Electric Avenue
Down in the street there is violence
And a lot of work to be done
No place to hang out our washing
And I can’t blame all on the sun, oh no
We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Oh we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Workin’ so hard like a soldier
Can’t afford a thing on TV
Deep in my heart I’m a warrior
Can’t get food for them kids, good God
We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Oh we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Oh no
Oh no
Oh no
Oh no
Who is to blame in one country
Never can get to the one
Dealin’ in multiplication
And they still can’t feed everyone, oh no
We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Oh we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Out in the street
Out in the street
Out in the daytime
Out in the night
We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Oh we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Out in the street
Out in the street
Out in the playground
In the dark side of town
We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Oh we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Eddy Grant
Edmond Montgomery Grant, more widely known to the world as Eddy Grant, was in the news recently because he was conferred with the degree Doctor of Letters by the University of Guyana at the institution’s 52nd Convocation.
This honouring of one of Guyana’s greatest musical personalities is a statement about a number of things with wider resonance than the singer, songwriter, musician himself. It speaks about the university, the academy, popular music, and the literature of the country.
Dr Eddy Grant is an internationally renowned exponent of popular music, in the field of rock, reggae, soca and his own Caribbean hybrid Ringbang. This less known form, Ringbang, probably says more about him than any of the better known types that he has produced, because it has something to do with his legacy, the impact of his work and why he was decorated by the university.