By Zeno Constance, Caribbean Expert Calypso Collector, and Tony Deyal
My son, Zubin, came for Christmas but then took us to Barbados for nine days, including the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. He and his sister were born in Barbados, and so are “Bajans,” and very proud of it. We were in the sea morning and evening for the entire time, but two days before our departure, we went fishing with fishermen who were more like family.
When I became the corporate secretary of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), I got my Barbados colleague, Tony Howard, to take over our cricket. When I told him we were coming over to his country and wanted some fishing, he got a group, the Captain Avalon Holder, first master and owner Harran Walker, and the man for all seasons, Glenroy Corbin.
They were brilliant, helpful, and made us all happy for ensuring we had fish for the family. My son had to go back to his job at the World Bank so we had to head back to Trinidad. The first thing we heard was that there was a violent incident involving members of the two major political parties in Tobago. Then there was a “State” and a real state from losing battle for lands in one of the important land areas in Trinidad. Next thing I know, perhaps not wanting to be under the State and be a status, the same Tobago political group in Trinidad had used a disputed song “Liff Up” and had to shot it down before they would be short of money.
Then, worse of all, an oil worker made an online date with a woman and instead of the lady, three men showed up. As my son said, given all that is happening in where you and Mum live, the two of you either go back to Barbados or come with me to the US.
I thought about it. In 1965, when I was twenty years old and teaching in a secondary school of what we call “Trinis” (Trinidadians)- white, black and khaki – I heard about Mighty Sniper (Mervyn Hodge) who won the Calypso Carnival crown with two songs, but the one that we all loved and sang was the “Portrait of Trinidad.” For me and many, many others, this was the heart and soul of our country. This is how it went, “Trinidad is my land/ And of it I am proud and glad/ But I cyah understand/ Why some people does talk it bad.
But I know,/ All of them what running dey mouth/ Don’t know whey they talking bout/ They will paint her black every day,/ And the right thing they will never say/ Like our sportsmen/ Being rated among the best,/ Out scholars have sit and passed every test/ And put us right longside the rest./ But then,/ Our pitch lake is the greatest one of its kind,/ Our sugar and oil is really defined/ So you see, friend, this is a real King Solomon’s mine.” (https://youtube.com/watchv=y6UOxDsnLBs&si=uHvqmfDWoW1VvyfQ)
In 1967, we had “a youngster in the game”, Lord Baker with “God Bless Our Nation.” He started with, “We like a drop of fain in an ocean, like a drop in the sea,/ But many, many nations still got to learn from we/ How we aspire and we achieve / It’s so hard to believe,/ Unity that is so unique, /It’s fantastic, yes, to speak.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klIP5Mfa-M0) And then came our major and model calypso performer, Might Sparrow, with “Our Model Nation” which started, “The whole population of our little nation/ Is not a lot/ But oh! what a mixture of races and culture/ That’s what we’ve got,’ Still no major indifference/ Of race, colour, religion or finance/ It’s amazing to you I’m sure,/ We didn’t get Independence before/ Which means…” followed by Sparrow’s chorus which all of us sang:
Trinidad and Tobago will always live on;
Colonialism gone, our Nation is born… everybody;
We go follow our leaders;
They always do their best;
Oh yes, we want to achieve, we going to aspire;
We bound to be a success.
While there were other performers along the same lines, like Lord Byrnney (Independence Calypso) and Lord Funny (Sweel Trinidad) at that time, subsequently the “nation” lyrics changed and we had columns on politicians and parties, great leaders and Prime Ministers as well as the “other” parties with their supposedly terrible bosses who wanted to take over Trinidad and grab from them their house, land and freeness. But now, this year, I’m not sure why, maybe to stop me from going back to Barbados or the US, but several of our calypsonians, men and women, are back with every creed and race finding an equal calypso place.
The first in this blessing for togetherness is John Blood who, in this year, 2026, came out with “As One.” Interestingly, my colleague and the Caribbean expert in Calypso, Zeno Obi, found it about a week ago on “YouTube” among the Trinidadian “TUCO Calypso” organisation which promotes the art form events. John Blood’s song goes, “I come from the land of rum, The land of party never done…” Then there is “A Call For Peace” by Sheldon Nugget who tells us that, “This is a call for peace, This is a call for peace…”
While we are all impressed with John’s “blood,” and Nugget’s “peace,” what impresses most of us is that women are the ones who are taking us all back to the past when every creed and race was seen as one for the road and home. First is Eunice Peters (THE CODE) who sang about the soldiers, a group that is always under the gun, so to speak. As she said, they’re like a booby trap and not much progress but same old progress and same old trivial crap. But the next lady, Candy Kay, really told us all about “My Trinidad” in her song, “Code 868”, “My Trinbago,/ My Trinbago,/ Met neighbour tell me,/ She going and migrate/ De way things going Lord/ Before it’s too late/ Too much invasion/ Throughout de island/ Even fishermen on de sea/ Ain’t have it easy/ Ah not blaming the government/ Ah just looking for betterment/ Is ah long time now I planning to leave/ With my confidence I believe/ De sky is limitless/ My philosophy is greatness/ Focus and magnify my dream/ Achieve with the highest esteem/ Macomere hope you know/ What you reap you sow.”
And to end it Candy Kay tells us, “Don’t lose yuh mind. Stay in Code 868.” She suggests that we forget “dem country and stage” because we have “eyes to see.” In other words, “Doh blay cyah hear (team for ‘can’t), Dis place is ah war zone.” In other words, she tells us flat:
Bodies everywhere;
In every village;
We live like hostage;
Every gang and bandit will know;
Controlling ah zone;
Could be Scarborough or Port of Spain;
Ah cyah put you did again;
Dey say if you see something, say something;
But when citizens informing;
Somehow dey disappear;
And can’t find them anywhere;
You could blah blah you mouth all day;
My mind wake up to fly away;
Ticket already bought;
I’m in de airport.
*Tony Deyal said, he agrees with Candy Kay, and he told his son to send the plane fast!
