... so, me see dem a fly down, for white beach in sunshine,
an' riddim, rum, runners, roots-wine,
palaav' and pree pretty girls,
modeling all those fancy curls,
like the likkle tune weh Bunny and Bob sing,
back a Guinness, Stripe, Tru Juice, cool Ting ...
... yeh, see dem a come, one I-grade hexpeer'ence,
dancehall in session, beat two fence,
trash! ... cris' bashment clothes,
strike paparazzi video-light pose,
but when I reach I mus' hit the right note,
first chance I get ... man a nyam sweet curry goat!
JAMAICAN GLOSSARY
"palaav'" - palaver, chat, chat up, conversation
"palaav'" - palaver, chat, chat up, conversation
"to pree" - to check out, notice, assess intently
"likkle" - little
Stripe - (brandname) Red Stripe, Jamaican beer
Ting - an award-winning Jamaican grapefruit soft-drink
"I-grade" - high-grade
"hexpeer'ence" - (pronunciation) experience
"hexpeer'ence" - (pronunciation) experience
"beat fence" - gatecrash
"trash" - from "trash and ready" meaning looking good
"cris'" - crisp
"bashment" - party
"to nyam" - to eat
That was awesome Peter and thanks for the glossary - it helped add some definition to the key terms. However, I read the poem before the glossary and felt the meaning and passion at every word and every line - absolutely hooked!!! :)
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