Cricket and calypso
In this week’s edition of In Search of West Indies Cricket Roger Seymour delves into a book on West Indies cricket calypsoes.
“Calypsoes sung at Lord’s,” screamed the headlines of England’s Daily Telegraph and Morning Post newspapers on 30th June, 1950, the day after the West Indies had beaten England by 326 runs in the Second Test at Lord’s to level the series at 1 – 1. Unwittingly, it was the international stage debut of the symbiotic relationship between the two art forms which can be traced back as far as 1926. Over time they have become intricately interwoven like the complex patterns of a Carib hammock.
The two interchangeable phrases ‘Calypso cricketers’ and ‘Calypso cricket’ have become so associated with the Caribbean game that casual observers probably assume they are the team’s official copyrighted slogans. The terms stir the imagination, creating an inseparable amalgam of colour, sound, rhythm and light. Oodles of energy! Laughter! Fun! Excitement. Fast bowlers! Sixes! Fours! Lots of Singing! Wild Celebrations!
In the ensuing years as the West Indies rose to become unofficial ‘world champions’ in the 1960s, one-day champions in the 1970s, then embarked on their unprecedented streak of world dominance in 1980s and early 1990s, and all through the woes of this century, West Indian calypsonians were capturing for posterity, both on and off the field performances – good and bad – with a slew of recordings. Caribbean cricket fans will vehemently debate the merits and strengths of cricket calypsoes with the same intensity as if they were comparing the stats of their favourite cricketers.
Over the years, keen followers of the game have lamented our laissez-faire approach in documenting this important aspect of our cricket. Of course, there have been newspaper and magazine articles, radio interviews and television documentaries on calypsonians and specific compositions, but there was never a comprehensive record until a few years ago. In November 2016, “A History of West Indies Cricket through Calypsoes” written by Nasser Khan, was published. The book, sponsored by NAGICO Insurances, the largest privately owned insurance entity in the Caribbean, was produced with the younger generation in mind, and the corporate sponsor presented copies to all libraries and high schools in the region.
Origins
The idea for the book was first mooted to the author by Ray Funk, a retired American judge from Alaska, USA, who had been attending Trinidad’s carnival annually for many years and had become an in-depth researcher on the festival, calypso and steel pan. Over time Funk amassed a wealth of material and information on the various subjects, and either has collaborated on, or produced a wide range of projects on the art forms, including articles, books, lectures, radio and television documentaries, travelling and online exhibitions. Between Funk, who had started documenting the lyrics along with his British collaborator Dmitri Subotsky, and Trinidadian George D Maharaj’s ‘The Roots of Calypso’ Volume II (2007) Khan had a starting list of ‘roughly 100 hundred cricket themed calypsoes’. That was the cornerstone of Khan’s two-year labour of love research, during which he explored all manner of sources for material.
The glossy, coffee table sized book (11.25” x 8.75”), with a 215 pagination, was designed, laid out and printed in Trinidad & Tobago. Fittingly, Khan is Trinidadian as only a ‘Trini’ who has grown up with calypso part of his makeup is aptly qualified to compile a book of this nature. He has produced a memorable chronicle for his targeted audience. This tome is more than just a compilation of calypsoes which is aimed at filling the void of “not [having] enough interesting, attractive, non-curriculum related books available for reading and engaging the minds of the young people of our nations.” The author duly noted, “In order to make this project as comprehensive
as possible, no effort was spared in contacting the various countries (the relevant cultural, carnival, and calypso organizations) via social media and telephone calls,” made possible by the sponsor’s willingness to cover the cost of research and production.
The volume has several lengthy introductory messages, from then President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Anthony Carmona, Trinidad and Tobago’s then Minister of Education Anthony Garcia, and former West Indies Captain Brian Lara, which meander in the direction of personal reminiscences. The brief remarks by Chief Justice of Trinidad and Tobago Ivor Archie and
NAGICO Insurances – Trinidad and Tobago General Manager Sharon Melville are succinct and more to the point. Hopefully, the message from President of Trinbago Unified Calypsonians’ Organisation (TUCO) Lutalo Masimba (Brother Resistance) will garner the action of the young reader, as he aptly captures the role of the musical griot and summarises the magnitude of Khan’s efforts.
“The Calypsonian is the historian, the lyrical archivist, documenting the critical moments in the game. The
Calypsonian is the philosopher, the psychiatrist, analysing the impact of the cricketing game on the society and its diaspora.
“The conception, the research, the compilation of the lyrics and publication must have been no ordinary task. The challenge to source and secure the Calypso lyrics is a work on its own which calls for a sustained level of energy,” Brother Resistance observed.
Surprisingly, there are no messages from either Cricket West Indies (CWI) or the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board of Control. For a publication of this significance, one would have expected at the very least a congratulatory word from the former organisation.
With the young reader in mind, Khan utilises a flowing style, keeping the language simple and the narrative very informative. He introduces the West Indies as a nation, and then glides smoothly into the role of calypso in the game in the region. In the appropriately brief five-page summary of the history of West Indies cricket, the inclusion of photographs of the statues of Sir Garfield Sobers and Brian Lara are a pleasant surprise. However, the omission of photographs of the statues of George Headley and Viv Richards let slip a rare opportunity for the younger generation to compare the sculpted figures of the only four West Indies cricketers so honoured (at the time of publication).
Chapters Seven to Nineteen (with the exception of Chapter Eighteen) are dedicated to the entwined history of calypso and West Indies cricket. Chapter Seven, “A Cricket Calypso takes the world by storm” includes the complete lyrics for “Victory Calypso”, popularly referred to as “Cricket, Lovely Cricket” which Khan attributes to the Calypsonian Lord Beginner (Egbert Moore) and the scorecard for the match. Here is the first verse and one of the most sung choruses in the history of calypso:
“Cricket lovely Cricket,
At Lord’s where I saw it;
Cricket lovely Cricket,
At Lord’s where I saw it;
Yardley [England Captain] tried his best, Goddard [ WI Captain] won the test. They gave the crowd plenty fun;
The Second Test and West Indies won.
“With those little pals of mine, Ramadhin and Valentine.”
The only known recording of the song is by Lord Beginner, but who actually penned the lyrics is open to debate. Surprisingly, there is only one uncaptioned photograph in the book of the joyous celebrations erupting at Lord’s by the first wave of West Indian immigrants of the Windrush Generation, and none of the front pages of the English papers, of this groundbreaking moment for calypso and West Indies cricket.
Khan then presents the findings of his heavy spade work. Building on the early archaeological efforts of Funk, Subotsky, and Maharaj he reveals an astounding list of 215 cricket-themed calypsoes (excluding remakes, which are also listed). The writer, whose initial career was in the actuarial sector of the life insurance industry in Toronto, Canada (1976 – 96) organised the cricket calypsoes into seven separate sub-themes: (i) Players (cricketers with two or more calypsoes dedicated to them) (ii) Team / Game / Series, (iii) World Cups/Celebrations/ Triumphs, (iv) Anthems and Rally Calls/Praise/ Party (Jump and Wave), (v) Politics/Social Commentary/Satire, (vi) Humour/Double Entendre/Innuendo, (vii) Incident. Arranged in ascending chronological order, the lists make for easy reading and quick referencing. For instance, in the sub-theme Players, under Learie Constantine one reads; 1929 – Learie Constantine – Lord Beginner, 1929