Composed and recorded by Larry Armony, 2025
Quality Studio; recording engineer, Clian Lewis
Clian Lewis, keyboard, elec bass and guitar, rhythm programming,
and also assisted with the arrangement.
Back up vocalist, Grace Richardson.
LYRICS
We come from almost every region on earth
Amerindians arrived earlier
Some succumbed to conquest in their islands of birth
By Europeans who came after
Then were brought in chains robust youths from Africa
To labour for others’ prosperity
Four centuries and more of war, abuse and plunder,
Could not conquer inner spirituality
Resistance to slavery and cultural suppression
Expressed by behavioral adaptation
And riots, rebellion and revolution
Progressed to eventual Emancipation
So new workers were brought in under indenture
Arriving from India some from China
And Indonesia, Africa, Madeira; Levantines migrated later
All adding to a multi-ethnic culture
So let’s forward on
Together we are strong
This variegated, vibrant Caribbean
Let’s every one
Old, middle-aged and young
Move on to fuller integration
Volcano, earthquake, hurricane, tsunami
Contain our history and destiny
Mountains, forests coastlands, the moving sea
Sustain rich biodiversity
People on the move, savvy, full of vitality
Experienced in handling adversity
Resilient and strong, knowing how to get along
And blessed with talent and creativity
Now, some challenges in this global world
Can derail Caribbean integrity
Yet we can manage and even hold our own
But must unveil our own history
Migration helped relieve joblessness and poverty
From the late nineteenth to our previous century
And in return brought new expertise and diversity
And a vision of regional identity
But the terms of foreign trade with depressed incomes
Caused starvation snd mortality
And the populace, voiceless in administration
Seemed locked in endless poverty
So some brave patriots pressed for representation
And contested the ruling oligarchy
Campaigning assertively for justice and equality
And proclaiming the necessity of integration
So let’s forward on
Together we are strong
For we are people of the Caribbean
With some victories won
Now we must move along
The path to true confederation
And so advance to fuller freedom
As inheritors of the Caribbean
Larry Armony
2024