Night and day, ah ketching hell
people t’ink ah doing well
Jus’ because ah sing a few calypso
But that is my misery
calypso don’t make money
but most of them don’t know
that I have my axe to grind
just like any other man
existing in poverty
and this giant ghetto land
but I intend to hang on
tell them tell them for me
no dice
I ain’t gonna eat lice
I ain’t gonna grow old
sitting in the cold
not me
no way
they go have to beat me
they go have to eat me
or their heads go roll
Cho.
Tell them I say
I was born in this land
Ah go die in this land
nobody go run me from where me come from
Nobody go run me, lard
Nobody go run me
Nobaddy go run me
Nobaddy go run me
me mumma mus’ nyam
me puppa mus’ nyam
me woman mus’ nyam
me picknee mus’ nyam
Nobaddy go run me
Nobaddy go run me
Nobaddy go run me, lard
Nobaddy go run me
Life ain’t much for us to choose
Some will win and some will lose
but sometime life is so confusing
I had a lot of friends one time
whom I used to wine and dine
and gave them bread when they need it
now most ah dem against me
take me make big enemy
simply because I am not
what they all want me to be
and with their political views I cyan’t agree
but tell them for me no dice
I ain’t gonna eat lice
I ain’t gonna grow old
sitting in the cold
not me, Algie
No way
They go have to beat me
they go have to eat me
or their heads go roll
Cho.
Twelve years I at CDC
work at Halcyon for free
when they went bankrupt and had no money
because of my tolerance
they gave me the assurance
the job belongs to me
But I hear some people high
in our society
they don’t like my calypso
because they can’t control me
so they plan to kick out my ass
tell them tell them, Patty
no dice
I ain’t gonna eat lice
I ain’t gonna grow old
sitting in the cold
not me – Shorty
No way
Allyuh have to beat me
Allyuh have to bury me
more than six feet or more
Cho.
Election come and gone
some ah dem treat me with scorn
others put the whole ah Point against me
Tell them I don’t give a damn
I am going to sing my song
exactly as I see it
whoever want to make me
a political enemy
who feel that they playing god
and could wreck me life for me
tell them I ain’t running away
Tell them tell them for me
no dice
I ain’t gonna eat lice
I ain’t gonna grow old
sitting in the cold
not me – Shorty
no way
allyuh have to beat me
allyuh have to bury me
more than six feet ah mould
Cho.
Transcriber’s note: This was an oral transcription from listening to the track. I tried to capture the interplay of dialects and/or vernacular, and the diction that is so distinctively Short Shirt. This track – a personal favourite – is from the Ghetto Vibes album, 1976, written by Shelly Tobitt. No profit is being made; it is being shared here purely for informational purposes. – JCH
Wadadli Pen 