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WORDS

Nathaniel had two views from his cabin in the morning…

Out the front door he looked up at Dr. Jones’ magnificent manor house, 

where his master slept on the finest linens, 

next to his not so benevolent ivory skinned wife.  

Out the back door was the river…the River of Freedom.  

 

Helluva choice for a man…

So he prayed and he sang.

 

Some slaves nurtured the African tradition of conjuring, 

whilst others felt Jesus grip their souls.  

But it didn’t matter how you caught the spirit

 

Said Nathaniel, 

“All I know is when a person sings, 

sings loud from his heart, a person gets strong inside!  

And when you get strong inside the spirit arrests you!

And when the spirit arrests you, you have to dance

When we sing and dance, Lord, it makes us strong!

CAITLYN KAMMINGA – Caitlyn Kamminga currently holds the position of Assistant Professor of Double Bass at the University of Trinidad & Tobago, where she has focused on fostering creativity through collaboration, recently culminating in the world premiere of Jab Mollasie in Port of Spain for which she wrote the libretto.

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