Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a stark picture of societal and governmental failure, delivered with a defiant, almost sarcastic, embrace of the status quo. The narrator addresses a "neighbour," urging them to "pay close attention" to "many problems we all face from dawn to dawn." These issues range from basic utilities like water and affordable food to systemic failures in education, agriculture, and public services, highlighted by the grim realities of hospitals using brown paper and overflowing cesspits. The tone is accusatory, with the narrator calling out the neighbour's "moron" behavior and their misplaced faith in opposition parties like the O.N.R., which are dismissed as "communists" and "Yankee C.I.A." The central tension lies in the narrator's seemingly paradoxical declaration, "We know! We like it so!" This refrain, repeated after a litany of grievances, suggests a complex resignation or perhaps a cynical acceptance of a deeply flawed system. It’s a statement that forces the listener to question the meaning of "like." Is it genuine satisfaction, or a bitter acknowledgment that the current state, however terrible, is the only reality they know, and any proposed change is perceived as even more dangerous? The repeated interjection, "Take yuh steel beam and go!" acts as a dismissive retort to any suggestion of improvement or alternative, reinforcing the idea that the current leadership or system, despite its flaws, is the one they are stuck with or even actively defending. The lyrics employ a sharp, conversational style, blending direct accusations with vivid, often grim, imagery. The contrast between the narrator's self-proclaimed lack of selfish ambition ("I ain't want fame," "ain't looking for fortune again") and the neighbor's perceived foolishness ("behaving like a moron") sets up a dynamic where the narrator positions themselves as a clear-eyed observer. The recurring phrase "We like it so!" functions as a defiant, almost taunting, response to the overwhelming evidence of mismanagement and hardship presented throughout the verses. This linguistic choice creates a powerful irony, as the "liking" is juxtaposed with descriptions of "maladministration," "bribery and corruption," and a "terrible school system." Ultimately, the effectiveness of these lyrics stems from their unflinching portrayal of societal decay coupled with a defiant, almost aggressive, assertion of loyalty. The narrator doesn't just list problems; they weaponize them, using the very failures of the system to justify their allegiance to it, or at least to dismiss any opposition. The repeated, almost chant-like, chorus of "We know! We like it so!" combined with the exclamatory "We free!" creates a potent, unsettling anthem of resignation that challenges the listener to understand the complex emotions driving such a declaration in the face of overwhelming adversity.

Mighty Sparrow - Pop

We Like It So

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(We like it so! We free!) [Verse 1] Neighbour, look, if I was a selfish man I wouldn't be involved in this election I done old already, I ain't want fame Plus I ain't looking for fortune again All I asking is that you pay close attention To the many problems we all face from dawn to dawn You're intelligent, I think, and you should face issues But you behaving like a moron, cussin' me for wey I born [Chorus] But yuh pipe ain't have no water, you pay too much for butter (Take yuh steel beam and go!) The terrible school system is such a bloody problem (Take yuh steel beam and go!) Agriculture's in a state, planning is inadequate (Take yuh steel beam and go!) The northern and southern idol, the two kingpins of bobbol We know! We like it so! (We like it so! We free!) [Verse 2] Anything that's wrong, he go put it right Georgie Porgy tell we the other night So instead of displaying impatience Cool yourself and give de fella a chance How the hell you could say O.N.R. go do better? Bet we send you back Grenada in a drum We and Georgie going to put it right together We have freeness and freedom, plenty roti, plenty rum [Chorus] Hospitals have no linen, is brown paper they using (Take yuh steel beam and go!) Public transportation is an abomination (Take yuh steel beam and go!) Well, food, clothes, and rent is proof Cost of living gone through the roof (Take yuh steel beam and go!) Classified information for personal gain is common We know! We like it so! (We like it so! We free!) [Verse 3] Sparrow, boy, you need psychiatric aid To be in them bourgeois people motorcade Me ain't 'fraid to tell you straight to yuh face You backing a jackass in a horse race Georgie say all you ain't getting one damn seat O.N.R. come out to mamaguy Bokassa say how all yuh going to feel the heat The penalty to oppose is high, that's political suicide [Chorus] We can't get house so we squat, living with cockroach and rat (Take yuh steel beam and go!) Yuh cesspit flowing over, you could catch yellow fever (Take yuh steel beam and go!) Soldier in bulldozer break down meh shack in Morvant (Take yuh steel beam and go!) Is plenty sexual favours to be a ten days worker We know! We like it so! (We like it so, We free!) [Verse 4] It ain't have a single thing you could say Could make me abandon meh balisier No steel beam go fall down on top meh head Sparrow, I's a P.N.M. till I dead Birdie, you may be shock when ah tell you this Hudson-Phillips is a Yankee C.I.A And the whole of O.N.R. is only communists They'll take Carnival away and make people work each day [Chorus] Is years you in ah union and can't get recognition (Take yuh steel beam and go!) The unemployment levy murdering everybody (Take yuh steel beam and go!) Children come out of college below elementary knowledge (Take yuh steel beam and go!) We grieving with frustration through maladministration We know! We like it so! (We like it so! We free!) [Verse 5] This concern that you showing here for we Could well cost you your popularity Francisco, how come you ain't understand? We ain't want no blasted opposition Just like Georgie Porgy, I done sharpen my gilpin Waiting for the opposition tail Anytime we catch them only backpedaling I ain't even want no bail, I ain't 'fraid to make a jail [Chorus] Food you could produce here is imported from elsewhere (Take yuh steel beam and go!) To fish in yuh own water is jail in Venezuela (Take yuh steel beam and go!) No one to devise for we a good foreign policy (Take yuh steel beam and go!) Bribery and corruption control every decision We know! We like it so! (We like it so. We free!)

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Writers: Mighty Sparrow

We Like It So

We Like It So

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