Lord Invader & Mighty Dictator - "My Intention is War" (1940s Calypso sound file, information, lyrics, & comments)

oldmanmorgan, Mar 11, 2008

91,962 views • Mar 11, 2008

From Lord Invaders Calypso in New York-snip-
This Calypso is sung by Lord Invader and Mighty Dictator in the 1940s.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a 1940s example of Calypso by Lord Invader and Mighty Dictator.

Information about Lord Invader is included in this post along with the lyrics for this Calypso and selected comments from the YouTube discussion thread for that sound file.

The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Lord Invader and Mighty Dictator for their musical legacies. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
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Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/calypso-war-lord-invader-macbeth-duke.html for a 2012 pancocojams post entitled "Lord Invader, Macbeth, & Duke Of Iron - "Calypso War" (with lyrics) My Intention Is War - Lord Invader, Macbeth, & Duke Of Iron (Lyrics)

That post showcases a 1946 sound file of Calypsonians Lord Invader, Macbeth, and Duke of Iron engaging in a extemporaneous Calypso battle.

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INFORMATION ABOUT LORD INVADER
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Invader
"Lord Invader (Rupert Westmore Grant; 13 December 1914 – 15 October 1961) was a prominent calypsonian with a very distinctive, gravelly voice.

 He was born in San Fernando, Trinidad. He became active in calypso in the mid-1930s, and was considered a country bumpkin by his contemporaries, because of his humble beginning. It was Grant's tailor who gave him his moniker by commenting, "I tell you, Rupert, you should call yourself Lord Invader so when you go up to the city you be invadin' the capital." With a new name, in 1937 he went to the capital city of Port of Spain and began his career in earnest.

He competed in many calypso competitions (including the very first Calypso King competition) and recorded for RCA Bluebird. Lured by Decca Records, he travelled to New York City in 1941 with other calypsonians such as Roaring Lion and Atilla the Hun to make records and promote calypso music. He wrote many calypsos; his most famous lyrics, "Rum and Coca-Cola", were plagiarised by Morey Amsterdam and became a hit for the Andrews Sisters. Invader travelled to New York and sued, eventually winning compensation, although the final settlement allowed Amsterdam to retain his copyright. In the early 1940s, radio stations in the USA refused to play his own version on the grounds of its using the trademarked name, Coca-Cola, and its references to prostitution and alcohol. He stayed in New York for a few years because of the lengthy court case. During his tenure in New York City, he became a fixture in the local calypso scene and recorded many tracks for Moses Asch. Eventually, he won his court case, but did not receive his settlement check for seven years, so he returned to Trinidad in the meantime. He opened a calypso club there and penned and recorded many original songs.

He is often credited with writing "Zombie Jamboree", although the song was actually written by Lord Intruder (Winston O'Conner), who released it on the B-side of his 1953 single "Disaster with Police". It was covered by Conrad Eugene Mauge Jr,[1] who recorded it in 1959 and was also often credited for writing it. The confusion probably stems from the introduction of the version by the Kingston Trio, which mentions "Lord Invader and his Twelve Penetrators". At long last, Invader collected his money from his court case, and began to tour the U.S., later expanding to Britain and Europe. In the last half of 1958, he returned to New York City and continued recording for Moses Asch. He continued to return to his homeland for business and pleasure, although he had, with Wilmoth Houdini, made himself one of America's most successful calypsonians. On 15 October 1961, Lord Invader died at a Brooklyn, New York hospital."

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LYRICS: MY INTENTION IS WAR
(Lord Invader and Mighty Dictator )

Lord Invader:

Yes, my mother dead and my father disown me / What am I to do? / My mother died and my father disown me / What am I to do? / I am livin' in this world, I ain't got nobody / Not a brother, sister, nor cousin, family / War and rebellion when I meet calypsonian / My intention is war.

Dictator, you insolent boobie, delirious mule / Audacious slum monger, you're out of rule / Your abnormal expressions worth no while in hearing / Descend at once, Dictator, and stop your sneering / You gabilous squabbler, illiterate ape / Now you are in a terrible scrape / Dictator, you resemble Manuel Gogo / A fowl thief from Tobago / My intention is war.

Mighty Dictator:

Now Lord Invader, why you pick on me? / Remember that I was near your family / Take it from me in calypso / Remember me once in San Fernando / Now believe I can give you the score / Remember, you were sleeping on the floor / I used to mash your head / Going to sleep on my bed / My intention is war.

Invader:

Now calypso singing is such a technical thing / It was not made for one and every to sing / How by the heavens can this songster win? / Except by necromancy, that is a sin / My head is like a book that is well compact / My tongue is like a gun that never yet snap / And I'm sorry, Dictator, / If he molest with Invader / My intention is war.

Dictator:

Now Lord Invader, fighting makes no sense / Why not say something of eloquence? / Talk about the boys playing the music / And with that, please do not do any trick / Remember that I am a Lord / And on the bass, we have Mr. Ford / The Duke Of Iron of calypso / The master playing the piano.

Invader:

Now Dictator, what a boobie / You're a calypsonian [ain't?] / To sing this verse I give you satisfaction / Hear the gentleman there, he's sitting up there / Sitting there, without any fear / Rhyme a verse extemporaneously / As to prove your singing ability / And if you give me satisfaction / You're known as the champion / My intention is war.

Dictator:

To sing on the gentleman, I'll take the choice / He's my friend, his name is Lawrence / He's a very great guitar player / And you can take this tip from the Dictator / On him I have to make no attack / He's sitting there all dressed in black / And I'll tell you why, he's a chap / He's wearing a red tie / My intention is war.

Invader:

I think we goin' out.

Now Mighty Dictator, put your hands in mine / That verse that you sung is well, superfine / You know that I know you in Trinidad / And you are king in singing calypso ballad.

Dictator:

Now Invader, you too are really great / And my statement no one can adjudicate / Put your hand in mine / Let our friendship remain sublime.

Invader:

War, war, war, war, war -- la da day, la da doy / La da day, la da day, la da doy.

lyrics published by MrQwerty88, 2021 in the discussion thread for  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qD_l2OVVQsc
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Here are some more comments from that discussion thread (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)

1. Masaru kun, 2015
"this is one of the oldest 'hip hop' songs ive heard"

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Reply
2. aka allen pain, 2015
"early battle rap"

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Reply
3. PL M, 2016
"Lord Invader was a famous Calypsonian who practised Xtempo Lyric battles back in the 30s and 40s in Trinidad and England , a lotof you young fools listen to this should learn how these guys used imagination and  good english , not a bunch of N word BS and disrespecting women"

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Reply
4. PL M, 2017
"Elijah Dash Who us You!You have no home training, talking pure sh-t*,This classic Caiso, you don't know dis na boy"
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*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.

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Reply
5. Richard Hansen, 2017
"This track is indeed not hip hop but calypso. But the singing got so much to it that anticipates all the rhythmic qualities in rap. There's no need to insult people and to me your message about the "n word" shows that your opinion may be based on your superficial impression and general dislike of rap. If untrue, at least that's what your rude sentences resemble."

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Reply
6. Chris Benson, 2019
"PL M i cannot believe it this does actually sound like rap."

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7. machel john, 2022
"Real extempo"
-snip-
"extempo" is an abbreviation of "extemporaneous" meaning that the words were spoken without preparation.

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