Home drum beat first
“The home drum beats first.”
Attend to your own family and household before turning your attention elsewhere.
— Traditional Bajan Wisdom, Barbados
Source: Traditional Barbados proverb, public-domain oral tradition
More Proverbs from Barbados
A pint pot can hold a gill, but a gill cannot hold a pint pot.
A bigger capacity can absorb a smaller amount, but a small capacity cannot hold something larger than itself — not every situation works both ways.
Seeing a full eyeful is not the same as having a full belly.
Merely looking at or wanting something is not the same as actually possessing or enjoying it.
A carpenter's wife never lives in a well-built house.
Skilled people often use their talents to serve others rather than to improve their own lives.
A bucket that goes up and down the well every day is bound to have its bottom drop out eventually.
Constant strain or repeated risk will eventually cause a breakdown.
There are better fish in the sea than the one you have caught.
Better opportunities exist beyond your current circumstances; do not settle for less.
The coward dog keeps his bone whole.
Avoiding unnecessary confrontation can spare you loss and trouble.