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Trinidad & Tobago Panorama 2017 - HOME
sung by Tellison “Tello” Forde
composed by Tellison Forde
click here for lead sheet
LYRICSVerse 1
The memories
of the past years linger near
The pain the true pioneers had to
bare
The journey which few have taken,
was very clear
Through distant land
Some by sea, some by air!
Chorus
With the
gift of my land
And a dream that the pan
Gotta get brighter days
Fill with passion they play--a!
Our true pioneers
Gave their blood, sweat, and tears
Quite a few have passed on
Still the battle was won
Verse 2
Now as I
think of the days when my father
played
Fought for his life, while defending
the pan
And for that cause he was called,
rogue and vagabond
Still debut pan through the Soviet
Union!
Chorus
_________________
Verse 3
Now in Paris
sweet sound of the pans are heard
Through time and distance we’ve seen
pan has advanced
Calypsociation rocks when you hear
them play
Sweet sound of steel they all say,
came to stay
HEY! HEY!
Chorus
_________________
Verse 4
Now today,
as we hear Phase II Pan Groove play
Madd music flavored with pans
history
And Desperadoes reveal it's a
different me
The pans have grown as it show,
universally!
HEY! HEY!
Chorus
_________________
Tag
All that was
done, just couldn’t stop them
Lets celebrate Pioneer pan men
Life, love, and blood
That made this happen, this is their
anthem
National Panthem
So let us, join the celebration
Pan Pioneers, of our great nation
Let’s celebrate! (x4)
Chorus
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Tellison Forde is the son of an “Invader” - Cecil “Coye” Forde - and Beryl Isaac. He was born at 67 Rosalino Street in Woodbrook, Trinidad, adjacent to the pan yard of Invaders Steel Orchestra.
That “Tello” was the
son of an Invader
was proven when
Invaders performed
at his christening.
Father Cecil took
the Steeldrum
throughout Russia,
and was one of the
first to introduce
Pan in Spain and
Morocco in North
Africa. Young
Tellison followed in
his father’s
footsteps by
becoming a member of
Invaders Steel
Orchestra, and also
played tenor pan in
New York’s Moods Pan
Groove, Pan Rebels
and Bramblers USA.
“Tello” enlisted in the US Navy from November 1972 to December 1984, during which time he had the good fortune to serve under the late Commander W.W. Pippenger aboard the USS Brumby DE 1044 which arrived in Chaguaramas, Trinidad in November 1975.
Tellison returned to dedicated service with Sealift Command Department of the Navy for 13 years, always keeping his tenor pan at hand.
He is well known within the steelband community for compositions such as I Is On Rock of Laventi, Prophet of Pan and Coye: Pan Religion, among others.
For the 2017 steelband Panorama season “Tello” is back with National Panthem featured here.
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