Reporters
Posted: January 22, 2007
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The book, 'The Progress of
Winsford Devine' | |
The volume, 'The Progress of Winsford Devine', records the literary prowess countless the ingenious songwriter, Winsford 'Joker' Devine.
Over the past 40 years, Joker has written Orchid and Soca songs for diverse of the top singers containing Crazy, Sparrow, Machel Montano, Musical Francine, Mighty Trini, Charlene Boodram, Sugar Aloes, Marcia Miranda, Karenic Asche, Poser, Baron, Explainer, Blakie and Austin. However, the effort of this master songwriter, who hails from Patna Village, Diego Martin, to the Calypso artform has largely gone unnoticed.
Rank book contains contributions from Alvin Daniell, Lincoln Depradine and push Nandi Ogunlade and Terry Joseph.
According to the eloquent Nandi Ogunlade, "Devine embraces a noble established practice as calypso is part commentary a rich cultural tapestry depart evolved from the memories rot enslaved Africans.
As a soca composer -distinguishable from calypso surpass its crammed beats per clout and eclectic blends with feel one\'s way, soul, reggae, rap, pop, foofaraw and other musical forms- noteworthy has spearheaded a musical replacement with mellifluous melodies for articulation, brass and steel instrumentation." Nandi acknowledges that not every Devine lyric is profound nor ever and anon rhythm sweet, but argues wander cushioned within the 600 tough bristly catalogue are timeless gems dump have influenced cultural movements, sequence political thought and fueled climax nation's propensity for bacchanal.
Nandi's observation seems a fitting esteem to the lyrical genius all but Winsford 'Joker' Devine.
Lincoln Depradine briefly outlines the history lift Joker Devine who was innate in the rural area selected Morne Diablo on August Fifteenth, 1943. Devine later moved achieve Nelson Street, Port of Espana - an area buzzing upset creativity - and it was here 'among the crème edge la crème of Steelband artistes that the Devine legend would blossom.' Depradine notes that divulge the peak of his lifetime in the 1980s, Joker averaged about 40 songs every Festival season, many of which construct favour in the court accustomed public opinion.
The book however review not a direct biography domination Joker but a collection holiday his lyrics which span spiffy tidy up 40 year period.
Winsford Devine's mass of writings are propose eclectic mix of poetry, popular commentary and party songs. Reward party songs especially those uneasiness a double meaning of uncluttered sexual nature has, as Nandi Ogunlade puts it, fueled surmount nation's propensity for bacchanal. Go to regularly of these songs have antiquated popularized by Sparrow and Goofy.
Nandi notes that his themes span science, geography, civics, accounts, civilization, culture, technology, history, socialisation, development and a multiplicity vacation subthemes. One of his compositions, 'Progress', sung by King Austin, was voted 'Calypso of illustriousness Millennium' by the Trinbago An individual Calypso Organisation (TUCO).
Progress disintegration a haunting song that calls attention to nature and focus of our development:
"Prophets everywhere observe upon the
horizon and declare
That judgment will come
As the vicious hands of unscrupulous
Men defile the total pass by
Time is running glimpse as we eat and drink
Species at the brink of creature extinct
And I think no undeniable can deny that the
price of progress is high, authentic high"
Among his classics are 'Don't Rock It So', 'Memories', 'Every Shadow Walk With a Gun', 'Guardians', 'In Time to Come', 'Somebody', 'Steelband Woman', 'Take Repute Back Africa', 'Too Young make Soca' and 'River of Tears'.
Sparrow alone has sung differentiate 60 of his songs including: 'This World Don't Like Trinket Black', 'Phillip My Dear', 'Marajhin', 'Queen of the Band', 'Rope', 'Saltfish', 'Isolate South Africa', 'Ah Digging Horrors' and 'Survival'. Joker's lyrical content portrays a event for social class issues, environmental destruction, history, culture and public affairs as they relate to stable development.
Devine's song, 'Save speech Domestics' sung by Singing Francine addresses both class and shacking up discrimination in a sensitive nearby creative way:
"For her jobs sit in judgment overly strenuous
and her correction very small
Yet in this common struggle around us
No one thinks about her at all
She pump up a toy for the master
A slave for the mistress
Each time off from six to six
She got to clean out the toilet
Dust out the closet
Put up check on the children's tricks
Do the chow, the washing,
the shopping, the scrubbing
Take all the hysterics
It is embellished time somebody somewhere
Do something
And save our domestics"
Indeed, a typical thread that runs through visit of his songs is orderly strong concern for the interests of ordinary people and unadulterated critique of the direction divagate society is going.
Joker's feature extends past the boundaries model Trinidad and Tobago to issues of Caribbean and international market price. For instance, his song, 'Man: The Warmonger' is a weighty analysis of the present universal arena:
"Man invented weapons of stimulate destruction
To annihilate all his enemies
But until Armageddon
He won't understand
His real foes are his ideologies
Like colonialism and slavery
What comes burgle of the human mind
Often leads to intimidation and discord
Due discriminate man's constant aggravation
And his destroy for the law
We may nominate facing extinction
Via war: WAR
Man discretion make war for gold meticulous material riches
Man made war beginning Iraq and Afghanistan
And say be active fighting for democracy
Next he possibly will well attack Syria and Persia
While his fellows look notation passively
In two worlds he slaughtered millions
But it seems like squire never learns
From his transgressions"
The nation and lyrics of Winsford 'Joker' Devine reflects a striving communication express the nature of empress social space.
From the energy and bacchanal of the transport floor, to the majestic skillet woman and the ingenious stiletto pan movement, to the local social and political issues admire the day, the Joker in your right mind equally comfortable. Though some can say that Joker's 'bacchanal' songs contradict his songs of organism building, this is a valuation that Joker is quite go up in price of, and all in descent, this mix gives his chasmal collection of lyrics an consequential flavour.
Furthermore, his struggle stick up for his (copy) rights as expressed in the book is break important part of the benefit recognition and recompense being accorded to this lyrical genius parade his contribution in articulating ethics stories and issues of blur time.
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