DOWN THE WAY WHERE THE NIGHTS ARE GAY

LYRIC:

Down the way where the nights are gay,

And the sun shines daily on the mountain top,
I took a trip on a sailing ship,
And when I reached Jamaica, I made a stop.

But I'm sad to say I'm on my way,

Won't be back for many a day,
My heart is down, My head is turning around,
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town.

Sounds of laughter everywhere,

And the dancing girls swing to and fro,
I must declare my heart is there,
Though I've been from Maine to Mexico.

But I'm sad to say I'm on my way,

Won't be back for many a day,
My heart is down, My head is turning around,
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town.

Down at the market you can hear,

Ladies cry out while on their heads they bear,
Ackee**, rice, salt, fish are nice [**a tropical West African tree cultivated for fruit & introduced to Caribbean & elsewhere]
And the rum is fine any time o' year.

But I'm sad to say I'm on my way,

Won't be back for many a day,
My heart is down, My head is turning around,
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town.

Down the way where the nights are gay,

And the sun shines daily on the mountaintop,
I took a trip on a sailing ship,
And when I reached Jamaica I made a stop.

But I'm sad to say I'm on my way,

Won't be back for many a day,
My heart is down, My head is turning around,
I had to leave a little girl in Kingston town. [REPEAT]
BENGALI TRANSLATION:
**[BENGALI VERSION DOWNLOADED –LINK:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAJAPiWuIZA&t=4s
ওই

ন
ন ই
ন
জও ই
জ ন ন ||

ন জ
জ ন ন
ন জ ||

ন ই ন
ন জও জ ন
ই এ ন
ই ন ন ন
ন ই
ন
জও ই
জ ন ন |...

HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE:
The song appeared on Harry Belafonte's 1956 album Calypso. It reached number 14 on the Billboard Pop chart.
It has been translated into many languages. For example, in Bengali, there exist several translations, some of
which are quite well known. One Bengali version of the song became an important anthem for
the Naxalite revolutionary movement in the 1970s and thus has significance for Bengali intellectuals
in Kolkata society. The Bangladeshi band Souls also sang their own translated version in early 1990s, which
instantly became a hit in Bangladesh.
The song was covered with lyrics in Swedish by Schytts as Jamaica farväl, scoring a
1979 Svensktoppen hit.[5] Streaplers recorded a 1967 Swedish-language version of the song, with the lyrics
"Långt långt bort". Their version became a 1968 Svensktoppen hit.[6]
German translations are "Abschied von Kingston Town" ("Farewell from Kingston Town") by Bruce Low and
"Weil der Sommer ein Winter war" ("For the Summer was a Winter") by Nana Mouskouri.[citation needed]
The Vietnamese translation is "Lời Yêu Thương" ("Love Words") by Đức Huy
Who originally sang Jamaica Farewell? --"Jamaica Farewell" is a mento about the beauties of the West Indian
Islands. The lyrics for the song were written by Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie). Lord Burgess was born in
Brooklyn, New York in 1926. "Jamaica Farewell" is a Jamaican-style folk song (mento). The lyrics for the song
were written by Lord Burgess (Irving Burgie), an American-born, half-Barbadian songwriter. It is about the
beauties of the West Indian Islands.
Who Wrote the Lyric: Irving Louis Burgie (July 28, 1924 – November 29, 2019), sometimes known
professionally as Lord Burgess, was an American musician and songwriter, regarded as one of the greatest
composers of Caribbean music. He composed 34 songs for Harry Belafonte, including eight of the 11 songs on
the Belafonte album Calypso (1956), the first album of any kind to sell one million copies. Burgie also wrote the
lyrics of the National Anthem of Barbados. To date, songs penned by Irving Burgie have sold more than 100
million copies worldwide.
Biography of Irving Burgie [Song Writer & Singer]
Burgie was born in Brooklyn, New York. His mother was from Barbados and his father was from Virginia. He
joined the US Army in World War II, and served in Burma, China and India, where he started playing guitar and
singing. After the war, he studied at the Juilliard School, and met Harry Belafonte in 1950. Using the name Lord
Burgess, he began singing and playing guitar in New York City clubs, developing a repertoire based around
songs from the Caribbean he had learned as a child or collected in visits to the area.
After performing as Lord Burgess in the Village Vanguard in 1954, and releasing an album, Lord Burgess'
Calypso Serenaders (aka Folk Songs of Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad) on Stinson Records, a mutual
friend, William Attaway, suggested that Burgie write songs for Belafonte. Burgie and Attaway wrote a version of
the lyrics for the "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)" for the Colgate Comedy Hour, and it was then recorded by
Belafonte for RCA Victor. This is the recording that is by far the best known to listeners today, as it reached
number five on the Billboard charts in 1957 and later became his signature song.
Burgie and Attaway composed eight of the songs on Belafonte's 1956 album Calypso, including "Day-O"' and
"Jamaica Farewell". "Day-O" was a traditional Jamaican song that was sung by dock workers who worked
throughout the night loading bananas onto ships. Belafonte's version used lyrics adapted by Burgie and Attaway,
though Belafonte is also credited. Burgie later described "Day-O" as "a song about struggle, about black people
in a colonized life doing the most grueling work", saying "a lot of my work is based on songs and ditties that I've
heard in the Caribbean". The song "Jamaica Farewell" was later recorded by Jimmy Buffett, Carly Simon and
others.
Belafonte recorded other songs written by Burgie, including "Island in the Sun", one of ten Burgie compositions
on his 1957 album Belafonte Sings of the Caribbean. Burgie also wrote eight of the twelve tracks on his 1961
album Jump Up Calypso, and also wrote "Can't Cross Over", and co-wrote "Goin' Down Jordan", on Belafonte's
1977 album Turn the World Around.
Burgie set up his own publishing company. By the late 1950s he was able to live comfortably off the royalties he
received, and in 1960 he funded a magazine in Harlem, The Urbanite. He also helped finance civil rights
activists.[6] He wrote the music and lyrics for the 1963 off-Broadway musical Ballad for Bimshire and also co-
wrote the book with Loften Mitchell. The show opened at the Mayfair Theater on October 15 and ran for 74
performances. Burgie also wrote the lyrics for the national anthem of Barbados, "In Plenty and In Time of Need",
adopted in 1966 at the time of the island's independence. Burgie performed rarely after his initial success, but did
appear in the early 1980s at venues including Gerde's Folk City. In 1996, the album Island in the Sun: The Songs
of Irving Burgie was released, followed by The Father of Modern Calypso in 2003.
He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007. His life story was recorded in the book Day-O!!!
The Autobiography of Irving Burgie (2007). Burgie died on November 29, 2019, at the age of 95, from heart
failure, at his home in Queens. His death was announced by Barbados' Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley at the
nation’s Independence Day Parade.
 GEORGE MICHAEL - CARELESS WHISPER
MUSIC COMPOSER: Andrew J. Ridgeley

SINGER & COMPOSER: George Michael

LYRIC:

I feel so unsure

As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor

As the music dies, something in your eyes

Calls to mind a silver screen

And all its sad good-byes

I'm never gonna dance again

Guilty feet have got no rhythm

Though it's easy to pretend

I know you're not a fool

I should've known better than to cheat a friend

And waste the chance that I'd been given

So I'm never gonna dance again

The way I danced with you, oh

Time can never mend

The careless whispers of a good friend

To the heart and mind

Ignorance is kind

There's no comfort in the truth

Pain is all you'll find

I'm never gonna dance again

Guilty feet have got no rhythm

Though it's easy to pretend

I know you're not a fool

I should've known better than to cheat a friend (should've known better, yeah)

And waste the chance that I'd been given

So I'm never gonna dance again

The way I danced with you, oh

Never without your love

Tonight the music seems so loud

I wish that we could lose this crowd

Maybe it's better this way

We'd hurt each other with the things we'd want to say

We could have been so good together

We could have lived this dance forever

But now, who's gonna dance with me?

Please stay

And I'm never gonna dance again

Guilty feet have got no rhythm

Though it's easy to pretend

I know you're not a fool

I should've known better than to cheat a friend

And waste the chance that I'd been given

So I'm never gonna dance again

The way I danced with you, oh

now that you're gone

(Now that you're gone) was what I did so wrong, so wrong

That you had to leave me alone?

BENGALI TRNSLATION:

ই ন

ন ন ন

জ ই

এ ন

এ জন

ন ন ন

নই
 ওএ ন জ

জ ন নও

ন জন

এ ও ন ন

ই ন ন ন

ন ,ও

নই ন

ও ন

নই

ন ন

ন ন ন

নই

ওএ ন জ

জ ন নও

ও জন ( ও জন , )

এ ও ন ন

ই ন ন ন

ন ,ও

জ ন জ ন

ই এই

এ এই

ই এ

এ ন

এই ন

এ ন ন ?
 ন

ন ন ন

নই

ওএ ন জ

জ ন নও

ন জন

এ ও ন ন

ই ন ন ন

ন ,ও

এ ন ন ন

(এ ন ন ন) ই , ই

এ ?

HISTORY:
SOURCE: THE SUN, UK.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/2480234/george-michael-andrew-ridgeley-wham-keren-woodward/

GEORGE'S MATE
Who is Andrew Ridgeley? George Michael’s Wham! friend and ex of Bananarama’s
Keren Woodward
TOGETHER, the late, great George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley sold millions across the world in
the 1980s as pop duo Wham!.

But how did they meet, when did they split and what has Andrew done since then? Here’s what we
know...Andrew Ridgeley paid tribute to his bandmate and friend George Michael after he died on Christmas
Day last yearCredit: Getty Images

Who is Andrew Ridgeley?

Andrew was born in Windlesham, Surrey in 1953 to Jennifer and Albert Ridgeley, and grew up in Bushey,
Hertfordshire.

He met and became friends with his future band partner George Michael when he enrolled at Bushey Meads
school.

George had moved to Hertfordshire when he was in his early teens.

The duo performed together for years before forming Wham!. Andrew Ridgeley became friends with
George Michael at school and they pair went on to be successful musicians.
How did Wham! form and how successful were they?
Like George, Andrew was initially a member of a short-lived ska band called The Executive, before they
eventually formed Wham! in 1981.

They submitted a homemade demo which reportedly took just 10 minutes to record in Andrew’s bedroom,
and signed with Innervision Records.

The duo would go on to sell an impressive 25 million records across three studio albums, and had huge hits
both in the UK and US with songs like “ake Me Up Before You Go-Go, I’m Your Man and the beloved
seasonal classic, Last Christmas.

Wham! also became the first Western pop group to tour China, including 10 ground-breaking dates in the
country on their huge 1985 world tour.

That was part of a publicity drive planned by their manager Simon Napier-Bell, who admitted he fabricated
a story in 1984 that Andrew had been hit in the face to try and boost the duo’s profile.

The actual explanation for the bandage on Andrew’s face that sparked tabloid speculation was cosmetic
surgery on his nose.

Andrew performed at the legendary charity concert Live Aid along with George in 1985, appearing
alongside Kiki Dee in the backing singers as his musical partner sang with Elton John.

However, with George’s solo career beginning to take off following the release of hit single Careless
Whisper and the singer hoping to break into a more adult market, Wham! announced they were breaking up
in 1986.

George described the breakup split as "the most amicable split in pop history,” and they bid goodbye to their
fans with a huge farewell show at Wembley Stadium. Wham! became the first Western pop group to tour
China on their 1985 world tourCredit: Getty Images

What has Andrew Ridgeley done since Wham! broke up?

After their triumphant final hurrah, Andrew left the music industry for a time, moving to Monaco to try his
hand at being a Formula Three motor racing driver. When he met little success, he made another career
change, going to Los Angeles in the ultimately fruitless pursuit of an acting career.

Andrew returned to the UK permanently in 1990, and released his only solo album, Son of Albert, that year.
While one of the singles from the record, “Shake”, was a minor hit in Australia, Son of Albert was a critical
and commercial failure. Andrew later said: "It was disappointing and depressing to receive quite such a
beating over that album." By and large, the 54-year-old has avoided the limelight ever since. He appeared
alongside his former Wham! co-star onstage in Brazil in 1991, but plans to perform together at Live8 in
2005 didn't materialise and the duo never reformed.

He reportedly amassed more than £10 million in royalties from his Wham! days, with a significant
percentage coming from a co-writing credit on legendary George Michael solo track Careless Whisper. It is
thought that Andrew remains involved in music by songwriting under a pseudonym. He has reportedly been
invited to become a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing on several occasions.

Is Andrew Ridgeley married?

Andrew began dating fellow 80s' popstar Keren Woodward, singer in popular girlband Bananarama, back in
1990 and remained together for more than 25 years. The couple enjoyed the quiet life in Wadebridge in
Cornwall, where they lived with her son Thomas (born 1986), from a previous relationship with the model
David-Scott Evans. In 2009, Keren told The Daily Mail: “He enjoys the anonymity that he has, but also he
has a complete understanding of me and why I am still doing it [performing].
“He’s not bored at all. He surfs, he plays golf. Our life in Cornwall is really quiet... we go to the pub and no
one bothers us. Even when George [Michael] comes to visit, he isn’t hassled.” In an interview with
the Sunday Mirror in 2015, Andrew revealed that the couple had temporarily split. Andrew said: “We split
up but we are through those difficulties now and it is all ancient history. “It’s safe to say that things are good
and we are very happy now. I don’t really like to talk about my private life much, but we have worked
through everything.” However, in a recent interview on Bananarama's comeback tour, Keren has admitted to
The Sun that the couple have "quietly split" again but both still live in Cornwall.

Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael during the early years of Wham! in 1983Credit: Rex Features

What did Andrew Ridgeley say about George Michael's death?

In the aftermath of George’s shock death on Christmas Day, the 54-year-old tweeted heartbroken tributes to
his friend and former bandmate, using the nickname “Yog” (Yours Only George). Andrew and Wham!
backing singers Pepsi and Shirley gave a moving tribute to the star at the 2017 BRIT Awards. He said: “On
Christmas Day 2016, the greatest singer songwriter of his generation, an icon of his era, George Michael,
was lost. “A supernova in the shining stars had been extinguished and it felt like the sky had fallen in.”

Backstage at the BRITs, Andrew told the Daily Mirror that the delay of George’s funeral had been difficult.
He said: “We’ve not had closure. It’s difficult for me. It’s difficult for everyone. It’s a limbo period and we
need to be able to move on.” Funeral plans were delayed by the need for further toxicology tests.

Did Andrew Ridgeley attend George Michael's funeral?

Three months after his death on Christmas Day, legendary singer George Michael was finally laid to rest in
North London, with Andrew among the guests. A service, attend by family and close friends, was held in the
tiny, 30-seat chapel at Highgate West Cemetery. The service took place amid tight security, with black
tarpaulin covering the cemetery’s iron gates.