“Rum and Coca-Cola” is the title of a popular calypso.
Originally composed by Lord Invader and Lionel Belasco, it was
copyrighted in the United States by entertainer Morey Amsterdam
and became a huge hit in 1945 for the Andrews Sisters, spending
ten weeks at the top of
Billboard'sU.S. Pop Singles chart.
Although the song was published in the United States with
Amsterdam listed as the lyricist and Jeri Sullavan and Paul
Baron as musical composers, the melody had been previously
published as the work of Trinidadian calypso composer Lionel
Belasco on a song titled “L'Année Passée,” which was in turn
based on a folksong from Martinique. The original lyrics to
“Rum and Coca-Cola” were written by Rupert Grant, another
calypso musician from Trinidad who went by the stage name of
Lord Invader. (The true credits for music and lyrics were
restored in a plagiarism lawsuit won by famous attorney Louis
Nizer, the account of which can be read in his book,
My Life in Court.)
According to Lord Invader, “Calypso is the folklore of
Trinidad, a style of poetry, telling about current events in
song. Back home in the West Indies, Trinidad, where I'm from,
it's a small island, I'm proud of it. I was traveling on a bus,
someplace they call Point Cumana, a bathing resort, and I
happened to see the G.I.s in the American social invasion in
the West Indies, Trinidad. You know the girls used to get the
candies and stuff like that, and they go to the canteens with
the boys and so on, have fun. So I noticed since the G.I.s came
over there, they really generally chase with soda, ordinary
soda, but their chaser was Rum and Coke. They drink rum, and
they like Coca-Cola as a chaser, so I studied that as an idea
of a song, and Morey Amsterdam had the nerve to say that he
composed that song back here.”
The song became a local hit and was at the peak of its
popularity when Amsterdam visited the island in September 1943
as part of a U.S.O. tour. Although he subsequently claimed
never to have heard the song during the month he spent on the
island, the lyrics to his version are clearly based on the Lord
Invader version, with the music and chorus being virtually
identical. However, Amsterdam's version strips the song of its
social commentary. The Lord Invader version laments that U.S.
soldiers are debauching local women, who “saw that the Yankees
treat them nice / and they give them a better price.” Its final
stanza describes a newlywed couple whose marriage is ruined
when “the bride run away with a soldier lad / and the stupid
husband went staring mad.” The Amsterdam version also hints
that women are prostituting themselves, preserving the Lord
Invader chorus which says, “Both mother and daughter / Working
for the Yankee dollar.”
Since the Yankee come to Trinidad, They got the young girls
all goin' mad, Young girls say they treat 'em nice, Make
Trinidad like paradise
The Andrews Sisters also seem to have given little thought
to the meaning of the lyrics. According to Patty Andrews, “We
had a recording date, and the song was brought to us the night
before the recording date. We hardly really knew it, and when
we went in we had some extra time and we just threw it in, and
that was the miracle of it. It was actually a faked
arrangement. There was no written background, so we just kind
of faked it.” Years later, Maxine Andrews recalled, “The rhythm
was what attracted the Andrews Sisters to 'Rum and Coca-Cola'.
We never thought of the lyric. The lyric was there, it was
cute, but we didn't think of what it meant; but at that time,
nobody else would think of it either, because we weren't as
morally open as we are today and so, a lot of stuff — really,
no excuses — just went over our heads.”
The song was the top single of 1945 in the United States.
Despite its popularity, it was controversial and was banned by
network radio stations because it mentioned an alcoholic
beverage. The fact that it mentioned a commercial product by
name also meant that it could be construed as free advertising
when broadcast.
After the release of the Andrews Sisters' version of “Rum
and Coca-Cola,” Belasco and Lord Invader sued for copyright
infringement of the song's music and lyrics, respectively. In
1948, after years of litigation, both plaintiffs won their
cases, with Lord Invader receiving an award of $150,000 in owed
royalties. However, Morey Amsterdam was allowed to retain
copyright to the song. Lord Invader also wrote a follow-up song
to “Rum and Coca-Cola”, titled “Yankee Dollar”.
Leonard Cohen sometimes quoted a line from the song in live
performances of his song “Field Commander Cohen”. A version is
available on the live album of the same name released in
2000.
Julio Iglesias recorded a Spanish edition of this song,
titled “Ron y Coca-Cola”, on his album
Hey!.