The Mighty Sparrow vs. The Lord Melody - Classic Picong Duel (1957)

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From the Emory Cook album "Calypso Kings and Pink Gin" (1957)The classic verbal duels between the Mighty Sparrow and his friendly nemesis The Lord Melody have become calypso legend, and this ex-tempo session from the original Young Brigade Calypso Tent of 1957 is a great example of the art known to calypso fans as "picong".Here, the legendary calypsonians take on each other in an extemporaneous exchange of insults as they battle each other in the classic back and forth picong style.The actual exchange is captured on the album cover of the 1957 Cook album "Calypso Kings and Pink Gin"As they used to say in the old days, "Santimanitay"(Sans humanite') without mercy!

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  •  I must give thanks to these 2 Giants of Calypso for all those HITS and CLASSICS that they gave to us. They have provided us with Entertainment that would be around for centuries . Thanks again.

  • I would hope that they try to retain that part of our culture.

    Patois was commonly spoken by our elders when I was a child, unfortunately many times as an adult code.

    After I left T&T I saw how common French patois was  throughout the Caribbean islands - Haiti, St Lucia, Guadeloupe, Martinique, among others, and  I wished that I had the opportunity to learn it as a child.

    it is a valid dialect of the Caribbean (and New Orleans, I might add - I assume its similar there)

  •  And please don't try to translate the patois, it was just my attempt to write the sounds as I remember them.

  • Actually, Brenda the sound would be pretty close, in patois or in French.

    "En bataille la" would be pronounced "Ah ba-tie la" - the double "l"s are not pronounced.

    You can easily make the connection when you pronounce it in French.

  • You're welcome , Brenda.Yo wanted another translation, How about this one?

     

    ...
     Ambakaila.
    "And oh, the glorious morning come, En bataille la (ambakaila)
     
    Ette mama faire mwe je ne bate (etc etc..etc. etc. something like that) ... En bataille la(ambakaila)"
     
    I don't remember the patois, but it means," Since me mama make me I never get beat -In the (battle) stick fight"
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