Sparrow's for a short and sweet Dimanche Gras

Sparrow is in favor of setting a time limit for calypsonians competing in the Dimanche Gras show on Carnival Sunday night. Factors prompting this drastic change are reduced patronage perhaps caused by an overly long Dimanche Gras production. The blame for the length of the show is being assigned to the calypsonians, some of whom seem to think that a song is a musical production.

What sometimes happens on Dimanche Gras night is that a calypsonian might focus on the last of the five rules of singing calypso (topic, lyrics, melody, rendition, and presentation) to the detriment of the other calypsonians and the Dimanche Gras show itself. So they preface their song with a skit and all manner of time-consuming activities. The end result is an overly long Dimanche Gras show and an audience which has lost interest.

Calypsonians would do well to take a page out of Sparrow's own book. In 1963, when he sang "Dan is the Man in the Van," and won the Calypso King title, Sparrow didn't put on a skit. Instead, he strode on stage in the blue shirt, khaki short, washiecong (sneakers), and book-bag of an elementary school boy and began to sing. All the rest is history.