Gypsy - The sinking ship (1986) Banyan

Released in 1986 This calypso by Gypsy is a classic.
Shot and edited by Christopher Laird.

[@ramapozaodwyer6317]

The greatest calypso of all time. This song was hitting all the radio stations of my native Sierra Leone, thousands miles away from The Trinidad 🇹🇹

[@bsadewitz]

It really is high art; and it is so compelling that you heard the SoS loud and clear thousands of miles away.

[@mercedesclarke5843]

Many of the Caribbean people are descendants of Sierra Leone natives illegally transported in bondage to the Caribbean.❤

[@Dr.CynthiaAArcher-Gift]

This calypso is a work of art by Gypsy. The lyrics have so much meaning in todays world.I love it.

[@bsadewitz]

​@@Dr.CynthiaAArcher-GiftThere is not one wasted word in it. "Faithfully, she fulfilled her sailors' needs Some were overpowered by greed And so they pilfered slow Some took by bulk an' go Now she look dull, she's at a lull She could barely sit on her hull" "For thirty years she had the same crew Who hold the keys to her vault So we know who's at fault Now it's up to you, it's up to me To make her worthy to go back to sea"

[@bsadewitz]

Remove one word, and it loses meaning.

[@jerryhaytasingh6557]

Still gets goosebumps after 37 years listening to this mega hit

[@IanHorsford]

I don’t know what prompted me to look up this song, but it gave me emotional chills. Trinidad and Tobago has lost its moral compass and sinking due to corruption, greed, and selfishness. It’s not the land, it’s a beautiful God bless nation, but it’s the people. 😢

[@sahshablues9072]

Omg, listening in 2023 and so many countries can sing this same song, more power to gypsy! One of a kind. Love you and your music😊

[@Mymitchell554]

Imagine 2023 and them songs here can't get stale. Just juice of Calypso... That's what we call music with class.

[@princessinfinty]

This song brings tearrs to my eyes because it's more vaild today than ever.

[@briangriffith3985]

thing is, it's more valid today in Barbados too... song was ahead of it's time

[@bsadewitz]

Buster Poindexter wrote and performed an adaptation of this song upon the election of Donald Trump. As brilliant as this song is, I didn't fully appreciate it until someone sang it about my own country.

[@mercedesclarke5843]

Keep the faith, the whole Caribbean is on the same sinking ship. Eventually it will work out and the ship will be back on course. 🛳 🌊 🌴 💰

[@mercedesclarke5843]

​@Blair Sadewitz What is your country? This calypso is about Tn T, and was written in 1986 by Gypsy. Buster Poindexter does his version of calypso and he does it well, but he is an imitator, never the originator. 😂😉

[@agathafeighton5162]

It always do I feel like my country is stinking

[@davidhinkson8856]

This song was so brilliant that even though it spoke strictly about Trinidad, it made politicians across the Caribbean cringe! I recall some countries, including Barbados and Grenada, banned it from the radio during election campaigns, especially if it looked like the ruling party was in jeopardy. This is what social commentary is all about, and even though the players have changed, the situation remains the same.

[@davidhinkson8856]

In fact, a DJ in Grenada got fired from his job for playing it on the radio during election time.

[@wilfordstewart7914]

Beautifully written and sung, one of the greatest narratives highlighted in music. As a Jamaican, it is so befitting to our current situation in 2023.

[@victorialangenflder4317]

What a brilliant song, Winston is so gifted with his choice of words in his songs ❤I cherish our friendship growing up.❤❤❤

[@drewster6402]

This is class...this is how a song should be written....strong lyrics...sweet melody & musical arrangement...still one of the sweetest social commentary ever written.

[@dhanpatramtahal8013]

,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[@jessicalazare7295]

Definitely one of the best.👍🏾💯❤️💛💚🖤

[@bettytaylor1839]

I absolutely think this is how Calypso is song catchy realistic and fun all in one ☝️ love it

[@laurexgabriel8169]

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[@kachakacha8261]

I concur and not what we are feted with these days

[@candicej9261]

I am your biggest fan. When I first heard this, I was just a child. I cried, asking my Mother why doesn't the Coast Guard go for them??? 😂 Gypsy you are the best and there's none in your class.

[@cynthiaemanuel7908]

Still a great song and most relevant to many Caribbean countries. It’s a masterpiece 👌💕

[@Michael43713]

I was in Port of Spain in 86 for the England test match. This was the big hit - they used it to sing about the England team!

[@blanchenicol6587]

This masterpiece applies to almost every country today i first heard this song when i was 8 years old

[@annettethomas3013]

And how old are you now?

[@GeorgeWelling-gh8lg]

​@@annettethomas301369

[@candicej9261]

Chalkdust too

[@LOGUNMUSIC]

This need to be on spotify

[@businesspine]

Listening while on covid-19 quarantine April 2020

[@nicolecolbert8694]

me too in Atlanta

[@JeanPaulFernandes]

D ship really sinking now with Covid

[@PrisIslandCandy]

Listening in March 2020💃🏾🎼

[@YOGUI9012]

Saludo preciosas from Colombia

[@traceyd.wallaceshrm-scp174]

Still listening in April 2020! 😊

[@robertobrown4032]

Absolutely?power to our creator?

[@susandixson5830]

July ...

[@tamikabenard7812]

He on the ship in 2020 because it sailing strong!!

[@robbrichie380]

One of the best calypso song ever.I used to hear it played on the radio in jamaica as a kid.I really like it and the the one about Government boot

[@mrladnek5858]

I lived in the same area as Gypsy as a child in Trinidad & in 1990 I left for the UK. This brings back so much sweet memories of sweet TNT. Gypsy you are the Greatest Of All Time. 🐐

[@paulettejones2606]

Inspiring music all needs to be done is change Trinidad to Jamaica in 2024

[@richardpereira2961]

This song still rings true today. Fantastic.

[@Transportador33]

2021. Loving it. I was a boy in Newtown Boy's RC when this came out. Didn't really know what it meant back then in the mid 80s. Decades later, listening today, I want to cry. I miss these days, and the people that were alive when this was on the airwaves. Sweet t.n.t.

[@MiniTheVinx]

I dunno what "Newtown Boy's RC" is, but I'm a Brit born in '71. It's only just now I found out the politics of the song. I honestly thought this song was written to take the piss out of David Gower when the Windies were beating us 5-0 in that '85-86 winter tour. GOD BLESS SIR VIV RICHARDS.

[@Transportador33]

@@MiniTheVinx Newtown Boy's Roman Catholic Primary School. Those days were incredible for sure.

[@1985Mark-o7w]

Dec 2022 and still enjoying 😊

[@wolfgangmatej9036]

Heard this song first time sailing the Carribean Sea with wife and little baby son in 1986. Still remember it and am glad to find it here again! Perfect song with perfect video.

[@sonna100]

One of the best and real soca chune out there..🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@doreenjodhan9160]

One of my favourites. Gypsy and Shadow never got the credit they deserved because of their subject material. But dayyam listen to these great lyrics, cadence and great voice❤

[@AvensOnika]

Gypsy could not sing a better song than that o boy big hit

[@mandulis]

"Some were overpowered by greed and so they pilfered slow, some took by bulk and go.." De Ting is a High Art From... WordSmiths...

[@mandulis]

*Form

[@agathabrowne]

Best part of the song

[@golden.lights.twinkle2329]

Listened to this in the 1980s on my car radio. It was from a radio station in Long Island, New York. Always thought it was a great song.

[@danielomakada9153]

Wish Kenyan leaders could be listening to this great music. The Kenyan ship is sinking deep & deeper & the captain ignorantly keeps on moving in a stormy direction. Nuf respect from Western region of Kenya, Bungoma. Very informative. Salute!!

[@nivashsookraj229]

2021 and still a hit! 🇹🇹

[@gloriabooseg2108]

Sweet T&T we will survive. Miss our dearly beloved captain Hon Dr Eric Williams.This is one for the road. Good job Gypsy

[@elijahpeters5038]

This song will never get old!!!# classic

[@nofalsemetal76]

remember watching this on TTT, sometimes they would show it in between shows, 10 yrs old at the time no clue about politics and what this was about,thinking it was about a boat , today it still stands as a very well written song,whether or not you like the singer and his politics.

[@candicej9261]

I was very young at the time. I kept asking my Mom why's no one going for the, Real bawl and cry inno

[@NnekaLocs]

I’m not Trini but this is such a great song and one of my all time favourites. What a classic message that recorded a particular time in T&T’s history. May Eric Williams continue to rest in power.

[@lorrainebeete4281]

Lovely song

[@dennisbaboolal608]

That great meaning who understand that song, reflecting on many thing to a great island, this is one time, but no now it gone to the dogs.

[@agathafeighton5162]

Very lovely music 🎶 love 💋 it so much even in my country as well

[@yoofibrew8722]

Musicians are messengers; the real beings made in the image of God. Idols as they are referred to, and Gypsy is one a dem, for creating such timeless piece.

[@angelhuggins4191]

Listening on 13 April 2020 during this coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic... anyone else listening? Good ole Kiaso music... Caribbean music...

[@jovantelyne6716]

2 September 2020🤗

[@angelhuggins4191]

@@jovantelyne6716 enjoy... 😊

[@Riogi]

My father and I are listening as well, Angel.

[@angelhuggins4191]

@@Riogi Aaawww how sweet to be listening this timeless classic with your dad.. ♥️ enjoy the moment beloved. Stay safe ✊🏽🙏🏼 peace & life to you & yours.

[@glendamarvray5917]

I remember playing this on my car radio while digging my car out of the snow on a Sunday evening in DC, hearing it on the John Blake radio show!!

[@LOVEROBLOX-m9c]

Listening in September 2024..

[@Riogi]

Gypsy always delivers. This song is so true. I love it!

[@gloriajagdeo464]

We need help to escape now

[@RogerShort]

A great song. So many memories of my visit to T&T in 1986- a great message.

[@terese3344]

these lyrics just came to my mind, had to listen. Growing up in the Islands were a blessing…🇬🇩

[@kenrickwilson9845]

Great song. Young song writers should use this as an example.

[@raphaelfrancis7822]

This is easily the best political commentary ever written.

[@raphaelfrancis7822]

The beauty of song would be better appreciated if you understood Trinidad politics at the time and to see how Dr Williams was able to work with the Africans and Indians.

[@VA600ex]

Heard this song for the first time today. A great one and applicable to the sorry state of the UK now. I hope Trinidad is better now.

[@clarafelmine6808]

Best song for the people of Trinidad love u gypsy god bless you long live

[@larrymatadeen2938]

Greatest song ever Gypsy was a visionary

[@victoriousangel8911]

No one to touch these great calypsoian. Gyspy, Crazy,, Sugar Alos, Black Stalin, Baron, Chalk Dust,Cro Cro, David Rudder. And I can go on. Our late Dr. Eric William. The father of our Nation. There is non other to surpass him.

[@nancyifill653]

I do agree with you

[@carlottawalker6185]

Victorious angel Don't forget Baron and Sugar Aloes.

[@victoriousangel8911]

Carlotta Walker yes! I remember.

[@annettewarwell7210]

Great Calypso one of my favourite.I have been listening to it in lockdown ,Gypsy knows how to please his fans.fantastic.

[@davewilliams693]

@@annettewarwell7210 cx

[@dorethaweatherhead4580]

This song will never be an old song

[@Lucas-vw3cj]

Slonks as PNM is still a government this song can’t get old

[@adrienmatthew3481]

My favorite song up till this day in 2o19 I'm still listening to it everyday

[@georgeana4354]

Iconic ♥️ I'm here October 2020 ...my mom & dad love this song ..... I'm only 22 ♥️♥️♥️🌻 & I'm obsessed with this song

[@bsadewitz]

This is some of the best music in the world IMHO. If you love this, you should definitely check out a lot of the older Calypso. There was a pioneering recording engineer named Emory Cook, known for the exceptional fidelity of his recordings, who recorded a lot of Calypso. At the end of his life, he donated his entire body of work to the Smithsonian Institution, so it has all been preserved. "Calypso Kings and Pink Gin" is an entire show that he recorded (probably in the late 50s or early 60s). If you like this music, you have to listen to that. It has many of the best artists on it, and it's all extempo. If you put it on for your parents when they weren't expecting it, they'd probably have a lot to say about it. ;-)

[@ifeaustin4382]

I grow up with these type of music still love them😍

[@caroljulien7444]

Good song so true

[@kathyclarke2153]

Me to lol

[@ExtremelyClever555]

Me too!!!

[@daynahitlal9824]

this song brings me tears of joy and sadness. the lyrics are outstanding

[@ibrahimconteh3910]

This song still have life in my country 🇸🇱 Sierra Leone West Africa 14/03/22

[@dwaynebubb3640]

We need to listen these music more... May 03rd 2020.

[@esampson2369]

Listening....November 2020. From 🇨🇦 Canada. Good old-fashioned calypso.

[@owenwhite4819]

Fantastic lyrics strong social commentary , first class, and I'm not trini still relevant today, big up!

[@petertoo7986]

Kenya🇰🇪 its rocking 🔥🔥🔥

[@abigaledavidson3315]

This song use to play every night on my radio loved it even to this day

[@Art-gb5ok]

September 2020. Still fresh.🇹🇹

[@reneeloyal5875]

Listening this on my 47th birthday 🥳 Oct 17, 2020 ! God help us 🙏🏽

[@pataltd]

simply awesome vibes..... takes me back to my childhood days.... amazing days it was!!

[@douglasstevens5826]

.......and so they pilfered slow, some took by bulk and go. Exactly what is happening in my beloved country Jamaica.

[@Arayaplayz]

This is happening in almost all west indian islands. The corruption is real. Leaders are too easy and greedy. Sad

[@nataliamoore6226]

The past representing our current situation

[@janisworth7550]

Sad truth

[@GusRayMonCyn]

These old calypso has powerful messages.

[@jonbread1884]

Am 23 and can't have peace if my friends hear me listen Calypso

[@Baldadiz]

Imagine hearing this when it came out!

[@johnbull7615]

Such a beautiful piece that represent the Caribbean

[@laurexgabriel8169]

LONG & MEANS TERMS FINANCING Your business grows? You want to buy or expand your operating rooms, renew your industrial equipment, your equipment, your vehicles? LEVIEL-FINANCE advises you and offers you the best solutions for your project's financing medium and long term. GET your financing quickly and easily: lending money very fast and reliable at a reasonable rate of 2%. Email: [e-mail] I received a loan of €149.500 for a home loan. If you are in need you can send a request by email: Email: [e-mail] Kind regards.

[@jewanlalmahabir4518]

At a time Trinidad represented the Caribbean not again

[@agathabrowne]

All of our leaders ste are crooks

[@iansmall9277]

I was a child when this song came out

[@josephbahri1403]

Possibly the greatest calypso of all times. It boggles the mind that someone capable of such a brilliant work NEVER AGAIN had a song that came anywhere close to the class of this one.

[@samanthaosborne3803]

He was a messenger

[@gmcneill5562]

@Joseph Bahn, don't lament about that. Just know he was also a master/champion Extempo 'kaisonian' (ie, singing extemporaneously).

[@lizish5734]

Went to school with this wonderful calypsonian in STX

[@hermanlaidlaw5678]

Master piece, big man, relevance,trust me

[@mintamaharaj9552]

Yes I agree. This song makes sense

[@galewilliams177]

Timeless message and lyrics.

[@JohnDoe-gx7rn]

Republicans listen well Trump F k up he needs to walk the plank ,with all his money ,and see if he can float with it

[@stellakhan6113]

I love this song.And it's a true song.

[@seekharanmaharaja8174]

Gyre

[@aaronknights3341]

Listening in 2019. T&T ship not sinking. It is all the currupt doers who ships are sinking.

[@normanbuchanan9710]

so funny we thought things were bad then but this song was ahead of it's time, so we'll thought out penned and sung, if ever this song was relevant it is now.

[@Shad_2k]

This song has a meaning to it. Trinidad government back in the day was good then it went bad.

[@hallanabonald8926]

Gypsy is the best vocal calypsonian

[@anthonynixon6951]

This song still impact me & my Country. I heard this song in 1992.

[@robertmitchell8630]

Listening here in cold London November 2020

[@glenmoulon610]

That's what's lacking now a days.. The true gift of putting lyrics,, melody tune together.. These guys were truly gifted.. Now a days,, It's more like synthetic,, not real.. For there is much going on all over the world and all I keep hearing is,, wave your rag,, wave you rag,, and more instruments doing the thing.. I can't settle for what's called calypso or music on a whole now a days,, knowing what we had in the eighties..

[@Arayaplayz]

This song resonates into 2021.

[@ericmassaquoi8133]

Love this music so much. From Sierra Leone

[@rusticization]

Happy Birthday to one of the greatest Trinidadian calypsonians, Mr. Winston "Gypsy" Peters.

[@lg7879]

Real music! Nowadays music sound foreign to me

[@mvbrocke2]

I just listened to David Johansen's twist on this classic... I hope Mr. Winston "Gypsy" Peters can come to an amicable agreement with him over the copyright issue....The USA need an SOS right now..Don't shut it down..If anything it should be going viral..

[@marilynprosper4471]

David Johansen brought it back to life. Good job he did...

[@chronicle5719]

I hear this great song from I was a boy growing up but I just really understand the real meaning of it

[@riyadhrafique8377]

Winston Peters- Gypsy with a classic social commentary. He is lamenting about the fate of Trinidad, from Eric Williams (1911-1981) and the beginning of politics in Trinidad with the PNM- People's National Movement to the present day. This song is so relevant- even in the 21st century with the situation in Trinidad getting worse- I am referring to the crime situation among other things.... If the people/politicians would come together then maybe you can achieve a new "Portrait of Trinidad"- I am playing with the title of the Mighty Sniper's classic Calypso Monarch tune from 1965. What will become of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, only God knows & time⌛⏳will tell......

[@user-ow5ss8td3g]

Love this song 😍

[@christianchannelcarter7934]

Great song take me back in time

[@rhpaltoo]

This song has proven to be prophetic. Just look at TT now.

[@celestejoseph1654]

True to form

[@Scorpion-hd9df]

Well said

[@jenellyya-ah-sing8598]

Great song

[@hajaumiconteh3019]

Still good to hear

[@marciablackwell9573]

Listening from Boston Yes! 30 years we lived without fear life was wonderful .

[@danielcampbell3635]

love this song

[@samaradefreitas4560]

May 2022 forever and always

[@nicolecolbert8694]

Remember crossing the stage with Minshall in "Rat Race" first Carnival 1986

[@Chrissanthumum]

I love this song! Sadly, I sometimes feel this way about my country. Stay strong St. Lucia.

[@bizzle989]

helen getting low low low, eeee sam nouu pwee ahh sarrr, the leaders that's the problem in every way, crime, economy, progression, stability, development, they lack vision, with their own agendas in mind, and we the people just can't seem to be bothered, or can't seem to see the direction the ship is headed will be detrimental to us all and to take corrective measures and action to prevent it. What are we voting for? Just to have a so called leader/ leaders to represent us and make decisions? We need some divine intervention and a superior spiritual being representing us cause mankind has failed and will continue to fail in that regard

[@lornafleming3029]

Listening in June 2020, great song!

[@asiakorearomerenofiji6974]

Yes still get goose bumps listening to this poetic and prophetic song

[@marthascarbar4224]

This guy is a boss...he sang this song with all he got....& I mean everything .....he did great justice to the lyrics.. Go Gypsy

[@louisedavis]

Still listening in 2021

[@allisalinor1084]

This sing just came To my spirit started singing and my 13 year old is like mommy where you get that sing from so I had to get it to play it's June 24th 2020 timeless