Calypso War

Calypso War is a form of calypso music that has existed since at least the turn of the twentieth century. Originally it was sung in patois or French creole. The classic war form is an eight-line stanza, the first four lines in a minor key, then modulating into the major, and returning to the minor with the refrain "santimanite" ("sans humanité" in patois, in English "without humanity").

Calypso War emerged among the black lower-class population in Trinidad after emancipation from slavery. It was a competitive and entertaining form of lyrical improvisation which saw performers attempt to outdo each other in wit and verbal skill, often to defend or boost their reputation. ^[1]

A War verse by Growling Tiger:

When I was a child at the age of five

And my dear old grandfather was alive

He would sit me upon his knee

And say "boy listen to me"

He said "boy I will tell you your birth" [i.e. fortune]

"and it is to rule over men on this earth".

So I'm sorry for the molesters who mess with this Tiger

Santimantay

A War verse by Mighty Terror:

If you want to see what I say is true

Just call a Jamaican singer to you

And ask him to sing extemporaneously

You will see he hasn't this ability

But if you call me or Lord Kitchener

We will sing from January to December

Why? For we are born Trinidadians and true calypsonians

Here in Great Britain

See also

• Extempo

References

1. Guilbault, Jocelyne (2007-09-15). Governing Sound: The Cultural Politics of Trinidad's Carnival Musics. University of Chicago Press. p. 68. ISBN   978-0-226-31060-2.