“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” and “Walcott” are cuts off the self-titled, debut album by Vampire Weekend, a New York City-based indie-rock/world music band. The album was released to critical acclaim in 2008.
These two songs, written by front man Ezra Koenig, often perk up the ears of Cape Codders for their conspicuous Cape references – even though Koenig himself grew up in New Jersey.
The “kwassa kwassa” part is a reference to both the rhythmic structure of the song and the band’s world music influence. That term refers to a type of rhythm used in music native to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. A similar beat is played on a hand drum in this track.
Walcott is more anthemic, featuring a catchy chorus and verses that reference multiple aspects of the Cape Cod experience.
Koenig produced a short film in college which centered around a vampire takeover in North America, rushing the film’s main character to Cape Cod in a Paul Revere-esque journey to warn the mayor. The film was heavily inspired by The Lost Boys and was titled Vampire Weekend.
Cape Locations Mentioned
“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” actually has little to do with Cape Cod – the music video was filmed in New Jersey, the lyrics do not mention any specific Cape locales and, according to Koenig, it was written in response to “an aesthetic connection” he made between native and “preppy” cultures.
However, the band made several references to Cape Cod throughout the eponymous album, mostly as a result of Ezra having visited the Cape a few times throughout his childhood.
He says he hasn’t returned in many years, and the idea of the so-called “preppy peninsula” became a sort of “mystical” fascination between bandmates – ¾ of which have never stepped foot on it. You can see the band answer to their lyrical Cape-calling in this brief interview.
Another song on the album does name drop a few specific locations. “Walcott” contains a speaker urging the main character to ‘get outta Cape Cod,’ favoring such destinations as Connecticut and New Jersey.
The verses are speculated to be references to Koenig’s short film. Walcott himself is travelling to the Cape to alert the “mayor” of a vampire takeover, and the speaker in the song is giving him navigational advice.
For example, “Walcott” is warned of bottlenecked traffic – the undesirable circumstance that transpires when multiple lanes of a roadway converge into one, often leaving drivers in an every-man-for-himself scenario.
Hyannis Port, one the wealthiest and also disadvantaged areas of the Cape, was referenced in the line “Hyannis Port is a ghetto.” Though the song is based on a fictional character, the line ties in with one of the album’s major themes: namely, how people both covet and have a disdain for wealth.
The song also references Cape Cod’s gay and lesbian community in Provincetown and Wellfleet respectively, albeit from the standpoint of blowing by these destinations on one’s way out of the area. One of the band members, keyboardist Rostam Batmanglij, is gay, which could have impacted the songwriting.
Vampire Weekend also made a reference to nearby Boston in their debut album’s extra, “Ladies of Cambridge (a.k.a. Boston).”
Band Bio
Vampire Weekend has released 3 full length albums to date, including the 2008 self-titled, followed by Contra in 2010 and their latest effort, Modern Vampires of the City in 2013.
In light of the group’s African and other international influences, two members first came together for a rap project known as L’Homme Run while attending Columbia University.
After playing many shows and taking on new members, Vampire Weekend debuted nationally on David Letterman’s Late Show in 2008.
“Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” was one of the band’s pivotal success songs. It ranked at number 67 on Rolling Stone’s list “100 Best Songs of the Year.”
And, for those of you who are wondering: no, the band hasn’t played on Cape Cod… yet.
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