"A refreshing song taking us back to how it
used to be, yet at the same time taking us
forward to where it could be."
The melody for this song was in my head for
a few years, and whenever I was looking for some
relaxation with music, I’d pick up my guitar
only to find myself searching for the chords
that would match the melody in my head. Normally it would be the other way around, with
me experimenting with chord progressions on
guitar out of which a melody may flow. Little did I know that the song would surpass my
expectations, being the top selected song for
Panorama 2006, a choice song in Toronto,
Notting Hill and New York Panoramas, and winning
the prestigious
2006 COTT Pan Song of the Year
Award. That year Ebony won the Notting Hill Panorama
with the song arranged by Annise 'Haffers' Hadeed (who
had previously arranged Fire and Steel for
Starlift in 2001). Merrytones in Trinidad won
the Small Band category in the National Panorama
finals.
It would be my 8th consecutive year
of composing music for Panorama, that I would
hear so many bands playing the music in
conventional, single pan, Junior categories
in
all zones of Trinidad and Tobago. The song was
a breath of fresh air for me, and represented
another boundary to be explored, the shift to a
party style of music,
that could crossover the
traditional “pan song” styles, and be
appreciated by
a wider audience.
After hearing Ibo’s music bed for the song in
the studio, I thought this would be a perfect
song for a person like Destra, the Soca Queen,
who had previously entered the pan arena with “Roller
Coaster”, a song composed by Andre Tanker.
With Ibo’s support, the rest is history. I remember the lyrics taking a long time to be
done, as Destra wanted to do the melody justice. Eventually Keron Boodoosingh and Joel Feveck (Zan)
were composing the lyrics on the spot in the
studio, feeding off the energy of the song with
Destra, and painted a vivid picture of the
Carnival landscape and atmosphere.
It was exciting to meet all the arrangers from
the various bands, who all had their own
wonderful interpretations of the song. To top
it off, the other song released in 2006, was
"Good Times" sung by Denyse Plummer, which was
the 3rd most selected song for the
Panorama season. There is indeed a lot to give
thanks for (ref. Pan Celebration).
Lyrics:
Intro (Everybody coming down,
See dem how dey coming down) Repeat
Chorus Colours Again! Like a rainbow in Port of Spain
Colours Again! And we jumping up sun or rain
Up in de sky, we flying high, ya see dat is de reason why, de
Carnival will never die!
Colours Again! Masquerading all on de street
Colours Again! Man I cyah stop moving meh feet
Up in de sky, we flying high, ya see dat is de reason why, de
Carnival will never die!
Verse All de bands out already, Carnival is almost here
Everybody fit and ready, waiting to get "hand in de air"!
('Cause we gone) we exercising
('Cause we gone) 'cause we preparing
('Cause we gone) we gearsing up, for Carnival morning
Jam Tell dem,
We cyah stop with de jumping (jumping)
We cyar stop with de waving (waving)
We cyah wait till de morning when Carnival, come, come, come!
Chorus
Jam
Verse We making a big impression, Carnival is we expression
Rhythm to unite dis nation, Trini to de bone!
('Cause we gone) with a harmony
('Cause we gone) with a melody
('Cause we gone) to raise yuh soul, till yuh losing control!
Jam
Chorus
Extended Jam Tell dem,
We cyah stop with de jumping (jumping)
We cyar stop with de waving (waving)
We cyah wait till de morning when Carnival come!
We ready for J'Ouvert morning
Chipping to de iron playing
All ya, look a steelband passing, sailors coming down, down,
down, down, down
