Ilka Hilton-Clarke

ilkahiltonclarke@gmail.com

Percy swore " Ah doan care how mucha federation it have, all a we cyar be one nation. Jamaican cyar be de same ting wid Tobagonian nuh. An' Bajan and Trinidadian woss again.
Ah know what ah sayin'. Bajan different, different to everybody, oui. Dey does talk different an' all.
"Yes, you ent know dat ? Look eh, ah go give you a li'l reference. Wey you see I livin' it have a real Bajan from Bubados jest come over.
"Well, he does go eenside de bart'room, and sometime he does be in dere whole half an hour, an de onliest t'ing you hearin' come from inside now, is water runnin'. Ah tell you, ah cyar understand dis t'ing at all.
"If he was a Trinidadian now, ah woudda say he ent badin' at all. Because no Trinidadian never bade so quiet yet. For instance, look at me.
"When you see I get underneat' de shower, I bong to jump up. I does play two hours solid mas' in de bart' every mornin'. So much so dat de udder day, je' as ah was comin' rong by de transfer station, ah slip on de soap an ah get one fall !
"Well, ah couldn't move. Ah was double up under de shower in pain; when ah tell you pain ! Ah couln't even faint self, because de cole water was fallin' on mih head an' keepin' mih revive.
"Well, if you see water di'n lock orf, ah woulda still be dey. Buh when it lock orf, mih wife hear mih groanin', an' she had was to call de city council to break dong de door and take mih hospital.

"Well, after dat now de doctah tell mih ah must be careful when ah badin'. Buh I ent worrin' wid he man. I gorn back playin' mih mas'.

"For true. I cyar bade unless ah jump up. Ah bong to play mas'. Dat is de onliest way I could bade. An' doan talk about calypso !

"Once you see I turn on de pipe, an' ah start to play mih mas', well is den road march does follow road march. You know how mucha road march I make up awready while ah soapin' mih skin ? De onliest t'ing is ah does forget it de minute ah put mih clothes on back.

"Ah done promise miself to put a tape recorder t'ing on top de pipe, an' leh it take dong every t'ing ah sing, an' after carry it give Emory Cook.

"I sure I would make plenty money, buh mih wife say no. She tell mih dat if was anyt'ing, everybody would make money, because every Creole does make up calypso while dey badin'.

" So, you see ? Dat is why ah tell you. Bajan funny. Dey cyar be in no nation wid we. Dey does bade too quiet".

April 29, 1958, Macaw