Satire, Protest, & Black Music — Oral History Case Studies from the Caribbean and the USA.

"From the time of slavery, satire and topicality are common elements in reports of black music from the Americas. When need arose, they also served as a form of protest. In 1889, Stickney and Donovan's Circus toured the Caribbean and the exploits of an American balloonist named Colby were recorded in a contemporary song. This became a Martinique Biguine and a Trinidad Carnival piece, recalled well into the twentieth century. Identified as a trickster, in Trinidad Colby's exploits were used as a metaphor to criticise the way in which Louis Camille was acquitted for the murder of John Eligon in 1891. This song travelled through the islands and even in recent years elements were incorporated into a Chante Mas' sung in Dominica during the Carnival."

[Cowley, John, Abstract, British Forum for Ethnomusicology, Brunel University, 2001 Annual Conference]