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Tribute to lt stichie By Fabian Stennett

 A Tribute to Rev. Dr. Lieutenant Stitchie (Cleveland "Cleve" Laing)

Delivered by Chief Fabian Stennett, Furry Town Maroons

Tonight the drums of Jamaica are muffled, and the hills that raised him hold their breath.

From Spanish Town he came, a teacher with chalk on his hands and rhythm in his bones. He taught biology by day, and by night he taught the whole island how to laugh. In 1986 "Wear Yuh Size" rang out like a bell, and "Natty Dread" climbed and stayed atop the charts for fourteen weeks. They called him The Governor, and the yard crowned him gladly.

He stepped onto the world's stage with a major label behind him, and he never left the people who made him. He carried our voice across the water, wit sharp as a machete and joy wide as the Caribbean Sea.

Then came the road, the crash in 1997, and the turning of a heart. Like the Maroons who left the plantation for the mountains and found freedom there, he left one way of life and climbed toward another. Dancehall's fire became gospel's flame, and "Fast and Pray" rose from his lips as a lantern for the weary.

The nation lifted him with honour: a doctorate, a Hall of Fame, a book of his own story, and the Order of Distinction. Yet his greatest crown was worn quietly, in the years of silence after the stroke, when he met the storm with grace and Sister Sophia stood beside him like a rock in the river.

The voice that once filled stadiums fell still, but the song was never lost. It lives in every child who dances, every soul who prays, every yard where his name is spoken with a smile.

To his family and his church family, we hold you in our hearts. To Jamaica, let us sing him home.

Governor, the horn has sounded and the long road ends in light. You taught us, you lifted us, you made us glad. Walk good, and rest in peace.

Fabian Stennett

Chief, Furry Town Maroons


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