Sometimes the darkest tales are musically knit with a great beauty. (BZ)
There are several arrangements of these lyrics - below is the version sung on this recording.
There's cane standin' in the fields gettin' dark and red
There's a lot of misery in Georgetown, there's three men' lyin' dead
Joshua head of the government said strike for better pay
Them cane cutters are strikin', now Joshua's gone away
Joshua gone Barbados stayin' in a big hotel
People on St Vincent got many sad tales to tell
The sugar mill owner told the strikers don't need you to cut my cane
I'll bring in another bunch of fellas, the strike be all in vain
Bring in a bunch of tough fellas, bring 'em from Zion Hill
Bring 'em in a bus to Georgetown, you know somebody will be killed
Police givin' protection to new fellas cuttin' cane
Strikers can't do nothin' strike be all in vain
But Joshua gone Barbados just like he don't know
People on the island well they got no place to go
There's a lot of misery in Georgetown you can hear the women bawl
But Joshua gone Barbados like he don't care at all
Sunny Child the overseer, I swear he's an ignorant man
Come a-walkin' through the canefields with a pistol in his hand
Sunny Child he cursed the strikers, wavin' his pistol round
Now they're beatin' Sunny with the cutless, Lord they're beatin' him to the ground
Joshua gone Barbados just like he don't know
People on the island well they got no place to go
I wish I could go to England, Trinidad or Curacao
All the people on the island, they got no place to go
Cane standin' in the fields gettin' dark and red
There's a lot of misery in Georgetown, there's three men lying' dead
There's cane standin' in the fields gettin' dark and red
Sunny Child's in the hospital, with his pistol on his bed
But Joshua gone Barbados stayin' in a big hotel
People on St Vincent got many sad tales to tell
Joshua gone Barbados just like he don't know
People on the island, they got no place to go