Poverty is Hell Lyrics
Poverty is hell and the angels are in Paradise
Driving in their limousine where everything is nice and clean
A poor man living in a teeny-weeny hut
The children hungry, nothing in the pot
He gone by the neighbour to beg for some rice
The neighbour under pressure, "Boy, things ent nice."
He gone in the big shot area to beg
A police put a bullet in his teeny-weeny leg
He gone in the courts and he lost the case
The prosecutor say he have a bandit face
Poverty is hell! Poverty is hell!
Wake up in the morning and the baby cry
The sugar pan empty, the milk bottle dry
The little boy child on the mango tree
The mango green, hurting up his belly
The young girl bawling, she wouldn’t settle
She wipe she bumsie with stinging nettle
Toilet paper they never had
They used to tootoo in the gully by the old backyard
They rub she down and they put she to sleep
The rain come down and the house does leak
Poverty is hell! Poverty is hell!
Driving in their limousine where everything is nice and clean
A poor man living in a teeny-weeny hut
The children hungry, nothing in the pot
He gone by the neighbour to beg for some rice
The neighbour under pressure, "Boy, things ent nice."
He gone in the big shot area to beg
A police put a bullet in his teeny-weeny leg
He gone in the courts and he lost the case
The prosecutor say he have a bandit face
Poverty is hell! Poverty is hell!
Wake up in the morning and the baby cry
The sugar pan empty, the milk bottle dry
The little boy child on the mango tree
The mango green, hurting up his belly
The young girl bawling, she wouldn’t settle
She wipe she bumsie with stinging nettle
Toilet paper they never had
They used to tootoo in the gully by the old backyard
They rub she down and they put she to sleep
The rain come down and the house does leak
Poverty is hell! Poverty is hell!
A poor man always dream a lot of dream
He happy like a puppy when he dream another dream
He dream that he have a new roof on the hut
He dream that he have some good food in the pot
He dream that he have a rich friend name Frank
He dream that he have a lot of cash in the bank
He dream that he pay all his bills for the month
He dream that he have a new car in the front
He dream that he have to go to a fete
He dream that his pocket have a big, fat wallet
He wake up in the night and he rush for his pants
All he found in the pocket was a whole lot of ants
Poverty is hell! Poverty is hell!
Ten little children, four dumplings
Mummy got to slice them thin, thin, thin
A piece for a boy and a piece for a girl
A piece for the neighbour daughter Merle
The cat in the corner looking to beg
Little Jack Horner kick him in the leg
Go in the room and look for a rat
The rat in the roof, he know about cat
Now the cat see a chickichong (yeh-yeh!)
He rush for the chickichong
But the poor little chickichong
Flew away like a chickichong
Then cockroach gone in the condensed milk
Mama get vex for she condensed milk
Who leave the condensed milk open?
“Come here you picky head, good for nothing!”
Mama get vex and she blood get hot
She buss some lash in they you-know-what
He happy like a puppy when he dream another dream
He dream that he have a new roof on the hut
He dream that he have some good food in the pot
He dream that he have a rich friend name Frank
He dream that he have a lot of cash in the bank
He dream that he pay all his bills for the month
He dream that he have a new car in the front
He dream that he have to go to a fete
He dream that his pocket have a big, fat wallet
He wake up in the night and he rush for his pants
All he found in the pocket was a whole lot of ants
Poverty is hell! Poverty is hell!
Ten little children, four dumplings
Mummy got to slice them thin, thin, thin
A piece for a boy and a piece for a girl
A piece for the neighbour daughter Merle
The cat in the corner looking to beg
Little Jack Horner kick him in the leg
Go in the room and look for a rat
The rat in the roof, he know about cat
Now the cat see a chickichong (yeh-yeh!)
He rush for the chickichong
But the poor little chickichong
Flew away like a chickichong
Then cockroach gone in the condensed milk
Mama get vex for she condensed milk
Who leave the condensed milk open?
“Come here you picky head, good for nothing!”
Mama get vex and she blood get hot
She buss some lash in they you-know-what
Poverty is hell! Poverty is hell!
About
Genius Annotation
This song is by Winston Bailey, popularly known as the Mighty Shadow. His unique music goes far beyond the basic format of calypso in his native Trinidad and Tobago to often incorporate chanting in a style similar to rap or a hybrid “rapso” style. This song powerfully illustrates the harsh grip of poverty and became an instant hit in Trinidad in the mid 1990s.
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