Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro (1959) Lord Invader Calypso, Trinidad key: F minor
Euroclassical function names: tonic dominantTagg: tonic counterpoiseRiemann: t D or D7scale degrees: i V or V7chord names: Fm C or C7
Fm C |////|////|////|////| C Fm |////|////|////|////|
mode: F minor — F G Ab Bb C Db (D) Eb (E) F melody: SI l t d r m f l’ form: call & response; ABA’C meter: duple suggested time signature: 2|2, 4|4
Smithsonian Folkways decided to put this song on a recording of “children’s songs.” I am still a bit baffled as to why, but I use this myself in teaching, all the while hoping someone does not take issue with it. Perhaps the good people at Smithsonian also felt its two-chordedness and repeated melody made it easy to play and sing. Also: counterpoise inversion. But in all seriousness, we as teachers do need to choose our controversies wisely. The lyrics start off sounding almost pro-Castro. As the lyrics go on, it sounds less pro-Castro. It’s always worth creating space for a good, productive discussion about highly controversial people like Castro. Teaching in an international setting like I do, you are going to encounter people on all sides of the argument. A song like this one can be a center around which the discussion works: Who is Castro? Why would a Trinidadian write this song? At that point in history? Why would Lord Invader choose the form that he did for his lyrics? What are the lyrics saying? What are they implying?
