Listening to My Calypso by Ajamu (Edson Mitchell)
Ajamu’s iconic song "My Calypso," written six years after the American invasion in 1983, illustrates the changing role of calypso music in Grenada in the late 1980s. In this performance, Ajamu, clad in a gold lammé suit and matching hat, sings almost pleadingly to his listeners: “my calypso, sweet calypso music, until I die I will sing my calypso song … to fight evil forces down.” Later in the song, Ajamu reminds his audience of the history of calypso: its roots lie in shared history of enslavement and toil, but also in the resistance and power of their community.
Ajamu goes on to sing that calypso will “open freedom’s door”—hearkening back to the enslaved past while bringing this experience of oppression to the present. He earnestly promises to fight for calypso, even, apparently, at great personal expense— offering to put his neck on a block; and threatening to “give licks” to Grenadians who treat calypso or calypsonians poorly. He concludes by acknowledging the great difficulty in fighting for calypso music and restoring it to its former place of glory. He compares himself, the calypsonian fighting for an artform in danger, to a “little” axe meant to cut down a big tree, or to David, from the biblical story of David and Goliath—small, but ultimately, more powerful than anything that might stand in his way. Such tropes would surely not be lost on his audience—insider language and double entendre are conventions of the art form, as is social commentary. The links Ajamu makes to the enslaved past and to the oppression of the Grenadian people are effective ways of promoting traditional Grenadian identity and notions of community. Lyrics reference collective experience resisting enslavement (“an oppression on the slave ship” and “we had no choice but to sing calypso song”) and the sacrifices of one for the many (“I’ll put my neck on a block”):
[Excerpt]
When de master strike with his whip
And when dey workin’ so hard in de sun,
Yes, we had no choice, but to sing calypso song!
So I’m going to sing my calypso, sing my calypso
I’ll sing it for the rich, and for the poor, and everywhere I go!
I’m going to sing, I’m going to sing, I’m going to sing, yes,
I’m going to sing my calypso!
I know for sure it would open freedom door.
One more ting, before I go
I must let you know
As a man I would stand up strong and fight for calypso
I’ll put my neck on a block and I’ll swear man, and so help me God, good God
I’m going to lick you if you treat my calypso bad
So you better beware of de things you say
Cuz not a man shall escape
As small as you see me
But little axe does cut down big, big tree
And if you is Goliath, well King David—that’s me!
Extracted from a publication by the author.
Ajamu goes on to sing that calypso will “open freedom’s door”—hearkening back to the enslaved past while bringing this experience of oppression to the present. He earnestly promises to fight for calypso, even, apparently, at great personal expense— offering to put his neck on a block; and threatening to “give licks” to Grenadians who treat calypso or calypsonians poorly. He concludes by acknowledging the great difficulty in fighting for calypso music and restoring it to its former place of glory. He compares himself, the calypsonian fighting for an artform in danger, to a “little” axe meant to cut down a big tree, or to David, from the biblical story of David and Goliath—small, but ultimately, more powerful than anything that might stand in his way. Such tropes would surely not be lost on his audience—insider language and double entendre are conventions of the art form, as is social commentary. The links Ajamu makes to the enslaved past and to the oppression of the Grenadian people are effective ways of promoting traditional Grenadian identity and notions of community. Lyrics reference collective experience resisting enslavement (“an oppression on the slave ship” and “we had no choice but to sing calypso song”) and the sacrifices of one for the many (“I’ll put my neck on a block”):
[Excerpt]
When de master strike with his whip
And when dey workin’ so hard in de sun,
Yes, we had no choice, but to sing calypso song!
So I’m going to sing my calypso, sing my calypso
I’ll sing it for the rich, and for the poor, and everywhere I go!
I’m going to sing, I’m going to sing, I’m going to sing, yes,
I’m going to sing my calypso!
I know for sure it would open freedom door.
One more ting, before I go
I must let you know
As a man I would stand up strong and fight for calypso
I’ll put my neck on a block and I’ll swear man, and so help me God, good God
I’m going to lick you if you treat my calypso bad
So you better beware of de things you say
Cuz not a man shall escape
As small as you see me
But little axe does cut down big, big tree
And if you is Goliath, well King David—that’s me!
Extracted from a publication by the author.
Attentive Listening
Teacher-directed, focuses on musical structures (specific points of focus like musical elements and events).
Engaged Listening
Listeners actively participate to some extent in music-making (singing a melody, tapping a rhythm, playing, moving eurhythmically or dancing). It is related to participatory listening and the belief that listening becomes more thorough as they follow along in the music and help contribute to it.
Enactive Listening
Intense listening to every musical nuance of a recorded selection for the purpose of recreating the music in a stylistically accurate way.
Teacher-directed, focuses on musical structures (specific points of focus like musical elements and events).
- Using a teacher-drawn contour map, ask students to point to images representing:
- Trumpet entrance
- Vocables
- Cymbal crashes
- Repeated words
- Backup singers
Engaged Listening
Listeners actively participate to some extent in music-making (singing a melody, tapping a rhythm, playing, moving eurhythmically or dancing). It is related to participatory listening and the belief that listening becomes more thorough as they follow along in the music and help contribute to it.
- Sing the beginning of the song along with the calypsonian.
- Pat a steady beat.
Enactive Listening
Intense listening to every musical nuance of a recorded selection for the purpose of recreating the music in a stylistically accurate way.
- Sing along with your own vocables at the beginning of the song.
- Create a syncopated ostinato and play it along with claves.
Listening activity based on Campbell's pedagogy of listening (Campbell 2005).
Quoting and Arranging in Calypso & Steel Pan Music
Quoting and arranging is popular in many diverse genres. Listen to quoting and arranging in Grenadian calypso and steel pan through an exploration of Mighty Sparrow's calypso Jean and Dinah, Ajamu's calypso Sparrow, and Suzuki Pan Wizards' arrangement of Sparrow.
Attentive Listening
The Mighty Sparrow is one of the most famous calypsonians of all time. Although Sparrow grew up in Trinidad, he was born in Grenada and is popular amongst calypso lovers across the island. Listen to Mighty Sparrow sing his calypso "Jean and Dinah" and hear:
Engaged Listening
Listen to Ajamu perform his calypso in homage to Mighty Sparrow, "Sparrow," as he competes for the title of Calypso Monarch at Dimanche Gras during Spicemas (Carnival) in 2015.
Enactive Listening
Listen to Grenadian steelband Suzuki Pan Wizards play their arrangement of Ajamu's calypso "Sparrow" at the Panorama steel pan competition during Carnival in 2016.
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Additional Listening
Association for Cultural Equity has curated several CDs, which were released on Rounder Records: Caribbean Voyage Sampler; Carriacou Calaloo; Tombstone Feast: Funerary Music of Carriacou; Saraca: Funerary Music of Carriacou; Grenada: Creole and Yoruba Voices. Smithsonian Folkways has also released an album.
Music for Work and Play, Carriacou 1962 (Alan Lomax)
http://www.culturalequity.org/album/music-work-and-play-carriacou-grenada-1962
Grenada: Creole and Yoruba Voices (Alan Lomax)
http://www.culturalequity.org/album/grenada-creole-and-yoruba-voices
Grenada Stories and Songs
https://folkways.si.edu/grenada-stories-and-songs/caribbean-spoken-word-world/album/Smithsonian
Music for Work and Play, Carriacou 1962 (Alan Lomax)
http://www.culturalequity.org/album/music-work-and-play-carriacou-grenada-1962
Grenada: Creole and Yoruba Voices (Alan Lomax)
http://www.culturalequity.org/album/grenada-creole-and-yoruba-voices
Grenada Stories and Songs
https://folkways.si.edu/grenada-stories-and-songs/caribbean-spoken-word-world/album/Smithsonian