{"id":168,"date":"2021-06-17T09:48:37","date_gmt":"2021-06-17T13:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.ryerson.ca\/claudemckay\/?post_type=chapter&p=168"},"modified":"2022-02-03T08:57:39","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T13:57:39","slug":"ribber-come-don","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/chapter\/ribber-come-don\/","title":{"raw":"Ribber Come-Do'n","rendered":"Ribber Come-Do’n"},"content":{"raw":"[Footnote on title: \"Ribber Come-Do'n\"[footnote]The river in flood[\/footnote]]\r\n\r\nFrom de top o' Clarendon hill\r\nChock down to Clarendon plain\r\nDe ribber is rushin' an' tearin'\r\n'Count o' de showers o' rain.\r\n\r\nAn' a mudder, anxious an' sad,\r\nTwo whole days be'n gone away,\r\nA-buyin' fresh fish fe tu'n han'[footnote]To peddle[\/footnote]\r\nSlap do'n at Old Harbour Bay.\r\n\r\nBut de dark ribber kept her back,\r\nDat night she couldn' get home,\r\nWhile a six-week-old baby wailed,\r\nAn' wailed for a mudder to come.\r\n\r\nAn' a fader too was away\r\n'Cross de Minha[footnote]The Rio Minho: pronounce 'miner'[\/footnote] wukin' him groun',[footnote]Cultivating his ground or provision field[\/footnote]\r\nSo him couldn' get home dat night\r\nSake o' de ribber come-do'n.\r\n\r\nDere were four udder little ones\r\n'Sides de babe of six weeks old,\r\nAn' dey cried an' looked to no use,[footnote]In vain[\/footnote]\r\nAn' oh dey were hungry an' cold!\r\n\r\nSo de lee fourteen-year-old gal,\r\nDe eldest one o' de lot,\r\nWas sad as she knelt by the babe\r\nAn' byaed[footnote]A verb formed from hushaby[\/footnote] her on de cot.\r\n\r\n\"Bya, bya, me baby,\r\nBaby want go sleepy.\"\r\n\r\nShe look 'pan de Manchinic[footnote]Corruption of 'Martinique,' the best variety of banana in Jamaica[\/footnote] tree,\r\nNot a piece of mancha fe eat;\r\nDe Jack-fruit dem bear well anuff,\r\nBut dere wasn't one o' dem fit.[footnote]Ripe[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nNor puppa nor mumma could come,\r\nAldough it be'n now nightfall;\r\nDe rain pour do'n an' de wind blow,\r\nAn' de picknanies dem still bawl.\r\n\r\nSo de poo' Milly 'tarted out\r\nTo whe' a kin' neighbour lib,\r\nFe see ef a bite o ' nenyam[footnote]Food[\/footnote]\r\nDem couldn' p'raps manage fe gib.\r\n\r\n\"Ebenin', cousin Anna,\r\nMe deh beg you couple banna,[footnote]I am begging a few bananas of you[\/footnote]\r\nFor dem tarra one[footnote]Those other ones, i.e., the little children at home[\/footnote] is berry hungry home;\r\nWe puppa ober May,[footnote]Over at Mayfield[\/footnote] ma,\r\nWe mumma gone a Bay, ma,\r\nAn' we caan' tell warra' time dem gwin' go come.\"\r\n\r\nThe kind district mother thought\r\nOf her own boy far away,\r\nAn' wondered much how he fared\r\nIn a foreign land that day.\r\n\r\nShe opened de cupboard door\r\nAn' took from it warra be'n sabe,\r\nA few bits o' yam an' lee meal,\r\nAn' a pint o' milk fe de babe.\r\n\r\nDe parents dat night couldn' come,\r\nDe howlin' wind didn' lull,\r\nBut de picknanies went to bed\r\nWid a nuff nuff bellyful.","rendered":"

[Footnote on title: “Ribber Come-Do’n”[1]<\/sup><\/a>]<\/p>\n

From de top o' Clarendon hill
\nChock down to Clarendon plain
\nDe ribber is rushin' an' tearin'
\n'Count o' de showers o' rain.<\/p>\n

An' a mudder, anxious an' sad,
\nTwo whole days be'n gone away,
\nA-buyin' fresh fish fe tu'n han'[2]<\/sup><\/a>
\nSlap do'n at Old Harbour Bay.<\/p>\n

But de dark ribber kept her back,
\nDat night she couldn' get home,
\nWhile a six-week-old baby wailed,
\nAn' wailed for a mudder to come.<\/p>\n

An' a fader too was away
\n'Cross de Minha[3]<\/sup><\/a> wukin' him groun',[4]<\/sup><\/a>
\nSo him couldn' get home dat night
\nSake o' de ribber come-do'n.<\/p>\n

Dere were four udder little ones
\n'Sides de babe of six weeks old,
\nAn' dey cried an' looked to no use,[5]<\/sup><\/a>
\nAn' oh dey were hungry an' cold!<\/p>\n

So de lee fourteen-year-old gal,
\nDe eldest one o' de lot,
\nWas sad as she knelt by the babe
\nAn' byaed[6]<\/sup><\/a> her on de cot.<\/p>\n

\"Bya, bya, me baby,
\nBaby want go sleepy.\"<\/p>\n

She look 'pan de Manchinic[7]<\/sup><\/a> tree,
\nNot a piece of mancha fe eat;
\nDe Jack-fruit dem bear well anuff,
\nBut dere wasn't one o' dem fit.[8]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n

Nor puppa nor mumma could come,
\nAldough it be'n now nightfall;
\nDe rain pour do'n an' de wind blow,
\nAn' de picknanies dem still bawl.<\/p>\n

So de poo' Milly 'tarted out
\nTo whe' a kin' neighbour lib,
\nFe see ef a bite o ' nenyam[9]<\/sup><\/a>
\nDem couldn' p'raps manage fe gib.<\/p>\n

\"Ebenin', cousin Anna,
\nMe deh beg you couple banna,[10]<\/sup><\/a>
\nFor dem tarra one[11]<\/sup><\/a> is berry hungry home;
\nWe puppa ober May,[12]<\/sup><\/a> ma,
\nWe mumma gone a Bay, ma,
\nAn' we caan' tell warra' time dem gwin' go come.\"<\/p>\n

The kind district mother thought
\nOf her own boy far away,
\nAn' wondered much how he fared
\nIn a foreign land that day.<\/p>\n

She opened de cupboard door
\nAn' took from it warra be'n sabe,
\nA few bits o' yam an' lee meal,
\nAn' a pint o' milk fe de babe.<\/p>\n

De parents dat night couldn' come,
\nDe howlin' wind didn' lull,
\nBut de picknanies went to bed
\nWid a nuff nuff bellyful.<\/p>\n

  1. The river in flood ↵<\/a><\/li>
  2. To peddle ↵<\/a><\/li>
  3. The Rio Minho: pronounce 'miner' ↵<\/a><\/li>
  4. Cultivating his ground or provision field ↵<\/a><\/li>
  5. In vain ↵<\/a><\/li>
  6. A verb formed from hushaby ↵<\/a><\/li>
  7. Corruption of 'Martinique,' the best variety of banana in Jamaica ↵<\/a><\/li>
  8. Ripe ↵<\/a><\/li>
  9. Food ↵<\/a><\/li>
  10. I am begging a few bananas of you ↵<\/a><\/li>
  11. Those other ones, i.e., the little children at home ↵<\/a><\/li>
  12. Over at Mayfield ↵<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":251,"menu_order":44,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-168","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/251"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/168\/revisions\/173"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/168\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=168"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=168"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/claudemckay\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}