CALYPSO: A WORLD MUSIC
HISTORICAL MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN FLORIDA
Introduction
Calypso in Trinidad
International Calypso
Artists
Songs
Calypso Today

Popular Calypsos and Related Songs

"Man Smart, Woman Smarter"

"Man Smart, Woman Smarter," composed by Trinidadian calypsonian King Radio, is one of the best known of all calypsos. Radio originally recorded it in 1936, during his first trip to New York. The song offers wry commentary on the battle between the sexes, one of the eternal themes of calypso. Audiences throughout the world have applauded Radio's assertion:

I say, it's the women today
Smarter than the men in every way.

"Man Smart, Woman Smarter" was the first calypso recorded by Harry Belafonte—on a single in 1952. It was also one of the two calypsos that Belafonte included on his million-selling Calypso album (1956). The song became so popular during the 1956-57 American calypso craze that Lucy, Desi, Fred and Ethel even sang it during an episode of the I Love Lucy television show.

Since the 1950s, artists have performed versions of "Man Smart, Woman Smarter" in musical styles ranging from rock and country to zydeco and reggae. Chubby Checkers, Joan Baez and the Grateful Dead are a few of the many musicians who have interpreted the song.

Next: "Mary Ann" / "Marianne"