This post showcases a sound file of and lyrics to the Calypso song "Rum & Coca Cola" as composed & performed by Lord Invader. Comments about that song are also included in this post.
For comparison's sake, this post also includes a sound file and lyrics of this song as performed by the Andrews Sisters.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historic, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
FEATURED EXAMPLE: Lord Invader - "Rum and coca cola"
Uploaded by calypzombie85 on Oct 1, 2009
LYRICS: RUM AND COCA COLA
(Lyrics: Lord Invader [Rupert Grant, 1943], melody: Lionel Belasco, based on a Martinique folk song)
And when the Yankees first went to Trinidad,
Some of the young girls were more than glad,
They said that the Yankees treat them nice,
And they give them a better price.
Chorus.
They buy rum and Coca-Cola,
Went (going) down Point Cumana,
Both mothers and daughters,
Working for their Yankee dollars (repeated)
Ah, look I had a little chick the other day,
But her mother came and took her away,
Herself, her mother and her sisters,
Went in a cab with some soldiers. (Chorus)
Chorus sings:
Rum and Coca-Cola,
Go down Point Cumana.
They have some aristos*
in Port of Spain,
I know a lot, but I won't call name,
And in the day they wouldn't give you a right*
But you might see them with the foreigners late at night,
drinking (chorus)
I know a couple who got married one afternoon,
And was to go Miami on their honeymoon,
But the bride run away with a soldier lad,
And the stupid husband went staring mad. (Chorus)
*aristo- aristocrat or rich person.
* right- from right hand; handshake on a deal, i. e., wouldn't traffic with the local people (distinctions based on degree of color and money were very strong in island communities).
COMMENTS ABOUT THIS SONG
From Booklet notes with the cd "Calypso at Midnight," a "Midnight Special" concert at Town Hall, New York City, 1946.
Introductions by Alan Lomax. [posted online by Q, February 21, 2004, from http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=66111
Remarks by Lord Invader: "Diplomatically you ask me what is calypso, Mr. Lomax? Calypso is folklore of Trinidad, a style of poetry telling about current events in song.-snip-
With regard to the song "Rum and Coca-Cola," you want to ask me how I happened to compose it, Mr. Lomax? (laughter) Ladies and Gentlemen, back home in the West Indies- Trinidad- where I'm from- I'm from a small island. I'm proud of it, thank you! I was traveling on a bus to some place they call Point Cumana, bathing resort, and I happened to see the GIs since the American social invasion in the West Indies, Trinidad. (laughter) You know the girls used to get their candies and stuff like that and they go to the (laughter), they go to the canteens with the boys and so on, have fun. So I notice since the GIs came over there that we generally chase with soda, ordinary soda. But they chaser was rum and coke; they drink rum, and they like the Coca-Cola as a chaser. So I studied that as an idea of song, and Morey Amsterdam had the nerve to say that he composed that song back here (laughter).
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. And I am going to sing you "Rum and Coca-Cola" for my first number. Thank You." "
NOTE- Since the case was not yet settled, Rounder Records still cited the song "Morey Amsterdam, Paul Baron, Jerry Sullivan. CPP/Belwin." Rounder 11661-1840-2.
From
Rum and Coca-Cola” is the title of a popular calypso. Originally composed by Lord Invader and Lionel Belasco, it was copyrighted in the United States by entertainer Morey Amsterdam and became a huge hit in 1945 for the Andrews Sisters, spending ten weeks at the top of Billboard's U.S. Pop Singles chart.-snip-
Although the song was published in the United States with Amsterdam listed as the lyricist and Jeri Sullavan and Paul Baron as musical composers, the melody had been previously published as the work of Trinidadian calypso composer Lionel Belasco on a song titled “L'Année Passée,” which was in turn based on a folksong from Martinique. The original lyrics to “Rum and Coca-Cola” were written by Rupert Grant, another calypso musician from Trinidad who went by the stage name of Lord Invader. (The true credits for music and lyrics were restored in a plagiarism lawsuit won by attorney Louis Nizer, the account of which can be read in his book, My Life in Court.)
Both Lord Invader & Lionel Belasco were from Trinidad.
RELATED LINK
Click http://www.rumandcocacolareader.com/RumAndCocaCola/Calypso_on_Trial.html for lots more information about the "Rum And Coca Cola" trail.
SOUND FILE & LYRICS OF "RUM & COCA COLA" AS PERFORMED BY THE ANDREWS SISTERS
This sound file & lyrics are presented for the sake of comparison with Lord Invader's lyrics and sound file.
The Andrews Sisters - Rum and Coca Cola
beyoncetyratina, Uploaded on Oct 15, 2010
Update (08/18/11): This song WAS originally by a Trinidadian by the name "Lord Invader". His version is quite great too, but the lyrics are much different...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMWUF3LYd88
And you guys stop fighting about it... What ever you are fighting about, both versions were WONDERFUL in their own rights. And yes, they went to court, Lord Invader won.
LYRICS: ANDREW SISTERS' VERSION OF RUM AND COCA COLA
Rum and coca-cola
If you ever go down Trinidad
They make you feel so very glad
Calypso sing and make up rhyme
Guarantee you one real good fine time
Drinkin' rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin' for the Yankee dollar
Oh, beat it man, beat it
Since the Yankee come to Trinidad
They got the young girls all goin' mad
Young girls say they treat 'em nice
Make Trinidad like paradise
Drinkin' rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin' for the Yankee dollar
Oh, you vex me, you vex me
From Chicachicaree to Mona's Isle
Native girls all dance and smile
Help soldier celebrate his leave
Make every day like New Year's Eve
Drinkin' rum and Coca-Cola
[- From: http://www.elyrics.net -]
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin' for the Yankee dollar
It's a fact, man, it's a fact
In old Trinidad, I also fear
The situation is mighty queer
Like the Yankee girl, the native swoon
When she hear der Bingo croon
Drinkin' rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin' for the Yankee dollar
Out on Manzanella Beach
G.I. romance with native peach
All night long, make tropic love
Next day, sit in hot sun and cool off
Drinkin' rum and Coca-Cola
Go down Point Koomahnah
Both mother and daughter
Workin' for the Yankee dollar
It's a fact, man, it's a fact
Rum and Coca-Cola
Rum and Coca-Cola
Workin' for the Yankee dollar
[posted on http://www.elyrics.net/read/a/andrews-sisters-lyrics/rum-and-cocacola-lyrics.html
ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to the composers & performers of this song. Thanks also to the uploaders of these featured sound files and thanks to those whose comments & transcriptions that I featured in this post.
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