Two Examples Of "Johnny Fill Up The Bowl" (United States Civil War Song)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases two examples of the United States Civil War Song "Johnny Fill Up The Bowl".

This post is published for folkloric and historical purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the composers of versions of this song. Thanks also to the collectors and publishers of this song, and to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
Example #1: JOHNNY FILL UP THE BOWL
Up, Freeman and volunteer,
Hurrah, hurrah!
And crush Rebellion out this year
Hurrah, hurrah!
Up-hoist our country's glorious flag
Down with the Confederate rag;
And we'll all drink stone-blind--
Johnny, fill up the bowl.

The Conscription Act is now passed
Hurrah, hurrah!
And we'll be drafted now at last.
Hurrah, hurrah!
Five Hndred Thousand the latest call,
Wake up, or we'll be ruined all.
And we'll all drink stone-blind--
Johnny, fill up the bowl.

Soon from the distant shores of Maine,
Hurrah, hurrah!
To Georgia's distant sunny plain
Hurrah, hurrah!
Our flag shall wave over ev'y port,
O'er land and sea and then we'll sport;
And we'll all drink stone-blind--
Johnny, fill up the bowl.

And when this cruel war is o'er,
Hurrah, hurrah!
We'll not discharge the Invalid Corps
But to garrison forts or occupy,
A higher station till they die;
And we'll all drink stone-blind--
Johnny, fill up the bowl.

Quoted from http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/old-time-music/old-time-songs/johnny_fill_up_the_bowl.html

-snip-
Explanation of certain words or phrases:
Freeman - Black men who are free as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation

Prior to the Emancipation Proclamation [in July 1862] there were Black men who were born free and/or who had purchased their freedom.

As an aside, it can be noted that some Black Americans and some non-Black Americans have the last name "Freeman". That term was also used during medieval times in the United Kingdom to distinguish freeman from serfs.

"conscription finally being passed" = July 17, 1862 [click
http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/blacks-civil-war/ for information about this subject]

The use of the term "freeman", the reference to "conscription finally being passed",and the use of the pronoun "we" are indications that this version of "Johnny Fill Up The Bowl" was composed by a Black American.

"fill up the bowl [with liquor]

"and we'll all drink stone-blind" = This probably means veeeery drunk; i.e. "as blind as a stone" (since stones can't see)

In contemporary English saying "drinking (oneself blind)- so that things get blurry and the person can't see.

The phrase "stone blind" appears to be similar but is probably not the same as the use of "stone" as a substitute for the word "very". I think that slang use of the word "stone" as an intensifier first occurred in the mid to late 1960s, for example in the hit song "Stone Soul Picnic" which was recorded by The Fifth Dimensions.

"then we'll sport" - then we'll enjoy ourselves

****
Example #2:
JOHNNY FILL UP THE BOWL
Abram Lincoln, where yer 'bout?
Hurrah, hurrah.
Stop this war, for it's played out
Hurrah, hurrah.

Abram Lincoln, what yer 'bout
Stop this war, for it's played out.
We'll all drink stone-blind
Johnny fill up the bowl.
-snip-
Source of this song: "Civil War Street Ballad", Journal of American Folklore, 1892, 269-81

A musical notation is given for this song. But unfortunately, I can't read music and therefore can't tell for sure what the tune is and if its tempo was fast or slow. However, the editor's comment about this example taking "a popular patroit tune" and the use of the name "Johnny" suggests to me that that song used the tune to "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3k8H_9SjoM for a sound file of that song.

The summary of that sound file indicates that "Noted Bandmaster Patrick Gilmore wrote the lyrics for this tune when his band was attached to the 24th Massachusetts Infantry. The tune is the same as the Irish song "Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye" but there is some dispute as to which came first."
-snip-
That information was surprising to me as I had apparently mistakenly thought that "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" song referred to the soldiers in the Confederate army, because of their nickname "Johnny reb". I

My guess is that "Johnny" was a general nickname for all White males (in the United States, at least, and perhaps also in what was to become the United Kingdom. At the same time in the United States, if not elsewhere, the general nickname for Black males was either "Sambo" ("Sam") or "George", but I believe that I read that "George came later. And, I read in that same article whose citation I didn't save that at least one general nickname for Black females was "Elizabeth" (Lizzy).
-snip-
Explanation of certain words or phrases:
"where yer 'bout= where are you?
-snip-
This song is included in the book Folklore From The Working Poor edited by Tritram Potter Coffin and Hennig Cohen (Anchor Press, 1973, p. 83). That book featured three example from "Civil War Street Ballad", Journal of American Folklore, 1892, 269-81. However, I only copied the example given above.
[This was about 15 years ago before I had a home computer and I would use the library copy machines and pay 10 cents a page to copy lots of pages of books that I was interested in.]

Here are notes about this song and the other two songs that were featured in that section are quoted in Folklore From The Working Poor from the article "Civil War Street Ballad", Journal of American Folklore, 1892, 269-81
"Military. Songs of this kind were printed on single sheets of coarse paper often without music or indication of authorship, and sold in the streets for a penny and were gathered in dime songsters. These examples were gathered by Alfred M. Williams. Many street ballads show clear signs of folk origin, and others more literary and of known authorship passed into folk tradition. The standard tunes for these three songs which follow have ben supplied by the editors.

"Johnny Fill Up The Bowl": Copperheads, northern sympathizers with the Conferacy, or simply the discouraged and war-weary, also raised their voices in song, like folksingers everywhere borrowing a tune that united them. In this instance they took a popular patriotic tune. Vance Randolph (Ozark Folksongs II, 284) notes a version of this song used as a sea chantey.

"Bummers Come And Meet Us": "Bummers" were soldiers who deserted to loot and were, loosely, raiders. As with sailors' chanteys and plantation work songs, the simple repetitiou form of thee verses encouragaged communal composition-exapansion and iprovisation by anonymous singers. To thee eextent it was used by soldiers as a marching song it was, in a strict sense, more of an occupational song than the others in this group.

"The Valiant Conscript": A shared tradition, North and South, is eevideent in this southern version off "Yankee Doodle", which, like "Dixie", calls to mind the banter and low humor of the
minstrel stage.
-snip-
My comment:
Given these notes and the use of the "When Johnny Comes Marching home song, I think that this version of that song was probably composed by White Americans.

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Chanteys Sung By Black Circus Work Crews

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post is a transcription of a May 27, 1957 Billboard magazine article entitled "Big Tops Boom But Chanteys Disappear" by Tom Parkinson [Chicago] (page 1-67). The subtitle of that article is "Mechanization Leaves Only Memories of Canvasmen’s colorful Work Chants" and the article can be found at http://books.google.com/books?id=vh0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=circus+chanteys&source=bl&ots=W-6V9h8Zym&sig=EqKkNeD5XzHKQnW5VOnw4HGMckw&hl=en&sa=X&ei=5vUAVPiHEcvnsAT_y4LoCg&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=circus%20chanteys&f=false

The book Folklore From The Working Folk Of America edited by Tristram Potter Coffin and Hennig Cohen (Anchor Press, 1973) includes a shortened version of this article "Circus Chanties" [pp 61-63). I read that article before finding the longer Billboard magazine article via Google. Notes about that book passage are given in the comment section below.

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

All copyrights remain with the owners.

Thanks to the singers and the collectors of these chanties. Thanks also to Tom Parkinson, the author of that Billboard article which may be the only source of information about and examples of circus chanties.

****
FULL TRANSCRIPTION OF 'BIG TOPS BOOM BUT CHANTEYS DISAPPEAR" by Tom Parkinson

"Circus big tops are far from extinct, but what has disappeared are the distinctive chanteys of the big top crews.
Similar work chanteys of sailors and plantation workers have been written down and, in some cases, popularized. But circus canvasmen, like their fellow specialists in various show fields have escaped notice for the most part. Now their lore is all but gone.

Time was that the singing and chants of the Negro work crews were as much a part of the action as were the rhythmic pounding of stake hammer crew and long string drivers.
Now although there are almost as many big tops in the air as ever, it’s a different breed of men that works show canvas. The newcomers aren’t so inclined to sing as were their predecessors. Last year a big top boss tried to revive the old chanteys, but he had no luck.

First Time Published
As far as is known, these chanteys have never been written down before. The only exceptions are a couple of verses of the simplest chanty, the kind used by the advanced and experienced crew. One such version goes:
'Heave it, heavy
"Shake it; break it
"Shove it down
"Next...

One of the last versions of this to be used was recorded by Edward Hogsband in a novel he wrote after being with the Ringling Brothers show a few seasons ago. He quoted it phonetically
Re-aar baack jump- jump- jump-vrawgaloong.
This translate into “Rear back, jump, jump jump, walk along” and it is as close as recent crew have come to the old chanteys. The earlier ones not only had more color and music to them, but they also avoided the near mechanical terms of this one.

More Loose Ends
Here is how the chanteys were used. After a big top is in the air, it’s necessary to tighten the ropes with which it is staked down. Around the edge of the tent are many side poles; on a 150 foot round top with three 50 foot middle pieces, for example, there are 50 poles.

At each pole position there are two ropes. One, the main guy, extends outward to a stake. The other is called a pull rope, and the canvasmen pulls at it, in time to a chantey, to tighten the knot. A man at the stake takes up the resulting slack in the main guy by pushing the half–hitch knot further down on the tent stake. Once the main- guy is staked down, the pull rope also is tied off, and it becomes a stores guy, an extra protection in bad weather.

An early chantey went like this:

“Oh you shake it and you break it;
"You fall back and take the slack;
"You pull with all your might.
"To get the old rag tight;
"The slack you must take,
"So he can push it down-stake;
"And now we’ll move along.

The rope caller’s polite last line was the crew’s clue to move to the next ropes. Once they worked clear of the 150 by 300- foot big top, and down- staked 80 main guys, they repeated the circle to guy out the other 80 extra guys. The purpose of these is to create a depression in the tent surface for rapid drainage of rain water. Side poles hold the tent edge high, extra guys between them pull the edge downward.

Like Square Dance
This means crew guyed out 160 ropes on a sample tent. To that were sometimes added 26 quarter-pole guy ropes. Finally, in some sections of the country or in some weather conditions, the boss canvasman ordered use of the so-called funny ropes. More properly, these are scissor ropes because they extend from one wall pole to the next stake, crossing over each other to give an added brace against heavy wind. The whole process is called ragging out.

Pearly Houser, who now keeps an eye on the canvas of the Al G. Kelly and Miller Bros. Circus, recalls when they “called the rope”, like calling a square dance, with a two-part chantey in which the caller used ballad-like lines and the crew answered with a version of “yo-heave-ho” as they pulled the rope.
When Houser was with Barnum & Bailey for a tour of Europe nearly 60 years ago, they called out this tune:
"I hit my wife (Yo, heave)
"With a singletree (Yo, heave)
"You ought to hear her holler (Yo, heave)
"Oh, Lordee, don’t murder me (Yo, heave)
"Down-s-ke.

Womenfolk of the big top gang had it rough, if the chanteys Houser recollects are a guide. A second one went:
"My Lula’s gone to Kansas(Yo, ho)
"I told her not to go (Yo, ho)
"And now she’s wading (Yo, ho)
in the cold and icy snow (Yo, ho)
"Next rope...

The labor sometimes had to be completed before the men could go to breakfast. George Werner, now with the Clyde Beatty Circus and recently boss canvasman on the Ringling-Barnum show, recalled when the flag was raised that the cookhouse was ready to serve, the rope caller took notice this way:
“Thar she be, heave it
“Flying flag in the breeze, shake it.
“Ups and over; break it.
”Ham hocks and bumble bees; down stake it.
“Graveyard stews and stacks of wheat; move along.

Maybe a long season of that menu-up and overs, “bumble bees”, and “graveyard stews” gave rise to the contrary comment of the rope caller remembered by another veteran tent man, Whitey Lehrter:

“Every time (Heave it)
“Ding dong ring (Heave it)
“Look at the table (Heave it)
“Same damn old thing (Heave it)

While the rope caller might irk the cookhouse boss with this sort of thing while ragging out the dining tents, the crews delighted in baiting performers, too. Take the time Pearly Houser says his rope men paraphrased somewhat greater literature to “commemorate an event in one performer’s life:

“Come back, come back, he cried in grief (Yo, heave-ho)
“Across the muddy, stormy lot (Yo, heave-ho)
"And I’ll forgive the big top chief (Yo, heave-ho)
My daughter, oh my daughter
"(Next stake)

Bewhiskered Joe Applegate, who first ragged tops with a circus in 1900 and now handles the Hagen Bros spread after years with Beatty, remembers a chantey with circuses perpetual travel as a theme:
“Heigh ho, heave, shake, break, shake, break ;
"Hold back, set back, fall back, shake break
"Omaha, St, Louis, Kansas City
"(San Antone)

In that one the name of the current day’s spot was inserted in the fourth spot. Similarly, another chant was adapted to fit the name of the show’s owner they were with at the time. As George Werner recalls, it was used for placing quarter poles rather than for guying out.
"Oh come on, you children come (Heigh-ho).
Put your hands on a pole and do your part (Heigh-ho).
"Let's puch them up and set them straight (Heigh-ho).
Yes sir, bossman says let's nor be late (Heigh-ho).
We all know it's a dirty old rag (Heigh-ho).
Oh, but it's a good old rag (Heigh-ho).
Yes, sir, it's a big old rag (Heigh-ho)..
Today it is a (wet) old rag (Heigh-ho).
Man, you know it's (Downie's) old rag (Heigh-ho).
And (Mr. Downie) wants it up (Heigh-ho).

Werner and C. A. Somnemberg, who has also seen wet and dry tents guyed out for Downie and a dozen other show owners whose names were inserted in similar chanteys, recall when Harvey (Lowdown Red) Beach had a big top with Yankee Robinson Circus and called the ropes this way:

“Heave ho, heave it, rock, bock, nock.
"Shake it, break it, take it
"Down the stakes…Walk along, gentlemen.

The way that elephant man Bill Woodcock remembers one, they worked in a pun with a circus name in the fifth line of this one:

“Heave it, heavy down;
"Hump back, jump back
"Take it back,
"Break your back,
"Hagenbeck;
“Down stake, next...

Tho the big top remains, and big top crews are ragging them every day, the chanteys have disappeared. Automatic stake drivers replaced sledge hammer crews. Mechanized spool trucks replaced the job of manhandling bulky bales of canvas. Tractors replaced teamsters. And as a leading tent manufacturer put it, “a different breed of cat” is working on canvas crews. This cat don’t dig the old chantey.”

END OF ARTICLE
My Notes
Words in italics mean that I'm not certain about this transcription because the quality of the printed page wasn't clear.

I wonder if the name "Pearly" (Pearly Houser) is a nickname that that man received because of his wide smile or white teeth.

In the chantey beginning with the line "Oh come on, you children come" the word "rag" refers to the canvas tents.

"A different breed of cat” is working on canvas crews. This cat don’t dig the old chantey.” = A different type of man is working on canvas crews. This man [these men] don't like chanteys.

The late 1950s was a time of emerging Black consciousness and group pride. Maybe the Black circus workers in the late 1950s not only felt more confident but also felt even a little bit more assurred that there would be less negative reprecussion if they didn't perform at the command of their White bosses. Previouly, singing chanties was an integral part of their job as it helped to coordinate the labor as well as helped the men tolerate their strenous labor. When singing chanties was no longer integral, then why should the men expend energy singing?

Also, similar to how Black people think about plantation songs, it's likely that those Black men associated the "olden days" when chanties were sung with negative times, and negative images of Black people. For example, consider the Walt Disney 1941 movie Dumbo with its offensive "Song Of The Roustabouts" and its equally offensive depiction of faceless Black circus laborors singing a song that is based on circus chanties. I wonder if that movie and song contributed to Black men's distaste for singing chanties or their distaste for the custom of singing (and dancing) on demand for White people's enjoyment.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/10/song-of-roustabouts-in-movie-dumbo.html for a pancocojams post about "The Song Of The Roustabouts".

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

How Police Are Portrayed In Animated Pre-School Videos

Edited by Azizi Powell

Animated videos of pre-school songs about helpful traffic policemen are quite different from the ways far too many real life police officers act.

I started to title this post "Whatever Happened To Officer Friendly?". But I found out that there was already a post with that title: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ronda-lee/what-ever-happened-to-officer-friendly-ferguson_b_5692375.html What Ever Happened to 'Officer Friendly' Ferguson? by Ronda Lee.
08/19/2014 11:44 pm EDT Updated: 08/19/2014 11:59 pm EDT

Here's an excerpt from that post:
"...My personal encounters with the police have not been pleasant, especially when "driving while black." It usually takes me using the "attorney card" before I am free to go. I recall visits in grammar school from "Officer Friendly." He would give us tips on how to be safe when walking to and from school. Officer Friendly told us that in an emergency, we should seek out a police officer, because their job was to serve and protect. What ever happened to Officer Friendly?”...

Emmett Till, Sean Bell, Trayvon Martin, Oscar Grant, Michael Brown, Ezell Ford.... When will it stop?! As a black woman I am fearful of giving birth to a son.... As an attorney, I know that justice is not blind; it is biased. For the same crime, a black person is 30-percent more likely* to end up in prison than a white person. Even when it comes to discipline in schools, black students are given harsher punishment than white students.** It does not matter if people of color are well-dressed or wearing hoodies. There is a societal acceptance of the belief that underneath the suit or hoodie, we are prone to bad behavior."...

*http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/08/30/770501/study-black-defendants-are-at-least-30-more-likely-to-be-imprisoned-than-white-defendants-for-the-same-crime/

**http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/news/2012/03/13/11351/the-top-10-most-startling-facts-about-people-of-color-and-criminal-justice-in-the-united-states/
-snip-
Here's information about "Officer Friendly":
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Officer_Friendly
"Officer Friendly is a model program to acquaint children and young adults with law enforcement officials as a part of a community relations campaign. The program was especially popular in the United States from the 1960s to the 1980s, but it continues in some police departments.[1]. Officer Friendly is generally not a specific character, and is in the public domain...

Methods
The Officer Friendly programs most famously involved police officers visiting pre-school and kindergarten classrooms. In many parts of the United States, Officer Friendly coloring books are distributed to children.

Officer Friendly in the media
There have been many parodies of the nearly ubiquitous program. In many cases, the term "Officer Friendly" is used sarcastically to refer to an abusive police officer."...
-snip-
The pre-school videos that I watched portray the "Officer Friendly" type of police officers.

Example #1: I'm a Policeman Dressed in Blue (song)



Prizm4Music, Uploaded on Nov 20, 2011

From the Disney storybook The Little Fat Policeman, this is "I'm a Policeman", sung by Larry Groce. For those who remember, enjoy!
-snip-
Lyrics: [transcribed from the sound file]
I'm a Policeman dressed in blue
Here are some things I like to do
Direct the traffic in your town
Help to keep you safe and sound

It's my job and I like it fine
No one has a better job than mine

I'm a Policeman dressed in blue
I want to be a friend to you
You can see me everyday
I will wave my hand and say

It's my job and I like it fine
No one has a better job than mine
-snip-
"The Little Fat Policeman" was written by Edith Thacher Hurd & Margaret Wise Brown and illustrateed by Alice & Martin Provensen This book was first published in 1950 and was later published in 1976 as a Disney Golden Book & record. The cover drawing of the book that is shown with this sound file is of a little rolly polly White traffic policeman who is pointing sternly at a chicken (who may have crossed the street when the light was red instead of green.) As is the case with the other examples of pre-chool songs in this category, none of the police officers are wearing guns. This may be because at least some of these videos were produced outside of the United States, and police officers don't wear or carry guns in those nations.

****
Example #2: I'm a Policeman | Classic Nursery Rhymes | Kid Songs



JINGUKID, Published on Dec 10, 2012
Jingukid | Facebook
-snip-
This is another version of the "I'm a Policeman Dressed in Blue" song. This video was produced in India. That fact may accound for the cultural dissonance [for me, a citizen of the United States] of the high pitched female sounding voice purported to come from a policeman. Until I learned where this video was produced [by googling the Jungukid name] I wondered in it was supposed to be a a sarcastic spoof on police officers.

Given the recent news reports about a policeman shooting and killing the Black teenager in Ferguson, Missouri, and the subsequent scenes from that city of militarized police officers, as well as other recent and past reports of Black men elsewhere in the United States being shot and choked, and beaten by police officers, I also thought that it was ironic that a Black boy was the only other person who was shown in this animated video. In one scene of that video, that Black boy helpfully gives the policeman a bottle of water (presumably because the policeman is hot from standing outside in the sun directing traffic.)

****
Example #3: I'm a policeman



paula houlkerPublished on Nov 6, 2012
-snip-
Lyrics: [from the sound file]
I’m a policeman
I’m a policeman
Be a policeman
Just like me.

Look with your eyes [3x]
Just like me.

Listen with your ears [3x]
Just me like me

Sniff with your nose [3x]
Just me like me

Chorus
-snip-
Again, the focus of this video is the police officer directing traffic. But unlike the Jungokid's video, in this video the policeman's voice is deep and somewhat gruff.

****
There are a number of other animated versions of the "I'm A Policeman Dressed In Blue" song on YouTube. There are also other videos of pre-school songs about police officers and videos of pre-school and kindergarden classrooms and individual children singing "I'm A Policeman Dressed In Blue". But I wonder how Black children who have witnessed incidents of police violence or directly experienced that violence would react to teachers requiring them to learn and sing those songs that describe police officers in terms that are so very different from their real experiences.

And it's not only Black people who have experienced police misconduct. The daily kos diary http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/28/1325341/-Living-While-Black-Police-attack-men-for-sitting-not-resisting-not-walking-pockets and comments to that diary indicates that people of any race who are mentally ill, autistic, or deaf have been victims of police brutality. Commenters to that video also suggested action steps that could be taken to address police misconduct- including suing the police department, increasing voter turnout to help change systemic problems, and petitioning the United States Justice Department to intervene in a specific case.

Reading about these cases that are highlighted in that diary is disturbing and disheartening, particularly if you grew up believing that police officers were "Officer Friendlies".
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/policeman-dont-beat-me-and-examples-of.html for a pancocojams post on children's rhymes that mention police officers. Unlke the children's songs that are feeatured in this post, those rhymes focus on the control and punishment role of police officers. And some of those rhymes allude to police misconduct, for instance the 1939 version of "Police don't beat me" that has as a second line "i have a wife and family".

And the beat still goes on [Sigh].

****
This post is presented for cultural and sociological purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners. And thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
Thanks for visting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are weelcome.

Read More

Vine Of Teenage Girls Stepping & Chanting "Justice For Mike Brown"

Edited by Azizi Powell

As I've been documenting the performance art of steppin' and foot stomping cheers and chanting for some time, I was interested to come across a vine of teenage girls performing that kind of movement arts during as a form of protest of Michael Brown shooting death in Ferguson, Missouri.

That vine is included in this article http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/antonio-french-ferguson-vines-arrest By Tasneem Raja, Aug. 15, 2014

That article focuses on St. Louis Alderman Antonio French's coverage of the protests in nearby Ferguson, Missouri. (An Alderman is an elected member of city council.)

According to ://webtrends.about.com/od/Twitter-Web/a/What-Is-Vine.htm, "Vine is a video-sharing app. But it’s not just any video-sharing app. It’s designed in a way for you to film short, separate instances so they can be linked together for a total of six seconds. Each short video plays in a continuous loop, and are viewable directly in Twitter’s timeline or embedded into a web page."
-snip-
I don't know how to embed seperate vine videos, but the vine of the girls steppin (doing foot stomps?) and chanting is found mid way through that article and has the caption "Children chat: "Justice for Mike Brown!".

Here's my transcription of that chant:
Soloist- [in a higher pitched voice] - Justice
Others in the Group - for Mike Brown
-snip-
The soloist chants in a higher pitched voice then the other girls. That chant may have begun with her or the group saying "What do we want?" I think I heard that but if so it was said rather rapidly and therefore wasn't that clear. However, the words that are transcribed above were quite clar.

I'm not good at describing stepping movements, But it appears to me that the girls do a coordinated forward step with their left foot and then they do a rocking step back with their right foot and these movements are done to the beat of the chant that they repeat.

****
Click https://vine.co/#/AntonioFrench for additional vines of Ferguson, Missouri protests that were filmed by Antonio French. Unlike the vine of the girls chanting, these vines are all silent. Most of them show protestors marching. One of the vines shows a woman singing, although you can't hear which song she sings. I wonder if she sung a freedom song that was used in the civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s. Unfortunately, some conditions for Black people seem to have gotten worse since then. Or maybe certain actions like police profiling and police use of excessive forcee have gotten moree publicity thanks to cell phones, the internet, and apps such as Vine.

****
The content of this page is posted for folkloric, cultural, and sociological purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Antonio French and others for participating in and documenting the non-violent protests in Ferguson, Missouri.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

"Policeman Don't Beat Me" And Other Examples Of Policemen Mentioned In Children's Recreational Rhymes

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases examples from three "families" (groups) of children's recreational rhymes or taunts that mention policemen. The families of rhymes/taunts that are featured in this post are "Policeman, Policeman Don't Beat Me", "Policemen Policemen Do Your Duty", and "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" (Macy's).

It's possible that there are additional families of children's recreational rhymes/taunts that mention police officers. However, I can't think of other examples of such rhymes.

By children's recreational rhymes/taunt I mean "playground rhymes"
which may be chanted with accompanying movement activities such as jumping rope or partner handclapping or which may be chanted without any accompanying movements. Although these recreationa; rhymes/taunts have no known authors, the assumption is that they were either composed by children or that children composed variant forms of the original songs or compoaition on which theese rhymees are based.

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

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/how-police-are-portrayed-in-animated.html for the companion pancocojams post "How Police Are Portrayed In Pre-School Animated Videos."

It's interesting that those video examples of police officers focus on their responsibility of directing traffic while an enforcement or punishing function is the focal point of police officers in the children's recreation rhymes that are featured in this post.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who havee collected these examples. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.

****
FEATURED EXAMPLES, CITATIONS, AND COMMENTS
I. POLICEMAN POLICEMAN DON'T BEAT ME
"Policeman, Policeman Don't Whip Me" is a variant form of the songl ines "massa [master] please don't whip me/whip that [n word]* behind that tree". A 1922 example of those lines, with the words "Mistah Washington" substituted for "massa/master", are found in the following example from Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise And Otherwise, edited by the African American collector Thomas W. Talley:

T-U-TURKEY
T-u, tucky, T-u, ti.
T-u, tucky, buzzard's eye.
T-u, tucky, T-u, ting.
T-u, tucky, buzzard's wing.
Oh, Mistah Washin'ton! Don't whoop me,
Whoop dat N___r* Back 'hind dat tree.
He stole tucky, I didn' steal none.
Go wuk him in de co'n field jes fer fun
- Thomas W, Talley, Negro Folk Rhymes, Wise & Othewise, http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm, p. 7
*The n word was fully spelled out in this example.
-snip-
Talley wrote that some of examples in his book were remembered from [United State] slaveery times. It's likely this is one of those old rhymes or is a later variant form of an old rhyme. I've read that the earliest form of these lines was ""Massa, please don't ketch me/ketch that [n word] behind that tree". "Teacher dont beat me", "Policeman don't beat me", and "Policeman Don't Blame Me" are some of the variant forms of this rhyme.

The core meaning of these verses is that having been caught doing something wrong, the person speaking redirects the authority figure's attention to another person who the speaker claims was engaged in wrongdoing.

Here's an example of the policeman version of this rhyme from Jump-Rope Rhyme: A Dictionary edited by Roger D. Abrahams (Publications of the American Folklore Society, 1970 [p. 161]

Policeman, policeman don’t whip (blame) me,
Whip that [n word] behind that tree;
he stole peaches I stole none;
Put him in the calaboose* just for fun.


Usually collected as a taunt
-snip-
*calaboose - jail [from Spanish word "calabozo" dungeon] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calaboose

Citations include: Douglas (1916), 54 [London] Policeman, don’t touch me/I have a wife and family”
Heck, JAF [Journal of American Folklore], 42 [Ohio]
Brewster, SFQ [Southern Folk Quarterly, 3, (1939) , 178. “Teacher Teacher”= Botkin (1944), 795

Ritchie (1965), 148 [Edinburgh]. “He stole sugar/He stole tea”
-snip-
Given the increased reporting of police violence directed to Black people, it's startling to read a children's rhyme or at least a rhyme that children chanted in which someone suggests putting a Black man in jail just for fun. It should be noted that the way I read the Negro Folk Rhymees example given above, a Black man was encouraging a White man to punish another Black man instead of himself. [Some Black people in the late 19th century used "the n word" as an informal self-referent. However, a number of Black people now (and probably also then) consider that word to be very pejorative. I personally never use "the n word" and I refrain from fully spelling it out when I am quoting it.]

Click http://www.cocojams.com/content/master-please-dont-whip-me for more examples of variant forms of these lines and comments about those examples.

****
II. POLICEMAN DO YOUR DUTY
"Policeman Do Your Duty" rhymes only mention policemen in the firt line. The second line "do your duty" suggests that the police officer should arrest the girl jumper beecause she is being too risque by showing off her legs (as given in the last line of this rhyme.)

I believe the "postman" or "mailman" versions of these rhymes in which the lines "do your duty/send a leetter to my cutie" predates the policeman versions. However, the focus of all of these examples is the different movements that the person (usually a girl) does while jumping inside a rope which is turned by two other players.

Here's an example and some citations from i>Jump-Rope Rhyme: A Dictionary edited by Roger D. Abrahams (Publications of the American Folklore Society, 1970; p. 161)

Policeman (postman) do your duty
Here comes....the American beauty.
She can wiggle, she can woggle,
She can do the splits,
She can wear (pull) her skirts (dress) up
to her hips.*

Also commonly ends “She can dance/She can sing/She can do most anything.”
Cf” Hi Ho Silver, Opie (1959), 236, relates this rhyme to a Valentine [card] verse
-snip-
The earliest citation listed in that book was Haufeecht (1947) 61.
Also listed was Ainsworth, WF, 20 (1961), 181 [Maine], 184 [California], 186 [Michigan], 187, “Send this letter to my cutie], 190 [Wisconsin], 196 [Utah]

*This action was considered quite risqué.
-snip-
Here's an example that I remember chanting in the 1950s (Atlantic City, New Jersey:
Policeman, Policeman, do your duty.
Here comes Debby
An American beauty,
She can wiggle
She can wobble
She can do the split. [later changed to "She can do the twist"]
But I betcha five dollars
She can't do this.
Lady on one foot, one foot, one foot
Turn all around, around, around.
Lady on two foot, two foot, two foot
Touch the ground, the ground, the ground.
Lady on three foot, three foot, three foot
Say your prayers, your prayers, your prayers.
Lady on four foot, four foot, four foot
Jump right out.
-Azizi Powell, Atlantic City, New Jersey, mid 1950s.
-snip-
One foot" means hopping. One foot touches touching the ground when you jump. Two foot" is jumping with both feet off the ground. "Three foot" is two hands touching the ground and then one foot . "Four foot" is jumping with both hands and both feet touching the ground.

Here's an example of this rhyme that my daughter chanted in the 1980s in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania:

Police lady, police lady.
Do your duty.
Here comes Keisha
with ah African booty.
She can wiggle.
She can wobble.
She can do the split.
But I betcha five dollars
She can't do this.
Lady on one foot, one foot, one foot
Turn all around, around, around.
Lady on two foot, two foot, two foot
Touch the ground, the ground, the ground.
Lady on three foot, three foot, three foot
Say your prayers, your prayers, your prayers.
Lady on four foot, four foot, four foot
Jump right out.
-TMP. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, mid 1980s
-anip-
I think the change from "policeman" to "police lady" is significant. When I was growing up, there were no female police officers that I knew of.
"African booty" means a big butt. That referent comes from the commonly held (but erroneous) belief that all Black African women have big butts.

III. I DON'T WANT TO GO TO MEXICO
"I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" may actually refer to a store security guard rather than a police officer. Here's a comment about this rhyme that I wrote and posted on my cocojams cultural website:
Shame Shame Shame.
I don’t want to go to Mexico
no more, more, more.
There’s a big fat policeman
at door, door, door.
He’ll grab you by the collar
and make you pay a dollar.
I don’t want to go to Mexico
no more, more, more.
Shame.
-Multiple sources; posted by Azizi Powell, 2004
-snip-
"I Don’t Want To Go To Mexico” appears to be a widely known handclap rhyme*. Like most hand clap rhymes, it is recited in unison.

*"I Don't Want To Go To Macy's", as this rhyme was originally known, was chanted while jumping rope. However, as was the case for many jump rope rhymes, by at least the early 1970s, the usual performance activity for this rhyme (with the name changed to "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico") was partner hand claps.

I collected this version in 1998 from a number of school aged African American girls and boys living in various Pittsburgh, PA. neighborhoods.

In 2001, I also collected a version of this same rhyme from my school age Philadelphia cousins Breeana and Tonoya. Breena’s and Tonoya’s version also starts with “Shame, shame, shame” and has all of the same words until the section about the big, fat policeman. At that point they say: if he pulls you by the collar, girl, you better holler”. Their version ends with the players saying “I don’t want to go to Mexico, no more, more, more”, “Shut the door!” Each partner tries to be the first to say “shut the door!” Whoever says it first, lightly taps the other player on the shoulder or on the side of their head and then points to them in a “Got ya!” manner.

Barbara Michel's and Bettye White's 1983 book of African American children's rhymes Apple On A Stick contains a version of this rhyme from Houston, Texas “I Don’t Want To Go To College.” That rhyme has the same words as the examples mentioned above, up to and including the line "at the door door door". It then continues by saying:

See what I mean,
Jelly Bean.
Wash your face with gasoline.
Jump in a lake.
Swallow a snake.
Come back home with a tummy ache.

The source for all of these versions is probably the rhyme
“I Don’t Want To Go To Macy’s.” Roger Abrahams notes in his Jump-Rope Dictionary that "I Won't Go To Macy's" was documented as being performed by American children in 1938. p. 97.

“Macy’s” is the name of a chain of department stores. The most famous Macy's store is located in New York City.

Here's information about that rhymee and early examples from http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/i_wont_go_to_macys_any_more_more_more_jump_rope_jingle_1938
" “I Won’t Go To Macy’s Any More, More More” (Jump-rope jingle, 1938)

This New York "jump rope jingle" involves Macy's. It's also in the book Rimbles: A book of children's classic games, rhymes, songs, and sayings (1955, 1956, 1960, 1961) by Patricia Evans, pg. 30.

10 May 1938, New Masses, section two, pg. 109:
I won't go to Macy's any more, more, more!
I won't go to Macy's any more, more, more!
There's a big fat policeman at the door, door, door!
He will squeeze me like a lemon.
A chalachke zol em nehmen.
I won't go to Macy's any more, more, more!

(Also, as "New York Children's Street Rhymes and Songs, by Fred Rolland, pages 565-567, in Sidewalks of America: Folklore, Legends, Sagas, Traditions, Customs, Songs, Stories and Sayings of City Folk, edited by B. A. Botkin, Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1954 - ed.)

14 April 1946, New York Times, "Jump-Rope Jingles," pg. 109:

I won't go to Macy's any more, more, more.
There's a big fat policeman at the door, door, door.
He takes me by the collar, and makes me pay a dollar.
So, I won't go to Macy's any more. more. more."
-snip-
My theory is that these children substituted "Mexico" for "Macys" since they weren't familiar with the "Macy's" store or the word “Macy’s”. This is an example of “folk etymology” Folk etymology occurs when people change foreign words or unfamiliar words into familiar words or sounds that are similar to the word they don’t know.

The original version of “I Don’t Want To Go To Macy’s” doesn’t have any introductory phrase, but a lot of African American songs have beginning (introductory) phrases such as “Shame, Shame, Shame”. One seven year old Pittsburgh girl recited the same version as other Pittsburgh children had shared with me, but she started the rhyme by saying “Shine, shine, shine”.

“Shine” may be another example of “folk etymology”. The girl may have thought she heard the word “shine” when she actually heard children saying “shame”. After all, it makes more sense to say “shame” then “shine” when talking about police grapping you by the collar.
-Azizi; http://www.cocojams.com/content/handclap-jump-rope-and-elastics-rhymes
-snip-
Since at least the 1980s, the words "big fat policeman" has been retained in some examples of "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" (and similarly titled rhymes). However, in other examples, the policeman has been replaced with "a big fat boy" or "a big fat person name ______ " or "a big mean lady", "a big fat lizard", "a big fat gorilla", "a cute little boy", "two cute boys", "a big fat Michael Jackson" or "a skinny Michael Jackson". And I'm sure there are other characters who I didn't mention.

I think that the examples of "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" that deescribe the policeman or any other person (or animal) as "big fat" are examples of "fat shaming". Unfortunately, in the United States and in many other Western nations, many people still consider it okay to insult people who they consider to be overweight. I think that "big fat" was used in the earliest example of "I Don't Want To Macys" (and was retained in the "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" and other variants) because it was a relatively safe insult. However, it's likely that "big fat policeman" might not even refer to the policeman's height or weight, but is a substitute for another less acceptablee descrptor. For example, it would be much less socially acceptable to say that the policemen was "big [and] mean" (with the word "big" acting like an intensifier].
-snip-
Visit http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/10/sources-examples-of-i-dont-want-to-go.html

That page includes multiple examples of "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico", including the following example in which the word "black" replaces the word "fat":

i got one:
i dont wanna go to mexico no more more more
theres a big black policeman at the door door door
he’ll kiss you on the lips he’ll make you do the splits
i dont wanna go to mexico no more more more

then you try to say, shame on you! before your friend (partner) does.
-beth, May 19, 2013, http://losemyway.wordpress.com/2008/02/06/hand-clapping-games/
-anip-
That word substitution of "black" for "fat" could have occurred as a result of mishearing or misremembering a word. However, it's significant that a child could chant a rhyme about a Black policeman. I was a teenager [in the 1960s] before I ever knew that police officerrs could be Black.

Also, for what it's worth, I don't think that "I Don't Want To Go To Mexico" rhyme is meant to disparage Mexicans or the nation of Mexico in any way. And just because a written or spoken composition mentions not wanting to go to Mexico, that doesn't mean that that composition is about immigration. [I've read both of these opinions online.]

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitors' comments are welcome.

Read More

Five Examples Of "Guide My Feet While I Run This Race" (lyrics and comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases five arrangements of the song "Guide My Feet" (While I Run This Race). This song was originally sung as an African American Spiritual, but is also arranged and sung as a Gospel. "Guide My Feet" was also been sung a a United States civil rights protest song in the 1960s.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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

****
STANDARD LYRICS FOR "GUIDE MY FEET"
(African American Spiritual, composer unknown)

1. Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!

2. Hold my hand while I run this race.
Hold my hand while I run this race.
Hold my hand while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!

3. Stand by me while I run this race.
Stand by me while I run this race.
Stand by me while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!

4. I'm your child while I run this race.
I'm your child while I run this race.
I'm your child while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!

5. Search my heart while I run this race.
Search my heart while I run this race.
Search my heart while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!

6. Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race.
Guide my feet while I run this race,
for I don't want to run this race in vain!

Source: http://www.hymnsite.com/fws/hymn.cgi?2208
-nip-
One of the characteristices of African Amrican Spirituals is that the lyrics the order of verses, and the length of the song's performance weren't fixed. Therefore, every rendition of that song wasn't necessarily the same.

I've also heard choirs sing "Guide my tongue while I run this race" while I run this race."

****
COMMENT ABOUT THIS SONG
From http://wgbhnews.org/post/guide-my-feet-while-i-run-race
"Guide My Feet" is a staple of church choirs, folk and gospel artists because of its message — a humble plea for divine guidance during the race of life...

Some few days after the [Boston, Massachusetts] bombing two local ministers led an informal service at the makeshift memorial in Copley Square. They led the gathering crowd in singing the "Guide My Feet" spiritual. Suddenly I realized that all these years I’ve been singing the wrong words. They sang the right words, “Guide my feet, I don’t want to run this race in vain” versus my version, “Guide my feet, I don’t want to run this race alone.” But, whatever the words, "not in vain" or "not alone," I think both sentiments capture the spirit of this year’s marathoners, focused on the journey and not the destination. So when the runners begin their 26-mile trek, I’ll be singing my song for them in full-throated fervor. And celebrating a Boston Stronger."
-snip-
"Gide My Feeet" is Also listed as a freedom song (a civil rights protest song) in http://www.folkways.si.edu/TrackDetails.aspx?itemid=17300 Lest We Forget, Vol. 3: Sing For Freedom
Various Artists FW05488
"Songs played a large role in the movement to close the racial divide in America during the 1960s, and prayers, chants, sermons, and shouts were also fundamental to this task. This collection of freedom songs was recorded during "The Sing for Freedom Workshop"—a remarkable event that brought together the best of freedom singers to share the history of this tradition, better organize the freedom song movement, and enrich an already powerful repertoire of song.

Year of Release 1980
Record Label: Folkways Records
Source : Archive Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage
Credits Produced by Guy Carawan ; Produced by Highlander Research and Education Center (Knoxville, Tenn.)"

****
FEATURED VIDEOS
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting date on YouTube with the oldest dated posts presented first.

Example #1: lord guide my feet while i run this race(mom&sisters)

.

Ronald Dennis, Uploaded on Apr 11, 2008

My two sister and mom,soon to you tube will be my whole family

****
Example #2: Guide My Feet


LukusJerrod, Uploaded on Mar 8, 2009

First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn Choir at NYU, 2009

****
Example #4: "Guide My Feet"- MBC Men's Chorus



MBCWorshipService, Uploaded on May 1, 2010

Calvin M. Blackwell, Sr., Michael E. Cundiff, Sr. and Thomas Powell- Soloists; The MBC Music Ministry Honors the Memories of Mrs. Inez M. Holley; Friday, April 30, 2010; Messiah Baptist Church, 210 Congress Street, Bridgeport CT, Jonathan Q. Berryman, Director of Music. Visit us at www.messiahbaptist-ct.org;

****
Example #5: Guide My Feet, Lord



Lyric Fest, Published on Nov 12, 2013
Guide my feet, Lord - Arr. Jacqueline Hairston

Lisa Daltirus with Laura Ward, Piano

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitors' comments are welcome.

Read More

Bridesmaids' Line Dance At An African American Wedding Reception

Edited by Azizi Powell

SHOWCASE VIDEO: Johnson "Sirius" Wedding Reception



Lyarks, Uploaded on Aug 17, 2010

Produced by Lyarks Films International | www.lyarks.com | Johnson Wedding Reception featuring Championship introductions, choreographed dance numbers, and more...
-snip-
The Bridesmaids dance occurs from 3:41-7:20 in this video.

****
EDITOR'S COMMENT
I happened upon the Johnson "Sirius" Wedding Reception video while surfing YouTube for African American wedding ceremonies and recption dances. Although the focus of this post is the bridesmaids' group entrance and line dance [3:41-7:20], I also like the earlier segment where the groom's men one at a time are introduced to the reception guests as though they were athletes entering the playing field [the beginning of the video to 3:30]. A commenter explained the word "Sirius" in the title:
Juan two three, 2013
"google "alan parsons project sirius/eye in the sky" Also, the chicago bulls use this as their intro to starting lineup"
-snip-
That Chicago Bulls basketball team used that Sirius song explains the way the groom's men were introduced to the wedding reception guests.

From the Wikipedia page: ""Eye in the Sky" is a 1982 song by the British rock band The Alan Parsons Project from the album Eye in the Sky. It hit #3 on the Billboard charts in the U.S. in October 1982,[1] #1 in Canada, and #6 in New Zealand and was their most successful release. The instrumental piece entitled "Sirius" segues into "Eye in the Sky"' on the original recording." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_in_the_Sky_(song)

One other segment of this video that I like is the bride and groom's entrance and dance, and the group line dance of the entire bridal party [7:21 to thee end of the video.]

In a middle portion of the video a White man at this Black wedding is the only guest who is included in the video. He compliments the wedding and the reception and thanks the bride and groom for inviting him.

****
HOW THIS LINE DANCE WAS PERFORMED
The bridesmaids danced into the reception area in a vertical line to the DJ chanting [I can't decipher what he chanted. It may have been a portion of a record. ]

One group of groom's men stood behind the bridesmaids and one group of groom's men stood in front of the line that the bridesmaids created.

Each bridesmaid was introduced to the wedding guests by the DJ who started chanting:

Ebony* Step up, Step up. [*The bridesmaid's first name]
Ebony* Step up, Step up.

[At these words that bridesmaid danced forward into the space created between the bridesmaid line and the line of groom's men that the bridesmaids faced.]

[The DJ then chanted]
Get it, girl.
Get it, girl.
Get it, girl.
Get it. girl.

[That bridesmaid then did a dance. The other bridesmaids kept moving to the beat. Some bridesmaids waved their hand and shouted encouragement to the woman dancing. The groom's men and some wedding guests joined the DJ chanting "Get it girl!" or otherwise exhorted the bridesmaid to danceee well. ]

The DJ then chanted]
Ebony* Step back, Step back.
Ebony* Step back, Step back.

[While facing forward, that bridesmaid then dances back to her spot pace in the bridesmaid's line.

The DJ then immediately repeats this pattern by calling the name of another bridesmaid. The women are called in random order. Sometimes the woman standing next to a bridesmaid was called next, but that wasn't always the case.

Eeach bridesmaid did a different dance or did the same dance in their own way. But, instead of dancing, one bridesmaid named "Queen" walked regally to the center, posed, and then struted back to her spot in the line.

It's important to note that each of the bridesmaids were supposed to have equal time for their individual time in the center. However, one bridsmaid named "Angel" continued to dance in the center even when the DJ chanted "Angel step back step back. Finally, the DJ said "Angel, please step back" and then he called another dancer to "step up", even before Angel was back in the bridesmaid line.]

[One time the DJ changed up the chant by saying
Hey, girl
Get it, girl
Hey, girl
Get it girl]

[And one time the DJ said:]
"Turn around
Step back, Step back
Turn around
Step back, step back

[At 6:45 in the video, when everyone had a individual turn, the chant changed a little bit
DJ- Ladies,
Bridesmaids & the DJ - Ladies
DJ- Ladies,
Bridesmaids & the DJ -Ladies
DJ - Get it up. Get it up
Get it up. Get it up

[During this portion of that line dance, any bridesmaid who chose to danced in the center and then step back. In this segment there were usually several bridesmaids in the center at the same time.

[During this segment the DJ also chanted]
Get it up.
Get it up.
Get it up.
Then slow down.
Get it up.
Get it up.
Get it up.

Say ooh! Say ooh!
She’s sexy. She’s sexy.
Yeah yeah.
Get up. Get up.
Get up.

[The DJ could have a chanted other similar exhortions or interjections here if he had wanted to.

[The dance continues until the DJ stops chanting.]
-snip-
In this chant "Step up" means to "move forward" and "Step back" means to "step back into the line".

"Get up" and "Get it up" both probably mean to "dance well" (Raise [up] the energy).

****
A FOLKLORIC ANALYSIS OF THIS LINE DANCE
This bridesmaids line dance (which I've titled "Get Up, Step Back") was performed in the space that was created between the vertical line of the bridesmaids and the vertical line of the groom's men. The men didn't join in this dance, but they certainly could have done so if the DJ had chosen to call them by name.

This formation with a middle space is similar to the formation that is now known as "the Soul Train line". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/soul-train-line-formation-video.html for a pancocojams post about the Soul Train line.)

That middle space is also the same space that is created in many African American children's vertical lines or horizontal line games. Usually these line games were and are only played by girls. However, sometimes, as in the case of the line game "Here we go Zoodio" (also given as "Zudio" , "Zodiac" and similar spellings) males and females of all ages play this game. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/five-traditional-african-american-game.html for a pancocojams post of the game "Here We Go Zoodio".

A performance space is also created in the middle of the ring in [usually] children's circle games. In those games, the peeerson in the middle is asked to "show me your motion". And, like that bridesmaid line dance, preferably each middle person does her (or his) "own thing" (i.e. a different dancee or a different motion, or does the same dance in her (or his) own way. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAOC8ObkRgc for an example of the ring game "Pizza Pizza Daddy-o" that was performed by African American girls in 1967 in Los Angeles school yard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2YodFqZ7nQis is another clip from that same Bess Lomax Hawes produced DVD which features short clips of those girls performing various circle or lines games.

This same pattern of individual members of the group having an equal turn to shine in the spotlight "center stage" is found in the consecutive soloists turns for [usually girls] foot stomping cheers. Click this page of my cocojams website for more information about foot stomping cheers and for examples of those cheeers: http://cocojams.com/content/foot-stomping-cheers-0.

It's significant that that same middle of a circle performance space is found in the dance that a member of the Georgia Sea Island Singers demonstrates while other members of that group sing the very old African American religious song "Throw Me Anywhere Lord". Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dGamWaYcLg for a video of that song.

****
Related links:
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/wooble-other-line-dance-videos.html
for a video of another United States wedding party doing a line dance [Video #2 in that post.] That post also includes videeos of other African American line dances.

Also visit this link on another blog of mine that I rarely post to to find a post about wedding line dances from Southern Africa, where it is customary to have contemporary wedding reception line dances by the wedding bridesmaids, grooms, and sometimes also including the bride and groom: http://zumalayah.blogspot.com/2013/04/contemporary-southern-african-wedding.html


****
Thanks to the bride and groom, all the members of their wedding party, and thanks also to the DJ of this featured video. Thanks to the producer of this video on YouTube.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Public Enemy - Get Up Stand Up (example, lyrics, & comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part VI of a six part series of posts on a sampling of African American and Caribbean songs whose titles include the words "Get Up" or "Get On Up".

This post showcases Public Enemy's 2012 rap "Get Up Stand Up". The lyrics of this rap are given with some explanatory comments.

Although it isn't mentioned in the song, theere's no doubt that the title and phrase "Gt Up Stand Up" is a nod to Bob Marley and Peeter Tosh 's 1971 Reggae Song with that title.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/various-sound-files-videos-of-get-up.html for Part I of that series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-esquires-get-on-up-example-lyrics.html for Part II of that series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/james-brown-get-up-sex-machine-get-up.html for Part III of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/jodeci-get-on-up-example-lyrics-comments.html for Part IV of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/eeleeephant-man-get-on-up-and-dance.html [Elephant Man- Get Up and Dance"] for Part V of this series.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, motivational, and aesthetic purpose.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Public Enemy for their musical leegacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

****
EDITORIAL COMMENT
The "Get Up" songs that are showcased in this series encourage people to get up and dance. while the "Get Up Stand Up" songs encourage people to address the wrongs that they experience in oppressive societies.

I find it interesting that James Brown's “Get Up Offa That Thing" includes lyrics that encourage people to "dance 'til you feel better" and "dance to try to relieve that pressure". And I content that Black dance songs and play songs-along with Black work songs and religious songs- helped Black people survive the horrors of slavery. And dance songs along with other non-religious songs and religious songs continue to help Black people survive the oppression we've faced post slavery up to and including today, even if it's only to take our minds off of that oppression for a little while.

Part III of this series includes more comments about this subject.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE ALBUM WHICH INCLUDES THIS SONG
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_of_My_Heroes_Still_Don't_Appear_on_No_Stamp
"Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp is the eleventh studio album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on July 13, 2012, by Slam Jamz. It was sold exclusively at the iTunes Store before its release to other retailers.[2] It was released on CD on November 6. The album is the first of two albums that Public Enemy released in 2012, which Chuck D described as "fraternal twins",[3] along with The Evil Empire of Everything, which was released on October 1, 2012.[4] The album features guest vocals from Brother Ali, Bumpy Knuckles, Cormega, and DMC.

Upon its release, Most of My Heroes Still Don't Appear on No Stamp received positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its production and found its political lyrics relevant to contemporary times...

Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave it four out of five stars and commended Public Enemy for "remain[ing] true to the sounds and sensibilities they laid out back in the late '80s", writing that "the music remains vital and vibrant, possibly because, despite some progress, things still haven't changed all that much and, in some respects, have gotten worse"....

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Public Enemy - Get Up Stand Up Featuring Brother Ali [OFFICIAL VIDEO]



publicenemy, Published on Mar 10, 2013

The official video from Public Enemy for the song 'Get Up Stand Up' Featuring Brother Ali.
Get Evil vs Heroes now http://j.mp/12GXIKa

Get Up Stand Up
Produced by: Gary G-Wiz
****
LYRICS: PUBLIC ENEMY - GET UP STAND UP

This song don’t give a damn
If the rhymes don’t fit
Beat don’t bounce
If the dj quit
This song
Don’t give a damn
If you can’t sing to dance to it
Can’t romance to it
This song ain’t arrogant
If you don’t try it
Buy it
If your radio deny it
Don’t care bout what who got
What’s cool on tv
Or what spots hot i forgot
I ain’t mad at evolution
But i stand for revolution
Enough is enough
Somebody stand up
Get up, stand up,
Get up, stand up
This track aint asking you a damn thing
Not the brand name bottle with your champagne
Not where you land your private airplane
How many blood diamonds shining in that chain?
How much compromise is tied to that fame?
How many more times we gotta hear that lame
Line im inspiring them
to do what?
Roll better weed and get higher than them?
Feed the needy greedy ass fire in them?
Be the same damn dog but to finer women?
They gonna tell me that im preaching to the choir than im
Sure they right but im trying to light a fire in them
Cause i was raised by the enemy
And ever since then thats been my identity
So im trying to give back whats was given me
Truth told delivery is my tendency
Youth fold to the spirit of my energy
Bottom of my feet is something that youll never see
Thats cause im standing singing the anthem
Fist on my hand, and a list of demands and
When they hear this might piss in their pants and
Try to get the children to not listen to the man
But the mighty pe is what birthed ali
So what you gonna think come after me?
Chuck d
Get up, stand up
Occupy if you denied
Protest songs cause i see wrong
Most of my heroes still dont appear on no stamp
So i rant even when they say i can’t

I rise against
Rage against
Hope i dont end up being the same thing im fighting against
Hence
I wince never on the fence
Since they think the masses powerless
Ain’t on no power list
I ball my fist w my audience
Like this
Get up, stand up,
Get up, stand up
Got so much to shout about
What the 1% is gettin out
Recession depression desperation due
Never have so many been screwed by so few
Cheapest price is to pay attention
No need to dumb down to what i mention
No need to young down how i mention
In spanish portuguese english french and
No satisfaction
Listen to the world reaction
Americas still black and white
Like an old tv set
What we gonna do about it?
Laugh sit back forget & quit?
I get racial
Just talkin about the ratio
People are no longer patient
Now the brown they dont want around
Thats why sammy got that facial
My wife says its spacial
Politics that stick way beyond baseball
I think its self hateful
Anti immigration
Disgraceful
Get up, stand up.

Source:

****
EXPLANATIONS OF SOME OF THE WORDS & PHRASES
Unless another source is cited, these are my explanations of these words & phrases from Public Enemy's "Get Up Stand Up". These explanations are numbered for referencing purposes only. Additions and correctons are welcome.

1. "blood diamonds" - This phrase in this song references the protests against the sale of blood diamonds.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_diamond
"Blood diamonds (also called a conflict diamonds, converted diamonds, hot diamonds, or war diamonds) is a term used for a diamond mined in a war zone and sold to finance an insurgency, an invading army's war efforts, or a warlord's activity".

2. "How many more times we gotta hear that lame
line" - A "lame line" is a weak line, a statement that has no substance.

3. "roll better weed" - "Weed" means marijuana. "To roll weed" means to make a marijuana cigarette.

4.Feed the needy greedy ass fire in them? - The word "ass" in this line doesn't have any literal meaning, but acts somewhat like an intensifier in that "needy greedy ass fire" conveys more emotions and also conveys more down-home nitty grittiness (soul) than just saying "needy greedy fire".

5. "Be the same damn dog but to finer women" - to continue being a man who treats women badly but doing it to more beautiful women

6. preaching to the choir - talking to people who alreeady agreee wti"th what you are saying (who are already on your side)

7. "im trying to light a fire in them" - "light a fire in them" - motivate, encourage them (even more)

8. "Cause i was raised by the enemy" - "The enemy" may mean the institutional system that creates and maintains unjust laws and inequality. To be raised by the enemy may mean that system's education system and mass media.

9. "Occupy if you denied" - This phrase refers to the "Occupy" protest movement, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occupy_movement

10. "never on the fence" - never indecisive (about a cause)

11."I ball my fist w my audience" - "w" = with; This line means to make the (arm raised) clenched fist protest gesture

11. the "1%" - "directly refers to the concentration of income and wealth among the top earning 1% " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_are_the_99%25

12. "Now the brown they dont want around" - This line is adapted from Big Bill Broonzy's song "Black, Brown and White" (also known as "Get Back". The lyrics of that song apeak to the segregationist nature of the United States:
"They said: "If you was white,
You's alright,
If you was brown,
You could stick around,
But as you's black, hmm, hmm, brother,
Get back, get back, get back."

Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0c1c0ZsTLA for a video and the lyrics of that song

13. "Thats why sammy got that facial" - a reference to Black baseball player Sammy Sousa who has allegedly used skin whitener to lighten his complexion.

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Elephant Man - "Get On Up And Dance" (example, partial lyrics, & comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part V of a six part series of posts on a sampling of African American and Caribbean songs whose titles include the words "Get Up" or "Get On Up".

This post showcases Elephant Man's 2004 Dancehall record "Get On Up and Dance".

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/various-sound-files-videos-of-get-up.html for Part I of that series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-esquires-get-on-up-example-lyrics.html for Part II of that series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/james-brown-get-up-sex-machine-get-up.html for Part III of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/jodeci-get-on-up-example-lyrics-comments.html for Part IV of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/public-enemy-get-up-stand-up-example.html for Part VI off this series.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, motivational, and aesthetic purpose.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Elephant Man for this record. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

****
EDITORIAL COMMENT
The "Get Up" songs that are showcased in this series encourage people to get up and dance. while the "Get Up Stand Up" songs encourage people to address the wrongs that they experience in oppressive societies.

I find it interesting that James Brown's “Get Up Offa That Thing" includes lyrics that encourage people to "dance 'til you feel better" and "dance to try to relieve that pressure". And I content that Black dance songs and play songs-along with Black work songs and religious songs- helped Black people survive the horrors of slavery. And dance songs along with other non-religious songs and religious songs continue to help Black people survive the oppression we've faced post slavery up to and including today, even if it's only to take our minds off of that oppression for a little while.

Part III of this series includes more comments about this subject.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT ELEPHANT MAN
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_Man_(musician)
"O'Neil Bryan (born 11 September 1975), better known by his stage name Elephant Man, is a Jamaican dancehall musician.

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, he started out his musical career as a member of the Scare Dem Crew, later continuing as a solo artist. He was later characterised for several trademarks, such as his dyed yellow-orange hair, his unique low-key voice, and his stage performance, which included jumping and running, or even climbing on stage props and monitors. His acoustic trademark is marked by a light lisp...

Many of his songs are found on various Riddim Driven albums by VP Records and Greensleeves Records's Rhythm Album series. He performs on popular riddims such as "Diwali", "Coolie", "Stepz", and "Bubble Up"...

Years active: 1997–present"...

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Elephant Man - Get On Up and Dance(Thrilla Riddim)



Doing Numbers Like SuDoku Uploaded on Mar 11, 2009

Thrilla Riddim
Get On Up And Dance (Original Mix) by Elephant Man from the album Biggest Ragga Dancehall Anthems 2004
-snip-
The chorus of that song is:
Get on up and dance (Alright)
tunda clap and dance (alright)
Keepin it jiggy then yuh waan come wid it
Everybody ready ready and dance
Get on up and dance (Give dem di dance now)
tunda clap and dance
(A ready ready ready ready)
Keepin it jiggy then yuh waan come wid it
Everybody ready ready and dance
-snip-
Click http://www.lyricsmania.com/get_on_up_lyrics_elephant_man.htmlfor the complete lyrics to this song. Those lyrics include one curse word.
-snip-
Explanation of "tunda clap"

A "tunda clap" ("thunder clap"; "thunderclap") is a type of hand gesture that is performed in a rhythmical, repetitive manner while dancing to dancehall music. This type of clapping is usually done in response to lyrical commands in the song. The thunder clap is supposed to (loosely) imitate the sound of thunder (i.e. The sound made by this clap isn't a sharp crack, although perhaps it was originally meant to be performed that way.)

How to perform "thunder clap" (thunderclap)
The following instructions are from my observations of my daughter doing this clap which she learned from some Jamaicans during a summer vacation in 2004 or 2005:
In response to the song's instructional command to thunder clap,
hold your right hand palm up away from your head and then slide the palm of your left hand over the palm of the right hand starting at the back of the palm.

This thunder clap is repeated in a moderately slow pace to the beat (or on the off beat?) of the dancehall song while continuing to dance to that song.
-snip-
Here's another explanation of "thunder clap" from http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=thunderclap
"Thunder Clap
Clapping in the air with a sliding motion. With one hand raised first, with the second to meet it half way, clapping, with the second hand left extended. Repeat back and forth.
Look at that guy, he knows how to thunder clap!!"
by Setrock, October 29, 2004
Note: That page includes sexually explicit definitions for thunderclap.

The phrase "keepin in jiggy" which is found in this song is probably an expansion of the phrase "Gettin[g] jiggy with (wit) it" which was the title of Will Smith's 1998 hit Pop/Rap song. In both of those slang phrases "jiggy" revives an old meaning of the wors "jig" which means something wondrful - or in Hip-Hop terminology, "super-cool". However, in addition to "jittery", "a lively dance", and other meanings, from the 1800s until at least the mid 20th century if not to date, the word "jig" was/is a racist referent for a Black person. That word may be a clip of the pejorative referent "jigabo" or may havee been coined as a rhyming word for the first syllable of what is commonly now known as "the n word."

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Jodeci - "Get On Up" (example, lyrics, & comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part IV of a six part series of posts on a sampling of African American and Caribbean songs whose titles include the words "Get Up" or "Get On Up".

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/various-sound-files-videos-of-get-up.html for Part I of that series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-esquires-get-on-up-example-lyrics.html for Part II of that series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/james-brown-get-up-sex-machine-get-up.html for Part III of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/eeleeephant-man-get-on-up-and-dance.html [Elephant Man- Get Up and Dance"] for Part V of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/public-enemy-get-up-stand-up-example.html for Part VI off this series.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, motivational, and aesthetic purpose.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Jodeci for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

****
EDITORIAL COMMENT
The "Get Up" songs that are showcased in this series encourage people to get up and dance. while the "Get Up Stand Up" songs encourage people to address the wrongs that they experience in oppressive societies.

I find it interesting that James Brown's “Get Up Offa That Thing" includes lyrics that encourage people to "dance 'til you feel better" and "dance to try to relieve that pressure". And I content that Black dance songs and play songs-along with Black work songs and religious songs- helped Black people survive the horrors of slavery. And dance songs along with other non-religious songs and religious songs continue to help Black people survive the oppression we've faced post slavery up to and including today, even if it's only to take our minds off of that oppression for a little while.

Part III of this series includes more comments about this subject.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT JODECI
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jodeci
"Jodeci (sometimes stylized as JoDeCi) is an American band, whose repertoire includes R&B, soul music, and new jack swing. The group consists of two pairs of brothers from Charlotte, North Carolina: Cedric & Joel Hailey and Donald & Dalvin DeGrate, all respectively known by their stage names: K-Ci & JoJo, DeVante Swing and Mr. Dalvin. The group's name is a combination of the names from all four members: Jo-Jo, DeGrate, and K-Ci.

The group had a successful string of hit singles and platinum albums until the members went on hiatus after 1998. The Hailey brothers continued to perform together under the pseudonym K-Ci & JoJo, and had success on the pop charts beyond that of the original band. In 2009, the group rebanded for H-Town's song, "Knockin' Boots"."...

****
INFORMATION ABOUT JODECI'S SONG "GET ON UP"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_On_Up_(song)
"Get on Up" is a song by American R&B group Jodeci recorded for their third album The Show, the After Party, the Hotel (1995). The song was released as the third and final single for the album in 1996. "Get on Up" contains the sample of the 1981 song from Quincy Jones featuring Toots Thielemans' "Velas". "Get on Up" may also refer to a song released as a single in 1967 by the R&B group The Esquires."

****
LYRICS: JODECI - "GET ON UP"
"Get On Up"

Said it sounds so good to me
You gotta get on up now
Say it again, Jodeci
Get on up
You gotta get on up now
Wait a minute, let me tell you
Everybody grab somebody
Turn this mutha into a party
Fellas take your lady's hand
Ladies go and choose your man
There's no need to be afraid
Friday night, let's all get payed
Positive is the attitude
Negative is not the mood

[chorus:]

Get on up
You gotta get on up
Get on up now
Let us say it again
You gotta get on up now
And you can't sit down

Now that everybody's movin
Everybody in here is groovin
Everything is alright
The atmosphere is so nice
The DJ is doin his duty
All the ladies shakin their bootys
And the night is still young
And the party's just begun

Get on up
And you can't sit down
Gotta get on up now
And you can't sit down
Get on up
And you can't sit down
Gotta get on up now

Party
All day
Never stop
Never stop
And you can't sit down

Get on up
And you can't sit down
Gotta get on up now
And you can't sit down
Get on up
Everybody just get on up
You gotta get on up now
Get on up

Source: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jodeci/getonup.html

****
EXPLANATION ABOUT CERTAIN WORDS AND PHRASES
1. "Turn this mutha into a party" means turn this place into a really good party. The phrase "turn this mutha out" is probably lifted from the title and lyrics of a MC Hammer (Hip Hop) song, with "mutha being a shortened form of a curse word that begins with the word "mother".

2. "groovin" - in a groove (feeling relaxed, feeling good)

3. bootys (usually written as "booties") - butt; behinds

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO: Jodeci - Get On Up



JodeciVEVO Uploaded on Oct 7, 2009
Music video by Jodeci performing Get On Up. (C) 1995 Geffen Records

-nip-
Here's an interesting comment and response from this video's discussion thread:
Lekeisha Jones, 2014
"What made this song so crazy is how they broke it down quo-tet style... all my southern gospel know what I'm talking about! :)"

Reply
Justin Nelson, 2014
"That's because that's their background growing up as pastors kids in Charlotte, North Carolina"
-snip-
Several commenters wrote that theit parents qould use this song to wake them up in the morning or they use this song to themselves get going in the morning.

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

James Brown - Get Up (Sex Machine) & Get Up Offa That Thing (examples, lyrics & comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part III of a six part series of posts on a sampling of African American and Caribbean songs whose titles include the words "Get Up" or "Get On Up".

This post features a video of James Brown's performing his 1971 hit R&B/Funk record "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine". The majority of this post showcases James Brown's 1976 record "Get Up Offa That Thing". A trailer on the 2014 James Brown movie entitleed "Get On Up" is also included in the addendum to this post.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/various-sound-files-videos-of-get-up.html for Part I of that series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-esquires-get-on-up-example-lyrics.html for Part II of that series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/jodeci-get-on-up-example-lyrics-comments.html for Part IV of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/eeleeephant-man-get-on-up-and-dance.html [Elephant Man- Get Up and Dance"] for Part V of this series.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/08/public-enemy-get-up-stand-up-example.html for Part VI off this series.

The content of this post is presented for historical, cultural, entertainment, motivational, and aesthetic purpose.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Jamees Brown for his musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.

****
EDITORIAL COMMENT
The "Get Up" songs that are showcased in this series encourage people to get up and dance. while the "Get Up Stand Up" songs encourage people to address the wrongs that they experience in oppressive societies.

I find it interesting that James Brown's “Get Up Offa That Thing" includes lyrics that encourage people to "dance 'til you feel better" and "dance to try to relieve that pressure". And I content that Black dance songs and play songs-along with Black work songs and religious songs- helped Black people survive the horrors of slavery. And dance songs along with other non-religious songs and religious songs continue to help Black people survive the oppression we've faced post slavery up to and including today, even if it's only to take our minds off of that oppression for a little while.

Additional comments on this subject are found below.

****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #1: JAMES BROWN Sex Machine 1971



TheMaximumVolumeable Uploaded on Nov 28, 2011
-SNIP-
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown for information about James Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006).

Click http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jamesbrown/getupifeellikebeingasexmachine.html for the lyrics to "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine".

****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE #2: James Brown - Get Up Offa That Thing [soundfile]



Soulbrothanumbahone, Uploaded on May 2, 2011

****
INFORMATON ABOUT JAMES BROWN'S RECORD "GET UP OFFA THAT THING"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Get_Up_Offa_That_Thing
"Get Up Offa That Thing" is a song written and performed by James Brown. It was released in 1976 as a two-part single (the B-side, titled "Release the Pressure", is a continuation of the same song). It reached #4 on the R&B chart, briefly returning Brown to the Top Ten after a year's absence, and #45 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1][2] It would be Brown's biggest hit during his late-1970s career decline. The song's lyrics urge listeners to "Get up offa that thing / and dance 'til you feel better."...

According to Brown, the inspiration for "Get Up Offa That Thing" came to him during a club performance in Fort Lauderdale:

The audience was sitting down, trying to do a sophisticated thing, listening to funk. One of the tightest bands they'd ever heard in their lives, and they were sitting. I had worked hard and dehydrated myself and was feeling depressed. I looked out at all those people sitting there, and because I was depressed they looked depressed. I yelled, "Get up offa that thing and dance til you feel better!" I probably meant until I felt better.[3]"...

****
LYRICS: GET UP OFFA THAT THING
(James Brown)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAW!!!

OH!

Say it now!

I'm back!

I'm back!

I'm back!

I'm back!

Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you, sing it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and shake it, say it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up off!
Ha!
Good God!
So good!

Ha!
Everybody ready?!

Follow me!

Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and shake it, sing it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up offa that thing, (Ha!)
and twist 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you, sing it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!

Huh!
Get funky!

So good, Uh!
I'm first to stop, ha!
I've told them now, ha!
Uh!
Ha!
Ohio player!
Can you hit it one time, from the top?!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance to try, you better!
Get up offa that thing,
and... Help me!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!

Huh!

I need it!

That's the wise old brother at the side start good!
C'mon Clive do it!

Do it!

Uh!
Ha!
Good God!
God Good!
Huh!
Feels good!
Feels good!
Do it to me!
Huh!
Good God!
I want you all in the jam!
Gonna get you all in the jam!
Play that bad funk!
Show 'em how funky you are!
Play it JB's!
Play it now!
Hey!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you, help me out!
Get up offa that thing,
and dance 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release, say it now!
Get up offa that thing,
and shake 'till you feel better,
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!
Get up and... call it!
I feel good!
[Fade out]

Source: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jamesbrown/getupoffathatthing.html
-snip-
“Get Up Offa That Thing" = means to Get off of your butt" or "Get out of your seat" [and dance].

Notice the lyrics
"Get up offa that thing,
and dance [and "shake"] 'till you feel better!
Get up offa that thing,
and try to release that pressure!"
-snip-
No specific racial population is identified in these lyrics. However, giveven the shooting deaths of Black men that have occurred in the past two weeks in Ferguson, Missouri and in St. Louis, Miissouri and the lack of transparency and militarized response of the police to protests*, I can't help but believe that Black people and other People of Color in the United States live in more oppressive conditions than White people in that nation.

Furthermore, it occurs to me that one of the reasons why so little attention has been given to the dance songs and play songs that were composeed by Black people during United States slavery is that people used thee existencee of those songs to support their pro-slavery arguments that enslaved Black people were happy in that condition. However, I believe that were it not for their dance songs and their play songs-as well as their sorrow songs (religious songs) and the works songs, Black people would have had even more difficulty living through slavery. And although conditions for most Black Americans have certainly improved since the end of chattel slavery, statistics and the news ceertainly document that the United States has not ever been and is not now a post racial nation.

*http://america.aljazeera.com/blogs/scrutineer/2014/8/22/kajieme-powell-shootingvideo.html and http://america.aljazeera.com/blogs/scrutineer/2014/8/22/kajieme-powell-shootingvideo.html

***
ADDENDUM: Get On Up Official Trailer (2014) James Brown Biopic HD



JoBlo Movie TrailersPublished on Mar 13, 2014

A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.
-snip-
Click http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/news/watch-a-dynamite-new-trailer-for-the-james-brown-biopic-get-on-up-20140719 for information and comments about this movie.

****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More