Dog does run awayCow does run awaySheep does run away when yuh treating dem badFowl does run awayCat does run awayWuh happen to youWoman you can run away tooThose words from the popular song Runaway were as sweet to the ear as if they were from one of the new offerings from this year.More than three decades after daughter of the soil Francine Singing Francine Edwards released Runaway, the song is still relevant.Singing Francine was a picture of elegance and in fine voice when she guest appeared in the Cave Shepherd All Stars Calypso Tent last weekend.The 31-year-old women’s anthem was familiar to members of the audience who were not even born when Runaway was released, but they sang along with the older patrons in the crowd all the same.Bold statements like Woman put two wheels on yuh heels and Get Out filled the room and the brain well after she left the stage.The other three tracks were not as familiar to the majority but, by the time the singer, songwriter, producer and arranger finished with Go Brave, which spoke about First Lady Michelle Obama, Somebody, and Calypsonians Don’t Like Calypsonians parts of them were rolling off the tongue as well.Singing Francine has not performed on a local stage in about a decade, and she told WE she always enjoyed being home.“It has been a while, and it’s really nice of them to invite me . . . I am glad to be home. I enjoy sea baths, walking around meeting my people and having fun,” the resident of Trinidad beamed.Negotiations for last weekend’s visit were conducted a year in advance in order for Barbados to be slotted in on her tour schedule, which takes her to various parts of North America, England and the Caribbean representing the music.Not one to separate calypsonians from the various territories, Singing Francine said there were a lot of good calypsonians here whom she loved and admired.Speaking to the changes in the art form over the years, Singing Francine said the music had gone through changes like everything else, but there was room for everyone.“We just have to accept what is there, enjoy what is there . . . The hard core calypsonians still sing real calypso, and there is still room for that, because that is the foundation of whatever is going on now,” the lady who originally hailed from Dayrells Road, St Michael said.She encouraged those who wanted to get into the art form to try writing for themselves, and not to depend “wholly and solely” on someone to write or do anything for them.“Try and do your own ting, and if you can’t work it all the way, yuh ask for help,” she encouraged.
