"Colonization in Reverse" (1966)
- "Wat a joyful news, Miss Mattie
- I feel like me heart gwine burs
- Jamaica people colonizin
- Englan in reverse.
- By de hundred, by de tousan
- From country and from town,
- By de ship-load, by de plane-load
- Jamaica is Englan boun.
- Dem a pour out a Jamaica
- Everybody future plan
- Is fe get a big-time job
- An settle in de mother lan.
- What a islan! What a people!
- Man an woman, old an young
- Jus a pack dem bag an baggage
- An tun history upside dung!
- Some people doan like travel
- But fe show dem loyalty
- Dem all a open up cheap-fare-
- To-Englan agency.
- An week by week dem shippin off
- Dem countryman like fire,
- Fe immigrate an populate
- De seat a de Empire.
- Oonoo see how life is funny,
- Oonoo see de tunabout?
- Jamaica live fe box bread
- Out a English people mout'.
- For wen dem ketch a Englan,
- An start play dem different role,
- Some will settle down to work
- An some will settle fe de dole.
- Jane say de dole is not too bad
- Because dey payin she
- Two pounds a week fe seek a job
- Dat suit her dignity.
- Me say Jane will never fine work
- At de rate how she dah look,
- For all day she stay pon Aunt Fan couch
- An read love-story book.
- Wat a devilment a Englan!
- Dem face war an brave de worse,
- But me wonderin how dem gwine stan
- Colonizin in reverse."
Read more about this topic: Louise Bennett-Coverley
Famous quotes containing the word reverse:
“During the late war [the American Revolution] I had an infallible rule for deciding what [Great Britain] would do on every occasion. It was, to consider what they ought to do, and to take the reverse of that as what they would assuredly do, and I can say with truth that I was never deceived.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)