Tommy Cowan - File

Tommy Cowan wrote Santa Claus (Do You Ever Come To The Ghetto?) for the supposed season of good cheer more than 25 years ago, but he saw its relevance extending beyond the season of parties, presents and praise.

"Santa Claus is not just the fat man, Santa Claus, but, in society, how we treat each other," Cowan said.

Sung by Carlene Davis, the song is far from the improbable list of toys Mr Claus would be chuckling over in his North Pole home, as it asks in the chorus:

"Santa Claus, do you ever come to the ghetto?/ Santa Claus do you ever wonder why we suffer so?"

Cowan said the song shows where his mind was at the time, telling The Sunday Gleaner he was focused on the social concerns of people.

"I think at the time I was writing a set of revolutionary songs," he said, referring to an album titled The King's Music.

christmas uptown

"One of the things that struck me was just looking at how Christmas was advertised, how it was appealing to shoppers. You would see it in the uptown stores, you would see people light up their trees," he said.

However, as Cowan wrote in Santa Claus (Do You Ever Come to the Ghetto?), for the poor he was literally a distant figure. He refers to the line "we see you in the paper/ you're on TV", and the question, "is it because we no have chimney?"

"When you see a man with a chimney he is a man of means," Cowan said.

Then there is the verse which speaks to having had a rough time ("all year long we been beaten down, crying") and the expectations of a reward ("we aint gonna fight, aint gonna fuss, where are the presents that you brought for us?").

"Where is the reward?" Cowan demanded.

Santa Claus (Do You Ever Come To The Ghetto?) was recorded at Joe Gibbs' studio, Bubbler (keyboards), Mikey Boo (drums) and Bo Pee (guitar) among the musicians. Davis doubled up, singing backing vocals as well as lead, and Dean Fraser also contributed to the harmonies.

Piracy

Cowan had been to another studio before and was explaining the song to a producer. He asked Cowan to share exactly what he had in mind and then started writing down the lyrics. Realising that piracy was afoot, Cowan said, "I just twisted the lyrics into some foolishness, like 'Santa do you like ackee, saltfish'."

Santa Claus (Do You Ever Come To The Ghetto?) has lasted, Cowan pointing out that the appeal goes right across the Caribbean. Its popularity and longevity were reinforced last week on a trip to Barbados where a radio disc jock said it is the top Caribbean Christmas song. It has been a staple for Davis, especially in the Christmas season, but just as the song was intended to question more than only the season of good cheer, it has been requested outside of December.

"I remember doing events out of season and people ask for it," Cowan said. "I have done church concerts and they ask for it."