Prime Minister Godwin Friday paid tribute to Mighty Sparrow in Parliament on Thursday, praising the late Trinidadian calypsonian’s musical range, influence on Caribbean identity and message to young people.
“For all my life, I’ve known Sparrow as the king of Calypso. Irreplaceable,” said Friday, who sang lines of some of Sparrow’s hits during his tribute.
He described Sparrow as a performer whose songs and compositions had accompanied him since childhood, recalling that he listened each year for what the artist had released.
Sparrow, whose given name was Slinger Francisco, died in the United States on Sept. 27, 2026, aged 91.
He was buried in Trinidad on Oct. 16, and Friday said he could not attend because he was in Thailand for the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Friday said Sparrow could move between styles, recalling that “he could go from ballads to calypso if he chose to.”
He praised the singer’s wit, compositions and diction, and said Sparrow’s music reflected an exuberance that matched the genre he represented.
“Sparrow went on to regale us with his tremendous wit, his compositions, his diction. … nobody could pronounce calypso like Sparrow. And he could sing, which is also not always the case with all calypsonians,” the prime minister said.
The tribute also recognised Sparrow’s place in the history of calypso. Friday said the artist had not invented the genre, but had helped carry it to audiences around the world.
“He popularised it. He didn’t invent it,” he said, adding that Sparrow gave credit to the musicians who came before him.
Friday said Sparrow’s success helped the Caribbean take pride in music it had created, adding that the artiste’s contribution helped shape the region “as a people with pride and accomplishment for something that is created, not just copied”.
He recalled songs including “Jean and Diana,” as well as Sparrow’s stories of romantic misfortune.
“Jean and Diana was a little before me time, but that’s where it all started, and that is a classic — still, probably his most popular song,” Friday said.
“And then he had Melda, of course. She had she wedding plans, eh? And he say he wouldn’t succumb. But then the next time he go and he say he go by Mr. Walker, he begging Rosemary to come and marry him because she make plans and she, like she backing out. So, complete reversal of fortunes in that one,” the prime minister said.
Friday also singled out “Education,” saying its advice to young people remained relevant. “Take your talent that God gave you, stay in school and learn well.”
He said the lesson should be more than a message repeated to young people; they also need opportunities to act on it.
“… but not just to preach, but also to provide the opportunities for them to take advantage of that good advice that Sparrow gave so many many years ago, and that we continue to repeat.”
Friday said that while he could not attend the funeral, he wanted to record in Parliament his personal admiration and gratitude for the joy Sparrow’s music had brought him as a young listener.
He noted that Sparrow lived to be 91.
“And so, his passing at 91, having had a full life, having used it well, it is for us now to reflect even more on his accomplishments; that the chapter is closed, but the accolades, the reflections, the interpretations, the appreciation for what he accomplished will continue, and as we go on and see that, in fact, the uniqueness of his contribution stands way into the future.
“We will … confirm our appreciation now that this is really a unique contribution and a unique performer in a genre that is practised by so many and beloved by so many world over,” the prime minister said.