Smart Bajan
Mighty Sparrow Lyrics


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A Barbadian engineer by the name of Cephas
Got to know that Trinidadians were superstitious
This Bajan smart man by the name of Cephas
Got to know that Trinidadians were superstitious
So he buy a piece a land up Hololo Mountain
Put concrete 'round a spring and open a fountain
Well in less than no time, if you hear the shout
Stupid people coming from all about

Throwing coins in the fountain
Each one seeking happiness
Thrown by hopeful lovers
Tell me, which one will the fountain bless?

And by the time they pull out, the Bajan dive in
Taking all the money from the fountain
And hear him singing:
"All is mine, all is mine, all is mine!"

I am sure that you would be surprised to know
How much big shots does go to Mount Hololo
All kind of people believe in this thing
If you see so many old maids in search of a ring
Throwin' coins in the fountain like they feeding fish
Kneeling down on their knees making a wish
Thousands of people were going up there daily
Trinidad was coming just like Italy

So many coins in the fountain
Each one longing for a home
There they lie in the fountain
Just like in the heart of Rome

And is to see the Barbadian with he swimming trunk on
Waiting patiently 'til all the fools gone
To sing:
"All is mine, all is mine, all is mine!"

Four o'clock one morning meh girlfriend waking me
Telling me come go up to the fountain with she
Ah say "Well me ain't walking twelve miles up no mountain!"
She say "Well if it's twelve thousand we still going"
"Darlin'", she say, "we living too long in sin
We have a right to go and fix it by the fountain"
Ah had some money in meh house to pay meh rent
In the fountain the girl throw every cent

And hear she singing:

Which one will the fountain bless?
Which one will the fountain bless?

But all the time the stupid woman making she wish
Is the smart Barbadian that is getting rich
The vagabond singing:
"All is mine, all is mine, all is mine!"

Ah don't know how the news reach the F.B.I.
But the police decide to arrest the guy
An inspector by the name of Duntin
Disguise himself, so he went up to the fountain
Take out three gold coins and throw it inside
Pretend he's making a wish, but he went and hide
When the Barbadian see the gold like if he went crazy
So in the fountain he jumping immediately
And hear him singing:

Three coins in the fountain
Through the ripples how they shine
"All is mine, all is mine, all is mine!"

But as the vagabond come out from the fountain




The Inspector arrest him and start to sing:
"Not this time, not this time, not this time!"

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Mighty Sparrow's "Smart Bajan" describe the story of a Barbadian engineer named Cephas who realized that Trinidadians were superstitious and decided to take advantage of this by purchasing a piece of land up Hololo Mountain. He put concrete around a spring and opened a fountain, which attracted a lot of people seeking happiness and making wishes by throwing coins in the fountain. Cephas would dive in and take all the money from the fountain before anyone else could, singing "All is mine, all is mine, all is mine!" However, his scheme eventually catches up to him when an inspector from the police force decides to arrest him for stealing money from the fountain, when Cephas had thought he was making another fortune by jumping in the fountain for three gold coins that the inspector had thrown in.


The song is a humorous and satirical commentary on superstitious beliefs and the lengths people will go to in order to seek happiness, often at their own expense. It also highlights the resourcefulness and opportunistic nature of the Barbadian people, who are portrayed as being smarter than their Trinidadian counterparts. The clever wordplay, use of local dialect and the catchy refrain make this song a classic in Caribbean music.


Line by Line Meaning

A Barbadian engineer by the name of Cephas
There was a clever engineer from Barbados named Cephas


Got to know that Trinidadians were superstitious
He discovered that Trinidadians believed in superstitions


This Bajan smart man by the name of Cephas
This intelligent man from Barbados called Cephas


Got to know that Trinidadians were superstitious
Discovered that Trinidadians believe in superstitions


So he buy a piece a land up Hololo Mountain
He purchased land on Hololo Mountain


Put concrete 'round a spring and open a fountain
He built a fountain around a spring with concrete


Well in less than no time, if you hear the shout
Soon, if you listen closely, you'll hear people shouting


Stupid people coming from all about
Stupid people are coming from all over the place


Throwing coins in the fountain
Throwing coins into the fountain


Each one seeking happiness
Each person hoping to find happiness


Thrown by hopeful lovers
Thrown by those hoping to find love


Tell me, which one will the fountain bless?
Which person will the fountain bless?


And by the time they pull out, the Bajan dive in
When they pull out, the clever Barbadian dives in


Taking all the money from the fountain
Taking all the money from the fountain


And hear him singing:
And this is what he sings:


"All is mine, all is mine, all is mine!"
"It's all mine, it's all mine, it's all mine!"


I am sure that you would be surprised to know
You'll surely be surprised to learn


How much big shots does go to Mount Hololo
That many important people visit Mount Hololo


All kind of people believe in this thing
All sorts of people believe in this (fountain)


If you see so many old maids in search of a ring
If you see so many unmarried women trying to find a ring


Throwin' coins in the fountain like they feeding fish
Throwing coins into the fountain like they're feeding fish


Kneeling down on their knees making a wish
Kneeling down and making a wish


Thousands of people were going up there daily
Thousands of people were going up there every day


Trinidad was coming just like Italy
People from Trinidad were coming just like people from Italy


So many coins in the fountain
So many coins in the fountain


Each one longing for a home
Each one longing for a home


There they lie in the fountain
Lying there in the fountain


Just like in the heart of Rome
Just like in the heart of Rome


And is to see the Barbadian with he swimming trunk on
It's funny to see the Barbadian with his swimming trunks on


Waiting patiently 'til all the fools gone
Waiting patiently until all the fools are gone


To sing:
And he sings:


"All is mine, all is mine, all is mine!"
"It's all mine, it's all mine, it's all mine!"


Four o'clock one morning meh girlfriend waking me
One morning at four o'clock, my girlfriend woke me up


Telling me come go up to the fountain with she
She asked me to go with her to the fountain


Ah say "Well me ain't walking twelve miles up no mountain!"
I said, "I'm not walking twelve miles up a mountain!"


She say "Well if it's twelve thousand we still going"
She said, "If it's even twelve thousand, we're still going"


"Darlin'", she say, "we living too long in sin
"My dear," she said, "we've been living in sin for too long


We have a right to go and fix it by the fountain"
We have the right to go and fix it at the fountain"


Ah had some money in meh house to pay meh rent
I had some money in my house to pay my rent


In the fountain the girl throw every cent
The girl threw all the money into the fountain


And hear she singing:
And she sings:


"Which one will the fountain bless?
"Who will the fountain bless?


Which one will the fountain bless?"
Who will the fountain bless?"


But all the time the stupid woman making she wish
But the whole time, the stupid woman was making her wish


Is the smart Barbadian that is getting rich
It's the clever Barbadian who's getting rich


The vagabond singing:
And the vagabond sings:


"All is mine, all is mine, all is mine!"
"It's all mine, it's all mine, it's all mine!"


Ah don't know how the news reach the F.B.I.
I don't know how the news reached the FBI


But the police decide to arrest the guy
But the police decided to arrest him


An inspector by the name of Duntin
An inspector named Duntin


Disguise himself, so he went up to the fountain
Disguised himself and went up to the fountain


Take out three gold coins and throw it inside
Took out three gold coins and threw them in


Pretend he's making a wish, but he went and hide
Pretended to make a wish, but he went and hid


When the Barbadian see the gold like if he went crazy
When the Barbadian saw the gold, he acted as if he were crazy


So in the fountain he jumping immediately
So he immediately jumped into the fountain


And hear him singing:
And he sings:


"Three coins in the fountain
"Three coins in the fountain


Through the ripples how they shine
How they shimmer through the ripples"


"All is mine, all is mine, all is mine!"
"It's all mine, it's all mine, it's all mine!"


But as the vagabond come out from the fountain
But as the vagabond came out from the fountain


The Inspector arrest him and start to sing:
The Inspector arrested him and started to sing:


"Not this time, not this time, not this time!"
"Not this time, not this time, not this time!"




Contributed by Lily M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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Comments from YouTube:

@bondeebryan411

He is so far above the rest
The Birdie is up there where the air is rare all by himself.
Just the best.
Love you man.

@pizee

I was singing this song a few weeks ago and I am glad you put it up. Lawd...what a laugh!

@wendelcarrington2025

Co sex

@marshaallison70

Every time i tried to out my father, he sang this to me. When i agreed about not getting enough allowance my father would sing" all is mine". i tried singing to him once and sang"Not this time"

@ShakeshaWilliams

marsha allison 😂

@marjorieferguson2064

Those were the day myself friend we taught will never end

@heatherfulmore3412

Lol

@debcarey7900

The citizens of this Earth given a special gift when Mighty Sparrow born.

@SKYPAT99

Thanks for the Good memories!

@thebonzell

Tonight is oldies night. No better way to beat the COVID-19 lockdown.

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