Songfacts®:

• According to Al Stewart biographer Neville Judd in the 2nd Edition of The True Life Adventures Of A Folk Rock Troubadour, "Tonton Macoute" was recorded at Larrabee Studios, Los Angeles, for Time Passages but didn't make it onto the album, although it was sometimes performed on the tour; Judd includes the lyrics here.
  
  In 2007, it was released as a bonus track by Collector's Choice Music as part of the 24 Carrots album wherein it runs to 4 minutes 11 seconds, though it is not clear if this is the version alluded to by Judd in 2005.
• The Ton Ton Macoute, or to give them their full title, the Milice de Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale, were formed in 1959 as a paramilitary force cum secret police cum instrument of terror by Papa Doc Duvalier, the President of Haiti. It is clear from the lyrics though that here, Al is using Ton Ton Macoute as a metaphor for political repression, although even a dedicated fan might question the wisdom of marrying such a heavy subject to such a light melody. >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2