"Shame and Scandal in the Family", also known as "Shame & Scandal" for short, is a song written by calypso singer Sir Lancelot for the movie I Walked with a Zombie in 1943 [1] and originally titled "Fort Holland Calypso Song". [2] Sir Lancelot issued his recording of it in the late 1940s. [1] The Sir Lancelot version was covered by folksingers Odetta and Burl Ives. [1] In 1962, Trinidadian calypsonian Lord Melody wrote new lyrics for the verses while keeping the melody and the chorus. [1] The Historical Museum of Southern Florida said of Lord Melody's version, “No calypso has been more extensively recorded.” [1]
In Sir Lancelot's version, the lyric reports gossip about a prominent family on a Caribbean island named San Sebastian. [1]
In Lord Melody's 1960s version the story follows a young Puerto Rican man in search of a wife. [1] In each of the verses, the young man asks his father for permission to marry a different woman, only to be told he can not marry the girl as "The girl is your sister, but your mamma don't know". [1] However, the tables are turned during the last verse, where the young man's mother tells him that "Your daddy ain't your daddy, but your daddy don't know", clearing the path for him to marry any of the girls. [1]
The story in Lord Melody's version is identical to that narrated in Robert William Service's poem, Madame La Marquise, from the 1940 collection Bar-Room Ballads. The young French aristocratic Hongray de la Glaciere asks his Papa, the Marquis de la Glaciere, permission to marry Mirabelle de Veau, only to find out that Mirabelle is the illegitimate daughter of the Marquis, and so the marriage between the two young ones would be an incestuous one. Years later, Hongray seeks permission to marry Raymonde de la Veal: but again, Papa reveals that Raymonde is also his illegitimate daughter, and the relationship between the two would be incestuous. Finally, the Mother, the Marquise de la Glaciere, approaches her son in his private room, and she reveals that he may marry either Mirabelle de Veau or Raymonde de la Veal, as Papa the Marquis is not his legitimate father. [3] [4]
There are known versions by Trini Lopez, De Maskers, King Bravo with Baba Brooks & his band, Bobby Aitken and Blue Beat, Odetta, Freddie McGregor, Laurel Aitken. Instrumental versions were also popular, most famously by Caravelli and by Franck Pourcel and his Grand Orchestre.
The song has been translated to a number of major foreign languages: [9]
"Shame & Scandal" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Madness | ||||
from the album The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1 | ||||
Released | 25 July 2005 | |||
Recorded | 2005 | |||
Genre | Ska/Pop | |||
Length | 2:52 | |||
Label | V2 | |||
Songwriter(s) | Lord / Pinard | |||
Producer(s) | Dennis Bovell | |||
Madness singles chronology | ||||
|
British ska/pop band Madness covered the song having previously covered several Prince Buster ska recordings, including the songs "Madness", and "One Step Beyond". The band began performing the song at a series of low-key performances as 'The Dangermen' in 2005.
Madness later recorded the song for their cover album The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1 , [11] and released it as a single later that year. [12]
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Shame & Scandal".
The Madness release did not fare well in the UK, only spending two weeks in the charts, peaking at number 38. [12] However, the song did better in France, where it peaked at number 12 and spent 19 weeks in the charts. [12] The song also made an appearance on the Swiss Singles Top 100, spending 8 weeks in the charts and reaching a high of number 69, [12] and just made the Dutch Singles Top 100, hitting number 100 and remaining in the chart for a single week. [13]
Chart | Peak position |
---|---|
French singles chart | 12 |
UK Singles Chart | 38 |
Swiss singles chart | 69 |
Dutch singles chart | 100 |
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