CREDITS
Composed and recorded by Larry Armony (2023)
Quality Recording Studio; Clian Lewis, engineer
Clian Lewis, keyboards, rhythm programming
David Blake, elec guitar; Terry Huggins, backup singer;
Larry Armony, djembe drum
LYRICS
Murdah murdah
Murdah murdah
Look how dey beating Calypso
Beating Calypso
Murdah murdah
Murdah murdah
Mama see how dey treating we kaiso
Fighting Calypso
Trying to kill calypso
Denying we culture
From de land of Ibo and Yoruba
And out of de Congo
Like a river crossing the ocean
Are the roots of Calypso
Erupting in the Caribbean
Through the fires of brutal oppression
A bubbling desire and determination
For total liberation
Now Spanish colonizers in Trinidad
Were small in numbers and had it hard
So they bring in French planters with their Africans
Running from war and revolution
Then the British conquered, and with Emancipation
Blacks entered from other islands
Indentured Indians lend some traditions
To this cultural combination
Calypso is history
Telling we story
Of struggle and victory
Calypso is de heart of carnival
calypso was nourished significantly
As Caribbean arts flourished in immigrant society
The official banning of the drums
And other cultural repressions
Led to radical invasions
Of carnival with dance, music and song
So in Port of Spain and some rural towns
To relieve the pain and confront the wrongs
Calypso radiate within the land
And resonate through the Caribbean
Now here at home in Sugar City
The carnival is run like a charity
The head and sub-committee chairs
Are all dedicated volunteers
The Act setting up the Committee
Has fourteen sections and two schedules, all told
Schedule two consists of various shows
But it don’t truly exist in reality
Calypso lyrics educational
Exposing politrics and bobol
Proposing solutions
Calypso is de mind of carnival
So in the absence of a second schedule
The Committee can present amended rules
Eliminating Semi-final with impunity
Without discussion — no democracy
Facilitating an elitist monarchy
With finalists from a calypso aristocracy
I reference the situation last year
Now there’s a different dispensation, it would appear
Once again there’s conversation with calypsonians
Who will now give expression to their opinions
I realize they stop the licks (so far) bringing in fresh air
So I revise my lyrics (on par) trying to be fair
And in keeping with the current accommodation
I’m seeking to present an urgent suggestion:
That we foster young writers, singers, musicians
And thus empower the now and future generations
So they would know
Calypso is we culture, to promote and to nurture
For now and forever
Calypso is larger than Carnival
Calypso is a river spawning soca, chutney, gospelypso
Extending to the Caribbean Diaspora
Calypso is larger than Carnival
Calypso is we culture, like sustaining water
Calypso is larger than CarnivalLarry Armony. May 2023