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LYRICS |
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Verse 1
Ah want yuh to
know ’bout dis Bamboo Man
Ah catalyst, yes, in de growth of de
pan
Ah percussionist journeyed from afar
With talking drums, man straight out
of Africa
When talking ah look way back, plenty
suffering he had it hard
De fruits of his work, we carnival
So keep on jamming
Chorus
Playing we pan,
Playing we pan
Play it!!
Jump in ah band, Jump in ah band
Love it!!
Playing we pan
Playing we pan
Play it!!
Playing we mas in a band on J’Ouvert
Free up, its time
to free up your mind
Nice up, its time to have ah good time
Free up,
Can’t stop de sound of de Bamboo Man
Yuh betta know dis
Dey treat him wrong, riot in de land
Cyan stop de music
Verse 2
De eighteen
hundreds was a trying time
African style express those days was
a crime
Meet stiff resistance when dey pass
de band
Dey try real hard to suppress de Bamboo
Man
Only God knows why, why de Bamboo Man
was done dis wrong
Thanks to God de man did not back down
We celebrating
Chorus
Playing we pan
Playing we pan
Play it!!
Jump in ah band,
Jump in ah band, Love it!!
Playing we pan, Playing we pan
Play it!!
Playing we mas in a band on J’Ouvert
Verse 3
Preserving de past
’bout we T&T
Utmost respect to those who come before
me
Ah don’t compromise when coming to dat
Dey sacrifice so we can get where we
at
So all be aware, every time you hear
ah steel band play
Is de Bamboo Man who paved de way
Dat is we history
Chorus
Playing we pan,
Playing we pan
Play it!! Jump in ah band,
Jump in ah band
Love it!!
Playing we pan
Playing we pan
Play it!!
Playing we mas in a band on J’ouvert
(ASCAP)
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“Bamboo Man”
Designer
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Provided
with the express permission
of the composer(s)
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Click for more songs for Steelband Panorama
2011
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Visit When Steel Talks
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Designer (Keith Prescott) -
left, with veteran singer Debbie
Haynes, Samantha and Alston
Jack
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Alston Jack,
a native from the isle
of Tobago, has been
passionate about the
steeldrum since he was
9 years old, when he
became a member of the
Tobago All Stars Steel
Orchestra. The steeldrum
was an almost immediate
attraction for him.
It was not long before
he, like so many before
him, began experimenting
with the instrument.
Seeking a greater challenge,
the double second panist
became a member of Renegades
Steel Orchestra in 1967,
but remained with the
band for only one season
and then found himself
being drawn to the famous
Laventille hills’ cross-town
rivals, Desperadoes.
There he met pan patriot
Rudolph Charles, who
became a mentor to Alston
because he understood
the instrument, the
culture. “He brought
passion to the movement,”
Jack says.
As a member of Desperadoes
Steel Orchestra, Alston
Jack was able to tour
many places with them
including New York city
where he stayed and
made his second home.
In New York he studied
piano and voice theory
at the Brooklyn Conservatory
of Music and Theory
and the Third Street
Music School Settlement.
Jack’s pan compositions
have been featured on
the soundtracks of
Fatal Attraction, Working
Girl and NBC’s
daytime soap opera
Another World.
He has also appeared
on the
Cosby Show and
Another World.
He has arranged for
bands in New York such
as Harlem All Stars,
Moods Pan Groove, Metro,
Women in Steel, Tropicans
and Pantonic.
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