The ‘teddy boy calypso (bring back the cat-o’-nine)’, a 1959 recording on Pye by Lord Invader and his Calypso Rhythm Boys.
the only thing to stop these hooligans from causing panic in Great Britain,
the only thing to stop these teddy boys from causing panic in England,
well I hope that the Government see they need another kind of punishment,
I say one thing to cool down this crime is to bring back the old time cat-o-nine.
CHORUS
so the old time cat-o-nine beat them bad and they bound to change their mind,
send them to Dartmoor with licks like fire and they bound to surrender.
the police is working harder and harder to see this thing go no further,
every night they on duty to safeguard us from violence and robbery,
but they would not stop at all, Peter is going to pay for Paul,
I say one thing to cool down this crime is to bring back the old time cat-o-nine.
Ch.
and in the days of Judge Hitchins, as you know, nothing never happen so,
any man pass under his hand can tell you of the rod of correction,
he used to treat them meek and mild, he never spare the rod to spoil the child,
I say one thing to cool down this crime let’s thrash them with the old time cat-o-nine
Ch.
and every night they’re walking about in a band attacking woman and man,
it seems as though they have no respect for no person beating innocent people,
but the judge and the jury, can settle this thing easily,
I say the cat is the only h-bomb to drop and this “robustness” must stop
Ch.
so the old time cat o’nine (lash them hard!) and they’re bound to change their minds
send them to Dartmoor with their licks like fire and they’re bound to surrender
just touch them with the old time cat o’nine
Lord Invader (1914–61), born Rupert Westmore Grant, from Trinidad, recorded much in New York
< http://guanaguanaresingsat.blogspot.ie/2013/08/old-time-cat-o-nine-song.html >
Lord Invader’s snapshot from the past, tells of a time when “Robust” men and maybe women were also wreaking havoc in their communities [T&T and Britain]. In his calypso, he proposed the liberal and energetic use of the cat o’ nine whip as a punishment and deterrent just as some today are again falling back on the death penalty.
“Just before Invader left Trinidad for New York to challenge Morey Amsterdam and his coterie, there was a heading in the Sunday Guardian letters page: “The ‘Cat’ Urged As Remedy To Stamp Out Hooliganism” (11 February 1945: 4) The “cat” in question was the slave whip or “cat o’ nine tails”, and the “hooliganism,” territorial activity associated with different steel bands.
These groups defended their patch against rival units and, as shown by numerous contemporary court reports, acted in bravado as “Robust Men,” terrorizing innocent bystanders as well as those they saw as direct opponents. Such anti-social behaviour increased as the Second World War progressed, the root cause of which was not addressed by the proposal of corporal punishment as sole deterrent. Invader looked to these issues in his ironic “Old Time Cat-O’-Nine” recorded for Decca in 1945 (34009). Soon after his arrival in Britain, in 1956, he told the Melody Maker that this was one of his favourite compositions. (5 May: 8)
‘robust men’ = toughs, were Afro-Trinidadian hooligans, anti-American presence (Yankee dollar) (1943)
‘rude boys’ 1960s Jamaican toughs
‘old time cat o’ nine’ 1945 by Lord Invader
the only thing to stop these hooligans from causing panic in the island
the only thing to stop these hooligans from causing panic in the island
well, I know that the government see they need another kind of punishment
I say one thing to cool down this crime is to bring back the old time cat o’ nine.
so the old time cat o’ nine, bring it back, and they bound to change their mind
Is to send them Carrera with licks like fire and they bound to surrender.
[Carrera Convict Prison, Trinidad]
and in the days of Judge Gilchrist, as you know, nothing never happen so
any man pass under his hand can tell you of the rod of correction
he use to treat them meek and mild, well, he never spare the rod to spoil the child
I say one thing to cool down this crime is to lash them with the old time cat o’ nine.
so the old time cat o’ nine, beat them bad, and they bound to change their mind
is to send them Carrera with licks like fire and they bound to surrender.
the police is working harder and harder to see this thing go no further
every night they on duty to safeguard us from violence and robbery
but they wouldn’t stop at all, Peter is going to pay for Paul.
I say one thing to cool down this crime is to bring back the old time cat o’ nine.
so the old time cat o’ nine, lash them hard, and they bound to change their mind
is to send them Carrera with licks like fire and they bound to surrender.
and every night they walking about in a band singing the song called, “Robust Man”
have you heard it? – “I’m a robust man. Don’t ask how ah —– danger. [hobé dãnjé]*
the judge and jury can settle this thing easily
so the cat is the only atom bomb to drop and this robustness will stop.
so the old time cat o’ nine, beat them bad, and they bound to change their mind
is to send them Carrera with licks like fire and they bound to surrender.
On returning to England from continental Europe in 1958, Invader encountered a similar phenomenon, gangs of “teddy boys,” white youths who fought one another and carried out random acts of violence against passers by. Sometimes these assaults were racially motivated. Invader immediately revised his ‘old time cat-o’-nine’, altering locations and personalities to suit the new environment and recorded it as ‘teddy boy calypso (bring back the old cat-o’-nine)’ (Nixa 15162). Residing in New York City in 1959, he recycled this version with minor variations for Moses Asch.
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