Trinidadian singer Sir Lancelot wrote "Shame and Scandal in the Family" for a Hollywood movie titled I Walked with a Zombie (1943). In the movie, the song conveys local gossip about a prominent family in a Caribbean island, in keeping with the tradition of calypsos about upper-class scandals. Lancelot recorded "Shame and Scandal in the Family" in the late 1940s; it was subsequently recorded by folksong interpreters Burl Ives and Odetta.
In the early 1960s, Trinidadian calypsonian Lord Melody composed a new version of the song. Melody's composition, based on an old comic tale and the melody and chorus of Lancelot's song, was initially called "Wau, Wau," though it quickly became known as "Shame and Scandal." In each of the first three verses, a young man asks his father for permission to marry a different woman. In each case, the father denies his son permission, stating that his prospective bride is his sister, "but your mamma don't know." The last verse of the song turns the tables. When the young man talks to his mother, she replies "your father ain't your father, but your father don't know."
Melody's composition became immensely popular, with versions recorded by reggae acts in Jamaica, rock ensembles in Brazil and the Netherlands, pop groups in England and West Germany, and a country singer in Australia. No calypso has been more extensively recorded.
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