HUBERT Pierre is an extraordinary man. President of the Saint Lucia Red Cross, author, composer and singer, Pierre, no doubt, is doing it all.

Heās incredibly gifted and passionate. I interviewed Pierre recently and his story, I discovered, is an unforgettable one. Pierre grew up in the heart of Conway and back then, he absolutely loved artists like Elvis Presley, Al Green and the incomparable āSparrowā. He loves music immenselyāin fact, he said, āI am music and music is me.ā
āI remember going to the pan yard in Conway when I was very young. My mother didnāt want me to go to the pan yard but of course, I love music so I went. I wasnāt (allowed) to sing calypso in the house because of Sparrow and all the subliminal (messages). I didnāt realize how much it conceptualized; it actually became part of my life,ā he revealed.
āWhen I started reviewing songs of long ago I found most of the songs that I sang were a lot of calypso and hymns, two different ends of the spectrum. That stayed with me and putting lyrics together was very easy and normal. Even in school, Iād (ask my peers) to tell me a word and Iād create a verse with rhymes and everything on the spot. Itās just a natural thing,ā he stated.
āJack Spainardā has been on the music scene for a long time. Perhaps youāve heard the name before as he goes by that name on stage; āSpainardā truly is an excellent calypsonian. Heās produced a number of songs (he has five albums underneath his belt) including āSay What You Wantā an old time favourite. He recently released āCOVID-19ā and a string of others.
āIāve sang quite a few themes and everything is composed by me. Iām actually putting out another album right now,ā Pierre said.
The calypsonian keeps his music clean, something which is not popular today.
āI donāt write about women; I donāt write any smut. Many persons have asked me to write for them but because of my beliefs I donāt,ā Pierre, a Christian, said.
āI met Christ and that changed my whole outlook on life. Iām very appreciative of the fact that I got to that specific area in my life very earlyā I donāt know where I would be if Iād gone down (another) lane,ā he added.
Pierre is currently working on his ninth book.
āItās entitled āAfter COVIDā; āDuring COVIDā is the last book that I wrote so Iām doing āAfter COVID to speak about the lockdown and all the rest that goes with it and what the future looks like going down the road. Iām one who believes that weāll never get back to what was normal; we are now in what is called āthe new resetā or what persons might have called the new world order and thereās no going back so Iām trying to document these things,ā the 66-year-old said.
āThe first book I put together was āMemories of Conwayā where I lived and grew up. There is one called āOh Ma Maā which looks at all the problems that we have in Saint Lucia and the difficulties one has to waddle through. Of course I had to write about God and that book is called āMy Creatorā; thereās also āTell It Like it Isā which is as black as I am. The message: donāt look down on little black boys because little black boys have talent too,ā he added.
Although he has left Conway, heās still a Conway boy at heart.
āMostly you would hear people talk about the ugly but thatās not always true. As boys you could not play marbles when it was time for school. Somebody would get a belt to you and it didnāt have to be your mother. Anybody would beat you and tell you to go to school. If you walked with a knife in your waist, (that was frowned upon). We had our own ambulances, we had our own doctors who always took care of āblessā and these kinds of things. The bad? We fought everyday but you couldnāt use guns or knives and when the fight was over you had to hug, shake hands and never quarrel again. Thatās the Conway I knew,ā Pierre stated.
āOf course we had our gambling dens but we had our churches also and we had our own music. I left Conway when I was about 21 and have I really left? No, itās in me. I still go back. If I have to be born again I want to be born in Conway,ā he added.
Pierre has come a long way since Conway. According to him, āone thing I always look back at is where I came from and where I am now. No little black boy from Conway is supposed to be the president of Red Crossāyou cannot envisage that but it has happened and I think itās Godās ruling.ā
The former student and teacher of the Saint Lucia SDA Academy is grateful for Godās love. In his spare time, he does what he loves most.
āIt must be music and playing cricket and of course Iām an ardent Bible person. I also love to fish; itās always been my hobby. As a boy you had to fish in Conway, it was a natural thing,ā Pierre added.
Dad to three girls and a grandad to four sweet little boys, Pierre is truly living in Godās grace.
Mr. Pierre if you don’t mind, may I call you Bertie? I love that beautiful smile
and a man with a mind of music, tells me that’s one brother I’d like to sit down
and have a good chat with. I can’t tell you much about ‘Conway’ but I can say
much about staid ‘Maryann Street’ and ‘Grass St.’ at the time of WW.2 when
the Nazi Submarine torpedoed the two merchant ships in Castries Harbour, I’ll
never forget. I like your story and the way it is so beautifully illustrated and woven
by Ms. Rae Anthony. Oh how I miss my dear St. Lucia and the Lord have given us
such talented writers to bring to light, the lives of plain everyday people for guys like
me to look back to. Bertie in my time there was no Sparrow, but Lord Kitchener, at the
time; I’ve met them both, not in St. Lucia of course. I am much encouraged that you’re
a man who knows the Lord – be it S.D.A. or whatever; talking about fighting at school
my Mom had to take me out of the R.C. Boys School because I fought everyday; after
some black eyes, some loose teeth, out and over to the Methodist School, next to the
Church. School Master Me. Walker, teacher Alex Walcott, Mr.Mason, and a host of
good friends, John Titley, George Odlam and some nice girls too. I’m still around working
out mostly at home now since all the Gyms are closed, and Church is within me alone.
Bertie, my strong advise to you is, never stop praising the Lord. Tell others about Him
You will be rewarded – as I am today. Now, Miss Anthony you have been given a great
talent for writing – it’s not the big words that make a writer – ‘just write that’s all’. Blessings.