By Jimmy Buffett, 1996 Jimmy Buffett explores new creative ground here, putting the two-hundred year history of Amerigo, a fictitious Caribbean island, into a Calypso number, and framing it into another song, The Legend of Norman Paperman, the theme of the show. The principal singer is the Governor of the island, and the key characters of the show sing verses about the history.
Narrator Kinja was the name of the island when it was British. The actual name was King George The Third Island, but the islanders shortened that to Kinja. Now the name in the maps and the guidebooks is Amerigo, but everybody who still lives there still calls it Kinja. The United States acquired the island peaceably in 1940 as part of the shuffling of old destroyers and Caribbean real estate that went on between Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill. The details of the transaction were and are vague to the inhabitants. The West Indian is not exactly hostile to change, but he's not much inclined to believe in it. Meantime in a fashion Amerigo is getting Americanized. The inflow of cash is making everyone more prosperous. Most Kinjans go along cheerily with this explosion of American energy in the Caribbean. To them it seems like a new harmless and apparently endless Carnival.
Sanders Have you ever dreamed of escaping from your dull existence to a new life on a tropical island? Our story is about a man who did it - a real person, whose true adventure has become a legend here in the Caribbean. Welcome one and all to THE LEGEND OF NORMAN PAPERMAN.
Ensemble Dis is the legend of Norman Papuhman Tale from the islands we'll share Chasin illusions can get quite confusin' Is it a dream or a nightmare
Women Dis is the legend of Norman Papuhman Tale from the islands we'll tell
Men Chasin illusions can get quite confusin' Cause heaven can turn into hell.
Sanders [Sings] Kinja's the name of the island It's been Kinja for over two hundred years But remember paradise Doesn't come without a price Let me make that abundantly clear Kinja, our beautiful island In a windward archipeligo We've been English, French and Dutch Never seemed to matter much Now we're officially Amerigo
Ensemble We're Kinja Still Kinja Our Kinja
Sanders (Sheila, chef at the Gull Reef Club)
Sheila Our ancestors came in the slave ships To work for the privileged few Who wore Paris fashions and lived in pink mansions While we huddled in shacks of bamboo
Den da sugar beet bring us our freedom With the help of our God we got through Insurrection, beheadin's, funerals and weddin's Hurricanes and a World War or Two
Chorus Hurricanes and a World War or Two We're Kinja Still Kinja Our Kinja
We're Kinja Still Kinja Our Kinja
Sanders (Gilbert, gondolier of the Gull Reef Club)
Gilbert Mr. Churchill had to get some destroyers To put old hitler six feet below FDR he pulled a nifty Got our island for just fifty And do limeys dey pack up and go
We dance through the streets in celebration Da fireworks dey light up da sky We got hotdogs and highways Got Fords and Chevrolets Not to mention the Forth of July
Ensemble Not to mention the Forth of July We're Kinja Still Kinja Our Kinja
We're Kinja Still Kinja Our Kinja
Sanders (Senator Pullman, the island's big enchilada)
Senator Pullman Now the Yankees, they come wid der dollars It's a beehive of activity Sell dem crawfish and rum Keep dem dizzy and numb Oh we're liken' this prosperity
We got new holidays for celebration We got new laws, but no one complies We got crawfish and mangos Calypso and tangos Ahhh, but we short on our watah supply
Ensemble Mighty short on our watah supply
We got the Carnival We love the Carnival The Kinja Carnival Carnival
We got the Carnival Don't Stop The Carnival We love the Carnival
And our story begins
Dis is da legend of Norman Papuhman Tale from de tropics we'll tell Chasin illusions can get quite confusin' Cause heaven can turn into hell!