Jamaica, No Problem
Tonight from our distant, foreign shore
Tonight where the waves of Florida splash the shore
Tonight, like children hunger for a mother's breast
Tonight, Jamaica, your lore abates the stress.
And the children in the yard playing there
Hide and seek in the guinea grass
Find there life no problem there. Jamaica, no problem!
O Jamaica,
We were down by the jetty in a far away place
And I saw the tides roll in
And crash their nightmares on stones
We were lonely and for therapy we traced
Our footsteps over childhood, recalling you there
Pastor had a need to rebel
Against the routine certainty of life here
The bills and doldrums that bog men feet
He told the sailor jokes
The ones that make the pulpit pale
I told riddles
The thins my entire life has been up against
But I did not hear her laugh
Like this before, referring to his wife here
The poor dear was drawn taut like a bow
The arrow aimed within
I figure anansi could make her snap the string
Tonight on the jetty, Jamaica, you are king
It is not just the pepper pot
Not just the bammy, irish moss and fish
It is not just the rain unstoppable in May
Yellow corn dumplings and caroline cow peas
It is the navel string
That leash our manhood and our heart
The indelible glory of your beauty
That make us climb the mountain singing
To sit in the blue haze and dream with clouds
The reason we say whether in hurricanes, or earthquake, or death
Jamaica, no problem! Jamaica, no problem
While yard is on our minds tonight
The moon came and sulk at our delight
Jamaica, no problem, your children are alright.
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