Music of the Warao of Venezuela: song people of the rain forest/by Dale A. Olsen, University Press of Florida, 1996.
.....................................................................................................

A NOTE FROM THE GULL

If you think about it many of us have protection songs. Maybe it is a mantra that you repeat quietly when faced by threatening circumstances, an invocation to some powerful force or deity, the prayer to St. Michael perhaps. Maybe you carry with you a talisman, something that you keep in a pocket or tie around your wrist or wear against, or paint on your skin - a symbol which has special significance or power as protection against evil.

The Warao, more commonly referred to as Warahoun in Trinidad, also have hoa songs to protect themselves from harmful entities. They believe that the most innocuous of creatures can be supernaturally transformed into spirit beings - hebutuma that prey on humans. The ethnomusicologist, Dale Olsen, conducted extensive research on these songs as sung by the Warao in Venezuela and transcribed and recorded many examples. Olsen suggests that the power in the songs might be the effect of reducing fear in the singer as he/she confronts this transformed entity. Another explanation which he proposes is that the power to inflict harm is removed from the entity once it has been properly named. You will notice how the singer cuts the entity down to size by repeating phrases like “this is your name” “this is how you move” you are just a “small agouti of the earth”, a small agouti, a small agouti” and persistently redirects the evil, “Go away from us”, leave us, leave us”, “go to your home.” There is nothing arbitrary about the structure of the song. The expert singer, with these carefully chosen words takes charge of the situation and deflects the evil. What I find most interesting about their song is the spirit of peace which emanates from it. Even though it is sung in a situation of confrontation, the gentleness of it probably has a calming, defusing effect on both the hebu and the human.

Trinbagonians are in need of hoas, hoas for protection, hoas for curing, but even more, the development of the ability to discern when evil is present and the wisdom to spot this evil even when it is masquerading as the familiar. The Laughing Gull believes that love is the greatest hoa of all, but it is a difficult hoa to learn and to sing if it has not surrounded a person from the womb. Sometimes it’s really hard to sing it when a heart is hard and bitter with rage or wounded pride. Sometimes it is hard to hear it when a hand is making a fist and praying for an excuse to smash anothers face. Sometimes it is impossible to even remember it when a heart is encountering the ugliest most unloveable hebu. When the devil is "shakin’ up he tail in your face", remember that it is your fear and confusion that nourishes it and makes it seem even more gigantic and powerful than it really is.

Remember the Warao and their hoa. Look the evil in the eye. Don’t hang your head, don’t be mesmerized by its gaze, don’t accept its gifts and do NOT give it gifts to try to placate it. Take a deep breath and try to see it for what it is. Try to name the evil. Tell it that its place and its values are not with you and your kind. Tell it gently but firmly to go away. Tell it to return to its home. Warn your friends and like-minded souls if it stubbornly refuses to budge. Hebutuma are not comfortable in the face of an army. Stand together and sing with love and confidence your hoas again and again until the spirits of darkness begin to think twice about strutting around our islands.

Gifts that destroy are usually very shiny and very bright…coins, beads, glittering buildings, bullets, gold, knives, mirrors, aluminium smelters, fancy rims, guns, bright white cocaine…in one word - bling. These trinkets attract and distract and blind. First Nations people especially, should know about the dangers of shiny bits. But unless our “benefactors” are shoving these gifts down our protesting throats, let us be honest enough to admit that more often than not, it is completely up to us whether we accept or refuse these things. If we look around at all the ‘gouti overrunning this place, we must be courageous enough to first accept responsibility for having knowingly or unwittingly cleared many of their tracks.

"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

True Colours [Song]

Uploaded by IsDePanInMe
TRUE COLOURS
Performed by Singing Sandra (2000)
Composed by Christophe Grant

Red is the power of my, my people's passion
[White] White was the dove that had long, long flown
[Black] Black is the oil, the substance that keeps us vibrant
For the bitter harvest we have always sown
[Red] Red is the blood flowing, flowing like a river
[White] White are our faces, blanched and shivering with fear
[Black] Black is the mood of my, my sister's anger
Cut and bruised and dying, I hear my sister sighing

Why oh [why oh] as our eyes they keep on plucking
But nothing really -------- in this Port of Spain
Ah hear dem cry oh [cry oh] through the rain they go a-stumbling
in a drain they must go fumbling, their sight to regain
Everyday they follow [follow] as their blades they keep on flashing
As you menfolk keep on slashing, hacking through the bone
A time to call oh, call oh, call oh, [call oh] oh call on the holy Father
To bind us back together like mortar and stone...Ah tell you

[Brick by brick] Oh brick by brick, we got to build a better future
[Step by step] Step by step, inch by inch, nail by nail
[Block by block] Oh block by block, we must reclaim this land, my brother
[Hand in hand] Hand in hand, and I swear we shall prevail
We dare not fail [We dare not fail, we dare not fail]

[Red] Red are the roses that, that young girls dream of
[White] White are their dresses on their, their wedding day
[Black] But black are the coat tails of the undertaker
As he undertake to cart them so far, far away
[Red] Red are the eyes of a Mama weeping
[In white] In white, the pastor saying, saying a last prayer
[Black] Black is the hood of the, the hangman ------
As the dead men walking while a child keep asking
Aunty, why oh, [why oh] as killers' necks we go on popping
As my children keep on dropping, dropping dead from AIDS
Ah hear dem cry oh [cry oh] in this time of deep affliction
From the crime, the drug addiction while our sunlight fade
I sorry for embryo, oh god [embryo] ------------ weird contortion
To escape the the dread abortions of life first embrace
Ah want to fly, fly, fly [fly oh] as those swallows do at winter
As my people sit and -------- on this coast of rage...Ah tell you.

[Brick by brick] Oh brick by brick, we got to build a better future
[Step by step] Step by step, inch by inch, nail by nail
[Block by block] Oh block by block, we must reclaim this land, my sister
[Hand in hand] Hand in hand, and I swear we shall prevail
We dare not fail [We dare not fail, we dare not fail]

[Red] Red is the light of wanton prostitution
[White] White are the flowers we lay on their graves
[Black] Black is the pit, the pit of desperation
That force my sisters to become so depraved
[Red] Red is the colour of my, my people's anguish
White] White is the marble of their last tombstone
[Black] Black is the fist raised in cheap rebellion
Since 1970 we come up empty
I asking why oh, [why oh] must we face this alienation
From the depths of degradation in this Port of Pain
Ah hear dem cry oh [cry oh] calling skywards to the Father
Hoping that the clouds will gather to send the cleansing rain
Children bawl oh [bawl oh] for the hand of retribution
Or a fairer distribution of ------------------------
Ah hear dem bawl oh [bawl oh] for a new song of redemption
Hoping that they'll get exemption as the Israelites of old...Ah tell you

[Brick by brick] Oh brick by brick, we got to build a better future
[Step by step] Step by step, inch by inch, nail by nail
[Block by block] Oh block by block, we must reclaim this land, my brother
[Hand in hand] Hand in hand, and I swear we shall prevail
We dare not fail [We dare not fail]
----------------------------, you kill your children [we dare not fail] No!

[Red] Red was the rum -------------- consumed
[White] White was the heat in that, that fiery hell
[Black] Black was the soot in that, that burnt out bedroom
The children get sentenced in that locked up cell
[Red] Red is the promise of the, the Ibis flying
[White] White are the egrets as they soar so high
[Black] Black is the corbeaux forever circling
Watchful and anxious as we sink into chaos
Ah asking why oh [why oh] can't we put this all behind us
Hoping that tomorrow will find us united as one
Ah hear them cry oh [cry oh] for mental emancipation
That the youth will get direction away from the gun
Women bawl oh [bawl oh] that you men will be respecting
That we women need protecting in this time of war
Sandra call oh [call oh] for a total transformation
For this blessed rainbow island we call Trinbago...Ah tell you

[Brick by brick] Oh brick by brick, we got to build a better future
[Step by step] Step by step, inch by inch, nail by nail
[Block by block] Oh block by block, we must reclaim this land, my brother
[Hand in hand] Hand in hand, and I swear we shall prevail
[We dare not fail]
We dare not fail
We dare not fail
We dare not fail [we dare not fail]
We dare not fail [we dare not fail]
[We dare not fail, we dare not fail]

I'm your sister, you're my brother
I'm your sister, you're my brother [we dare not fail]
Let's make this place a better place to live
No, no [we dare not fail]
We dare not fail
We dare not fail
We dare not fail [we dare not fail]
We dare not fail peace! [we dare not fail]
Peace [we dare not fail]
Peace for T&T
I'm your sister, you're my brother
Say a prayer, say a prayer, say a prayer, say a prayer, say a prayer my people.....

SOURCE: The lyrics posted on this blog are 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 sometimes 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

Everytime I hear Singing Sandra, I am convinced that it is not just a performance which we are witnessing but a ceremony surrounding her very personal invocation to a higher power and the good in us all. Singing Sandra sings with her heart but the power is from even deeper still. I would be very surprised if Singing Sandra were to admit that she does not love Trinbago because I am convinced that her passion comes from love. If it were possible for any of our calypsonians to chant down Babylon, I'd expect it to be accomplished by Singing Sandra:

"[Brick by brick] Oh brick by brick, we got to build a better future
[Step by step] Step by step, inch by inch, nail by nail
[Block by block] Oh block by block, we must reclaim this land, my brother
[Hand in hand] Hand in hand, and I swear we shall prevail
We dare not fail [We dare not fail, we dare not fail]"

Thanks to Christophe Grant, the composer of this song, and Singing Sandra.

"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'd Rather Be In Trinidad

By David Rudder

February, every year
It must be the tabanca month
But my boss in my job
Could say just what de hell he want
We got woman wining and dey backing back
I'll be in a jet plane, time to attack, oh lord

I'd rather be in Trinidad, wohoh oh
I'd rather be in Trinidad, aye
I'd rather be in Trinidad, wohoh oh
I'd rather be in Trinidad, oh yeah, yeah, yeah!

American elections, stalemate
Mister Bush and Mister Gore
Mass confusion in Florida
Dem boys are such a blasted bore
We got Panday and Rowley
We used to have Dhanraj Singh
Look, we got rum and roti
Bacchanal and ting, Gypsy?

I'd rather be in Trinidad, wohoh oh
I'd rather be in Trinidad, wohoh oh
I'd rather be in Trinidad, yeah, yeah
I'd rather be in Trinidad, lord, lord, lord!

So many girls, so little time
Ash Wednesday, a day of great -----
Look ah bumbum dey, oh lord
I'll surely be coming again
See allyuh people in de streets
Together, my brothers will reign
Trini woman looking sweet
Come, jump in and ease your pain

Cause, I'd rather be in Trinidad, wohoh oh
I'd rather be in Trinidad, oh yeah
I'd rather be in Trinidad, wohoh oh
I'd rather be in Trinidad, yeah

London town, too damn cold
What de hell ah doing here?
Three o' clock in the evening it pitch dark
What a terrible affair
Trini got woman wining and dey backing back
Look ah on a jet plane, attack, attack, attack, attack!

I'd rather be in Trinidad, wohoh oh
I'd rather be in Trinidad, oh yeah
I'd rather be in Trinidad, wohoh oh
I'd rather be in Trinidad oh yeah
I'd rather be in Trinidad, wohoh oh
I'd rather be in Trinidad, wohoh oh
I'd rather be in Trinidad oh yeah
I'd rather be in Trinidad, wohoh oh

Down in the panyard got everyday people
That's where I wanna be
Down in Belmont got everyday people
That's who I wanna see
In de streets of Trindad got everyday people
People I wanna know
The Desperados are playing in Laventille
So that's where I wannna go, oh

I'd rather be in Trinidad, oh lord
I'd rather be in Trinidad, wohoh oh
I'd rather be in Trinidad, yeah yeah
I'd rather be in Trinidad, woh yeah!
.............................................................................................


A Note From The Gull

Thank you David Rudder.

"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

Can't Take Trini Outta Me Unplugged

By JMC 3Veni ft Remmi

The song of the migrant
Is ‘bout a place they call home
A place that’s changed in so many ways
Even as they roam
But no human erosion
Could take what inside ah me
‘Cause when ah walk they does say, “Trini”
And when ah talk they does say, “Trini”
Ah got a smile big and warm like the sweet Caribbean Sea

Yuh could take me outta Trini
But I got a vibe down inside of me (3)
Now we shine a light for the world to see
Inna this global society

We’ve been travelling for centuries
‘Till we met on this magic land
Where all the powers and the rubble of this world
Start walking hand in hand
Now we’re travelling again
Since the world has gotten so small
Now we heart right there on we sleeve
A kinda joy that they can’t believe
Like that Hotel where you could check out but never leave

Yuh could take me outta Trini
But I got a vibe down inside of me (2)
Yuh see, they put we through indentureship and slavery
So we know ah thing bout equality
Yuh could take me outta Trini
But I got a vibe down inside of me

Port of Spain callin’ me
Signal Hill callin’ me
Charlotteville, yuh callin me
Caroni callin’ me
Laventy callin’ me, oh ohhhhhh
Moruga callin me
Sweet home
Sweet home
.............................................................................................


A Note From The Gull

"But no human erosion
Could take what inside ah me
‘Cause when ah walk they does say, “Trini”
And when ah talk they does say, “Trini”
Ah got a smile big and warm like the sweet Caribbean Sea."

I know about this. It is how, amazingly, I can identify a Trini in a crowd of people in a foreign country. I like both versions of this song. (Listen to the other version) This one slows us down to really listen to the singer's message.

Thank you, Remmi-D & JMC 3veni, for this expression of love.

"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

Pig Calypso [Song]

Uploaded by ScrapsG
PIG CALYPSO
Performed by Miss Piggy, Kermit and the Pigs
on the Muppet Show, Episode 221

Pigs: Pigs, pigs, pigs, pigs having fun,
Dancing, singing in the sun.
Yoohoo, Piggy, come and dance,
Tell us of your gay romance.

Piggy: All day long I sit around
Dreaming of the love I found,
Because I really love my frog,
And when I love I go whole hog!

Pigs: Pigs, pigs, pigs, pigs having fun,
Dancing, singing in the sun.
Yoohoo, Piggy, come and dance,
Tell us of your gay romance.

Piggy: Kermie is the reason why
I have this twinkle in my eye.
Kermie, Kermie, shy and cute,
How I love that handsome brute!

Pigs: Pigs, pigs, pigs, pigs having fun,
Dancing, singing in the sun.
Yoohoo, Kermit, come and dance,
Tell us of your gay romance.

Kermit: Frog has come to have his say,
The pig will never get her way.
Bib and napkin, knife and fork
Is the only way that I'll touch pork!

Piggy: What?! Hiiiiyaah!

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

"Bib and napkin, knife and fork
Is the only way that I'll touch pork."

Kaiso! Kaiso!! This song makes me happy. I am not going to say anything more because I don't want to detract from the work itself. The composer/s got it right I think, pushed all the right buttons, triggered all the associations...and even got Kermit to give Miss Piggy some wicked picong. Thank you for the music.

"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

Born In Trinidad [Song]

Performed by Orange Street

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


A Note From The Gull

Before I found this video, I was not aware of the existence of "Orange Street", a band based in France. I cannot assume that the song was composed by the band so I will wait until I find more information. I include the song because it mentions Trinidad and Tobago and is calypso influenced. It is a simple, fun song.

Thank you, Orange Street.

"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

Find Peace [Song]

Uploaded by IsDePanInMe
FIND PEACE
By Mighty Shadow

Something wrong in this world we living in
Something wrong, something needs some fixing
Mother Earth is crying, our children are dying
Innocent humans dying by the million
The HIV catastrophe, an enemy with high degrees, so yeah, yeah!
Evil on the rampage, like we are heading for the Stone Age
There'll be a lot of dry bones underneath those big stones.

It's a crazy situation
And every nation, oh yeah, yeah, is in confusion, oh my
We have universal problems
And we don't know how to solve them
Peace cross over the bridge
Peace gone up in the ridge
Peace escape from the mind
Peace is so hard to find
And they searching in Trinidad
From Toco to Fyzabad
And they searching the Middle East
And they hoping to find some peace
But don't you give up now
These problems can be solved
There is lots of peace wherever there is love.

Cries of war and terrorism
Heading for massive destruction
When will it be over? Maybe in the future?
When the ozone layer expose Father Nature
And the sun gets hot like a boiling pot
And melts the ice, who will pay the price?
Will it be the guilty, or the poor and needy?
Will it be everyone of this generation?

It's a crazy situation, oh yeah, yeah
And every nation is in confusion, oh my
We have universal problems
And we don't know how to solve them, oh no, no
Peace cross over the bridge
Peace gone up in the ridge
Peace escape from the mind
Peace is so hard to find
And they searching in Pakistan
They searching in Afghanistan
They searching in Bethlehem
They searching in Jerusalem
But don't you give up now
These problems can be solved
You'll find lots of peace, just try and find some love.

Too much hate in this world we living in
Where there's hate, there is no forgiving
Cattle breed more cattle, evil breeds more evil
Selfishness is stupid, selfish are the wicked
And when selfishness control your mind
You are possessed, you're human blind
You look in a mirror and see yourself superior
But there are other mirrors and many more ideas.

Oh, it's a crazy situation
And every nation, oh yeah, yeah, is in confusion, I'm telling you
We have universal problems
And we don't know how to solve them
Peace cross over the bridge
Peace gone up in the ridge
Peace escape from the mind
Peace is so hard to find
And they searching in Venezuela
They searching down in Kenya
They searching in North Korea
They searching in America
But don't you give up now
These problems can be solved
There is lots of peace wherever there is love
Find love and you would find peace, yeah, yeah
You would find peace...

Something wrong in this world we living in
Something wrong, something needs some fixing
Hell is getting closer, beware of the fire
Whether war or terror, it's the same disaster
The gate of Hell is breaking down, and demons roam from town to town
Don't let them possess you, ask the Lord to protect you
And innocent children. Ask him to protect them

From this crazy situation
Where every nation is in confusion, oh me, oh my
We have universal problems
And we don't know, no, no, how to solve them
Peace cross over the bridge
Peace gone up in the ridge
Peace escape from the mind
Peace is so hard to find

And they searching in Italy
They searching in Germany
They searching in Russia
They searching in China
But don't you give up now
These problems can be solved
You'll find lots of peace, just try and find some love.

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

Maybe I need to think about this some more but off the top of my head, I don't know another calypsonian who can manage so completely, while refusing to be bogged down by complicated references and mental gymnastics, to seize the listener's attention. Does he, like the Bassman, get into your head like an earworm, or do the rhythms of his music and consciousness sidle up to and synchronise so perfectly with our inner rhythm that we are not quite sure if Shadow is meeting us where we are or is he leading us out of ourselves into his realm. However it happens, the end result is that the connection is made and his message is received. When the Mighty Shadow beckons, I am willing to go along. This song, like many of his songs, beguiles us with its simplicity and delights with the depth of its wisdom.

"Too much hate in this world we living in
Where there's hate, there is no forgiving
Cattle breed more cattle, evil breeds more evil
Selfishness is stupid, selfish are the wicked
And when selfishness control your mind
You are possessed, you're human blind
You look in a mirror and see yourself superior
But there are other mirrors and many more ideas...

But don't you give up now
These problems can be solved
There is lots of peace wherever there is love
Find love and you would find peace, yeah, yeah
You would find peace..."

Thanks for the music, Mighty Shadow!

"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 Diaspora Writes Home: I Love Trinidad Tobago [Song]

 

I LOVE TRINIDAD TOBAGO By Babla and Kanchan(1950-2004) Rest in Peace.     

 Uploaded by trinigyal15

We know you did Kanchan, we know you did! I imagine you sharing Y/Our joyful music wherever you are travelling now and I see all doors and hearts opening to you. 

Although I have been thinking about the Trinbagonian Diaspora, Trinbago itself is also a node of another Diaspora and that is the East Indian Diaspora. Mainly we think of the diaspora looking back towards its source but interesting things happen when the source follows the trails forged by the outward movement of its people. 

Babla and Kanchan followed us to the Caribbean and beyond and in a sense reported back to India through the musical souvenirs which they took back with them. For me it was always strange to think of Babla and Kanchan as anything but Trinbagonians. I may be wrong, but I think that they were the first East Indian musicians/performers to adopt and adapt Trinbagonian soca and chutney music to produce their own versions, some of which became hits back in India. 

One of the things that I always welcomed was the joy which Kanchan could convey with her voice and performances. It was a perfect complement to the exuberance of our music. Here was no barking, no roughness, none of the jarring...just undiluted sweetness. I loved their music and the way in which they embraced our music and carried it back to their homeland. 

Although at that time I didn't know a word of Hindi or Bhojpuri, I knew enough to sing Kuchi Gadbad Hai when their version of Arrow's "Hot, Hot Hot" - Kuch Gadbad Hai played. And who doesn't love their version of Justin "Hero's "Tiny Winey" and of Sundar Popo's "Kaise Bani"...  "de onliest ting ah missin' is meh bottle ah rum.... Kaise bani, kaise bani, kaise bani, kaise bani, phulari bina chatani kaise bani, phulari bina chatani kaise bani!!"

If anyone can supply the lyrics for the song "I love Trinidad Tobago" I'd be grateful to receive them. 

"I love Trinidad Tobago, I love Trinidad Tobago..."

Kumari Kanchan Dinkerao Mail, thank you for the music!

"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

Louis Farrakhan, "The Charmer"

Uploaded by raresoulcom
STONE COLD MAN
Performed by Eugene Walcott a.k.a. Minister Louis Farrakhan
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A Note From The Gull

It seems that Harry Belafonte was the one that got the calypso craze started with the release of his album "Calypso Favourites, 1953-1954." After this, many foreign performers tried it with varying degrees of success. Most are aware that Minister Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam (NOI) [whose mother was from St. Kitts and Nevis and father was Jamaican] was a calypsonian before he joined the NOI. He sang under the sobriquet "The Charmer" or some say "Calypso Gene, The Charmer." It seems he was later asked to give it up by Elijah Mohammed. Understandably it was an oil and water situation..."Don't Touch Mih Nylon" and "Fire Down There" and NOI values weren't going to mix.

As a performer, he was good! I have to stop trying to imagine what he might have gone on to do as a composer/performer. My favourite is his rendition of "Back to Back" which was composed and sung originally by Tobagonian calypsonian, "Lord Intruder."

Well, the following video features another one of Minister Farrakhan's many talents. In May of 1993, according to the blurb that accompanies this video, he "staged a recital of the Violin Concerto, Op.64, by the Jewish composer Felix Mendelssohn in what was one of the most politically-resonant artistic displays in classical music history. In a performance manifesting the most dramatic confluence of art and politics...Farrakhan instantly established himself as the single most transformative classical musician in American artistic history."

FARRAKHAN PLAYS CLASSICAL VIOLIN
Kindly uploaded and made available to all by XYBORG7

Thank you for all your music, Minister Farrakhan.

"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 Ark Of The Diaspora: Costa Rican Calypso

Recording of street performers, Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, 1 January 1970
Kindly uploaded and made available to all by Mike_Mudd

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A Note From The Gull

I looked at the video above and loved the sound of the voices singing calypso. These are not recent arrivals from the Caribbean? Though the style is old calypso, they are singing in Spanish. When the singer switches to English it suddenly becomes difficult to hear the words. The explanation could be that the singer was just too far away from the recording device at that time, or was singing carelessly or if none of the above are true, could it be that his English is remembered English, very much like the vaguely remembered Spanish that some Trinbagonian paranderos dust off and use enthusiastically only at Christmas time. Are these street performers employing this calypso style because they have not had the same series of influences as the Trinbagonian calypso, and have therefore retained an earlier style. Is it possible that one day, Trinbagonian calypso coming out of Trinidad and Tobago will no longer sound anything like this and performers like these will be the ones who will keep it alive? The oxbow lakes of our culture cut off and preserving themselves in pockets all over the world!

Searching for more examples of Costa Rican calypso, I found this review by Louis Gibson of an album of calypso music available at Amazon.com called "Costa Rica: Calyspo"

"When someone says "calypso," one naturally thinks of Trinidad. But hidden here and there in the Caribbean are little pockets of the old calypso tradition, somewhat static, but still vibrant. This album looks at the virtually unknown English-speaking calypso community of Spanish-speaking Costa Rica. While these artists have a "frozen in time" sound to them, the music is nonetheless wonderful. In solo settings and small ensembles of percussion, guitars and voices, the older generation of Puerto Limon sets out a rootsy, gritty music with a generous dose of enthusiasm. The pop-influenced New Revelation offer pleasant tunes; the gritty Charo de Limon performs some good social commentary, accompanying himself with one of the rawest guitar sounds this side of Joseph Spence. The best of the lot is Cahuita Calypso: with a banjo and rhythm box courting the call and response of the vocals, they offer the most African-rooted sound.
--Louis Gibson

Also on the same page another reviewer reveals that the performers of the CD were not even aware that the music was going to be sold and did not receive any payment for their music...

"This is one of the greatest original calypso cds available. The BIG problem is that I personaly met and know these men when i lived in Cahuita, Costa Rica, and found out that a visitor recorded them without telling them he was going to produce a Cd to sell. SO NONE of the musicians recieved 1 penny. This label is also doing this to a lot of other poor people from 3rd world countries!"
---realrootsd

Long live Trinbagonians, at the source and wherever they find themselves in this world!

"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

Love Is A Hurting Thing...

CHORUS:
O Muses, the daughters divine of Zeus, the immaculate Nine,[876]
Who gaze from your mansions serene on intellects subtle and keen,
When down to the tournament lists, in bright-polished wit they descend,
With wrestling and turnings and twists in the battle of words to contend,
O, come and behold what the two antagonist poets can do,
Whose mouths are the swiftest to teach grand language and filings of speech:
For now of their wits is the sternest encounter commencing in earnest.[882]

CHORUS:
We also yearning from these to be learning [893]
Some stately measure, some majestic grand
Movement telling of conflicts nigh.
Now for battle arrayed they stand,
Tongues embittered, and anger high.
Each has got a venturesome will,
Each an eager and nimble mind;
One will wield, with artistic skill,
Clear-cut phrases, and wit refined;
Then the other, with words defiant,
Stern and strong, like an angry giant
Laying on with uprooted trees,
Soon will scatter a world of these
Superscholastic subtleties.[906]

--Aristophanes -The Frogs (405 B.C.)

If you have not heard about "The Mongoose," don't feel too badly. I found out about the "sparring" between Misters Naipaul and Walcott only recently. Under a rock is where I live because had I not visited Nicholas Laughlin's Antilles, I would not have heard about it. Interesting stuff, this is.

Have a listen if you have not yet heard "The Mongoose." I will wait.

My sensibilities must be calloused because I found nothing especially shocking about the poem and I will defend it as very clever. It moved me in parts and often I sensed genuine sympathy with the plight of the object of his rebuke. And especially after reading about some of the things that Mister Naipaul's biographer, Patrick French, had revealed about his subject's character...Tonnere!!...I was even more dumfounded at how anyone would even raise an eyebrow over "The Mongoose." That biography was essentially a thorough cavity search by pen and Mister Naipaul actually approved its publication?? and asked for no changes in the typescript! Oh, when will I ever have the guts be so bold? I think, despite myself, I really do admire the man's cojones in that confession.

There is an interesting discussion after the article. "The distraction of Walcott vs Naipaul" on the event, and more importantly, about the two men, as writers, personalities and products of their cultures (ethnic or national).

Some were very quick to assess the "quality" of Mister Walcott's "The Mongoose." Don't you think that Mister Walcott knew exactly what he was writing and how and why? Isn't Mister Walcott allowed to respond in any manner that he chooses? In the unlikely scenario of Mister Walcott agreeing that it was not his best work, I am sure that his explanation would be that you don't use the good four-ply, quilted, lavender-scented toilet paper to wipe up the lizard caca when gazette paper will do the trick. And if this is what Mister Walcott did then Nicholas Laughlin's suggestion is not at all far-fetched:

"I even found myself suggesting that Walcott had deliberately written a bad piece of verse, as a way of heightening the insult to Naipaul. Far-fetched?"

And those who are baying for Popean satire are typecasting Mister Walcott. Can a writer not select the tool which he finds most useful for the task at hand? Why do we always have to lean on the legacy of some ancient European or even more dessicated Greco-Roman crust to give validity to the way in which we proceed.

Well, for those who hang upon the classical references, let's say that he is employing old comedy in the manner of Aristophanes jabbing at Euripides. Another possibility is that he wanted to take off the gloves, undress the spurs, make his disdain visible to the widest audience, though judging from my own cluelessness, I am not sure how widely the news of this sparring has spread among us common folk.

Another possibility, as Mr. Laughlin suggested, is that this is how two Caribbean "man rat" in the tradition of picong will give vent to and settle their dispute. Using the imagery of the gayelle, I'd say that Mr. Walcott has struck the first punishing blow. Whether low or high bois, some of us will be singing kalinda all the way just for the sheer joy of it. You provoked it boyo, now you will stand and deliver.

It will take some time before Sir Arjuna finds the Shami tree, and even longer before he retrieves his Gandeeva bow, so I'm not holding my breath for a response. I do not find regrettable anything that Mr. Walcott said, just as I do not find Mr. V.S Naipaul so sacrosanct that he should expect to be handled more delicately than he has handled others. Mr. Naipaul should expect to get as good as he gives. I applaud the sparring.

Finally, as regards another suggestion that Walcott may be approaching second childhood, I think even Mr. Naipaul would have to concede (even if only to himself) that it is better to have experienced two childhoods in a lifetime than none at all.

Bois!!

"Fire brigade water de road, today is we day oh,
Fire brigade water de road, si mweh moh, mweh moh!!"

"...I look to the hills
the hills are wonderful
the rivers run to the sea
the Caroni is full of its Gangetic mud
Far off the mongoose raves
And time draws close with its
slow judging waves."
--The Mongoose by Derek Walcott

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!
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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

The Ark Of The Diaspora: El Callao Carnaval

  LINK: Calypso music in El Callao, Venezuela   View Larger Map of The Area  "A" marks the spot where El Callao is located in Bolivar, Venezuel "Venezuelan calypso music, imported from Trinidad in the 1880s by immigrants arriving during a gold rush, has its own distinctive rhythms and lyrical style. Spelled calipso in Venezuela, the music has had major stars, including most famously VH." LINK: Calipso del Callao, Venezuela "Come down girl, you better make up yuh mind Come down girl, you better make up yuh mind The Americans give dey dollar The Mexican give dey dime But we Callao boys only want...." Wha???? .............................................................................................
 
   
A Note From The Gull

Chévere! I had never heard about El Callao in Venezuela and so I was very interested to learn that Trinbagonians and other Caribbean peoples have made a home there. It gave me the greatest pleasure to see that they had not gone there empty-handed but had brought with them rich cultural gifts. Among these were the calypso and carnivals of their homelands. As I looked at and listened to the videos, I was filled with gratitude.

Some time ago, I wrote a post about emigration as a tentative exploration of what it means to be "expelled/pulled" from Trinidad and Tobago. Expulsion, whether voluntary or imposed creates a global scattering or "diaspora".

Recently, while trawling the Internet for Trinbagonian and more specifically calypso's influences abroad, I began once again to think about diaspora but this time from the perspective of the recipients/host countries of these scattered Trinbagonians. How have the places where they eventually put down roots benefited from the "items" which Trinbagonians carry in the jahaji bundles of their hearts and minds and bodies.

I've also been thinking recently about Diaspora as Ark. It allows us to carry our culture to the four corners of the earth but sometimes there are those instances where generations later the descendants continue to preserve bits of the culture which have long disappeared from the country of origin. This is why I look also at Diaspora not only as movement but as Ark.

"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