Kenny Chesney’s latest single features an afternoon with a well-known St. Johnian, Trinidad Charlie.
“Nowhere to Go, Nowhere to Be” hit the number 64 spot on Billboard Magazine’s top selling singles chart this year. And some of the inspiration for the song came from talking with Charlie, as in, so the lyric goes, “‘Trinidad Charlie on a stool next to me, Readin’ his book about the haves and have-notes, In between chapters we take another shot.”
Charles Deyalsingh has been on island forever, it seems. He produces award-winning hot sauce. And when day is over, he’s been known to sit on a bar stool and shoot the stuff with anyone on the next stool. A few years ago, it was Kenny Chesney on that other stool. Fresh off the breakup of his four-month marriage to Renee Zellweger.
“It was the middle of my 2006 tour, and I was exhausted and in a funky place mentally, between the pressures of the road and the breakup with Renée,” Chesney told Caribbean Travel and Life magazine “I got three days off, so I went down by myself, and one day I got in my Jeep and drove over to a funky bar on the north side of St. John called Island Blues. I ordered gumbo and a beer and sat there all afternoon next to Trinidad Charlie, this local cat who sells hot sauce. For the first time in a long time I felt a stillness in my heart and mind. It was a good day. I went home and pulled out the notes I wrote at the bar, watched the sunset, stared at St. Thomas and wrote this song. And that's where this album was born.”
Trinidad Charlie and his wife Lina produce their sauce on a farm overlooking Fish Bay. They have been working Bird Pepper Farm for 24 years. Charlie also grows the peppers, papayas, pumpkins and limes for his hot pepper sauces on the farm.
- Read the magazine interview with Chesney. http://www.caribbeantravelmag.com/article.jsp?ID=1000065385
- Listen to “Nowhere to Go, Nowhere to Be". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Di77A0ss4Zc
- Lyrics to the song. http://www.metrolyrics.com/nowhere-to-go-nowhere-to-be-lyrics-kenny-chesney.html
- Charlie’s Hot Sauce Web site. http://www.trinidadcharlie.com/hot-sauce.htm
Charlie seems like a man content with his life. I hope that KC’s thrusting celebrity on him doesn’t create problems for him.
I think its a GREAT story…LOVE it!!!!!
Perfect picture of kicking back and retooling and rest.
I hope in January 09 when I am visiting the island I too will sit beside Charlie and our his wife. They sound very interesting along with the fact they spoke to Kenny. I have seen Kenny several times in concert and in 2007 I met him in person and he is just a remarkable loving caring person. Hope to run into everyone I have been reading about.
Cindy