Lynval Golding
Born 1921
Mendes St Catherine Jamaica

The year was 1954 you know
Sir Winston Churchill shot across the western islands
And said come
Help us rebuild this country devastated by war
And so anyway my father set sail upon the wind rush
Born for a new life
My father was a tailor by trade
So this could be the possibility of all possibilities
But no there was no cloth to stitch

Instead you know wha if I found work
In a steel foundry pouring hot metal
Day and night day and night
And even worse you know what i mean
Him Trying to find a room to rent
This was becoming a nightmare for him
He knock on door after door after door
But the sign on the window keep saying the same thing
No dogs no irish no blacks
Welcome to England

I'm not here to teach you
I'm not trying to preach to you
I'm just trying to reach out
And say

Time move on
In 1964
My father showed across of Jamaica
Son him said come join me
So I set sail on a ship called the Askina
When I reached Northampton on a cold winter's night
Boy I was freezing
I want to tell the captain to just take me back to Jamaica
But no I was here to stay
So my father sent me to a school
Linden Road school in Glouster
I remember the first playtime
A boy shot across at me
Oi you black bastard, come 'ere
I said what
He said Come 'ere you black bastard
I said couldn't believe, I says what?
Are you talking to me?
Are you talking to me?

Boy welcome to England
I'm not here to teach you
I'm not trying to preach to you
I'm just trying to reach out
And say

In 1994 I move again
The land of the free the home of the brave
The United State of America
And there I was
Just walking along in the sun
Mindin
My own business
Such a beautiful day man
When I remember
I had to buy a watch for my sister's birthday
When why i eventually found this store
As i walk through the door
This woman in the store shouted at me

Why you doing here you god damn nigger
I said, I'm just,
I'm just trying to buy a watch for my sister
When she heard my accent
She said, 'oh you're not from here, you're not one of them'
One of them i said, you mean me being black
Well ma'am let me tell you something right, I am black
If that's all you see? The colour of my skin?
In England they call you a black bastard
In America they call you a god damn nigger
Boy
Welcome to my world

But I'm not here to teach you
I'm not here to preach to you
I'm just trying to reach out
And say
Black lives matter