"Hey Hey Get Out Of My Way" (Examples & Comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents comments about, text examples of, and performance activities for the children's chant "Hey, hey get out of my way / "I just got back from the USA".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric and recreational purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to those featured in these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

****
GENERAL OVERVIEW
"Hey Hey Get Out Of My Way" is a children's taunting chant that is documented to have been performed in a similar way throughout the United States and Canada. {Information about the performance activities associated with this chant is found below.] While the built in assumption in this chant is that visiting to the United States conferred so much status that other people should move out of the way for "their betters", when the chant is said in the United States it just serves as a rhythmical taunting rhyme similarly to other such rhymes.*

The earliest date that I have found for "Hey Hey Get Out Of My Way" is 1956. However, a number of examples of this chant in both the United States and Canada are attributed to the 1970s. The widespread occurrence of this chant, particularly in the 1970s, causes me to wonder if the performance of "Hey Hey Get Out Of My Way" was included in a United States movie or television show that would have also been available for viewing in Canada.

*I collected another example of a children's "get out the way" rhyme from an African American female Toya L. who remembered chanting it in the late 1990s (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) with two or more other girls walking down the street with their arms locked together, and daring other people to remain in their path:
"We don't stop for nobody
Can you dig it?
Woo!
Get with it
Woo!
-snip-
When Toya was chanting this, Montel, her ten year old son (my grandson)began chanting along with her. Toya didn't know that Montel knew this chant. Montel said that he learned it from other kids and that he had done this with other boys.

****
THEORIES ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE CHANT "HEY HEY GET OUT OF MY WAY"
(These theories are presented in no particular order. The numbers are given for reference purposes only.)

1. This children's chant began as a United States military cadence.
The earliest date that I have found for the chant "Hey Hey Get Out Of My Way" is 1956. That date was given with this example which was posted on a Mudcat folk music discussion thread that I started on children's cheers that come from or are similar to military cadences:

(Philippine Islands; Circa 1956)

Hey! Hey! Get out of my way!
I just got back from the U. S. A.
-Guest Gargoyle, 30 Dec 04, repost from "Jody's children - kids' rhymes from military cadences"; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=73808#1366888
WARNING: Some examples in that discussion thread contain profanity.
-snip-
My sense is that this blogger meant that this example was a military cadence and not a Because children's chant based on a cadence. To date, I've not found this chant on any other military cadence web page. However, I have found other "get out of the way" military cadences such as the following two examples:
"A U.S. Navy cadence goes:
I'm a battleship baby
Just a blastin' down the line
I'm a battleship baby
Just a blastin' down the line
So you better get out of my way now
before I blast all over you
It's just a little uh, a little uh, a little rock and roll
It's the kinda uh, the kinda uh, the kind to soothe your soul
So you better get out of my way now
Before I blast all over you
Each verse a different object is put in and a different action. (ex. Jackhamer/Jack, Steamroller/roll, screwdriver/screw)"
-robheather13, https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070312204549AAqWGOa,
2006

**
US Navy Seals Get Out of My Way Cadence



CreditDue52, Uploaded on Jul 14, 2010
Run to cadence with the US Navy SEALs
-snip-
Words to this chant:
[Each line is first sung by a lead and the repeated by the group)

Get out of my way, Stand aside
A Seal team member is a-comin by.
Get out of my way, we’re comin through
And if you don’t gonna mess with you.
If you’re smart, don’t mess with me
Cause we’re the sons of UDT.
Hoo yah hey
BDA.
Hoo yah hey
Just another rotten day.
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell. Italics mean that I'm not certain about that transcription.
-snip-
A blogger on this page about this chant http://www.torontomike.com/2008/11/we_just_came_from_the_usa.html "We Just Came From the U.S.A." Published by Toronto Mike on November 10, 2008 @ 19:12 in Memories, Music usa,[hereafter given as "We Just Came From the U.S.A.": Toronto Mike"] wrote
"This old school yard song makes me think about soldiers returning from war. Specifically, WWII. Very patriotic.
-Jane, June 16, 2010
-snip-
Putting aside the fact that I've yet to find an example of this chant from the mid 1940s (the end of World War II), if "Hey Hey Get Out Of The Way" was a military cadence, wouldn't the preposition used be "to" instead of "from"? ("I've just got back to the USA" and not "I've just got back from the USA").

****
2. This chant is an adaptation of a military cadence.
It seems more likely to me that the "Hey Hey Get Out Of The Way" chant is an adaptation of a United States military cadence than an actual cadence which was members of the military. That said, I've no proof to back up that theory.

****
3. This chant was composed by American (United States) children who lived on military bases outside of the USA and who came back to those bases after visiting the USA.
From http://weservedtoo.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/hey-hey-get-out-of-my-way-i-just-got-back-from-the-usa/ "Hey, Hey! Get Out of My Way! I Just Got Back From the USA!"
Posted on May 30, 2012 by imclellan [written by Medders]- memories of play activities by "army brats on overseas base apartments (bases that were across the ocean from the USA) in the 1950s and 1960s
“One other curious game was played by us military brats, at least overseas. It really wasn’t much of a game, but more of a declaration. Usually two or more kids would link arms and walk around the playground yelling at the top of their lungs, “Hey, hey, get out of my way. I just got back from the USA!” I suppose in the grand scheme of things, those you just arrived from the “World” would be that important as to demand the tribute of moving out of their way. After all, they were privy to the knowledge of what was cool stateside, and we did want to know what was going on in the States. We desperately wanted to hear about the new TV shows, toys, music, and fashions. I tried it a few times on my return from our visits back to the land of the “Round Doorknobs”, and it was elating to do.”
-snip-
Variations of the chant "Hey Hey Get Out Of The Way" are included in two pop-rock Canadian band recordings: Trooper's "American Dream" (1991) and Burton Cummings' "We Just Came From the U.S.A." (2008)*. It's possible that prior to those above mentioned recordings (and since those recordings), Canadian children could have learned this chant from children living in the United States who visited Canada. However, that wouldn't explain why anyone visiting a country other than the United States would say "I just got back from the USA.

*In the article http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/T/Trooper/2008/11/21/7484141-sun.html, Darryl Sterdan refers to "Hey Hey Get Out Of The Way" as "an old Canadian school yard chant". Sterdan writes that "Trooper's lines "Hey, hey, get out of my way, I just came back from the U.S.A." are the closing refrain in a cynical roots-rock examination of the American music industry." He also writes that "In the Cummings song -- which appears on his recently released comeback album Above the Ground -- the lyrics "Hey, hey, get out of our way, we just came from the U.S.A." are used as the anthemic chorus to a big arena-rocker about American values."

****
SOME GEOGRAPHICAL DATA ABOUT THE RELATIVELY WIDESPREAD OCCURENCE OF THIS CHANTE IN THE USA AND CANADA
That the chant "Hey Hey Get Out Of My Way" was known in Canada prior to the Canadian pop-rock band Trooper's 1991 recording is attested by the webpage "We Just Came From the U.S.A.": Toronto Mike" and some responses to that page. That blogger remembered "Hey Hey Get Out Of My Way" as an "old school yard chant" from the late 1970s (presumably given his internet name, in Toronto, Canada). Two commenters to that article who cited geographical information also remembered that chant from Canada, one from Mississauga (Ontario) "in the early 70's" and one from "Winnipeg Manitoba in the 70s".

Fourteen commenters (to date) have posted responses to that article from 2008 to February 2014. Eight of those commenters provided the names of the geographical location where they lived when they chanted "Hey Hey Get Out Of The Way" or heard it chanted. As indicated above, two of those commenters (and also the blog poster) are from Canada. One of the commenters to date is from Tampico, Mexico (the early 90's), and six of those commenters remembered chanting "Hey Hey Get Out Of The Way" when they were children in Bramalea (California; "in the mid 70's."), Milwaukee, Wisconsin ("thirty years ago" [in the 1980s]), Oakland, California (1965-68), Flagstaff, Arizona ("circa 1977), and Phoenix, Arizona (early 70s).
-snip-
In addition to those examples posted to that article, in the 1990s I collected this chant from my step daughter Jozita who remembered it from her childhood in the early 1970s in Indianapolis, Indiana. Her version of that chant is "Hey! Hey! Get out of the way! / I just got back to the USA".

An additional example from the United States (from the 1980s or 1970s) is included in the Performance section below.

****
PERFORMANCE ACTIVITIES
The children's chant "Hey Hey Get Out Of My Way" is spoken while a group of children move with locked arms across a space. Here are some descriptions of this chant's performance:

Example #1:
"It was pretty popular at Clark Blvd Public School in Bramalea in the mid 70's.

Boys vs Girls.

Girls always won."
-Stephanie, "We Just Came From the U.S.A.": Toronto Mike", November 11, 2008

****
[Editor: Notice the references to "kicking" in the following examples.]

Example #2
"In Wisconsin the schoolyard chant included students walking in a line, with arms wrapped around each others back, while reciting the chant. When the line would reach you, you had two choices get out of the way,and chance being trampled on, or join in on the prosession. The choice was up to you. I did this thirty years ago and my nephews and nieces do it today."
-Ann, "We Just Came From the U.S.A.": Toronto Mike", June 16, 2010

****
Example #3
"What Anne said - Oakland, California - 1965-68 - Line as wide as the playground marching across chanting - "Hey Hey get out of my way, just got back from(sic) the USA. If you don't get out of my way I'll kick you out of the way." - I never heard it anywhere else, and I suspected it came from the kids from the Navy base who went to our school, since we were IN the US and the chant was FROM the US."
Annelise, "We Just Came From the U.S.A.": Toronto Mike", July 18, 2011

****
Example #4
"The only words I remember from 1st Grade in Flagstaff, Arizona, circa 1977, are "Hey! Hey! Get out of our way! We just came from the U.S.A! With a bottle of beer, and a KICK in the rear!" I feel there was one more couplet, but cannot be certain."
T. Reimche, "We Just Came From the U.S.A.": Toronto Mike", May 28, 2012

****
Example #5
"Hey, Hey, get out of my way.
I just came back from the USA,
Kaboom.

LMAO. What the devil were we talking about??? You would do this with 2 or more friends with your arms locked around each other - think Rockettes. Then when you say "Kaboom" we'd all kick our right leg out.
-Bamboozled http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=31403, March 25, 2003
-snip-
Participants in this internet discussion about memories of childhood rhymes & cheers were members of historically Black [African American] Greek lettered sororities. Given some of the comments, it's likely that these women were remembering their childhoods in the 1980s or the 1970s.

****
A CHILDREN'S CHEERLEADER CHEER VERSION OF THIS CHANT
I believe that the following children's cheerleader cheer derives from the "Hey Hey Get Out Of The Way" chant:

HEY! HEY YOU!



Maize Junior Cheerleading-5th Grade Squad, Published on Sep 5, 2013

HEY! X HEY YOU! X
GET OUT OF OUR WAY
CAUSE TODAY IS THE DAY
WE WILL BLOW YOU AWAY!
-snip-
I've also seen the name of this cheer given online as "Blow You Away". In some cheer performances, the cheerleaders mimic the "blow you away" words. Here's a video of that cheer performance activity:

Wrestling Cheer - Blow You Away


UltimateCheerList
-snip-
My transcription from the video:

Hey! Hey you!
Get out of his way!
Because today is the day
He will blow you away.
-snip-
Cheer words from linked website: http://ultimatecheerlist.webs.com/abcdefgh.htm

Blow You Away (Original) VIDEO
Hey! Hey you! Get out of our way! Because today is the day we will blow you away!

Blow You Away (New)
Hey! Hey you! Get out of our way! Because today is the day we will blow you away!
-snip-
Note that commenter wrote in 2013 "Hi I'm Sammie and I'm a wrestlig cheerleader and when my squad an I did this cheer many ppl laughed and they took it wrong is there anyway we could change the words to make it sound appropriate".

No response to this comment has been added to date.

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Lead Belly - "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" (also known as "Black Girl" and "In The Pines") lyrics, information, and comments

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents song lyrics and a sound file example of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" (also known as "Black Girl" and "In The Pines" as sung by Lead Belly. This post also includes information & comments about this song from the Mudcat folk music forum and a comment from that sound file's viewer comment thread.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unknown composers of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" ("Black Girl", "In The Pines"). Thanks also to the collectors of this song and thanks to Lead Belly for his renditions of this song. Thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Lead Belly - Where Did You Sleep Last Night? (1944) (TRUE STEREO)



Boblyblitzbob, Uploaded on Feb 12, 2010

I used my forensic software to split the guitar from vocals in this classic recording. I then eq'd it and remixed the stems.
Probably one of the oldest songs in stereo.
-snip-
Here's a comment from this sound file's viewer comment thread*
Antonio Iglesias, 2014
"Huddie Ledbetter AKA Lead Belly: 1/20/1888

- In true songster fashion, this musician traveled throughout the United States with his iconic twelve-string guitar and expertly performed music in the genres of folk, gospel, and a number of blues styles (namely country and Delta). Though he often found himself incarcerated, he spent his time as a prisoner learning songs that he would perform throughout the rest of his life; on more than one occasion he even used his music as a means of early release. “Goodnight Irene”, “Black Betty”, and “In the Pines” (aka “Where Did You Sleep Last Night”) are just a few examples of his recordings that have gone on to influence artists from Peter Seeger and Creedence Clearwater Revival to Nirvana and Old Crow Medicine Show."

* WARNING: This sound file viewer comment thread contains a number of comments that include profanity and offensive language including a number of uses of the fully spelled out form of what is now commonly known as "the n word".

****
LYRICS OF ONE VERSION OF "IN THE PINES" THAT LEAD BELLY SUNG

Black girl, black Girl, dont lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night?
In the pines, In the pines, Where the sun never shine
I shivered the whole night through.

Black girl, black girl, where will you go
Im going where the cold wind blows
In the pines, In the pines, Where the sun never shine
I will shiver the whole night through.

Black girl, black Girl, dont lie to me
Tell me where did you sleep last night?
In the pines, In the pines, Where the sun never shine
I shivered the whole night through.

My Husband was a Railroad man
Killed a mile and a half from here
His head, was found, In a drivers wheel
And his body hasn't never been found.

Black girl, black girl, where will you go
Im going where the cold wind blows
You called me to weep and you called me to moan
You called me to leave my home

Source: http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858607935/

****
INFORMATION & SELECTED COMMENTS ABOUT THIS SONG
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=1439

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: In the Pines (Joan Baez/Leadbelly?)
From: autoharpbob
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 10:01 AM

"Great version by Leadbelly, but the consensus seems to be the song predates him - like most around that time (Carter Family!) they were singing songs they already knew and claiming them for their own. Heard Sarah McQuaid do a haunting version of this recently."

**
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: In the Pines (Joan Baez/Leadbelly?)
From: bobad
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 11:27 AM

"Leadbelly also sang it as "My girl, my girl......." "...
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: In the Pines (Joan Baez/Leadbelly?)

**
From: GUEST,Doc John
Date: 02 Feb 10 - 12:06 PM

"Yes, bobad, he used to sing it that way sometimes and I heard he was none to keen to do so. White singers such as Cisco Houston used to sing 'My Girl' although Lonnie Donegan recorded it is 'Black Girl' again. Both superb versions. It's sometimes listed as both of these titles as well as 'Where Did You sleep Last Night?'

... The song always sounds like it's part of a longer one as is 'Who's Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet'"

**
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: In the Pines (Joan Baez/Leadbelly?)
From: Goose Gander
Date: 03 Feb 10 - 03:57 PM

"More of a cluster of songs and floating verses than a song. Common to black and white singers in the American South in the early twentieth century. I would be very surprised if anyone could find an 'original' of this one."

**
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: In the Pines (Joan Baez/Leadbelly?)
From: Q
Date: 03 Feb 10 - 06:00 PM

" "Black Girl" seems to be the earliest version collected; 1917 by Sharp; only one verse:

Black Girl, black girl, don't lie to me
Where did you stay last night?
"I stayed in the pines where the sun never shines,
And shivered when the cold wind blows."

According to Wikipedia, the "longest train" verses were added and recorded in 1925. In a 1970 thesis, some 160 permutations of the song appear."
-snip-
Here's the link to the Wikipedia page for this song: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Pines

Subject: RE: Lyr Add: In the Pines (Joan Baez/Leadbelly?)
From: Sarah McQuaid
Date: 05 Feb 10 - 10:05 AM

..."Also known as 'Black Girl' and 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night', this song is often credited to Huddie Ledbetter, a.k.a. Lead Belly (1888-1949), but in fact it dates back to at least the 1870s, and is probably Southern Appalachian in origin. Cecil Sharp collected it from a Miss Lizzie Abner in Oneida, Kentucky, on 18 August, 1917, under the name 'Black Girl' and comprising just four lines:

Black girl, black girl, don't lie to me
Where did you stay last night?
I stayed in the pines where the sun never shines
And shivered when the cold wind blows

In Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong (2000), Norm and David Cohen write:

Two years later, Newman I. White obtained four lines that a student of his had heard sung by a black railroad work gang in Buncombe County, North Carolina:

The longest train I ever saw
Was on the Seaboard Air Line,
The engin pas' at a ha' pas' one,
And the caboose went pas' at nine.

In 1921-22, Frank C. Brown obtained a long text from Parl Webb of Pineola, Avery County, North Carolina, that included both the "in the pines" couplet and the "longest train" couplet ... during the years 1921-22, Brown did obtain recordings of "In The Pines" – the earliest ones to be made"...
-snip-
This discussion threads also includes other lyrics to this song, including the lyrics of a version sung by Joan Baez.

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

"Miss Mary Mack" - Sources, Theories, Early Versions, & Other Comments

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides theories about the meaning of the "Mary Mack" ("Miss Mary Mack") rhyme/song as well as early examples of that rhyme or similar rhymes and my comments about "Miss Mary Mack" rhymes/songs. This post also includes a commonly found example of "Miss Mary Mack" and a delightful video of young children singing that song.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All content remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the children featured in the video and thanks to the publisher of that video that is included in this post.

Click this link for a companion pancocojams post http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/various-handclap-routines-for-miss-mary.html
"Various Handclap Routines For "Miss Mary Mack".

Also, visit this page of my cocojams.com cultural website for more text examples & videos of "Miss Mary Mack": http://www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes-2.

****
A COMMONLY FOUND VERSION OF "MISS MARY MACK" [1950s Southern New Jersey and to date in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and elsewhere]

Miss Mary Mack Mack Mack
All dressed in black black black
With silver buttons buttons buttons
All down her back back back.

She asked her mother mother mother
For fifty* cents cents cents
To see the elephant elephant elephant
Jump over the fence fence fence

He jumped so high high high
He touched the sky sky sky
And he never came back back back
Till the fourth of July ly ly
-multiple sources, including my childhood memories of Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1950s

*I remember saying "fifteen cents" when I was a child, but most children now say "fifty cents". This is probably because the word "fifty" fits the rhyming pattern better than "fifteen".

****
VIDEO OF "MISS MARY MACK" SONG
Miss. Mary Mack all dressed in black....



evealikenimel·Uploaded on Jun 16, 2011

Apresentacao no Nic na escola....2010-2011

****
SOURCES OF AND THEORIES ABOUT THE MEANING OF "MARY MACK" RHYME
These theories are presented in no particular order.
1. The name of a Civil War ship
Mention of this theory includes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Mack#Rhyme
"The name "Mary Mack" originally was Merrimac (an early ironclad that would have been black, with silver rivets) suggesting that the first verse refers to the Battle of Hampton Roads during the American Civil War."

2. A riddle whose answer is a coffin
Citations for this theory include:
a. http://books.google.com/books?id=tIvR3vDw3B8C&q=mary+mack#v=snippet&q=mary%20mack&f=false
"A coffin was:
Mary Mack all dressed in black
Silver buttons all down her back"
From the 1926 novel Rainbow Round My Shoulder: The Blue Trail of Black Ulysses. page 33 [That novel is part of a trilogy about a Black laborer, was written by Howard Washington Odum. Odum was a very prestigious Anglo-American sociologist, scholar, and folklorist who also edited the highly regarded 1925 book The Negro And His Songs].

b)Source: Robert A Georges and Alan Dundes, "Toward a Structural Definition of the Riddle" in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. LXXVI, No. 300 (Apr 1963 (available online by JSTOR)), p. 114) as noted in http://www.fresnostate.edu/folklore/ballads/CNFM158B.html ; The Ballad Index Copyright 2014 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle [hereafter given as "The Ballad Index: Mary Mack"]
"Mary Mack all dressed in black/Silver buttons all down her back” -"Archer Taylor in English Riddles from Oral Tradition (Berkley, 1951); riddle #656 with the solution "coffin"

3. The "Mary Mack" rhyme is a rhyming exercise and doesn't really mean anything.

4. Similar to #3, "Miss Mary Mack" is composed of lines from various sources (such as a riddle and lines from other stand alone rhymes and/or songs.)
-snip-
Many playground rhymes are composed by stringing together sometimes unrelated stand alone rhymes or songs, or lines from those compositions. "Miss Mary Mack" isn't unique in that regard.

Read the 1888 example of "Miss Mary Mack" given below for one example of how this rhyme is obviously composed by combining lines from different sources.

Also, "Going To see the elephant jump the fence" may mean going to the circus to see the trained elephants do tricks, although elephants don't jump fences in the circus, and jump so high that they don't return down to the ground until the 4th of July. So there's that...

However, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seeing_the_elephant indicates that "The phrase "seeing the elephant" is an Americanism (or American phrase) of the mid to late 19th century. Seen throughout the United States in the Mexican-American War, the Texas Santa Fe Expedition, the American Civil War, the 1849 Gold Rush, and the Westward Expansion Trails (Oregon Trail, California Trail, Mormon Trail), the mythical elephant was an extremely popular way of expressing an overwhelming emotion."

Furthermore, lines from "Mary Mack" are found in an African American Spiritual:
Source: "The Ballad Index: Mary Mack"
"One spiritual includes the verse "Look over there what I see, Mary and Mac, Dressed in black. Where shall I be when the first trumpet sound? Where shall it be when it sound so loud? Goin' ter wake up de dead" (source: Anna Kranz Odum, "Some Negro Folk-Songs from Tennessee" in The Journal of American Folklore, Vol. XXVII, No. 105 (Jul 1914 (available online by JSTOR)), #3 p. 257 "Goin' ter Wake Up de Dead" (1 text)). Apparently not knowing about the rhyme, Odum reasonably takes Mac to be a corruption of Martha, Mary of Bethany's sister (John 11:1-12:11); or perhaps he has it right and the rhyme is corrupted."
-snip-
In my opinion, those lyrics quoted by The Ballad Index serve as an common example of a singer of religious songs including lines from a secular source, probably to extemporaneously "keep the song going". While the borrowing is usually from the religious to the secular, I'm sure that there are examples of the use of lyrics in the other direction (although I can't think of any off the top of my head). Anyone care to offer some examples?

"The Ballad Index: Mary Mack" also indicates that the "Mary Mack" rhyme should "Not to be confused with the music hall song of the same title, which involves what sounds to be a shotgun wedding".
-snip-
That music hall song is the Scottish folk song "Mari Mac". Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2645 "Lyric request: Mary Mack or Mari-Mac" for information about & lyric examples of that song.

****
EXAMPLES OF "MARY MACK" FROM THE SINGING GAME (edited by Iona and Peter Opie, (1985)
quoted by Donna Richoux, https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.usage.english/u483flGZvk8/aS6QBNxm2w8J April 7, 2011

..."Miss Mary Mack" is entry number 145 [in the Opies' book].

They say that this song "is clapped today by girls all over the country", meaning
Britain. So that addresses the first question.

They say it is "a combination of an old English rhyme and an oldish
American one."

This one was documented in Boston in 1865:

Mary Mack, dressed in black,
Silver buttons all down her back,
Walking on the railroad track.

In the 1870s, Shropshire children were observed dancing to:

Betsy Blue came all in black,
Silver buttons down her back,
Every button cost a crown,
Every lady turn around,
Alligoshi, alligoshee,
Turn the bridle over my knee.

The rhyme about the elephant who jumps the fence turns up independently
in the US, starting around 1915."

****
A 1888 VERSION OF "MISS MARY MACK"
From: The Counting-Out Rhymes of Children
By Henry Carrington Bolton
New York, NY: D. Appleton & Co. 1888
Pg. 117:
Miss Mary Mack, dressed in black,
Silver buttons on her back.
I love coffee, I love tea,
I love the boys, and the boys love me.
I'll tell ma when she comes home,
The boys won't leave the girls alone.
N. S. B., West Chester, Pa. 1888
-quoted by Donna Richoux, https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.usage.english/u483flGZvk8/aS6QBNxm2w8J April 7, 2011
-snip-
Note: Commenter Cheryl wrote on April 8, 2011 that part of that version of "Miss Mary Mack" includes lines from the folk song "Mari-Mac".
-snip-
Since "I Love Coffee, I Love Tea" is an independent rhyme, that 1888 example of "Miss Mary Mack" can be said to be made up by combining a riddle (if you believe that theory as I do), lines from a (then) jump rope rhyme, and lines from a Scottish folk song.

****
A SIMILAR RHYME PUBLISHED IN 1922
The song/rhyme entitled "The Elephant" that is included in African American professor Thomas W. Talley's now classic 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes, Wise & Otherwise can be considered an early example of "Mary Mack"- even though that example doesn't include the name "Mark Mack", or whether its a girl or boy speaking the lines, or whether the person speaking wore black with or without silver buttons down her or his back.:

My mammy gimme fifteen cents
Fer to see the elephan' jump de fence.
He jump so high, I didn't see why,
If she gimme a dollar he mought not cry.

So I axed my mammay to gimme a dollar,
Fer to sgo an' hear de elephan' holler,
He holler so loud, he skerred de crowd.

Nex' he jump so high, he reech de sky;
An' he won't git back 'fore de fo'th o' July.
[Kennikat Press edition, 1969, p 116; originally published 1922 Macmillan Press] http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm {Warning: That book includes the includes what is now known as "the n word" fully spelled out.]

****
"ASK MY MOTHER FOR SIXPENCE" RHYMES/SONGS
It seems clear that the British & Australian rhymes or songs that include the "ask my mother for sixpence to see the giraffe" lines are similar to those lines in "Mary Mack" rhymes. However, I'm not sure when those rhymes were first documented. Did they come before or after the American "Mary Mack" rhymes? (assuming that the "Mary Mack" rhymes originated in the United States).

I refer to those "ask my mother for sixpence to see the giraffe" rhymes as "profanity avoidance" rhymes because those compositions act like they are avoiding the use of profanity or taboo words when they actually using or implying those words. In those compositions the last word of each line could be considered risqué or taboo, but the first word of the next line provides plausible deniability about what the chanter or singer meant to say. Instead of that pattern, in some profanity avoidance rhymes or songs the last word in each line of a profanity avoidance rhyme or song might be omitted (i.e. not said or sung) because it is risqué or taboo. For instance, the word "hell" was omitted in some late 19th century or early 20th century songs/rhymes. Also, consider the examples of "Miss Susie Had A Steamboat", a very widely known profanity avoidance playground rhyme.

WARNING: The rhymes that include the "ask my mother for sixpence" lines can be considered to be bawdy (what British people call "rude" and what children I know refer to as "nasty". Here's an excerpt of a profanity avoidance rhyme that shares some similarities with the subject matter found in "Mary Mack":

Ask your mum for sixpence to see the big giraffe
Pimples on his whiskers and pimples on his aarr....
....auntie Mary had a canary thought it was a duck
took it behind the kitchen door and taught it how to f-f-f.....
....fried eggs for dinner, fried eggs for tea
the more you eat, the more you drink, the more you want to ppee...
....peter had a boat, the boat begaan to rock
along came a shark and bit off his c-c-c...
cock - a - doodle do that's all i have for you
- GUEST,Geoff http://dev.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=11873&messages=91&page=1&desc=yes Aunty Mary Had a Canary - where?
-snip-
Another example of that same "ask your mother for sixpence to see the giraffe" rhyme/song is:

Well I ask my mother for a sixpence to see the new giraffe
With wrinkles in he body and dimples in he…
Ask my mother for a sixpence to see the new giraffe
With wrinkles in he body and dimples in he…
Ask me no questions, you will hear no lies,
Put down molasses and it will catch no flies...
-snip-
A long example of this rhyme can be found on http://www.charliegillett.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=19928 as posted by Jamie Renton » Fri Feb 03, 2012 9:07 pm who quoted a Bajan (Barbados) song entitled "Sixpence" that is found on YouTube.
-snip-
I'm not sure when the first documented example of "ask my mother for sixpence to see an animal" was first documented in the United Kingdom. Could "Mary Mack" rhymes in the United States be cleaned up versions of bawdy British originated rhymes with the name "Mary Mack (perhaps from the Scottish folk rhyme "Mari Mac" or the Civil war ship "Merrimac")?

****
EDITORIAL COMMENTS
In her book The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-dutch to Hip-hop, African American author Kyra Danielle Gaunt wrote “The game song “Miss Mary Mack” is the most common hand clapping game in the English- speaking world, and the most familiar in black repertoire.”[Google Book, page 63]
-snip-
Kyra Gaunt gave no citations for those statements, but she did list these collection dates for this rhyme in the United States & in New Zealand:
"Roger Abrahams (1969) found variations of this game song in Kansas (1940), Missouri (1947), North Carolina (1948), Arkansas (1949), Pennsylvania (1959), Texas (1963), Indiana (1966), and New Zealand (1959). He linked the performance to region, but did not include any information about the ethnicity of the performers. According to Abrahams, the first lines of “Mary Mack” are based on a riddle for “coffin” that has origins in English oral practices (Taylor 1951, quoted 234, quoted in Abrahams 1969, 120.)”Source: The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-dutch to Hip-hop [Google Book, p. 63]

My personal experiences facilitating game song groups and special game song performances in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area from 1997-2005 (mostly with Black children) support the view that "Miss Mary Mack" was a widely known rhyme. That said, it seemed to me that "Miss Mary Mack" was much more widely known among African American children (5-12 years) than among non-African American children of those same ages. Indeed, it seemed to me that "Miss Mary Mack" was the most widely known (but not the most popular) playground rhyme among African American children. (I think the most popular rhyme among that popular in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area during those years may have been "Mama Mamma Can't You See" or "Twee lee lee", also known as "Rockin Robin"). However, by at least 2003, it appeared that fewer African American children knew the words to "Miss Mary Mack" than had previously known that rhyme.

**
It's likely the title "Miss Mary Mack" is more commonly found among African Americans than non-African Americans. One reason for this may be that many African American children (particularly those children in the South or raised by adults with recent Southern roots) were (are) taught to always address women using the title "Miss" before their last name or their first name, if you were given permission to use that first name. Hence, that rhyme is usually known as "Miss Mary Mack" and not "Mary Mack". It seems to me that that rule might also be operative in the rhymes "Miss Sue From Alabama " and "Miss Lucy Had A Steamboat". However, it should be noted that it seems to me that the voice that is speaking the lines in "Miss Mary Mack" is a girl and not a woman. (After all, she asks her mother for money to see the elephants jump the fence.)

****
RELATED LINKS
In addition to the Cocojams Handclap rhyme #2 page mentioned earlier, visit this page on my cocojams.com website for additional examples and comments about "Miss Mary Mack" as remembered by African American females in the 1980s or 1970s: http://www.cocojams.com/content/old-school-playground-rhymes-remembered-members-black-sororities.

Click http://www.playgroundjungle.com/2009/12/mary-mack.html for examples of & comments about "Mary Mack", including examples that end with this old floating verse that is found in a number of 19th century American and Caribbean folk rhymes/songs:
"July can't walk, walk, walk
July can't talk, talk, talk
July can't eat, eat, eat
With a knife and fork, fork, fork"

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

"Noah" (God Told Noah") examples & lyrics

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases seven video examples of the Gospel song "Noah". The title that appears to usually be given for this song is "God Told Noah".

*Note that this isn't the same song as "Rise And Shine" (The Lord said To Noah there's gonna be a floody floody).

The content of this post is posted for religious and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composers of this song and thanks to all of the vocalists and musicians who are featured in these videos. Special thanks to the online transcriber of the lyrics for this song.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "NOAH" ("GOD TOLD NOAH")
A number of commenters in viewer comment threads of the song "Noah" ("God Told Noah") described this song as a "Gospel Quartet" song. Gospel Quartet songs can be sung by choirs and other singing formations.

According to http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-gospel-wonders-mw0000675037, the song "Noah" (most often given as "God Told Noah") was composed by Anthony Grady, Michael Grady, and Major Robinson. The Google search summary for this website http://www.last.fm/music/The+wonders/The+Gospel+Wonders indicates that the album in which that song was included (album name:" The Gospel Wonders") was first released in the early 1960s.

Any information about this song would be greatly appreciated.

****
FEATURED VIDEOS
This is only a small sample of the YouTube videos of this song. I selected these examples, in part, to demonstrate some of the different interpretations of this song.

With the exception of Example #1, these examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting dates with the oldest dated examples given first.

Example #1: The Gospel Wonders - Noah



Charles Gardiner, Published on Aug 9, 2012

Here is a nice song by a group that really had this one hit but its real nice hope you enjoy it!..

****
Example #2: God Told Noah(Cover)- The Gospel Wonders



TheAulegend, Uploaded on Nov 2, 2010
-snip-
Here's a comment from that video's viewer comment thread:

Desmen Moton, 2010
"yes the Gospel Wonders from California are the original artist!"

****
Example #3: RTD- God Told Noah



Arthurine Grant, Uploaded on Nov 23, 2010

Rev and The Disciples in St Pete

****
Example #4: Mt. Sinai MBC of Orlando, FL - Male Chorus - God Told Noah


Mt Sinai, Uploaded on Nov 28, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010 - - - Male Chorus sings "God Told Noah"

****
Example #5: NHymn "God told Noah"



1meastro, Published on Jun 21, 2012

NHymn, God, told, Noah, Church of Christ, COC, gospel, accapella, song, Sunset Blvd, coc, in him, nhymn, Noah, choir, group singing, Sunset Boulevard Church of Christ,

****
Land Boys- God Told Noah



landsquad3, Published on Jul 20, 2012

Quinton singing at Hall Street Baptist Church

****
Example #7: God Told Noah - Truth Gospel Singers ( Opening For Debra Snipes & The Angels )



Truth Gospel Singers, Published on Aug 20, 2012
God Told Noah - Truth Gospel Singers ( Opening For Debra Snipes & The Angels ) Had A Great Time in the Lord ...

****
LYRICS: NOAH (also known as "GOD TOLD NOAH")
(Anthony Grady, Michael Grady, and Major Robinson)

Noah
(The Gospel Wonders)
LYRICS:
Oh God told Noah
(God told Noah)
Just to build that ark
(To build that ark)
30 cubits high
(30 cubits high)
50 cubits wide
(50 cubits wide)
Oh it’s gonna rain
(it’s gonna rain)
for forty days
(forty days and forty nights)
I want it to stand
(I want it to stand)
Stand the test of time
(Stand the test of time)


(repeat 2x or more times)

Dripping and dropping
(Dripping and dropping the water kept falling)

Dripping and dropping
(Dripping and dropping the water kept falling)

Can you feel the rain drop
(Dripping and dropping the water kept falling)
Look at the rain dropping
(Dripping and dropping the water kept falling)
Dripping and dropping
(Dripping and dropping the water kept falling)
God said Come on in the ark
(Dripping and dropping the water kept falling)
Because it’s beginning to rain
(Dripping and dropping the water kept falling)
God said Come on in the ark
(Dripping and dropping the water kept falling)
Because there won’t be no more water
No more water but fire next time
No more water but fire next time
No more water but fire next time
No more water but fire next time

Fire next time, Fire next time
Won’t be no more water
It’s gonna be fire next time
Fire next time, Fire next time
No more water, fire next time
(repeat as directed)

Source http://www.allgospellyrics.com/printwin.php?id=8248 [reformatted with an additional performance instruction)
-snip-
Here's a partial transcription of the riff of this song that is found in the video given as Example #2 of this post:

God placed a rainbow in the sky
(Dripping and dropping the water kept falling)
You better be ready
(Dripping and dropping the water kept falling)
Get your house in order
(Dripping and dropping the water kept falling)
No more water but fire next time
(Dripping and dropping the water kept falling)

[Continue extemporaneous singing, and end with the line "No more water but fire next time”.]

****
RELATED LINK
Text (lyrics only) examples of the 19th century African American Spiritual " can be found at http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=57161.
"Noah's ark" is the theme for that song, but its lyrics are quite different from the song "Noah" ("God Told Noah") which is the focus of this pancocojams post. Here's an excerpt of one of the comments in that discussion thread about that song as posted by masato sakurai, Date: 24 Feb 03 - 07:04 PM

"From Lydia Parrish, Slave Songs of the Georgia Sea Islands (... University of Georgia Press, 1945, 1992, pp. 134-136; with music):

NORAH, HIST THE WINDAH

Norah, hist the windah
Norah, hist the windah
Norah, hist the windah
Hist the windah let the dove come in.

Oh God comman' Bother Norah one day
Oh hist the windah let the dove come in
An' told Brother Norah to build an ark
Hist the windah let the dove come in.
-snip-
"Norah" was the way the name "Norah" was pronounced by 19th century African Americans in certain parts of the South. "Hist" = "hoist" (raise); "windah" (window).

That African American Spiritual may have no connection with the Gospel song "Noah" ("God Told Noah"). However, I wanted to alert readers of this post with that Spiritual.

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitors comments are welcome.

Read More

Danny Barker - My Indian Red (Mardi Gras Indian song example, comments, lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcase a 1946-1947 example of the classic Mardi Gras Indian song "My Indian Red" (also known as "Indian Red"). This post also includes information and comments about that song, one bonus example of song lyrics, and one bonus video example of this song.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composers & performers of this song, and thanks to Mardi Gras Indians for their cultural legacy. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on YouTube and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "INDIAN RED"
"Indian Red" can be considered a folk song as there are no known composer for the song. The song praises Mardi Gras Indians and declares that the Indians won't bow down (to any adversaries or in the face of any adverse situations).

The tune, the trempo, and some of the lyrics for this song are relatively fixed. However, other lyrics can be sung for this song as long as those lyrics fit the song's general themes and spirit.

Here's information about the song "Indian Red" from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Red
"Indian Red is traditionally sung at the beginning and at the end of gatherings of Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans. It is a traditional chant that may have been first recorded by Sugar Boy Crawford in the 1950s. It has since been recorded many times by, among others, Dr. John and Wild Tchoupitoulas."...
-snip-
Click that link for a 1980s example of the lyrics for this song.

Also, note that the "My Indian Red" song that is showcased in this post predates the 1950s Sugar Boy Crawford song that is referenced in the Wikipedia article.

****
SHOWCASED EXAMPLE



erikmek Uploaded on Jan 25, 2011

Danny Barker - My Indian Red from Baby dodds trio - Jazz A´la Creole [album name] 1946-1947

Danny Barker on guitar & vocals, Don Kirkpatrick on piano, Heywood Henry on baritone saxophone, and Freddie Moore.
-snip-
Here are several comments from this sound file's viewer comment thread:
Louis Maistros, 2012
"the first ever recording of this mardi gras classic."

**
chadwick crawford, 2012
"The record is Jazz a la Creole, credited to the Baby Dodds trio, although this is Barker and some other dudes. It's still in print."

**
dthesq, 2012 [In response to the question "Why is it difficult to find the lyrics to Mardi Gras Indian songs on the Internet?]
"Lotsa them are around on the net. It's hard to find exactly what you're looking for cuz everybody sang them differently over the years."

****
LYRICS: MY INDIAN RED
(Danny Barker)

Here comes the Big Chief,
the Big Chief the Yellow Pocahontas,
the pretty Monogram Hunters
and we don't bow down on nobody's ground.
Oh, how we love to hear you call us Indian red.
The Wild Tchoupitoulas, White Eagles,
the pretty 8th Ward Hunters,
the Wild West Shoshoni Hunters
and we don't bow down on nobody's ground.
Oh, how we love to hear you call us Indian red.

Here comes the Spy Boy, the Flag Boy,
but watch that crazy Wild Man,
the wildest in the lowland
and you'll love our Queen,
Queen of New Orleans.
Oh, how we love to hear you call us Indian red.

Source: joshbusby47 in 2013, viewer comments http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqwCriy2Vqo [reformatted for this post]

****
BONUS LYRICS: INDIAN RED
(Mrs. Augustine Moore, 1980)

Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day[1]
Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day

We are the Indians, Indians, Indians of the nation
The wild, wild creation
We won't bow down
Down on the ground
Oh how I love to hear him call Indian Red

I've got a Big Chief,
Big Chief, Big Chief of the Nation
The wild, wild creation
He won't bow down
Down on the ground
Oh how I love to hear him call Indian Red

Note (1)
[Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day] (is) "A corruption of a phrase from an old Creole song, "M'alle couri dans deser" (Wilson, Traditional Louisiana French Folk Music, 59; Mrs. Augustine Moore, interview by author, 1980. As cited in "The Use of Louisiana Creole in Southern Literature" by Sybil Rein, Creole: The History and Legacy of Louisiana's Free People of Color ed. Sybil Rein. Louisiana State University Press: 2000. ISBN 0-8071-2532-6 pg 124). "M'alle couri dans deser" is said to mean "I am going into the wilderness" ("Creole Slave Songs." The Century Magazine. Vol XXXI, No 6. April 1886. pg 820)."
-snip-
The lyrics "Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day" are given in the as "Mighty cooty fiyo - hey la hey, hey la hey" in the version of "Indian Red" that is sung by Daniel Lanois:
http://www.lyricsmania.com/indian_red_lyrics_daniel_lanois.html

**
The word "fiyo" is usually interpreted as "fire" in Mardi Gras Indian songs.

****
BONUS VIDEO: Mardi Gras Indians Singing Indian Red during the annual St. Joseph Night Celebration



onenawlins, Published on May 16, 2013

http://www.onenawlins.com For more history on this wonderful and unique culture please visit and support my website. Merchandise and apparel coming 6-2013!!!

MardiGras Indians Singing Indian Red during the annual St. Joseph Night Celebration on Tuesday March 19, 2013. The Mardi Gras Indians named themselves after native Indians to pay them respect for their assistance in escaping the tyranny of slavery. It was often local Indians who accepted slaves into their society when they made a break for freedom around early to mid 1800s. They have never forgotten this support. The chants that you hear are usually stories of the struggles in the neighborhood, violence, poverty, celebration of life or death etc,,. These chants and calls are passed down from generation to generation.

**
RELATED LINK
Visit this page of my cocojams.com cultural website http://www.cocojams.com/content/mardi-gras-indian-songs-chants Mardi Gras Indians Songs & Chants for additional examples of lyrics and videos of the song "Indian Red" ("My Indian Red")

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitors comments are welcome.

Read More

The Wild Magnolias - Corey Died On The Battlefield (example & lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents a sound file and my transcription of the 1970s The Wild Magnolias' version of the song "Corey Died On The Battlefield". This post also presents information about the Mardi Gras Indians, information about The Wild Magnolias & their album, as well as information & comments about the "Corey Died On The Battlefield" song.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composers & performers of this song. Thanks also to the publisher of this record on YouTube and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MARDI GRAS INDIANS
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras_Indians
"Mardi Gras Indians are African-American Carnival revelers in New Orleans, Louisiana who dress up for Mardi Gras in suits influenced by Native American ceremonial apparel.

Collectively, their organizations are called "tribes" , Mardi Gras Indian tribes also parade on the Sunday nearest to Saint Joseph's Day on March 19th ("Super Sunday") and sometimes also at the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

There are about 38 tribes. They range in size from a half dozen to several dozen members. The tribes are largely independent, but a pair of umbrella organizations loosely coordinate the Uptown Indians and the Downtown Indians".

****
From http://www.mardigrasdigest.com/Sec_mgind/history.htm "A Short History Of Mardi Gras Indians" by Willie W. Clark Jr. (11-16-1999)
"The Black Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans are a unique sub-culture of a highly diverse and complex group of the local population . The tradition of these masking Indians, dates back to the 1700's. The scholars that claim to know the origins of the Mardi Gras Indians (a two hundred year old tradition) sometimes conflict on the precise history. As a result of this lack of a solid path in the knowledge of Indian history, many theories abound, but this much is for certain, the Indians have preserved some of their culture and history in the guise of tradition, and that tradition at the time of Mardi Gras, is now an integral part of New Orleans. In the heart of New Orleans since the 1780's and perhaps earlier, this ancient colorful and artistic culture has been practiced. A culture, that be it known, exhibits all of that tradition, with some of the positive heritage, and is quite a unique history."...

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE WILD MAGNOLIA'S ALBUM "THEY CALL US WILD"
From http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/3667
"...One of the many peculiarities of New Orleans is that this tribe of Mardi Gras Indians [The Wild Magnolias] are black, working class, and play music far funkier than any Native American rhythms. The tribe has a long proud history, having been established in 1889 (seriously). (By comparison, the WildTchoupitoulas - who recorded in the '70s with such luminaries as Allen Toussaint , The Neville Brothers and The Meters - are novices, having been formed in 1967.) The origins of the Indian costumes lie in Native Americans' and blacks’ shared experience of slavery, and the resulting common cause between the two cultures.

During Mardi Gras, up to 20 neighborhood tribes of Indians take to the street, vying for attention and bragging rights. In the past, violent clashes between tribes were not uncommon, some even leading to fatalities; nowadays, rivalries are expressed more through costumes, music and dances. However, vestiges of that history are still to be found in songs such as “Meet The Boys (On The Battlefront)” - with its lyrics, “Meet the boys on the battlefront / the Wild Magnolias gonna bust a rump!” – and “Corey Died On The Battlefield.”...

Although not recorded until the 1970s, this music was a key ingredient of the distinctive New Orleans sound for decades before..."

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "COREY DIED ON THE BATTLEFIELD"
From Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular Culture By George Lipsitz
Page 245 [Google Books]

“Song lyrics also connect contemporary herorism to traditional figures. Thus the Wild Tchapatoulas’ *“Brother John” pay tribute to John “Scarface” Williams (a rhythm-and-blues singer and Mardi Gras Indian who died from a knifing shortly after carnival in 1972) by comparing him to “Cora” who “died on the battlefield”. An earlier song by Willie Turbington of the Wild Magnolias based on a chant by the Magnolia’s chief Bo Dollis, told the story of a rebellious slave named Cory. In the 1920s jazz musician Danny Barker recorded a song "Corrine Died on the Battlefield," a song which Paul Longpre of the Golden Blaze claims told the story of a woman named Cora Anne who masked as a queen of the Battlefield Hunters, but who died of gunshot wounds incurred when she got caught in the crossfire between the Hunters and the Wild Squatoolas. Cora thus refers to at least four people living more than one hundred years apart, three of them male, and one female. The story touches on the histories of at least five tribes and appeared in four separate songs. There is no one authentic Corey; the purpose of all this borrowing is precisely to fashion a collective narrative embracing a wide range of actual events and individual. No one lyricist or story-teller can control the narrative about Corey; it filters through the community, undergoing significant changes, yet retaining important continuities.”
-snip-
"Corey Died On The Battlefield" is a standard Mardi Gras Indian song. Willie W. Clark Jr., the author who is quoted above mentions the song being recorded by The Wild Tcpatoulas and Google search also indicates that another Mardi Gras Indian group "Flaming Arrows" recorded a version of "Corey Died On The Battlefield", and this song may have also been recorded by other Mardi Gras Indian groups. However, I've not been able to find any Mardi Gras Indian sound file of this song but the one which was recorded by The Wild Magnolias.

"Brother John" ("Brother John Is Gone" is another song that was composed about the stabbing of John "Scarface" Williams, once a vocalist for Huey "Piano" Smith in the 1950’s, and a Mardi Gras Indian in the 1960s. That song was composed by Cyril Neville and sung by the Neville Brothers (The Neville Brothers are closely connected to the Mardi Gras Indians as their uncle Bo Dollis was the founder and Big Chief of the Wild Tchapatoulas nation. Here's the verse of that "Brother John" song that mentions "Cora Died On The Battlefield":
"Oh, Cora he died on the battlefield (Brother John is gone)
And the rest of his gang they won't bow they won't kneel
He sang "Mighty goody fiyo* on Mardi Gras Day"
And whoever wasn't ready better get out of 'de way."
-snip-
*"fiyo" = fire
Click this link to a page of my cocojams.com cultural website http://www.cocojams.com/content/mardi-gras-indian-songs-chants for a sound file and lyrics to "Brother John Is Gone" and more Mardi Gras Indians songs.

****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Wild Magnolias - Corey Died On The Battlefield



john malkovitch, Uploaded on Feb 1, 2009
New Orleans Funk Top, Talk Box not a Vocoder :)
-snip-
A "talk box" sounds to me like what is currently called "autotunes". Here are two comments from this sound file's viewer comment thread http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mM3nbgxHqPE about this musical feature:
phillydisco, 2009
"I just noticed in your comment that you said it was vocoder, which I believe is incorrect. The vocoder was a synthesizer with microphone that you talked into and the musical notes were played out of the keyboard. With a talk box, the effect was achieve with a small hose connected to an amplifier speaker for a guitar or in this song's case, clavinet. The other end was up against the microphone, and the player put his mouth over it, making words out of his mouth as he played the instrument."

**
phillydisco, 2009
"This track features some of the best talk box ever used. Forget Peter Frampton! These guys were using it on their clavinets and guitars! And putting wah effect on the bass was an awesome touch."

****
LYRICS: COREY DIED ON THE BATTLEFIELD
(as recorded by the Wild Magnolias, 1974)
Corey died on the battlefield (3x) [voice box recording]

[singing]
Well here’s a very sad tale bout this cat they call Corey Brown
People would stand from the street to the tent
to hear Corey get on down

He offered new life by an out of sight power
To everyone who did what he said
But by some trick of fate
Some people who knew only hate
He throw a knife
And took for the night
Corey died on the battlefield (3x)
A lot of folks know this story
And they won’t forget about his dream
Because love is the key
For both you and me
His dream will live endlessly
Corey died on the battlefield (5x)
[voice box recording]
Corey died on the battlefield
Corey died
Corey died on the battlefield
Corey died
Corey died on the battlefield

[instrumental]
[Spoken]
Corey
Was a brother
Who was aware
of his inner man
And at the direction
of the Cosmic
He lived
to reach the Promised Land

Corey died
on the battlefield
In search of his destiny
And it’s no different
for you or me
You must die
for what you believe

[Singing begins again]
mmm mmm mmm mmm
mmm mmm mmm mmm

[voice box recording]
Corey died on the battlefield
Corey died
Corey died on the battlefield
Corey died
Corey died on the battlefield
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell from The Wild Magnolias' record. I'm not certain about all of these words. Additions and corrections are welcome.

I wonder if the story about "Corey Brown" was meant to call to mind the stories of the assassinated African American leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. Both of these leaders were known for their eloquent speaking abilities as was "Corey Brown" in the Wild Magnolia's song. Also, Martin Luther King Jr. is forever associated with his "I Have A Dream" speech (similar to Corey Brown's dream that is mentioned in that song). Also, perhaps coincidentally, Martin Luther King Jr's wife was named "Corretta", a form of the name "Corey".

And the more I think about it, maybe "Corey Brown" also stands for all Black and Brown brothers (males) who have died and continue to die on the urban streets battlefields, many of them before they had any real chance to achieve their dreams. Maybe that's a key reason why "Corey Died On The Battlefield" is a standard song among Mardi Gras Indians, that and the resolute determination that in spite of these ever present dangers, (to quote a standard phrase in Mardi Gras songs) "they won't bow/ they won't kneel".

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Meet De Boys On De Battlefront (Mardi Gras Indian song examples, information, & lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post presents two YouTube examples, lyrics, and my opinion about the meaning of certain words & phrases of the New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian song "Meet De Boys On De Battlefront".

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composers & performers of this song, and thanks to Mardi Gras Indians for their cultural legacy. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on YouTube and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MARDI GRAS INDIANS
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mardi_Gras_Indians
"Mardi Gras Indians are African-American Carnival revelers in New Orleans, Louisiana who dress up for Mardi Gras in suits influenced by Native American ceremonial apparel.

Collectively, their organizations are called "tribes" , Mardi Gras Indian tribes also parade on the Sunday nearest to Saint Joseph's Day on March 19th ("Super Sunday") and sometimes also at the annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

There are about 38 tribes. They range in size from a half dozen to several dozen members. The tribes are largely independent, but a pair of umbrella organizations loosely coordinate the Uptown Indians and the Downtown Indians".

****
From http://www.mardigrasdigest.com/Sec_mgind/history.htm "A Short History Of Mardi Gras Indians" by Willie W. Clark Jr. (11-16-1999)
"The Black Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans are a unique sub-culture of a highly diverse and complex group of the local population . The tradition of these masking Indians, dates back to the 1700's. The scholars that claim to know the origins of the Mardi Gras Indians (a two hundred year old tradition) sometimes conflict on the precise history. As a result of this lack of a solid path in the knowledge of Indian history, many theories abound, but this much is for certain, the Indians have preserved some of their culture and history in the guise of tradition, and that tradition at the time of Mardi Gras, is now an integral part of New Orleans. In the heart of New Orleans since the 1780's and perhaps earlier, this ancient colorful and artistic culture has been practiced. A culture, that be it known, exhibits all of that tradition, with some of the positive heritage, and is quite a unique history."...

****
OVERVIEW OF THE SONG "MEET DE BOYS ON THE BATTLEFRONT"
The song "Meet De Boys On The Battlefront" has become one of the signature songs that are associated with New Orleans, Louisiana Mardi Gras Indians. Here's information about the 1976 album in which this song was first featured:
ttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Tchoupitoulas_(album)
"The Wild Tchoupitoulas is a 1976 album by the New Orleans Mardi Gras Indian "tribe" The Wild Tchoupitoulas.

The album features "call-and-response" style chants typical of Mardi Gras Indians. Vocals were provided by George Landry, as "Big Chief Jolly", as well as other members of his Mardi Gras tribe. Instrumentation was provided in part by members of the New Orleans band The Meters. The album also notably features Landry's nephews, the Neville Brothers, providing harmonies and some of the instrumentation. While not a commercial success, the effort was well received critically and the experience recording it encouraged the four Neville brothers to perform together for the first time as a group.[4][5][6] In 2012 the album was added to the U.S. Library of Congress' National Registry, a designation of "cultural, artistic and historic importance to the nation’s aural legacy."[1]
-snip-
It should be noted that "Meet De Boys On De BattleFront" isn't a call & response song. Like many other Mardi Gras Indian songs "Meet De Boys On De Battlefront" is composed of four line rhyming verses which are separated by fixed chorus. While "Meet De Boys On De Battlefront" was probably composed around the late 1970s after the formation of the Wild Tchapatoulas nation (the Mardi Gras Indian group that is lauded in the song), it's likely that some lines from that song are much older. It seems to me that the title's use of the word "de" instead of "the" is an example of the purposeful use of African American Vernacular English to convey downhome Black connection and authenticity. The tune & moderately slow tempo for "Meet De Boys On De Battlefront" appear to have become fixed, and it seems to me that the tune has a Reggae-like sound.

It also seems to me that "Meet De Boys On De Battlefront" might be considered a folk song, meaning that different lyrics and different order of verses might be acceptable and even improvised on the spot. That said, the version of "Meet De Boys On De Battlefield that is included in "The Wild Tchapatoulas" album is considered the definitive version of this song. With regard to the use of other lyrics for this song (or other Mardi Gras Indian songs) those lyrics should be true to the culture of the Mardi Gras Indians and not contain referents and words that aren't authentic. Examples of what I consider to be referents and words that I believe are outside of the Mardi Gras Indian culture are found in the rendition of this song by the California based, Anglo-American group "Marley's Ghost". The lyrics in that version that I believe aren't authentic to Mardi Gras Indian culture are the line "big Chief Kahuna and I can't be bought", the line "Yes, it's a Rudy Poopalina and a hoo-na-no!" and the phrase "...steal my queen". Click http://www.lyrics007.com/Marley's%20Ghost%20Lyrics/Meet%20De%20Boys%20On%20The%20Battlefront%20Lyrics.html for the lyrics to that rendition of "Meet De Boys On De Battlefront".

****
VIDEO EXAMPLES WITH LYRICS
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting dates with the oldest dated examples given first.

Example #1: Wild Tchoupitoulas - Meet De Boys On De Battlefront



Jared Lorio, Uploaded on Jan 30, 2010
-snip-
"Meet De Boys On De Battlefront" is a song that is included in the album Wild Tchoupitoulas. Here's information about that album from the summary statement of a video of another song that is included in that album http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkLmx2Gxpcg "Wild Tchoupitoulas - Big Chief Got A Golden Crown"
"One of my all time favorite albums, the Wild Tchoupitoulas was founded by George Landry aka Big Chief Jolly. Released in 1976, it was also the start of the formation of Landry's nephews, the Neville Brothers, Art, Charles, Aaron & Cyril, respectively. The instrumentation was provided mainly by the Meters, Art & Cyril Neville, Leo Nocentelli, George Porter Jr., & Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste. The album was also produced in large part by Allen Toussaint. This is an essential part of the rich musical New Orleans heritage, and I ask if you enjoy this music, pick up the album & pass the word to keep this joyful music alive."

Lyrics: MEET DE BOYS ON DE BATTLEFRONT
(as sung by The Wild Tchopatoulas & Neville Brothers, 1976 recording)

Chorus
Meet de boys on de Battlefront.
Meet de boys on de Battlefront.
Meet de boys on de Battlefront.
Well, The Wild Tchopatoulas gonna stomp some rump!

(repeat)
Well the greatest thing that I ever see
Is the Mardi Gras Indian down in New Orleans
Well he sewed all night and he sewed all day
On Mardi Gras morning went all the way

Chorus

Injuns comin from all over town
Big Chief singin, gonna take them down
Jakimo fino a la kay*
Injuns are rulers on the holiday.

Chorus

Mardi gras comin' and it won't be long,
Gonna play Indian, gonna carry on.
Maskers runnin up and down the avenue.
Here come the Indians, let ‘em through!

Chorus

I'm a Wild Tchopatoulas from the 13th ward,
A blood shiffa-hoona and I won’t be barred
I walked through fire and I swam through mud
Snatched a feather from an eagle, drank panther blood!

Chorus

Now de iddy bitty spy gotta heart of steel
Shank won’t get you then his hatchet will
Quende may hacko may hoona no
He shoot de gun in de jailhouse door!

Chorus

I bring my gang all over town
Drink fire water till the sun goes down.
Get back home we’re gonna kneel and pray
We had some fun on a holiday.

Chorus
(repeat several times)
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell from the recording. Additions and corrections are welcome.

*This phrase usually appears to be given as given as jockomo fina nay"

****
Example #2: Wild Tchoupitoulas - The Wild Tchopatoulas, The Nevile Brothers, and Deacon John*



Steven Sacrob , Uploaded on Jan 21, 2012

Stomp some romp
-snip-
*The singers & musicians were identified at 1:26 in this video.

Here are the lyrics for this rendition from the sub-titles given in the video.
Chorus
Meet de boys on de Battlefront.
Meet de boys on de Battlefront.
Meet de boys on de Battlefront.
Yeah, the Wild Tchopatoulas gonna stomp some rump!

(repeat)

Mardi gras comin' and it won't be long,
Gonna play Indian, gonna carry on.
Maskers runnin up and down the avenue.
Here come the Indians, let ‘em through!

Chorus

(Repeat verse given above)

Chorus

I'm a Wild Tchopatoulas from the 13th ward,
A blood shiffa-hoona and I won’t be barred
I walked through fire and I swam through mud
Snatched a feather from an eagle, drank panther blood

Chorus

Now de iddy bitty spy gotta heart of steel
Shank won’t get you then his hatchet will
Quende may hacko may hoona no
He shoot de gun in de jailhouse door!

Chorus

I bring my gang all over town
Drink fire water till the sun goes down.
Get back home we’re gonna kneel and pray
We had some fun on a holiday.

Chorus
(repeat several times)
-snip-
Here are three comments from this video's viewer comment thread http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=498LZARXzN0

ChynaRider, 2011
"This is the Neville Brothers pretty early on. They recorded this song, "Meet De Boys On The Battlefront", as 'The Wild Tchoupitoulas'. This particular video, or parts from it, was used in a PBS special on music and culture. David Carradine narrated. This is a great old Mardi Gras song and they have pretty much the definitive version. Great video document here."

**
Steven Sacrob, 2011
"This particular clip is from a documentary film called "Always for Pleasure"

**
Bradley Horowitz, 2013
"I learned on the way into work today that filmmaker and Berkeley resident Les Blank died yesterday. From Wikipedia:

"Most of his films focused on American traditional music forms, including (among others) blues, Appalachian, Cajun, Creole, Tex-Mex, polka, tamburitza, and Hawaiian musics. Many of these films represent the only filmed documents of musicians who are now deceased."

My favorite was a 1978 film called Always For Pleasure, which documented the phenomenon of the "Mardi Gras Indians", and in particular the Wild Tchoupitoulas tribe.

****
THE MEANING OF CERTAIN WORDS AND PHRASES IN THE SONG
This text analysis provides information and my opinions about the meanings of certain words and phrases that are found in The Wild Tchopatoulas/The Neville Brothers version of "Meet De Boys On De Battlefront" (both lyrics given above). Additions and corrections are welcome.

Battlefront - the neighborhood streets on which the Mardi Gras Indians parade
**
Big Chief Jolly - George Landry aka "Big Chief Jolly", the Neville Brother's uncle, was the founder and big chief of the Mardi Gras Indian group The Wild Tchapatoulas. Big Chief Jolly is the lead singer in the "Meet De Boys On De Battlefield" video that is given above as Example #2.
**
(a) blood shiffa-hoona - probably means a Mardi Gras Indian by blood
**
maskers - members of Mardi Gras Nations who masquerade as Indians during Mardi Gras and at other times such as "Super Sunday" (usually around March 19th every year) (same as "gonna play Indian")
**
fire water - drinking alcohol
**
iddy bitty spy - little (in stature) spy boy (a position in the Mardi Gras Indian hierarchy whose task was to scout and report the positions of other Mardi Gras Indian groups.)
**
(The) prettiest - the persons who are considered to have the best outfits
**
stomp some romp - get into physical battles (beat up on people's butts), as physical fighting is no longer a part of the meetings between two Mardi Gras Indian nations, "stomp some romp" can be said to mean "excel in the battle" between which Mardi Gras Indian nation's outfits looks the best.
**
(the) the 13th ward - a neighborhood in New Orleans, Louisiana
**
"went all the way"; won't be barred - the Mardi Gras Indian won't be blocked from traveling down the street (by Indians from other "nations").

**
"jacimo fin a la kay", "Quende may hacko may hoona no" - are examples of the made up but fairly fixed Mardi Gras Indian language. The meanings of these words & sayings and other "Mardi Gras Indian words and phrases such as "iko iko", "tu way pocka way", "oona nay" and "jacamo finane" are widely debated.
-snip-
The lines "I walked through fire and I swam through mud/Snatched a feather from an eagle, drank panther blood!" are examples of the self braggadocio, exaggerated "lies" ("tall tales", "stories") that Southern African Americans told which are the focus of books such as Zora Neale Hurston's 1930s book Mules And Men.

Also, the reason why the maskers kneel and pray when they came home after being on the battlefront because they survived that day's encounters with rival Indians.

****
RELATED LINK
Click this page of my cocojams.com cultural website http://www.cocojams.com/content/mardi-gras-indian-songs-chants for more Mardi Gras Indians songs.

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Four Chimurenga Songs - Mbare Chimurenga Choir (Zimbabwe)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases four videos of Zimbabwean Chimurenga songs by the Mbare Chimuenga Choir.

The content of this post is posted for cultural and aesthetic purposes. I'm particularly interested in the tune & beat of the songs, the musical instruments used, and the dance movements shown in these videos. I'm also interested in the traditional clothing worn by the people in these videos.

DISCLAIMER: The presentation of these songs in this post should not be considered a reflection of support or lack of support for any political party or any political figure mentioned in these songs or shown on these videos.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to members of the Mbare Chimuenga Choir for their renditions of these songs. Thanks also to these video's publishers on YouTube and thanks to all those quoted in this post.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT CHIMURENGA
From http://www.zambuko.com/mbirapage/resource_guide/pages/music/chimurenga.html
"Chimurenga
Chimurenga is a Shona word which means to fight or struggle. Traditionally, chimurenga or bongozozo is a fight in which everyone at hand participates. The word's modern interpretation has been extended to describe a struggle for human rights, political dignity and social justice. Thomas Mapfumo coined the phrase chimurenga music to describe his revolutionary music which evolved during Zimbabwe's struggle to gain independence in the early seventies…
Characterized by biting social and political commentary, third person political innuendo, Mapfumo has developed a style of music whose roots are traditional Shona mbira music, but played with modern electric instrumentation, a more modern message adapted to current social and political affairs, a sense of urgency and a cry for justice."...

****
From http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1666333/chimurenga
...“Among [Thomas Mapfumo's] first and most significant initiatives with the group [he formed in the 1970s the Hallelujah Chicken Run Band] was to change the language of the songs from English, which was associated with the white-minority administration, to Shona, which was spoken by the majority of the country’s black population...

Again drawing from his experience with Shona traditional music, Mapfumo overhauled his group’s instrumental component. Now played with a percussive technique, the guitars were made to imitate the rippling, interlocking melodies of the mbira—specifically, those of the mbira dzavadzimu, the instrument used to summon the Shona ancestral spirits. The drum rhythms, meanwhile, evoked the stamping of Shona dancers’ feet, and the cymbals replicated the pulse of the hosho, the gourd rattle that provides a foundational rhythm and regulates the tempo for the mbira in traditional performance. For Mapfumo and his audiences, creation of this new style of popular music represented both a break from the colonial past and a source of empowerment.”...

****
FEATURED VIDEOS
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting dates with the oldest dated examples given first. These songs are presented without transcriptions.

Example #1: Mbare Chimurenga Choir - Nyatsoteerera



rmvembe, Uploaded on Oct 23, 2010

****
Example #2: Mbare Chimurenga Choir - Nyika Yedu



rmvembe, Uploaded on Oct 29, 2010

****
Example #3: Mbare Chimurenga Choir - Makorokoto



rmvembe, Uploaded on Dec 14, 2010

****
Example #4: Mbare Chimurenga Choir - MuZimbabwe



rmvembe, Uploaded on Jan 25, 2011


****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitors comments are welcome.

Read More

Joyous Celebration 17 - "Namata" (Zimbabwean Gospel Song)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases a video of and lyrics for the Zimbabwean Gospel song "Namata" by Joyous Celebration 17 with lead singer Mkhululi Bhebhe.

The content of this post is posted for cultural, religious, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Mkhululi Bhebhe & other members of Joyous Celebration 17 for their rendition of this song. Thanks also to this video's publisher and thanks to the commenters who are quoted in this post.

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: joyous celebration 17 na ma ta



DaRealmawande, blished on Jun 3, 2013

i do not own this video,therefor i acknowledge the rightful owners.

****
LYRICS: NAMATA
(As sung by Joyous Celebration 17, lead singer Mkhululi).

Click http://africangospellyrics.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/namata-pray-lyrics-by-mkhululi-bhebhe-joyous-celebration-17/ for lyrics for this song.

Shona and English lyrics for "Namata" are also included in a number of comments on this video's viewer comment thread http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YInlLbRTuRI. Here are two of those translations with the oldest comment posted first:

MrEdizah, 2013 *[two comments reformatted for this post]
(Sung in Shona) Iwe satani (Hey you Satan!)
Hayi! Tinouya (We’re coming)
Hayi! Kwauri (For you) Hayi!
Nomunondo (With the sword)
Hayi! Weshoko (Of the gospel)
Hayi! Tichiti (Shouting) Hayi!
Hauna simba (You have no power)
Hayi! Kuvakomana (On the boys)
Hayi! Nevasikana (And the girls)
Hayi! Vakatengwa (For the’ve been bought)
Hayi! Neropa (By the blood)
Hayi! RaJesu (Of Jesus)
Hayi! Viva Jesu (Long live Jesus)
Viva! x4 Naye Jesu (Yes Jesus) Naye! x4

Tose Dzvamu Nevhangeri (We all stand with the gospel)
Haiwaiwa tose dzvamu (Yes, we stand with the gospel) x8
(Chant) Iyo nguva (Nguva yatoperawo) The time is running out
Namata (Namata Mwari wako iwe) Pray to your God (Repeat)
Namata (Namata) Pray (x2) N
amata (Namata Mwari wako iwe) Pray to your God (Repeat) (This is) This is your time (To praise) To praise the Lord (
Namata) Namata Mwari wako iwe Pray to your God
Namata (Namata) Pray Namata (Namata Mwari wako iwe) Pray to your God

****
iluvdng07, 2014
"This song is in Shona - a Zimbabwean language Here's the chant:

Iwe Satani, - Hey Satan
Tinouya, kwauri, - We come against you
Nemunondo, weShoko, - With the sword of the Word
Tichiti, - Saying
Hauna simba, kuvakomana, nevasikana - You have no power against the boys and girls
Takatengwa, neropa, raJesu - We were bought by the blood of Jesus
Viva Jesu - Viva Jesus
Naye Jesu - Viva Jesus ( lol. I guess the English for Viva would be Long Live)

The commas depict the choir's response (Hayi) I can't think of an English translation for that, but it doesn't really mean anything specific. Think of people in a riot chanting nonsense words in between what they wish to express.

****
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S VIEWER COMMENT THREAD
Tariro Makina, 2013
"Namata means Pray. It is Shona (Zimbabwe)"

Mduduzi Mjweni, 2013
"Am south african I I lov d song even thou I also dnt understand the language coz its Zimbabwean. Even most of people dancing in that hall I doubt that they understood the words sang dt day"

****
Dee wacho, 2013
"Totally zimbabwean including the dances lol!!!!"

****
Editor: This comment provides information about the dance movements performed for this rendition of "Namata":
fidifid, 2013
"Farira Jesu-love Jesus #tambira Jesu-dance for jesus# makomborero-blessings#,change gear(classic Zimbabwean dance#second dance-bicycle (classic zim dance), love this song:)"

****
Nobuhle Nkomo, 2013
"Typical Zimbabwean even the sound..love it..proudly Zimbabwean"

****
Kudakwashe Chayambuka, 2014
Its a Chimurenga (zimbabwe liberation war) song that was turned to gospel in an artistic way. What a blessing"
-snip-
Note: A commenter to this YouTube comment thread mentioned that while the lead singer is from Zimbabwe, he is Ndebele and not Shona and therefore some of the words are misspelled and pronounced incorrectly.
-snip-
Unfortunately, neither that commenter nor any other commenter to date shared which Chimurenga song was the bases for the Gospel song "Namata".

****
RELATED LINK
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/03/five-chimurenga-songs-mbare-chimurenga.html

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitors comments are welcome.

Read More

Linton Kwesi Johnson - "Bass Culture" (sound file & words)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases a sound file of and the words to Linton Kwesi Johnson's dub poetry composition "Bass Culture". Information about Linton Kwesi Johnson is also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All content remain with their owners.

Thanks to Linton Kwesi Johnson for his musical and literary legacy. Thanks also to the publishers of this sound video on Youtube and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT LINTON KWESI JOHNSON
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linton_Kwesi_Johnson
"Linton Kwesi Johnson (aka LKJ) (born in Jamaica, 24 August 1952) is a UK-based dub poet. In 2002 he became the second living poet, and the only black poet, to be published in the Penguin Modern Classics series.[1][2] His performance poetry involves the recitation of his own verse in Jamaican Patois over dub-reggae, usually written in collaboration with renowned British reggae producer/artist Dennis Bovell. His middle name, "Kwesi", is a Ghanaian name that is given to boys who - like Johnson - are born on a Sunday."...

**
From http://www.biography.com/people/linton-kwesi-johnson-20903749
"Linton Kwesi Johnson was born on August 24, 1952 in Chapleton, in the parish of Clarendon, Jamaica. After moving to London and attending the University of London's Goldsmiths College, he began writing politically charged poetry. He is known as the creator of "dub poetry," a blend of reggae music and spoken verse. Johnson is the author of three popular books of poetry, and has worked as a journalist, recording artist and radio host...

Some of Johnson's distinguished awards include an Honorary Visiting Professorship at Middlesex University in London (2004), and a silver Musgrave medal from the Institute of Jamaica for distinguished eminence in the field of poetry (2005). His work has been translated into several languages and he has toured extensively throughout Europe, Japan, South Africa, Brazil and other nations.

Commenting on why he started to write poetry, Johnson said, "The answer is that my motivation sprang from a visceral need to creatively articulate the experiences of the black youth of my generation, coming of age in a racist society" (The Guardian; March 28, 2012).

****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Linton Kwesi Johnson - Bass Culture



RastaChaka, Uploaded on Nov 22, 2009
-snip-
"Bass Culture" is track #14 on the album Independant Intavenshan." That album was released in 1998.

For more information about that album click http://www.discogs.com/Linton-Kwesi-Johnson-Independant-Intavenshan-The-Island-Anthology/release/611450

****
WORDS TO "BASS CULTURE"
(Linton Kwesi Johnson)

muzik of blood
black reared
pain rooted
heart geared

all tensed up
in di bubble an di bounce
an di leap an di weight-drop

it is di beat of di heart
this pulsing of blood
that is a bubblin bass
a bad bad beat
pushin gainst di wall
whey bar black blood

an is a whole heappa
passion a gather
like a frightful form
like a righteous harm
giving off wild like is madness

BAD OUT DEY

hotta dan di hites of fire
livin heat doun volcano core
is di cultural wave a dread people deal
spirits riled
an rise an rail thunda-wise
latent powa
in a form resemblin madness
like violence is di show
burstin outta slave shackle
look ya! boun fi harm di wicked

man feel
him hurt confirm
man site
destruction all aroun
man turn
love still confirm
him destiny a shine lite-wise
soh life tek the form whey shiff from calm
an hold di way of a deadly storm

culture pulsin
high temperature blood
swingin anger
shattering di tightened hold
the false hold
round flesh whey wail freedom
bitta cause a blues
cause a maggot suffering
cause a blood klaat pressure
yer still breedin love
far more mellow
than di soun of shapes
chanting loudly

SCATTA-MATTA-SHATTA-SHACK!
what a beat!

for di time is night
when passion gather high
when di beat jus lash
when di wall mus smash
an di beat will shiff
as di culture alltah
when oppression scatta

Source: http://www.releaselyrics.com/058c/linton-kwesi-johnson-bass-culture/

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

The Chosen Brothers - Mango Walk (Roots Reggae/Dub Music)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases a sound file of the Roots Reggae song "Mango Walk" by The Chosen Brothers. Information about Roots Reggae, and about Dub music are also included in this post as are two selected comments from this sound file's viewer comment thread and a link to the Dub Reggae tune "Mango Drive" by Rhythm & Sound which is mentioned by one of the commenters.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All content remain with their owners.

Thanks to The Chosen Brothers for this song. Thanks also to the publishers of this sound video on Youtube. And thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT ROOTS REGGAE
From http://www.omuzic.net/blog/the_history_of_roots_reggae/
"Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer and the rural poor. Lyrical themes include spirituality and religion, poverty, cultural pride, social issues, resistance to government and racial oppression as well as repatriation to Africa. The increasing influence of the Rastafari movement after the visit of Haile Selassie to Jamaica in 1966 played a major part in the development of roots reggae, with spiritual themes becoming more common in reggae lyrics in the late 1960s...

While roots reggae was largely overtaken in popularity in Jamaica by dancehall, several artists from the original era, such as Culture, Burning Spear and Isreal Vibration continued to produce roots reggae and artists like Beres Hammond and Freddie McGregor continued the use of roots reggae, as a musical style and thematically, through the 1980s. In the 1990s younger Jamaican artists became interested in the Rastafari movement and began incorporating roots themes into their music"...

****
INFORMATION ABOUT DUB MUSIC
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dub_(music)
"Dub is a genre of music[1] which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre,[2] though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae. Music in this genre consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings[3] and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing music piece, and emphasizing the drum and bass parts (this stripped down track is sometimes referred to as a 'riddim'). Other techniques include dynamically adding extensive echo, reverb, panoramic delay, and occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works."...

****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Chosen Brothers - Mango Walk - Heavy Roots Reggae Dubwize.1979 Wackies 12 INCH



pablowkingstoned, Uploaded on Mar 20, 2009

the chosen brothers - mango walk - heavy roots reggae dubwize.1979 wackies..... its me 400th jamaican music jukebox video, so we have a big one here ...heavy and deep hope you like it!!!! ....enjoy!!!
-snip-
This recording is instrumental except for these words that recur periodically throughout the song: "Maaaaangooo” (It’s a fruit y’all) and "Everybody shout “Maaaaangooo”".
-snip-
Nigel Gillett, 2013
"This was recorded in a baement in the Bronx. The low-fi, distorted quality of the recording was by all accounts intentional.He wanted to create a distinctive sound and vibe, like Lee Perry's Black Ark."

***
silverdroid, 2013
"I had no idea until recently that Mango Drive (Rhythm & Sound) was inspired by this. Now it's stuck in my head forever. At my desk at work chanting "Maaaaangoooooooo!" And people with quality concerns: it's intentional. Dub is warm and gritty by nature."

RELATED LINKS
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS0yS2102gM for a sound file of the instrumental tune "Mango Drive".

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-in-crowd-mango-walk-reggae-video.html for the pancocojams post about The In-Crowd's Roots Reggae song "Mango Walk".

****
NFORMATION ABOUT THE PHRASE "MANGO WALK"
"Mango Walk" is the title of an old Jamaican Mento song. That song refers to a person stealing mango fruit from the trees in the mango walk (the mango orchard).

Visit this page of my Cocojams cultural website for examples of lyrics for the Mento song "Mango Walk" http://www.cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More