Thursday 8 September 2011

Me Pocket Full of Empty

My musical influences from childhood are really, absolutely ridiculous. Now, how on earth would I know almost the entire lyrics to Calypso Blues? Of course partly because it reminds me of an innocent time long ago, has very funny sounding lyrics, and a foot-thumping beat, I love the song. Although I hadn't heard it in a long long long while.

Me throat she sick from neck-tie
Me feet she hurt from shoes

Its all very...lyrical.. and though he claims to be 'so sad' it doesn't feel overly sad or anything. (These Yankee girls give me big scare; is black the root is blonde the hair?).

Don't got de money
To take me back to Trinidad

Its not as if I understand the sentiment behind it or anything. But its a song about home, as much as it is about missing home. Thats the bit I understand. I know about home. Its sometimes a place, sometimes a time. And mostly, you can never go back. Its best sometimes not to think about it. At others, it gives you a comfort, the thoughts of home and how good you had it back then...

In Trinidad one dollar buy
Papaya Juice Banana Pie
Six coconuts, one female goat
and plenty fish to fill the boat

(I admit a couple of quick google session, hadn't realised its Papaya Juice and I thought it was One Man a Pie, whatever that might imply). Coconuts! Somehow the entire reason I remember the song is... Coconuts. An integral part of growing up. I must have said this before. But up on the roof (which is another song BTW which I like) of my house, back home. I would climb up via the window. Typically when everyone was asleep. Or I would climb up on the guava tree and on to the roof. And everywhere the eye could see were coconut trees. I would then forever associate that scene - the top of coconut trees swaying gently in the hot afternoon breeze - with home. Till I travelled a bit more and there are memories of Kerala and Sri Lanka interspersed in there in the ol' head of mine.

Speaking of coconuts, you know what happened just a few days ago, here in Chennai? A coconut fell on the windshield of our car and splintered the glass. Dang! I wasn't there. I was at work. When they called and told me, I was like 'What? One coconut, not six, right?' Right. So, insurance, garage, speaking to Shiva and Manivannan, and appraisals and oh heavens! Life is too complicated, all I want to do is

Sit by de ocean...
Me heart she won't feel so bad







4 comments:

Choxbox said...

Good you weren't in it. Insurance and mannivanan etc are deal-able, even if painful.

And did I tell ya about the time when a window pane came off and fell on our windscreen - all the way from the 6th floor.

Karthik Padmanabhan said...

and when I was in college, my ED (engg drawing) record fell down from the 1st floor and by the time I rushed down to get it, a cow ate it.
If I remember right, my dis-believing ED prof was also named Manivannan or Manikandan or similar..

Preeti Aghalayam aka kbpm said...

I ALWAYS ask my students: Cycle Got Punctured, right? (When they are late to class). :-)

dipali said...

What a fabulous song! I love calypsos.
Very poignant post. And yes, thank goodness no one was in the car when the coconut interacted with it.