“THIS IS THE LAND OF MY BIRTH": Why Eric Donaldson’s Classic Resonates So Deeply After Hurricane Melissa
- Yaawd Media
- 4 days ago
- 5 min read
By Richard Hugh Blackford; Fine Artist, Author, and Social Commentator
As Jamaicans everywhere wrestle with the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa, something remarkable is happening. Across social media, images flood in from New York, Miami, London, Toronto, and beyond; photos of shipping depots stacked to the rafters with barrels, boxes, and containers filled by Jamaicans in the Diaspora. These scenes, overflowing with generosity and love, evoke a timeless anthem that continues to define Jamaican identity: “This Is the Land of My Birth.”
Written by Winston Wallace and sung by Eric Donaldson for the 1978 Festival Song competition, the track has long held a special place in the national consciousness. But in moments of crisis, its emotional resonance resurfaces with renewed force. Today, its lyrics feel less like a folk classic and more like a national mantra; an unspoken explanation for why Jamaicans everywhere are rallying to support the island.
As I drank in the social media images, the lyrics of the Eric Donaldson anthem kept pulsing in my head and hours later, I still could not shake them, so I decided to explore them by taking a lyrical deep dive into the song and an exploration of how its messages of love, loyalty, resilience, and pride are being lived out in real time.
A CHORUS OF IDENTITY AND BELONGING
“This is the land of my birth… I say this is Jamaica, my Jamaica…”
From its opening lines, the song declares a powerful truth: belonging is the essence of Jamaican identity. The repetition is intentional. It reinforces emotional ownership of the homeland; not as a political unit, but as a spiritual inheritance.
For Jamaicans abroad, these words echo across oceans. Even after years or decades away, the sense of home remains unshaken. Barrels and donations sent in the wake of Hurricane Melissa are expressions of that bond. The song names a feeling that every Jamaican understands instinctively: you can leave Jamaica, but Jamaica never leaves you.
LOYALTY THAT TRANSCENDS DISTANCE
“I will never leave her shores, I will never run away…”
Taken literally, these lines speak of steadfast physical presence. But interpreted through the lens of the Diaspora, they capture something even more profound: emotional permanence. For even when Jamaicans migrate for better opportunities, safety, or stability, their allegiance to home remains unbroken. Today, that loyalty is visible in the overflowing shipping depots and community fundraisers across the globe. In moments of crisis, the bond tightens.
STRENGTH IN THE FACE OF HARDSHIP
“We must face the test of time, for our people they are strong…”
Resilience is embedded in Jamaican culture, and the song acknowledges it plainly. Across its history, the nation has faced storms literally and figuratively. But what defines Jamaica isn't the trials; it is the collective endurance.
Hurricane Melissa is one of the harshest tests in recent memory, yet the strength of the Jamaican people is on full display. Communities have banded together to clear debris, share food, and provide shelter. Those abroad mobilize instantly, driven by the same spirit the song celebrates.
REDEFINING WHAT IT MEANS TO BE "RICH“
“For some people say we poor, but the progress you make, my friend, is not always how rich you are.” This line challenges external judgments about Jamaica’s economic standing. It reframes wealth in terms of - Wealth in culture, Wealth in community spirit, Wealth in generosity, and Wealth in courage and creativity.
Today, that richness is evident in how Jamaicans help one another without hesitation, no second thought. In hardship, Jamaica’s true wealth emerges: that wealth is and always has been its people.
COUNTING BLESSINGS AMID CRISIS
“Let us stop for a minute, count our blessings one by one…”
Gratitude is a radical act during suffering. Yet the song encourages reflection on what remains—life, unity, hope, and identity. After Hurricane Melissa, this message resonates deeply. Gratitude is found in survival, in solidarity, and in the global family that never hesitates to answer the call for help.
THE BEAUTY OF JAMAICA- A MOTIVATION TO REBUILD
“My Jamaica is a beautiful island… the crown of the Caribbean Sea…”
These lyrics capture the emotional geography that anchors every Jamaican; its lush hills, flowing rivers, stunning coastlines; scenes that I have represented countless times in my paintings. Even when battered by storm winds and floodwaters, the island’s beauty is undiminished. This beauty is not just physical; it is spiritual. It is the reason Jamaicans rebuild again and again, for this land is ours and it is worth the labor.
FREEDOM AS A NATIONAL IDEAL
“Our people, they are free—no oppression here to see.”
This line, steeped in post-Independence pride, reflects Jamaica’s ongoing pursuit of social justice. In today’s context, it serves as a reminder of the kind of country Jamaicans want to preserve and protect—one where dignity, fairness, and unity are not just ideals but everyday realities.
A SPIRIT OF HOSPITALITY THAT NEVER FADES
“Miss Tourist, Mr Tourist… leave your land and come.”
This closing invitation embodies Jamaica’s warmth, openness, and even more so to the island's cultural confidence. In tragedy, these traits do not disappear as even now, Jamaicans are inviting their international friends to join relief efforts, donate supplies, and stand with the island. It is this spirit of welcoming, generous, unapologetically proud, that has helped Jamaica cultivate global goodwill for generations,; and it is this Goodwill that the island is today cashing in on.
WHY THE SONG MATTERS MORE THAN EVER
“This Is the Land of My Birth” is more than a Festival Song; it is a declaration of identity that transcends generations. For in moments of national crisis, its lyrics transform into a collective affirmation of who we are. It says that we are a people bound by love for country. That we are a Diaspora that refuses to disconnect. That we are a nation that endures, rebuilds, and rises. And it says finally, that we are a community defined not by wealth but by heart. so, as barrels leave the ports of New York and Miami, as volunteers distribute food in Westmoreland, St. Elizabeth, Hanover, St. James, Trelawny; as Jamaicans abroad open their wallets and their hearts, the song once again becomes our national soundtrack. It reminds us that Jamaica is not just a place, but that it is a people. It is a spirit, and most of all that it is a promise.
And in this moment of need, Jamaicans everywhere are proving beyond question, that the love for the land of our birth is as powerful as ever. This is the Land of My Birth, This is Jamaica, My Jamaica...The Land of My Birth.
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