Compiled by Azizi Powell
Traditions are important anytime, but are particularly important at the end of the year. In 2012 I started this blog tradition of listing my favorite pancocojams video post for the year. And although there's almost two weeks left in 2013, I feel it's time to share my favorite video posts for this year.
I've compiled this list of my ten favorite pancocojams posts of 2013 to provide an opportunity to share links to some pancocojams posts that you might have missed or that you may want to revisit.
Also, placing these links and videos in one post makes it easier for me to enjoy these posts again.
****
STATISTICS
A total of 527 pancocojams posts were published in 2013, including this post.
This list of my favorite posts isn't the same as a list of posts that are the most viewed pancocojams posts since this blog's has been online (launch date 8/29/2011).
The pancocojams post that has received the most views since this blog was first launched continues to be "The Right Rhyming Pattern For Shabooya Roll Call Verses" http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/01/right-rhyming-pattern-for-shabooya-roll.html.
In a list of the 10 most viewed posts, only 2 were published in 2013: #7 http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/rock-steady-military-cadence-with-sound.html and #10 http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/06/barrington-levy-mandela-youre-free-with.html.
Without any further comments, here's my favorite pancocojams posts that were published in 2013:
LIST OF MY TEN FAVORITE PANCOCOJAMS POST
(with one being the most favorite post)
1. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/10/many-rivers-to-cross-reggae-song-book.html
Jimmy Cliff - Many Rivers To Cross
houseofreggae, Uploaded on Jul 9, 2008
Live in Glastonbury [England], 2003
****
2. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-edwin-hawkins-singers-oh-happy-day.html
The Edwin Hawkins singers in concert part 1 O Happy Day [1967]
thejazzsingers, Uploaded on Mar 22, 2010
****
3. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/01/mafikizolo-kwela-south-africa-video.html
Kwela
skweeza Uploaded on Jan 2, 2007
****
4. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/11/joyous-celebration-17-featuring-ayanda.html
Joyous Celebration 17 (Ayanda) - Jerusalema
MrPolobaz Published on Jul 19, 2013
****
5. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/04/soulful-struts-definition-examples-of.html
Joint Usher Board Anniversary Pt 1
smartvids09Uploaded on Sep 30, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010 The FBCD Washington DC
****
6.http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/02/muhammad-muwakil-400-am-in-belmont.html
4.00 am in Belmont - Muhammad Muwakil
Christopherlaird, Uploaded on Oct 22, 2007
Young Trinidadian poet performs on Gayelle
****
7. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/11/you-cant-beat-gods-giving-lyrics.html
Gene Martin-You Can't Beat God Giving (Video)
Uploaded by boofitts on Jul 8, 2011
-snip-
I also featured this song in 2012, but had forgotten I'd done so.
****
8. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-traditional-caribbean-jonkunnu-song.html
ncocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/a-traditional-caribbean-jonkunnu-song.html
One Family 2012 New Years Day Junkanoo 1
hugomanager, Uploaded on Jan 4, 2012
-snip-
"One Family" is the name of a Jonkanoo group in the Bahamas.
****
9. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/10/shame-shame-shame-hit-it-line-in.html
Shame Shame Shame (hand game)
Elizabeth Brooks, Uploaded on Aug 27, 2011
Alexis and Laysia performing hand game
****
10. http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/10/videos-of-old-school-hip-hop-dances.html
Old School Dancing
oaklandtobrentwood, Uploaded on May 27, 2009
Old School Dancing 101
****
RELATED LINKS
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-favorite-pancocojams-posts-2011.html
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-favorite-pancocojams-blog-posts-2012_29.html
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/my-favorite-pancocojams-posts-2012-part.html
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams and Happy Holidays And Happy New Year!
Viewer comments are welcome.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Ma Ma, Bake That Johnny Cake, Christmas Comin’ (examples & lyrics)
Edited by Azizi Powell
Revised December 8, 2018
This pancocojams post includes information & comments about Caribbean johnny cakes and showcases three examples of the Caribbean Christmas song "Mama Bake Dat (That) Johnny Cake".
This secular Bahamian song is also known as "Mama Make The ["Dat" or "That"] Johnny Cake" and "Christmas Comin'". "Mama Bake That Johnny Cake" is widely known in the Caribbean and is closely associated with Jonkanoo celebrations in that region.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the singers, musicians, and dancers who are featured in these showcased videos & sound files. Thanks also to the publishers of those videos & sound files on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION OF JONKANOO
http://www.caribbean.com/bahamas/junkanoo/
“Jonkanoo” Boxing Day (26th December) and New Year's Day 2am to 8am
Originally published BAHAMASNET.COM - 1996 © Etienne Dupuch Jr Publications Ltd
...“Long hours of work in top-secret Junkanoo "shacks" result in museum-quality costumes painstakingly made from coloured paper. These works of art used to be trucked to the city dump. Today, the best are restored and preserved as Junkanoo Expo visitor attractions at the Prince George Wharf museum.
Competition becomes fierce when the various groups present their latest designs and themes at Junkanoo judging time the following morning. Regular competitors in Nassau include the Valley Boys, Saxons, One Family, Vikings, Music Makers, Most Qualified, Roots, Fancy Dancers, Z-Bandits, Fox Hill Congos, the PIGS (Progress through Integrity, Guts and Strength) and many other groups. Cash awards are passed out at both the Boxing Day and New Year's parades.
Plan early for a good vantage point. Upstairs locations on Bay Street are prime viewing venues. Bench seats lining Bay St may be reserved but there have been incidents when these seats have been usurped.
Special songs put Junkanoo in proper musical perspective. "Mama, bake your Johnny Cake, Christmas coming," is an all-time Junkanoo Christmas hit."
****
INFORMATION ABOUT CARIBBEAN JOHNNY CAKE
From http://latinfood.about.com/od/glossarypronunciation/a/johnny-cake-definition.htm
"Johnny Cake is not unique to Jamaica. Versions can also be found in the Eastern Caribbean islands as well as places like Turks and Caicos, Cayman Islands and St. Croix.
Johnny Cakes are fried dumplings. The dough, once kneaded is formed into balls and deep fried. Johnny Cakes are a real treat especially when served with sauteed salt fish. They can, however, be eaten as is, with jam, butter or cheese. Johnny Cakes were originally called Journey Cakes as they were made and packed as a part of a lunch and snack for the plantation workers, for a long lasting journey."
****
From
http://answers.ask.com/Food_and_Drinks/Other/what_are_johnny_cakes
"Johnny cakes are different in the [United] states as they are in the Caribbean. In the Caribbean they are similar to fried dough that you will find at the fairs and carnivals. In the states I have seen corn bread being called Johnny Cake. Both are a bread like substance with different ingredients."
****
From http://news.ai/ref/johnnycakes.html
"What are "johnny cakes"? Johnny Cakes are bagel-sized biscuits, usually fried, that are made all over the Caribbean.
Legend has it that the name derives from "journey cake", meaning a bread that could be cooked ahead when going out to work or on a journey.
In any case, there are as many recipes for Johnny Cake as there are cooks in Anguilla, ranging in style from something like hard-tack to something more like a donut. If you eat at local places in Anguilla, you will have Johnny Cakes eventually."
-snip-
This page includes a recipe for johnny cakes.
Click http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Johnnycakes.htm for information about and a recipe for New England [United States] cornmeal flatbread that are called "Johnnycakes, johnny cakes, jonnycake, ashcake, battercake, corn cake, cornpone, hoecake, hoe cake, journey cake, mush bread, pone, Shawnee cake, jonakin, and jonikin."
****
LYRICS - MAMA MAKE DAT JOHNNY CAKE
(as featured in the 2008 video "Dynamite Dancer's Christmas Time"*
Mama, bake your johnny cake
Christmas comin’
Mama, bake your johnny cake
Christmas comin’
Christmas comin
Christmas comin
Christmas comin
Mama, bake that johnny cake
Christmas comin’
Mama, bake that johnny cake
Christmas comin’
Christmas comin
Christmas comin
Christmas comin
Mama bake that johnny cake
New Years comin
[Follow the pattern that is given above.]
Lead singer: This time another year
Group - (I may be gone)
Lead singer - In some lonesome graveyard
Group -(Oh, Lord how long)
Repeat several times then instruments play the melody while group repeatedly sings in response "I may be gone" and "Oh Lord how long"' The song then returns to the "This time another year" verse song above.]
[Then sing the church song "Amen" which is just composed of the word "Amen" sung different ways]
If you want to party meet me on the street
If you want to jam then meet me on the street
'Cause everybody's gettin’ down
‘Cause Jonkanoo is downtown
If you want to party meet me on the street
[Sing several times and end with the first verse "Mama, Bake That Johnny Cake"]
-snip-
*This is my transcription of a version of this song that was published in 2008. Additions and corrections are welcome.
That video is no longer available [as of December 8, 2018 or earlier.
According to a commenter, that video was taken in Abaco, the Bahamas.
****
FEATURED VIDEOS
(These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting dates on YouTube, with the oldest dates given first.)
Example #1: Ma Ma make your Johnny Cake
Riddim Galore , Uploaded on Nov 27, 2009
The traditional Christmas song by Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights from St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
-snip-
Here are some selected comments from this sound file's viewer comment thread:
2011
Matt Shipman
"A friend of mine grew up in the V.I., and apparently this is THE Christmas song there. Not only is it on the radio, but the band would drive around St. Croix playing on the back of a flatbed truck. It's pretty great.
Now, who's up for a conch fritter and some beers?"
**
DocKnight
"Mama make yo Johnny cake Christmas coming Ooooo Ahhh!!! Big Tunes back then..."
**
Blisscious
"hey like to talk them story and nursery rhymes bout the gingerbread man...ha! Cyan touch Johnny cake, on a good day!!!! Ma Ma make yuh Johnny cake!!!"
**
Thomoya Casimir
"I REMEMBER WHEN THEY USE TO TEACH US THIS SONG IN SCHOOL!"
****
Example #2: Mama Bake A Johnny Cake - Tropical Depression - Rake N' Scrape Music
.
Vinny C, Uploaded on Feb 8, 2011
Harbourfest - Virginia - 2008
-snip-
Here's some information about Rake N' Scrape music:
Fromhttp://www.bahamasentertainers.com/Paper/rkeNscr.html
..."Musicians beating on the goombay drum and scraping a carpenters saw and playing melodious tunes on the concertina were not only recorded as having roots in Cat Island, but in other Family Islands [islands other than the city of Nassau] as well. According to Franklyn 'Count Bernadino' Ellis, a top Bahamian entertainer, he witnessed this style of music being performed on the island of Abaco as a child (Ellis 2004) where they called it simply "African music". Rake 'n' scrape music is reported to have its roots in Cat Island, but evidence shows that that music was being developed in various islands simultaneously.
Today, Rake 'n' Scrape music is almost identical to 'rip saw' music of the Turks and Caicos Islands (a territory off the southernmost island of The Bahamas), which chose to remain under British rule when the Bahamas sought independence in 1973. During the 20's, 30's, and 40's, there was an intermingling of the two cultures, i.e. the Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos cultures, which shared their traditions of music, story telling, ring games, and other cultural art forms. Among the shared cultural traits is the music of rake 'n' scrape. It is a futile exercise to debate as to the true origin of this music, but it is safe to say that many of the islands of the Caribbean because of movement of contract workers in the early days, shared and enriched each other’s cultures."
****
Example #3: Mama, Bake a Johnny Cake, Christmas Coming
Various Artists - Topic, Published on May 30, 2015
Provided to YouTube by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Mama, Bake a Johnny Cake, Christmas Coming · Fresh Creek Dance Band
Music of the Bahamas, Vol. 3: Instrumental Music from the Bahamas Islands
℗ 2004 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / 1959 Folkways Records
****
ADDENDUM
Here's a version of "Mama Bake That Johnny Cake" that appears to me to have been adapted for use in elementary schools:
From http://www.cityschools.com/kmilai/files/2010/09/holidaylyrics10.pdf
Mama, bake the Johnny Cake, Christmas Coming! (clap)
Mama, bake the Johnny Cake, Christmas Coming! (clap)
Christmas Coming, (clap) Christmas Coming (clap),
Christmas Coming (clap), Christmas Coming (clap).
Papa, hang the pretty lights, Christmas Coming!
Papa, hang the pretty lights, Christmas Coming!
Christmas Coming (clap), Christmas Coming (clap),
Christmas Coming (clap), Christmas Coming (clap).
-snip-
"Mama Bake That Johnny Cake" is an open ended song whose structural pattern can easily accommodate the addition of other verses which children, youth, or adults can make up.
The tune for the song "Shortnin' Bread" could be used as an alternative tune for this song. Here's two verses I made up using that tune:
Mama bake the johnny cake
johnny cake
johnny cake
Mama bake the johnny cake
Bake it nice and brown.*
Christmas is coming
coming coming
Christmas is coming
Let out a cheer!
-snip-
*The "bake it nice and brown" line is lifted from a version of the 19th century song "Bile them Cabbage Down" which mentions "hoecakes". Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4566 for information & comments about that song and lyrics for that song.
"Hoecakes" are cakes which are similar to contemporary United States Southern cornbread. One theory is that hoecakes got their name because they were made on a cooking utensil called a hoe, and not the actual gardening tool called a "hoe". Click http://www.historiclondontown.com/files/Hoe-Cake-Etymology-web.pdf for an article about the etymology of the term "hoe cake".
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitors comments are welcome.
Revised December 8, 2018
This pancocojams post includes information & comments about Caribbean johnny cakes and showcases three examples of the Caribbean Christmas song "Mama Bake Dat (That) Johnny Cake".
This secular Bahamian song is also known as "Mama Make The ["Dat" or "That"] Johnny Cake" and "Christmas Comin'". "Mama Bake That Johnny Cake" is widely known in the Caribbean and is closely associated with Jonkanoo celebrations in that region.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the singers, musicians, and dancers who are featured in these showcased videos & sound files. Thanks also to the publishers of those videos & sound files on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION OF JONKANOO
http://www.caribbean.com/bahamas/junkanoo/
“Jonkanoo” Boxing Day (26th December) and New Year's Day 2am to 8am
Originally published BAHAMASNET.COM - 1996 © Etienne Dupuch Jr Publications Ltd
...“Long hours of work in top-secret Junkanoo "shacks" result in museum-quality costumes painstakingly made from coloured paper. These works of art used to be trucked to the city dump. Today, the best are restored and preserved as Junkanoo Expo visitor attractions at the Prince George Wharf museum.
Competition becomes fierce when the various groups present their latest designs and themes at Junkanoo judging time the following morning. Regular competitors in Nassau include the Valley Boys, Saxons, One Family, Vikings, Music Makers, Most Qualified, Roots, Fancy Dancers, Z-Bandits, Fox Hill Congos, the PIGS (Progress through Integrity, Guts and Strength) and many other groups. Cash awards are passed out at both the Boxing Day and New Year's parades.
Plan early for a good vantage point. Upstairs locations on Bay Street are prime viewing venues. Bench seats lining Bay St may be reserved but there have been incidents when these seats have been usurped.
Special songs put Junkanoo in proper musical perspective. "Mama, bake your Johnny Cake, Christmas coming," is an all-time Junkanoo Christmas hit."
****
INFORMATION ABOUT CARIBBEAN JOHNNY CAKE
From http://latinfood.about.com/od/glossarypronunciation/a/johnny-cake-definition.htm
"Johnny Cake is not unique to Jamaica. Versions can also be found in the Eastern Caribbean islands as well as places like Turks and Caicos, Cayman Islands and St. Croix.
Johnny Cakes are fried dumplings. The dough, once kneaded is formed into balls and deep fried. Johnny Cakes are a real treat especially when served with sauteed salt fish. They can, however, be eaten as is, with jam, butter or cheese. Johnny Cakes were originally called Journey Cakes as they were made and packed as a part of a lunch and snack for the plantation workers, for a long lasting journey."
****
From
http://answers.ask.com/Food_and_Drinks/Other/what_are_johnny_cakes
"Johnny cakes are different in the [United] states as they are in the Caribbean. In the Caribbean they are similar to fried dough that you will find at the fairs and carnivals. In the states I have seen corn bread being called Johnny Cake. Both are a bread like substance with different ingredients."
****
From http://news.ai/ref/johnnycakes.html
"What are "johnny cakes"? Johnny Cakes are bagel-sized biscuits, usually fried, that are made all over the Caribbean.
Legend has it that the name derives from "journey cake", meaning a bread that could be cooked ahead when going out to work or on a journey.
In any case, there are as many recipes for Johnny Cake as there are cooks in Anguilla, ranging in style from something like hard-tack to something more like a donut. If you eat at local places in Anguilla, you will have Johnny Cakes eventually."
-snip-
This page includes a recipe for johnny cakes.
Click http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Johnnycakes.htm for information about and a recipe for New England [United States] cornmeal flatbread that are called "Johnnycakes, johnny cakes, jonnycake, ashcake, battercake, corn cake, cornpone, hoecake, hoe cake, journey cake, mush bread, pone, Shawnee cake, jonakin, and jonikin."
****
LYRICS - MAMA MAKE DAT JOHNNY CAKE
(as featured in the 2008 video "Dynamite Dancer's Christmas Time"*
Mama, bake your johnny cake
Christmas comin’
Mama, bake your johnny cake
Christmas comin’
Christmas comin
Christmas comin
Christmas comin
Mama, bake that johnny cake
Christmas comin’
Mama, bake that johnny cake
Christmas comin’
Christmas comin
Christmas comin
Christmas comin
Mama bake that johnny cake
New Years comin
[Follow the pattern that is given above.]
Lead singer: This time another year
Group - (I may be gone)
Lead singer - In some lonesome graveyard
Group -(Oh, Lord how long)
Repeat several times then instruments play the melody while group repeatedly sings in response "I may be gone" and "Oh Lord how long"' The song then returns to the "This time another year" verse song above.]
[Then sing the church song "Amen" which is just composed of the word "Amen" sung different ways]
If you want to party meet me on the street
If you want to jam then meet me on the street
'Cause everybody's gettin’ down
‘Cause Jonkanoo is downtown
If you want to party meet me on the street
[Sing several times and end with the first verse "Mama, Bake That Johnny Cake"]
-snip-
*This is my transcription of a version of this song that was published in 2008. Additions and corrections are welcome.
That video is no longer available [as of December 8, 2018 or earlier.
According to a commenter, that video was taken in Abaco, the Bahamas.
****
FEATURED VIDEOS
(These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting dates on YouTube, with the oldest dates given first.)
Example #1: Ma Ma make your Johnny Cake
Riddim Galore , Uploaded on Nov 27, 2009
The traditional Christmas song by Stanley & the Ten Sleepless Knights from St. Croix, Virgin Islands.
-snip-
Here are some selected comments from this sound file's viewer comment thread:
2011
Matt Shipman
"A friend of mine grew up in the V.I., and apparently this is THE Christmas song there. Not only is it on the radio, but the band would drive around St. Croix playing on the back of a flatbed truck. It's pretty great.
Now, who's up for a conch fritter and some beers?"
**
DocKnight
"Mama make yo Johnny cake Christmas coming Ooooo Ahhh!!! Big Tunes back then..."
**
Blisscious
"hey like to talk them story and nursery rhymes bout the gingerbread man...ha! Cyan touch Johnny cake, on a good day!!!! Ma Ma make yuh Johnny cake!!!"
**
Thomoya Casimir
"I REMEMBER WHEN THEY USE TO TEACH US THIS SONG IN SCHOOL!"
****
Example #2: Mama Bake A Johnny Cake - Tropical Depression - Rake N' Scrape Music
.
Vinny C, Uploaded on Feb 8, 2011
Harbourfest - Virginia - 2008
-snip-
Here's some information about Rake N' Scrape music:
Fromhttp://www.bahamasentertainers.com/Paper/rkeNscr.html
..."Musicians beating on the goombay drum and scraping a carpenters saw and playing melodious tunes on the concertina were not only recorded as having roots in Cat Island, but in other Family Islands [islands other than the city of Nassau] as well. According to Franklyn 'Count Bernadino' Ellis, a top Bahamian entertainer, he witnessed this style of music being performed on the island of Abaco as a child (Ellis 2004) where they called it simply "African music". Rake 'n' scrape music is reported to have its roots in Cat Island, but evidence shows that that music was being developed in various islands simultaneously.
Today, Rake 'n' Scrape music is almost identical to 'rip saw' music of the Turks and Caicos Islands (a territory off the southernmost island of The Bahamas), which chose to remain under British rule when the Bahamas sought independence in 1973. During the 20's, 30's, and 40's, there was an intermingling of the two cultures, i.e. the Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos cultures, which shared their traditions of music, story telling, ring games, and other cultural art forms. Among the shared cultural traits is the music of rake 'n' scrape. It is a futile exercise to debate as to the true origin of this music, but it is safe to say that many of the islands of the Caribbean because of movement of contract workers in the early days, shared and enriched each other’s cultures."
****
Example #3: Mama, Bake a Johnny Cake, Christmas Coming
Various Artists - Topic, Published on May 30, 2015
Provided to YouTube by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
Mama, Bake a Johnny Cake, Christmas Coming · Fresh Creek Dance Band
Music of the Bahamas, Vol. 3: Instrumental Music from the Bahamas Islands
℗ 2004 Smithsonian Folkways Recordings / 1959 Folkways Records
****
ADDENDUM
Here's a version of "Mama Bake That Johnny Cake" that appears to me to have been adapted for use in elementary schools:
From http://www.cityschools.com/kmilai/files/2010/09/holidaylyrics10.pdf
Mama, bake the Johnny Cake, Christmas Coming! (clap)
Mama, bake the Johnny Cake, Christmas Coming! (clap)
Christmas Coming, (clap) Christmas Coming (clap),
Christmas Coming (clap), Christmas Coming (clap).
Papa, hang the pretty lights, Christmas Coming!
Papa, hang the pretty lights, Christmas Coming!
Christmas Coming (clap), Christmas Coming (clap),
Christmas Coming (clap), Christmas Coming (clap).
-snip-
"Mama Bake That Johnny Cake" is an open ended song whose structural pattern can easily accommodate the addition of other verses which children, youth, or adults can make up.
The tune for the song "Shortnin' Bread" could be used as an alternative tune for this song. Here's two verses I made up using that tune:
Mama bake the johnny cake
johnny cake
johnny cake
Mama bake the johnny cake
Bake it nice and brown.*
Christmas is coming
coming coming
Christmas is coming
Let out a cheer!
-snip-
*The "bake it nice and brown" line is lifted from a version of the 19th century song "Bile them Cabbage Down" which mentions "hoecakes". Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=4566 for information & comments about that song and lyrics for that song.
"Hoecakes" are cakes which are similar to contemporary United States Southern cornbread. One theory is that hoecakes got their name because they were made on a cooking utensil called a hoe, and not the actual gardening tool called a "hoe". Click http://www.historiclondontown.com/files/Hoe-Cake-Etymology-web.pdf for an article about the etymology of the term "hoe cake".
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitors comments are welcome.
A Traditional Caribbean Jonkonoo Song & Three Contemporary Jonkanoo Videos From The Bahamas
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post provides a song example, information, comments, and video examples of Jonkanoo.
Part I of this post showcases a text (word only) version of the traditional Caribbean song "Christmus A Come" from the 1981 book Mango Spice- 44 Caribbean Songs edited by Yvonne Conolly, Gloria Cameron, and Sonia Singham (with music scores & drawings; A&C Black, London, pp.33-34). The editors' notes to this song, which are included in this post, describe "Christmus A Come" as a Jonkunnu song.
Part II of this post provides general information & comments about Jonkanoo in the Caribbean and in the United States.
Part III of this post showcases three contemporary videos of Jonkunnu celebrations from the Bahamas.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
PART I: LYRICS: CHRISTMUS A COME
(traditional Caribbean)
Christmus a come, me wan me lama,
Christmus a come, me wan me lama,
Christmus a come, me wan me deggeday,
Christmus a come, me wan me deggeday.
Pretty, pretty gal, me wan me lama,
Pretty, pretty gal, me wan me lama,
Pretty, pretty gal, me wan me deggeday,
Pretty, pretty gal, me wan me deggeday.
Not a shoe to me foot, me wan me lama,
Not a shoe to me foot, me wan me lama.
Pretty, pretty gal, me wan me deggeday,
Pretty, pretty gal, me wan me deggeday.
Not a hat to me head...
Not a bangle to me han...
-snip-
Notes:
"This is a Jonkannu song. Jonkannu is a Christmas festivity which dates back to the days of slavery. Processions of merrymakers, masked dancers and drummers go through the streets singing and playing fifes. The masks the dancers wear are often made to resemble the heads of cows and horses, and other characters like the Bride and Devil are mimed. During slavery, the Jonkunnu processions collected money from the onlookers to pay for their own Christmas celebrations and this song was sung to draw attention to their lack of finery and money to pay for it.
lama-presents
deggeday-finery"
****
PART II: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT JONKANOO
From http://www.yale.edu/glc/belisario/Bilby.pdf "Masking the Spirit in the South Atlantic World: Jankunu’s Partially‐ Hidden History", Kenneth Bilby, Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College, Chicago; 2007.
Kenneth Bilby wrote that "The historical evidence strongly suggests that the Jankunu festival originated in Jamaica during the 18th century – possibly earlier. From there it seems to have spread to other English speaking colonial territories where slavery was entrenched, including British Honduras (now known as Belize) and other parts of Central America, North and South Carolina, Virginia, and the Bahamas." Bilby indicates that contemporary researchers have focused "three “clusters” of West African festival traditions: 1) the yam festival of the Mmo secret society of the Igbo peoples; 2) the Egungun masquerades of the Yoruba; and, 3) the Homowo yam festival of the Ga people (Patterson 1969 [1967]: 244‐47)" as the sources for the Jonkanoo celebrations. But "the evidence suggests that the more obviously European‐derived components of the Christmas festivities – which included “actor” characters, mumming troupes, and fife and drum bands – eventually overshadowed the more obviously African‐derived components. Those aspects of the creolized Christmas celebrations generally perceived to be of African origin were heavily stigmatized, and their suppression gradually forced them underground, while those aspects understood to be of European derivation emerged as the dominant forms....)
As a result, in Jamaica today, although its partial African origins are still acknowledged, Jankunu is almost universally understood to be a secular form of masquerading involving silent mumming by all‐male troupes to the music of fife and drum bands. Singing is never involved in these newer, now dominant forms. Investigation of the written historical sources, however, shows that Jankunu was quite different from this during its heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it flourished on slave plantations. As opposed to silent mumming backed by a fife and drum band, the older forms of Jankunu most often featured a mixed male‐female chorus, and a lead dancer wearing a large headdress in the shape of a house, together with a unique type of square or rectangular frame drum played with the hands, known as the gumbe (also sometimes spelled gumbay or goombay)"
****
From http://www.presnc.org/Community/Jonkonnu-Celebration-at-Bellamy-Mansion Jonkonnu Celebration at Bellamy Mansion , February 04, 2008
"This [Jonkanoo] festival - a unique blend of West African traditions -- used to take place between Christmas and New Year's from antebellum times through the late 19th century. Originating in enslaved communities, it included masked dancers, vibrant costumes and original songs and chants performed to the sound of bones, cows' horns, drums and triangles. The musicians' songs were in the African tradition of call and response and included sometimes irreverant songs about their masters.
The group paraded from house to house, stopping to perform and collect coins and candies from the people inside, usually their white masters. The procession concluded at their quarters where festvities continued including the serving of foods, among them sweet cakes like gingerbread. The first recorded report of Jonkonnu was in 1774 from the Caribbean, where it still thrives. Jonkonnu appeared in North America, but it was not widespread. Antebellum accounts of the festivities all come from North Carolina. There are descriptions from Edenton, Hillsborough, and Creswell, but Jonkonnu thrived longest in the Wilmington area. In her 1861 book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs, an escaped slave from Edenton, recounted the excitement that accompanied the festive holiday event and describes the colorful ragman costumes, dancing, music, and gumba box drums.”
****
From http://voices.yahoo.com/junkanoo-north-carolina-african-7471872.html Junkanoo in North Carolina: An African American Celebration" by Niambi Davis, Yahoo Contributor Network
Dec 25, 2010
..."Questions of spelling and origin aside, one thing is certain - Junkanoo is African to its core.
Junkanoo is considered a Bahamian or Jamaican tradition, but two centuries ago, African-Americans in North Carolina observed a nearly identical celebration. They called it Johnkankus; and like their Caribbean counterparts, masqueraders took to the road in costumes made from colorful rags, tattered clothing, wigs and cast-off finery. They wore masks and made music from whatever could be found - bottles, bones, spoons, castanets - anything that called up the ancestral rhythm; one that survived the middle passage and thwarted every futile attempt to stamp it out. Johnkankus was a festive time, a brief respite from the day-to-day grind of life as a slave. Harriet Jacobs, author of "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself," noted that "every child rises early on Christmas morning to see the Johnkankus...These companies of a hundred each, turn out early in the morning and are allowed to go around until twelve o'clock (midnight)."
Not everyone looked forward to Johnkankus with the same excitement. According to one observer "there are grades among the slaves as in all other classes of society, and those who rank highest will not join in this species of beggary and frolick combined."Johnkankus waned in popularity after emancipation. For many African Americans, instead of a celebration of heritage, it was an unwelcome reminder of their slave past. Shortened to "konering" or "coonering," the words became synonymous with "low-class buffoonery."...
****
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkanoo
"Junkanoo is a street parade with music which occurs in many towns across The Bahamas every Boxing Day (December 26), New Year's Day and, more recently, in the summer on the island of Grand Bahama. The largest Junkanoo parade happens in Nassau, the capital. There are also Junkanoo parades in Miami in June and Key West in October, where the local black American populations have their roots in the Bahamas. In addition to being a culture dance for the Garifuna people,[1] [2] this type of dancing is also performed in Jamaica on Independence day and other historical holidays."
-snip-
http://mudcat.org/detail_pf.cfm?messages__Message_ID=1651185
The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #88125 Message #1651185
Posted By: Azizi
18-Jan-06 - 05:56 PM
Thread Name: Iko Iko http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=88125
Subject: RE: Iko Iko
"I'm not sure if anyone else has made a connection between the Mardi Gras Indians and the Jonkonnu {John Canoe} celebrations by 19th* century {and probably earlier} African Americans in the South. Both feature masking and promenading in the streets. Both seem to be a blend of West African, Caribbean, and English traditions.
See this description of the early Mardi Gras Indian costumes from the Grateful Dead page whose link was provided earlier: http://www3.clearlight.com/~acsa/introjs.htm?/~acsa/songfile/IKOIKO.HTM
Reg Johnsey came up with this explanation {for the reference to chicken wire in the song "Iko Iko":
"The way country people celebrated Carnivale/Mardis Gras was to make conical masks out of chicken wire and decorate them, wearing them with costumes festooned with strips of cloth. So, the references to fixing someone's chicken wire sounds like a joking threat to mess up their masks, since part of the battle was how good the costumes were."
And see this excerpt from this website:
Pulse Planet: Jonkonnu http://www.pulseplanet.com/dailyprogram/dailies.php?POP=3067..."
-snip-
*I wrote 18th century" but meant "19th century". However, I've read that the earliest date that Jonkanuu is documented in the Caribbean is 1774. That said, I think that it's unlikely that Jonkonoo customs occurred in the the United States until the 19th century.
-snip-
Also, visit this pancocojams post http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/jonkanoo-gombey-new-orleans-indians.html "Jonkanoo, Gombey, New Orleans Indians, & The Philadelphia Mummers Costume Traditions" and read this historical overview of Jonkanoo http://www.bahamasentertainers.com/Paper/jnkno.html
****
PART III:
FEATURED JONKANOO VIDEOS
Example #1: One Family 2012 New Years Day Junkanoo 1
hugomanager, Uploaded on Jan 4, 2012
-snip-
"One Family" is the name of a Jonkanoo group in the Bahamas.
****
Example #2: Saxons 2010 Boxing Day Junkanoo 14
hugomanager Uploaded on Dec 30, 2010
-snip-
"Saxons" is the name of a Jonkanoo group in the Bahamas.
****
Example #3: Valley Boys 2011 New Years Junkanoo 1
hugomanager, Uploaded on Jan 3, 2011
-snip-
"Valley Boys" is the name of a Jonkanoo group in the Bahamas.
****
Thanks to the editors of Mango Spice for the words to the song "Christmus A Come" and for information about Jonkanoo.
Thanks to all those who I quoted in this post and thanks to hugomanager for publishing the featured videos of contemporary Jonkanoo parade groups in the Bahamas.
Thanks for visiting pancoocjams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post provides a song example, information, comments, and video examples of Jonkanoo.
Part I of this post showcases a text (word only) version of the traditional Caribbean song "Christmus A Come" from the 1981 book Mango Spice- 44 Caribbean Songs edited by Yvonne Conolly, Gloria Cameron, and Sonia Singham (with music scores & drawings; A&C Black, London, pp.33-34). The editors' notes to this song, which are included in this post, describe "Christmus A Come" as a Jonkunnu song.
Part II of this post provides general information & comments about Jonkanoo in the Caribbean and in the United States.
Part III of this post showcases three contemporary videos of Jonkunnu celebrations from the Bahamas.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
PART I: LYRICS: CHRISTMUS A COME
(traditional Caribbean)
Christmus a come, me wan me lama,
Christmus a come, me wan me lama,
Christmus a come, me wan me deggeday,
Christmus a come, me wan me deggeday.
Pretty, pretty gal, me wan me lama,
Pretty, pretty gal, me wan me lama,
Pretty, pretty gal, me wan me deggeday,
Pretty, pretty gal, me wan me deggeday.
Not a shoe to me foot, me wan me lama,
Not a shoe to me foot, me wan me lama.
Pretty, pretty gal, me wan me deggeday,
Pretty, pretty gal, me wan me deggeday.
Not a hat to me head...
Not a bangle to me han...
-snip-
Notes:
"This is a Jonkannu song. Jonkannu is a Christmas festivity which dates back to the days of slavery. Processions of merrymakers, masked dancers and drummers go through the streets singing and playing fifes. The masks the dancers wear are often made to resemble the heads of cows and horses, and other characters like the Bride and Devil are mimed. During slavery, the Jonkunnu processions collected money from the onlookers to pay for their own Christmas celebrations and this song was sung to draw attention to their lack of finery and money to pay for it.
lama-presents
deggeday-finery"
****
PART II: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT JONKANOO
From http://www.yale.edu/glc/belisario/Bilby.pdf "Masking the Spirit in the South Atlantic World: Jankunu’s Partially‐ Hidden History", Kenneth Bilby, Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College, Chicago; 2007.
Kenneth Bilby wrote that "The historical evidence strongly suggests that the Jankunu festival originated in Jamaica during the 18th century – possibly earlier. From there it seems to have spread to other English speaking colonial territories where slavery was entrenched, including British Honduras (now known as Belize) and other parts of Central America, North and South Carolina, Virginia, and the Bahamas." Bilby indicates that contemporary researchers have focused "three “clusters” of West African festival traditions: 1) the yam festival of the Mmo secret society of the Igbo peoples; 2) the Egungun masquerades of the Yoruba; and, 3) the Homowo yam festival of the Ga people (Patterson 1969 [1967]: 244‐47)" as the sources for the Jonkanoo celebrations. But "the evidence suggests that the more obviously European‐derived components of the Christmas festivities – which included “actor” characters, mumming troupes, and fife and drum bands – eventually overshadowed the more obviously African‐derived components. Those aspects of the creolized Christmas celebrations generally perceived to be of African origin were heavily stigmatized, and their suppression gradually forced them underground, while those aspects understood to be of European derivation emerged as the dominant forms....)
As a result, in Jamaica today, although its partial African origins are still acknowledged, Jankunu is almost universally understood to be a secular form of masquerading involving silent mumming by all‐male troupes to the music of fife and drum bands. Singing is never involved in these newer, now dominant forms. Investigation of the written historical sources, however, shows that Jankunu was quite different from this during its heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it flourished on slave plantations. As opposed to silent mumming backed by a fife and drum band, the older forms of Jankunu most often featured a mixed male‐female chorus, and a lead dancer wearing a large headdress in the shape of a house, together with a unique type of square or rectangular frame drum played with the hands, known as the gumbe (also sometimes spelled gumbay or goombay)"
****
From http://www.presnc.org/Community/Jonkonnu-Celebration-at-Bellamy-Mansion Jonkonnu Celebration at Bellamy Mansion , February 04, 2008
"This [Jonkanoo] festival - a unique blend of West African traditions -- used to take place between Christmas and New Year's from antebellum times through the late 19th century. Originating in enslaved communities, it included masked dancers, vibrant costumes and original songs and chants performed to the sound of bones, cows' horns, drums and triangles. The musicians' songs were in the African tradition of call and response and included sometimes irreverant songs about their masters.
The group paraded from house to house, stopping to perform and collect coins and candies from the people inside, usually their white masters. The procession concluded at their quarters where festvities continued including the serving of foods, among them sweet cakes like gingerbread. The first recorded report of Jonkonnu was in 1774 from the Caribbean, where it still thrives. Jonkonnu appeared in North America, but it was not widespread. Antebellum accounts of the festivities all come from North Carolina. There are descriptions from Edenton, Hillsborough, and Creswell, but Jonkonnu thrived longest in the Wilmington area. In her 1861 book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Harriet Jacobs, an escaped slave from Edenton, recounted the excitement that accompanied the festive holiday event and describes the colorful ragman costumes, dancing, music, and gumba box drums.”
****
From http://voices.yahoo.com/junkanoo-north-carolina-african-7471872.html Junkanoo in North Carolina: An African American Celebration" by Niambi Davis, Yahoo Contributor Network
Dec 25, 2010
..."Questions of spelling and origin aside, one thing is certain - Junkanoo is African to its core.
Junkanoo is considered a Bahamian or Jamaican tradition, but two centuries ago, African-Americans in North Carolina observed a nearly identical celebration. They called it Johnkankus; and like their Caribbean counterparts, masqueraders took to the road in costumes made from colorful rags, tattered clothing, wigs and cast-off finery. They wore masks and made music from whatever could be found - bottles, bones, spoons, castanets - anything that called up the ancestral rhythm; one that survived the middle passage and thwarted every futile attempt to stamp it out. Johnkankus was a festive time, a brief respite from the day-to-day grind of life as a slave. Harriet Jacobs, author of "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, Written by Herself," noted that "every child rises early on Christmas morning to see the Johnkankus...These companies of a hundred each, turn out early in the morning and are allowed to go around until twelve o'clock (midnight)."
Not everyone looked forward to Johnkankus with the same excitement. According to one observer "there are grades among the slaves as in all other classes of society, and those who rank highest will not join in this species of beggary and frolick combined."Johnkankus waned in popularity after emancipation. For many African Americans, instead of a celebration of heritage, it was an unwelcome reminder of their slave past. Shortened to "konering" or "coonering," the words became synonymous with "low-class buffoonery."...
****
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junkanoo
"Junkanoo is a street parade with music which occurs in many towns across The Bahamas every Boxing Day (December 26), New Year's Day and, more recently, in the summer on the island of Grand Bahama. The largest Junkanoo parade happens in Nassau, the capital. There are also Junkanoo parades in Miami in June and Key West in October, where the local black American populations have their roots in the Bahamas. In addition to being a culture dance for the Garifuna people,[1] [2] this type of dancing is also performed in Jamaica on Independence day and other historical holidays."
-snip-
http://mudcat.org/detail_pf.cfm?messages__Message_ID=1651185
The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #88125 Message #1651185
Posted By: Azizi
18-Jan-06 - 05:56 PM
Thread Name: Iko Iko http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=88125
Subject: RE: Iko Iko
"I'm not sure if anyone else has made a connection between the Mardi Gras Indians and the Jonkonnu {John Canoe} celebrations by 19th* century {and probably earlier} African Americans in the South. Both feature masking and promenading in the streets. Both seem to be a blend of West African, Caribbean, and English traditions.
See this description of the early Mardi Gras Indian costumes from the Grateful Dead page whose link was provided earlier: http://www3.clearlight.com/~acsa/introjs.htm?/~acsa/songfile/IKOIKO.HTM
Reg Johnsey came up with this explanation {for the reference to chicken wire in the song "Iko Iko":
"The way country people celebrated Carnivale/Mardis Gras was to make conical masks out of chicken wire and decorate them, wearing them with costumes festooned with strips of cloth. So, the references to fixing someone's chicken wire sounds like a joking threat to mess up their masks, since part of the battle was how good the costumes were."
And see this excerpt from this website:
Pulse Planet: Jonkonnu http://www.pulseplanet.com/dailyprogram/dailies.php?POP=3067..."
-snip-
*I wrote 18th century" but meant "19th century". However, I've read that the earliest date that Jonkanuu is documented in the Caribbean is 1774. That said, I think that it's unlikely that Jonkonoo customs occurred in the the United States until the 19th century.
-snip-
Also, visit this pancocojams post http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/02/jonkanoo-gombey-new-orleans-indians.html "Jonkanoo, Gombey, New Orleans Indians, & The Philadelphia Mummers Costume Traditions" and read this historical overview of Jonkanoo http://www.bahamasentertainers.com/Paper/jnkno.html
****
PART III:
FEATURED JONKANOO VIDEOS
Example #1: One Family 2012 New Years Day Junkanoo 1
hugomanager, Uploaded on Jan 4, 2012
-snip-
"One Family" is the name of a Jonkanoo group in the Bahamas.
****
Example #2: Saxons 2010 Boxing Day Junkanoo 14
hugomanager Uploaded on Dec 30, 2010
-snip-
"Saxons" is the name of a Jonkanoo group in the Bahamas.
****
Example #3: Valley Boys 2011 New Years Junkanoo 1
hugomanager, Uploaded on Jan 3, 2011
-snip-
"Valley Boys" is the name of a Jonkanoo group in the Bahamas.
****
Thanks to the editors of Mango Spice for the words to the song "Christmus A Come" and for information about Jonkanoo.
Thanks to all those who I quoted in this post and thanks to hugomanager for publishing the featured videos of contemporary Jonkanoo parade groups in the Bahamas.
Thanks for visiting pancoocjams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Five South African Wedding Songs By Platform One
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases five videos/sound files of the South African music group Platform One. Information about this group and selected comments from some of the featured videos YouTube viewer comment threads are also included in this post.
If you have information about the meaning of these songs, please add it in the comment thread of the video and/or this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT PLATFORM ONE
From https://www.facebook.com/PlatformOnesouthafrica/info
"Platform One was formed in 1989. It consisted of Pure Gold, Senior Choir and Nani Ntengo. It was formed in Mzimhlophe Soweto. It recorded its first album titled Isencance Ingane which was released in 1990. The song was very popular around South Africa and it sold more than 500 000 copies, and for that album Platform One reached Gold and Double Platinum...
Description
We are a group of 3 members and do Traditional wedding songs, We rocked SA and we back to rock more. Members: Nani Ntengo, Sonto Dladla and Nelisiwe Jele"
****
FEATHRED EXAMPLES
(These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting date on YouTube with the oldest videos given first.)
Example #1: Isencane Platform One
Thandielove, Uploaded on May 30, 2008
-snip-
Here are selected comments from this song's viewer comment thread:
freddiep21, 2008
"ahh i love this tune!! it should play on my wedding. it brings back memories of early 90's. it was a hit it played on my uncle's wedding! where can i get this CD?"
**
bluerings20, 2008
"lovely song,takes me back in time when i was a lot younger in Zim,reminds me of weddings in Zim too!!"
-snip-
"Zim" = Zimbabwe
**
ziya139, 2009
"The song says: Can't u c this disaster the child is still young 2 get married..."
**
Vincent Simelane, 2012
"Amen amen ... proudly south african!! gone are the day when weddings abt singing and dancing !! now all therre is is BEER BEER BEER..."
**
lindo shozi. 2013
"I will need a hand,who who in their right mind wud marry this child is still young,My baby is too young to get married. In short thats the meaning of the song"
****
Example #2: Platform One Sizolala La
Thandielove, Uploaded on Nov 9, 2009
-snip-
Here are selected comments from this song's viewer comment thread:
Boikanyo Molale, 2009
"we danced to this at uncles wedding way bac in 1999. i was still a small boi aniway."
**
2thobza, 2011
"i love this song thnx Thandielove it reminds me of hw my mom cn b at weddings"
****
Example #3: Platform One - Womnyakazisa Mayelele
.
Bi Tra, Published on Nov 2, 2012
****
Example #4: Platform One - Ivalaza
Bi Tra, Published on Jan 2, 2013
South African Music
-snip-
Here are selected comments from this song's viewer comment thread:
Cecil Gape, 2013
"classic tune guys !"
**
Vincent Simelane, 2013
"suka !!! gone are the days when wedding were fun and nyc eish now its more of a show off and fanancial transaction than anything else"
**
TheBong27, 2013
"@ Muziwenhlanhla Mchunu_ valaza refers to the car, its a short township name for the American muscle car "Valiant".
-snip-
I don't know what "muscle car" means except that it may mean a "sports car". I'm American but I had to look up information about the Valiant car. The Plymouth Valiant is an automobile manufactured by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Corporation in the United States from 1960 to 1976. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Valiant. South Africa was one of the nations around the world in which the Plymouth (also known as the Chrysler) Valiant was marketed.
****
Example #5: Platform One: Taste & Pass
zuluboys, Published on Aug 14, 2013
Forget fancy studio and stage setup, this is simplicity at its best and with cows and goats to boot!
****
Thanks to Platform One for their musical legacy. Thanks also to those who I quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos/sound files on YouTube.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases five videos/sound files of the South African music group Platform One. Information about this group and selected comments from some of the featured videos YouTube viewer comment threads are also included in this post.
If you have information about the meaning of these songs, please add it in the comment thread of the video and/or this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT PLATFORM ONE
From https://www.facebook.com/PlatformOnesouthafrica/info
"Platform One was formed in 1989. It consisted of Pure Gold, Senior Choir and Nani Ntengo. It was formed in Mzimhlophe Soweto. It recorded its first album titled Isencance Ingane which was released in 1990. The song was very popular around South Africa and it sold more than 500 000 copies, and for that album Platform One reached Gold and Double Platinum...
Description
We are a group of 3 members and do Traditional wedding songs, We rocked SA and we back to rock more. Members: Nani Ntengo, Sonto Dladla and Nelisiwe Jele"
****
FEATHRED EXAMPLES
(These examples are presented in chronological order based on their posting date on YouTube with the oldest videos given first.)
Example #1: Isencane Platform One
Thandielove, Uploaded on May 30, 2008
-snip-
Here are selected comments from this song's viewer comment thread:
freddiep21, 2008
"ahh i love this tune!! it should play on my wedding. it brings back memories of early 90's. it was a hit it played on my uncle's wedding! where can i get this CD?"
**
bluerings20, 2008
"lovely song,takes me back in time when i was a lot younger in Zim,reminds me of weddings in Zim too!!"
-snip-
"Zim" = Zimbabwe
**
ziya139, 2009
"The song says: Can't u c this disaster the child is still young 2 get married..."
**
Vincent Simelane, 2012
"Amen amen ... proudly south african!! gone are the day when weddings abt singing and dancing !! now all therre is is BEER BEER BEER..."
**
lindo shozi. 2013
"I will need a hand,who who in their right mind wud marry this child is still young,My baby is too young to get married. In short thats the meaning of the song"
****
Example #2: Platform One Sizolala La
Thandielove, Uploaded on Nov 9, 2009
-snip-
Here are selected comments from this song's viewer comment thread:
Boikanyo Molale, 2009
"we danced to this at uncles wedding way bac in 1999. i was still a small boi aniway."
**
2thobza, 2011
"i love this song thnx Thandielove it reminds me of hw my mom cn b at weddings"
****
Example #3: Platform One - Womnyakazisa Mayelele
.
Bi Tra, Published on Nov 2, 2012
****
Example #4: Platform One - Ivalaza
Bi Tra, Published on Jan 2, 2013
South African Music
-snip-
Here are selected comments from this song's viewer comment thread:
Cecil Gape, 2013
"classic tune guys !"
**
Vincent Simelane, 2013
"suka !!! gone are the days when wedding were fun and nyc eish now its more of a show off and fanancial transaction than anything else"
**
TheBong27, 2013
"@ Muziwenhlanhla Mchunu_ valaza refers to the car, its a short township name for the American muscle car "Valiant".
-snip-
I don't know what "muscle car" means except that it may mean a "sports car". I'm American but I had to look up information about the Valiant car. The Plymouth Valiant is an automobile manufactured by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Corporation in the United States from 1960 to 1976. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_Valiant. South Africa was one of the nations around the world in which the Plymouth (also known as the Chrysler) Valiant was marketed.
****
Example #5: Platform One: Taste & Pass
zuluboys, Published on Aug 14, 2013
Forget fancy studio and stage setup, this is simplicity at its best and with cows and goats to boot!
****
Thanks to Platform One for their musical legacy. Thanks also to those who I quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos/sound files on YouTube.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
The Charms (Jamaican Ska) - Hill And Gully Rider (lyrics, sound file, comments)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part III of a three part series on the Jamaican song "Hill And Gully Rider (also given as "Hill 'N Gully Rider"). This post showcases a sound file of and lyrics for The Charms' Ska version of "Hill 'N Gully Ride". Selected comments from that YouTube sound file's viewer comment thread are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/hill-and-gully-rider-general.html for Part I of this series.
Part I presents general information about Jamaican music, with special emphasis on Mento and Ska music. Part I also includes general comments about Mento music and three examples of folk lyrics for "Hill And Gully Rider".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/lord-composer-hill-n-gully-ride-sound.html for Part II of this post.
Part II showcases a sound file of and lyrics for Lord Composer's Mento version of "Hill 'N Gully Ride". Information & comments about that song are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
GENERAL COMMENT ABOUT THIS EXAMPLE
From the editors of Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean Songs
"Hill an gully is a call and response work song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut. folk song which was sung as a work song (a digging song that was sung while building roads)"
-snip-
Multiple Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully [Rider"} have been sung and recorded for social dancing. It appears to me that many if not all Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully Rider" are dance instruction songs (songs whose lyrics for the most part or entirely consist of directions for dance moves.) Several comments about dancing are found in YouTube video viewer comment thread of The Charm's 1964 version of "Hill 'N Gully Rider". I believe that those same comments could apply to most if not all other Ska & Mento versions of that song. In contrast, the Dancehall Reggae versions of that song (by King Yellowman and Ini Kamoze, for example) are dance songs, but not dance instruction songs.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: The Charms - Hill And Gully
lardsah, Uploaded on Feb 9, 2009
Tune! All time classic and one that brings back sweet memories whenever I hear it. Island label – 1964
****
LYRICS FOR "HILL 'N GULLY RIDER"
(The Charms, 1964)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Be careful how you go
(Hill an' gully)
Mind your back and fo’
(Hill an' gully)
Bend down low
(Hill an' gully)
No style large**
Back to back ***
(Hill an' gully)
Belly to belly ***
(Hill an' gully)
Feel up feel up
(Hill an' gully)
Feel up feel up
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
[instrumental]
[repeat entire song , ends with same instrumental]
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell from that recording. Italics mean that I'm not sure about my transcription of those words. Additions and corrections are welcome.
*back and fo' = back and forth
** "no style large" = [if that transcription is correct it may mean] don't be flamboyant in your dance movements, keep them smooth and simple (uncomplicated).
*** back to back/belly to belly" are words that are lifted from the Calypso song "Jumbie Jamboree" (also given as Jumbie Jamberee". Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumbie_Jamberee for information about that song.
****
SELECTED COMMENTS ABOUT DANCING TO "HILL AND GULLY RIDER" FROM THIS SOUND FILE'S VIEWER COMMENT THREAD
2009
mi777ke777
"nice......These tracks make you move! classic"
**
enigma664599
"WHOOOOOA!!!! I can see my dad dropping some moves to this....lol Love it!"
**
sallou100
"this is a bad tune i remember my dad and his family dancing to this at partys a real 7inch KILLA"
**
2013
northernsean1
"An awesome track , flip side is Carry, Go Bring Come by The Charms ( aka Justin Hines & The Dominoes ) ...music just don' get better than this !!!!!"
****
This completes Part III of this series.
Thanks to The Charms for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Lord Composer (Jamaican Mento) - "Hill 'N Gully Ride" (sound file & lyrics)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a three part series on the Jamaican song "Hill And Gully Rider (also given as "Hill 'N Gully Rider"). This post showcases a sound file of and lyrics for Lord Composer's Mento version of "Hill 'N Gully Ride". Information & comments about that song are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/hill-and-gully-rider-general.html for Part I of this series.
Part I presents general information about Jamaican music, with special emphasis on Mento and Ska music. Part I also includes general comments about Mento music and three examples of folk lyrics for "Hill And Gully Rider".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-charms-jamaican-ska-hill-and-gully.html for Part III of this series.
Part III showcases a sound file of and lyrics for The Charm's Ska version of "Hill 'N Gully Rider". Selected comments from that YouTube sound file's viewer comment thread are also included in that post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
GENERAL COMMENT ABOUT THIS EXAMPLE
From the editors of Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean Songs
"Hill an gully is a call and response work song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut. folk song which was sung as a work song (a digging song that was sung while building roads)"
-snip-
Multiple Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully [Rider"} have been sung and recorded for social dancing. It appears to me that many if not all Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully Rider" are dance instruction songs (songs whose lyrics for the most part or entirely consist of directions for dance moves.) Several comments about dancing are found in YouTube video viewer comment thread of The Charm's 1964 version of "Hill 'N Gully Rider". I believe that those same comments could apply to most if not all other Ska & Mento versions of that song. In contrast, the Dancehall Reggae versions of that song (by King Yellowman and Ini Kamoze, for example) are dance songs, but not dance instruction songs.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Hill and Gully Ride; Mandeville Road [10 inch] -Lord Composer and his Silver Seas Hotel Orchestra
TheRealDJGIBS, Uploaded on Oct 2, 2011
Digital archive of MRS 78RPM single 31A;
Hill and Gully Ride; Mandeville Road by Lord Composer and His Silver Seas Hotel Orchestra
℗1954 Stanley Motta Ltd.
Style: Jamaican Mento
Composer: Traditional Jamaican Digging Songs
Label: MRS (Motta's Recording Studio)
Matrix No.: SM.117
-snip-
Here's a definition of the word "gully" from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gully
"deep ditch or channel cut in the earth by running water after a prolonged downpour."
**
Lord Composer's 1954 recording of "Hill & Gully Ride" is the first recording of that song.
I believe that the first example of folk lyrics for "Hill And Gully Rider" (and perhaps also the other two examples) given in Part I of this series predate/s Lord Composer's version of this song. And it's very clear that the lyrics found in that first example greatly influenced the lyrics for Lord Composer's song.
In that MRS record, Lord Composer's version of the Jamaican folk song "Hill N Gully Ride" is combined with his version of the Jamaican folk "Mandeville Road" (also known as "Emmanuel Road" and "Go Down Manuel Road"). Click this page of my Cocojams cultural website for several versions of the lyrics to that song: http://www.cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs.
**
Here's some information about MRS and this recording from http://www.mentomusic.com/1scans.htm
..."Perhaps motivated by a desire to have recordings of local music to sell in his namesake department stores, Stanley Motta's MRS (Motta's Recording Studio) label released at least 70 tracks in the country and dance band styles by a variety of excellent artists on more than fifty 78 RPM singles , a few 45 . Mostly drawing from these, MRS released a five volume series of 10" LPs, called, "MRS - Authentic Jamaican Calypsos", as well as at least three other LPs and at least one "album" of 78 RPM singles.
MRS is the first mento label and the start of Jamaican's recording industry...
Lord Composer and His Silver Seas Hotel Orchestra:
Gal A Gully; Matilda
Hill & Gully Ride; Mandiville Road
This very popular pair of two-song medleys are early mento classics. Found on either side of a MRS 78 RPM single, they collect four Jamaican folk songs, set to the same music. But Composer's choice of material, strong keening vocal and tight instrumentation featuring virtuoso fife solos make these tracks an inexhaustible source of enjoyment. These tracks appeared on several different 1950s mento compilation albums. But, mysteriously, Composer never recorded anything that sounded like these sides. In fact, no one did, and these tracks stand unique in mento. Incidentally, in lieu of authorship, the label describes these folk songs as "Jamaican digging songs".
-snip-
My interpretation of the statement that "But, mysteriously, Composer never recorded anything that sounded like these sides" is that Lord Composer never combined those two pairs of songs together. However, I may be wrong about that interpretation.
****
LYRICS FOR "HILL 'N GULLY RIDE"
(Lord Composer, 1954)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
And then you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you dance right round now
(Hill an' gully)
And if you broke your neck
you gonna to hell.
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
And then you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you dance right round now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you dance right round now
(Hill an' gully)
[instrumental]
Oh, ah hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
And then you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you dance right round now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you right see saw oh
And if you broke your neck
you gonna to hell.
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
And then me say you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you dance right round now
(Hill an' gully)
Ah then you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you dance right round
(Hill an' gully)
[instrumental]
-snip-
The song "Mandeville Road begins at 1:44 of that sound file.
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell from that recording. Italics mean that I'm not certain of those words. Additions and corrections are welcome.
If I'm correct that those words in italics are "And then you right see saw oh", those words may serve as dance instruction to move to your right and dance up and down in imitation of the movement of a see-saw ("See-saws" used to be very widely found playground equipment that has since been removed from playgrounds because they are considered unsafe.)
****
This completes Part II of this series.
Thanks to Lord Composer for his musical legacy. Thanks also to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part II of a three part series on the Jamaican song "Hill And Gully Rider (also given as "Hill 'N Gully Rider"). This post showcases a sound file of and lyrics for Lord Composer's Mento version of "Hill 'N Gully Ride". Information & comments about that song are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/hill-and-gully-rider-general.html for Part I of this series.
Part I presents general information about Jamaican music, with special emphasis on Mento and Ska music. Part I also includes general comments about Mento music and three examples of folk lyrics for "Hill And Gully Rider".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-charms-jamaican-ska-hill-and-gully.html for Part III of this series.
Part III showcases a sound file of and lyrics for The Charm's Ska version of "Hill 'N Gully Rider". Selected comments from that YouTube sound file's viewer comment thread are also included in that post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
GENERAL COMMENT ABOUT THIS EXAMPLE
From the editors of Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean Songs
"Hill an gully is a call and response work song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut. folk song which was sung as a work song (a digging song that was sung while building roads)"
-snip-
Multiple Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully [Rider"} have been sung and recorded for social dancing. It appears to me that many if not all Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully Rider" are dance instruction songs (songs whose lyrics for the most part or entirely consist of directions for dance moves.) Several comments about dancing are found in YouTube video viewer comment thread of The Charm's 1964 version of "Hill 'N Gully Rider". I believe that those same comments could apply to most if not all other Ska & Mento versions of that song. In contrast, the Dancehall Reggae versions of that song (by King Yellowman and Ini Kamoze, for example) are dance songs, but not dance instruction songs.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Hill and Gully Ride; Mandeville Road [10 inch] -Lord Composer and his Silver Seas Hotel Orchestra
TheRealDJGIBS, Uploaded on Oct 2, 2011
Digital archive of MRS 78RPM single 31A;
Hill and Gully Ride; Mandeville Road by Lord Composer and His Silver Seas Hotel Orchestra
℗1954 Stanley Motta Ltd.
Style: Jamaican Mento
Composer: Traditional Jamaican Digging Songs
Label: MRS (Motta's Recording Studio)
Matrix No.: SM.117
-snip-
Here's a definition of the word "gully" from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gully
"deep ditch or channel cut in the earth by running water after a prolonged downpour."
**
Lord Composer's 1954 recording of "Hill & Gully Ride" is the first recording of that song.
I believe that the first example of folk lyrics for "Hill And Gully Rider" (and perhaps also the other two examples) given in Part I of this series predate/s Lord Composer's version of this song. And it's very clear that the lyrics found in that first example greatly influenced the lyrics for Lord Composer's song.
In that MRS record, Lord Composer's version of the Jamaican folk song "Hill N Gully Ride" is combined with his version of the Jamaican folk "Mandeville Road" (also known as "Emmanuel Road" and "Go Down Manuel Road"). Click this page of my Cocojams cultural website for several versions of the lyrics to that song: http://www.cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs.
**
Here's some information about MRS and this recording from http://www.mentomusic.com/1scans.htm
..."Perhaps motivated by a desire to have recordings of local music to sell in his namesake department stores, Stanley Motta's MRS (Motta's Recording Studio) label released at least 70 tracks in the country and dance band styles by a variety of excellent artists on more than fifty 78 RPM singles , a few 45 . Mostly drawing from these, MRS released a five volume series of 10" LPs, called, "MRS - Authentic Jamaican Calypsos", as well as at least three other LPs and at least one "album" of 78 RPM singles.
MRS is the first mento label and the start of Jamaican's recording industry...
Lord Composer and His Silver Seas Hotel Orchestra:
Gal A Gully; Matilda
Hill & Gully Ride; Mandiville Road
This very popular pair of two-song medleys are early mento classics. Found on either side of a MRS 78 RPM single, they collect four Jamaican folk songs, set to the same music. But Composer's choice of material, strong keening vocal and tight instrumentation featuring virtuoso fife solos make these tracks an inexhaustible source of enjoyment. These tracks appeared on several different 1950s mento compilation albums. But, mysteriously, Composer never recorded anything that sounded like these sides. In fact, no one did, and these tracks stand unique in mento. Incidentally, in lieu of authorship, the label describes these folk songs as "Jamaican digging songs".
-snip-
My interpretation of the statement that "But, mysteriously, Composer never recorded anything that sounded like these sides" is that Lord Composer never combined those two pairs of songs together. However, I may be wrong about that interpretation.
****
LYRICS FOR "HILL 'N GULLY RIDE"
(Lord Composer, 1954)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
And then you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you dance right round now
(Hill an' gully)
And if you broke your neck
you gonna to hell.
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
And then you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you dance right round now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you dance right round now
(Hill an' gully)
[instrumental]
Oh, ah hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
And then you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you dance right round now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you right see saw oh
And if you broke your neck
you gonna to hell.
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
Hill an' gully rider
(Hill an' gully)
And then me say you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you dance right round now
(Hill an' gully)
Ah then you bend down low now
(Hill an' gully)
And then you dance right round
(Hill an' gully)
[instrumental]
-snip-
The song "Mandeville Road begins at 1:44 of that sound file.
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell from that recording. Italics mean that I'm not certain of those words. Additions and corrections are welcome.
If I'm correct that those words in italics are "And then you right see saw oh", those words may serve as dance instruction to move to your right and dance up and down in imitation of the movement of a see-saw ("See-saws" used to be very widely found playground equipment that has since been removed from playgrounds because they are considered unsafe.)
****
This completes Part II of this series.
Thanks to Lord Composer for his musical legacy. Thanks also to the publisher of this sound file on YouTube.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Hill And Gully Rider (General Information & Folk Lyrics)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a three part series on the Jamaican song "Hill & Gully Rider" (also given as "Hill 'N Gully Rider"). This post provides general information about Jamaican music, with an emphasis on information about Mento music and Ska music. This post also includes general comments about the song "Hill and Gully Rider" and three examples of folk lyrics for that song.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/lord-composer-hill-n-gully-ride-sound.html for Part II of this post.
Part II showcases a sound file of and lyrics for Lord Composer's Mento version of "Hill 'N Gully Ride". Information & comments about that song are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-charms-jamaican-ska-hill-and-gully.html for Part III of this series.
Part III showcases a sound file of and lyrics for The Charm's Ska version of "Hill 'N Gully Rider". Selected comments from that YouTube sound file's viewer comment thread are also included in that post.
The content in this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
DEFINITION OF THE WORD "GULLY"
From http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gully
"deep ditch or channel cut in the earth by running water after a prolonged downpour."
****
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT JAMAICAN MUSIC
From http://www.mentomusic.com/WhatIsMento.htm
"Mento music had its beginnings in Jamaica in the 19th century, and was uniquely Jamaican fusion of African and European musical traditions. In mento's recorded history pre-history, from the 1920s through the 1940s, a number of Jamaican songs were put to wax by Caribbean jazz artists. In the 1930 and 1940s, Slim and Sam, a mento group who performed in Kingston, gained renown and are recalled today. They're remembered for their originals, and sold "tracts" -- printed lyrics -- at their performances...
But it wasn't until the early 1950s that true mento recordings first began to appear on 78 RPM discs. This decade was mento’s golden age, as a variety of artists recorded mento songs in an assortment of rhythms and styles. It was the peak of mento's creativity and popularity in Jamaica and the birth of Jamaica's recording industry.
These recordings reveal mento to be a diverse musical genre, sometimes played with reckless abandon and other times with orderly precision...
Some styles of mento would evolve into ska and reggae. (As a matter of fact, some mento songs are still being recorded inna dancehall stylee today.) Other styles, while purely mento, seem to have done less to contribute to the development of later Jamaican music...
Recording more than one vocal performance to the same musical backing is a quintessentially reggae practice. But it appears to have originated in mento, where this was not uncommon. Old folk and mento melodies would sometimes acquire altered, or an entirely new set of lyrics. (The melody from "Rucumbine" proved to be especially reusable.)... The lyrical content and vocal style couldn’t be more different, but the music is essentially the same. Or compare the two Lord Composer clips, Galag Gully; Matilda and Hill and Gully Ride; Mandeville Road. As in reggae, this practice does nothing to take away from the enjoyment of these recordings...
Some mento artists followed the calypsonian practice of adding a title such as "Count" or "Lord" to their name. But make no mistake, mento is a distinctly different sound from calypso, with its own instrumentation, rhythms, pacing, vocal styles, harmonies, and lyrical concerns."...
****
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mento
"Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music.
Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso; mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques. As in Calypso, Mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues.[2] Sexual innuendos are also common"...
****
From http://www.mentomusic.com/1scans.htm
..."By 1957 the popularity of Mento began to fade and “sales were not there anymore in Jamaica. And…. by the time the decade drew to a close, interest in Mento was almost non-existent in Jamaica. As the sixties opened Emil Shallit would go on to found the hugely influential Blue Beat label licensing Jamaican Rhythm &Blues and Ska recordings for U.K. release."
****
GENERAL COMMENTS
From the editors of Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean Songs
"Hill an gully is a call and response work song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut. folk song which was sung as a work song (a digging song that was sung while building roads)"
-snip-
Multiple Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully [Rider"} have been sung and recorded for social dancing. It appears to me that many if not all Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully Rider" are dance instruction songs (songs whose lyrics for the most part or entirely consist of directions for dance moves.) It seems to me that the words to the song given below as Example #1 meets that definition of a dance instruction song. I'm not as certain about the lyrics to Example #2 and Example #3 below.
I believe that it's important to emphasize the fact that many folk songs were or are also used as social [or religious] dance songs since people in the United States often try to separate the experience of singing and playing instrumental folk music & other genres of music from the experience of dancing to that music.
****
From http://www.jamaicans.com/music/articles_reggae/50-years-of-unforgettable-jamaican-music~print.shtml "50 Years of Unforgettable Jamaican Music" by Margaret Juliet Bailey
[comment about Mento music]
"The most heart warming form of music that brings back memories of yesteryear for Jamaicans is Mento music. Mento music is comprised of folk music, mento instrumentation and calypso. The first presenters of Jamaican mento music were the "Cudjoe Minstrels". However, the Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverly turned mento into an International art form with songs such as "Wheel and Tun Me" and "Long Time Gal Me Nevva See You".”...
[comment about Ska music]
"The first popular music was Ska or Julian Jingles which was created in the early 60's. Ska is described as a fusion of Jamaican mento rhythms, R&B and American Music. Ska became very popular due to the middle class, a dance called "the ska" was eventually developed. Vocalists such as, Lascelles Perkins, Laurel Aitken, and Clancy Eccles were instrumental in promoting ska to the top of the music charts. Groups like the Skattelites were formed; however, their fame was short lived due to another type of music [Rock Steady] emerging [in the late 1960s]".
****
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=9627&messages=60 [hereafter given as Mudcat: Hill And Gully Rider"], posted by Gibb Sahib, 30 Sep 10
[[comment #1]
"FWIW "Hill and Gully," from my experience with Jamaican music (I am not Jamaican) "Hill and Gully" is extremely well known, to the point that it functions as a sort of "standard reference"... maybe something like "Mary Had a Little Lamb" in North America. As such, the song been recycled in various genres... However, beyond that, I have heard the melody "quoted" by instrumentalists in other genre contexts, and have even heard the phrase "hill and gully" used by at least one toaster/dj/rapper... "Hill and Gully" has also been adopted by people in the names for other things...I can't point to any examples, but perhaps you'll take my word for it that they are there, eg. a jerk chicken shack might call itself "Hill and Gully Jerk Centre" or something of that sort.
[comment #2]
..."I don't know where it [the song "Hill And Gully Rider" originated but I know that this was a very popular Jamaican folk song in the early-to-mid 1900s. It had been sung in Jamaica for decades before anyone there ever recorded it (as they didn't have a recorder until Times Records started recording and sending them to Decca in the UK to be pressed).
The earliest recording I know of "Hill And Gully Ride" is a Mento medley on a Jamaican 78 on the MRS label (#31). Considering this label started in '51 or so, this record was probably released in '53 by Lord Composer... the side B was "Hill And Gully Ride / Mandeville Road" Ironically, Belefonte also borrows from the second song on this medley in his version of "Emanual Road". He did not use "Hill and Gully Ride" in his version of Day-O. That was the version released by the Tarriers called "Banana Boat Song"."
****
THREE FOLK LYRICS FOR THE SONG "HILL AND GULLY RIDER"
[As is the case with all folk music, there are multiple versions of the song "Hill N Gully Rider". All of the versions of that song that I have heard use the same tune (melody), but the tempos of different versions of that song may differ.
The spelling in the first example leads me to believe that that version is the oldest of the examples in this post. I also believe that that version-and probably the other two versions as well- are older than the Mento & Ska lyrics that are showcased in Part II of this series.]
Example #1:
From Mudcat: Hill And Gully Rider, posted by Long Firm Freddie, 09 Feb 04
"In a book called Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean songs chosen by Yvonne Conolly, Gloria Cameron and Sonia Singham, published by A & C Black of London, it gives the following:
HILL AN GULLY - Words and Melody Traditional Jamaican
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
An ah ben dung low dung,
(Hill an gully)
An a low dung bessy dung,
(Hill an gully)
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
An yu better mind you tumble dung,
(Hill an gully)
An yu tumble down yu bruk yu neck,
(Hill an gully)
The notes say Hill an Gully is a call and response song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut.
The response can be sung in unison or in two part harmony.
The thud of pick axes driven into the ground provided the accompaniment to the song... as the leader sang out his call, the pick axes were raised for the next downward swing.
-snip-
Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean Songs was published in 1981. Here's a comment about the lyrics of that song from that book [p. 23]:
"Hill an gully is a call and response work song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut.
bessy dung-bend down
The response can be sung in unison or in two part harmony.
The thud of pick axes driven into the ground provided the accompaniment to the song and this could be imitated by bass drums or tambours striking the first beat of each bar sung by the chorus. As the leader sung out his call, the pick axes were raised for the next downward swing."
-snip-
"An ah ben dung low dung" = And I been down low down
"An a low dung bessy dung" = and a [or "I"] low down bend down
****
Example #2
From http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Hill_and_Gully_Rider.htm
"I have a version in one of my ABC (Australia) school song books
and it has appeared in the past more than once. It's listed as traditional Jamaican and has
four verses as shown:
Took my horse an' comin' down,
Hill an' gully
But my horse done stumble down
Hill an' gully Hill an' gully
An' the nighttime come an' tumble down
Hill an' gully
The refrain appears between each line of the following verses too.
Oh the moon shone bright down,
Ain't no place to hide in down,
An' a zombie come a ridin' down
Oh, my knees they shake down
An' my heart starts quakin' down
An' I run 'til daylight breakin' down.
That's the last I set down,
Pray the Lord don' let me down.
Ain't nobody goin' to get me down.
****
Example #3
From http://www.harptabs.com/song.php?ID=17522
[Editor's note: This site gives the same lyrics as found in Example #2 as "1st "pos" [possibility] for the words to "Hill And Gully Rider".
HILL AND GULLY RIDER 2nd pos
Jamaican folk song
Hill an’ gul-ly rid-er hill an’ gul-ly
Hill an’ gul-ly rid-er hill an’ gul-ly
I was walk-in’ real slow down hill an’ gul-ly
When I break my toe down hill an’ gul-ly
Ma-ma told me don’t go down hill an’ gul-ly
All the boys walk the road
down hill an’ gul-ly
Wom-en car-ry all the load
Down hill an’ gul-ly
Grass too green to be mowed
Down hill an’ gul-ly
Hill an’ gul-ly rid-er hill an’ gul-ly
****
This completes Part I of this series.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part I of a three part series on the Jamaican song "Hill & Gully Rider" (also given as "Hill 'N Gully Rider"). This post provides general information about Jamaican music, with an emphasis on information about Mento music and Ska music. This post also includes general comments about the song "Hill and Gully Rider" and three examples of folk lyrics for that song.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/lord-composer-hill-n-gully-ride-sound.html for Part II of this post.
Part II showcases a sound file of and lyrics for Lord Composer's Mento version of "Hill 'N Gully Ride". Information & comments about that song are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-charms-jamaican-ska-hill-and-gully.html for Part III of this series.
Part III showcases a sound file of and lyrics for The Charm's Ska version of "Hill 'N Gully Rider". Selected comments from that YouTube sound file's viewer comment thread are also included in that post.
The content in this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
DEFINITION OF THE WORD "GULLY"
From http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gully
"deep ditch or channel cut in the earth by running water after a prolonged downpour."
****
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT JAMAICAN MUSIC
From http://www.mentomusic.com/WhatIsMento.htm
"Mento music had its beginnings in Jamaica in the 19th century, and was uniquely Jamaican fusion of African and European musical traditions. In mento's recorded history pre-history, from the 1920s through the 1940s, a number of Jamaican songs were put to wax by Caribbean jazz artists. In the 1930 and 1940s, Slim and Sam, a mento group who performed in Kingston, gained renown and are recalled today. They're remembered for their originals, and sold "tracts" -- printed lyrics -- at their performances...
But it wasn't until the early 1950s that true mento recordings first began to appear on 78 RPM discs. This decade was mento’s golden age, as a variety of artists recorded mento songs in an assortment of rhythms and styles. It was the peak of mento's creativity and popularity in Jamaica and the birth of Jamaica's recording industry.
These recordings reveal mento to be a diverse musical genre, sometimes played with reckless abandon and other times with orderly precision...
Some styles of mento would evolve into ska and reggae. (As a matter of fact, some mento songs are still being recorded inna dancehall stylee today.) Other styles, while purely mento, seem to have done less to contribute to the development of later Jamaican music...
Recording more than one vocal performance to the same musical backing is a quintessentially reggae practice. But it appears to have originated in mento, where this was not uncommon. Old folk and mento melodies would sometimes acquire altered, or an entirely new set of lyrics. (The melody from "Rucumbine" proved to be especially reusable.)... The lyrical content and vocal style couldn’t be more different, but the music is essentially the same. Or compare the two Lord Composer clips, Galag Gully; Matilda and Hill and Gully Ride; Mandeville Road. As in reggae, this practice does nothing to take away from the enjoyment of these recordings...
Some mento artists followed the calypsonian practice of adding a title such as "Count" or "Lord" to their name. But make no mistake, mento is a distinctly different sound from calypso, with its own instrumentation, rhythms, pacing, vocal styles, harmonies, and lyrical concerns."...
****
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mento
"Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music.
Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso; mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques. As in Calypso, Mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues.[2] Sexual innuendos are also common"...
****
From http://www.mentomusic.com/1scans.htm
..."By 1957 the popularity of Mento began to fade and “sales were not there anymore in Jamaica. And…. by the time the decade drew to a close, interest in Mento was almost non-existent in Jamaica. As the sixties opened Emil Shallit would go on to found the hugely influential Blue Beat label licensing Jamaican Rhythm &Blues and Ska recordings for U.K. release."
****
GENERAL COMMENTS
From the editors of Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean Songs
"Hill an gully is a call and response work song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut. folk song which was sung as a work song (a digging song that was sung while building roads)"
-snip-
Multiple Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully [Rider"} have been sung and recorded for social dancing. It appears to me that many if not all Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully Rider" are dance instruction songs (songs whose lyrics for the most part or entirely consist of directions for dance moves.) It seems to me that the words to the song given below as Example #1 meets that definition of a dance instruction song. I'm not as certain about the lyrics to Example #2 and Example #3 below.
I believe that it's important to emphasize the fact that many folk songs were or are also used as social [or religious] dance songs since people in the United States often try to separate the experience of singing and playing instrumental folk music & other genres of music from the experience of dancing to that music.
****
From http://www.jamaicans.com/music/articles_reggae/50-years-of-unforgettable-jamaican-music~print.shtml "50 Years of Unforgettable Jamaican Music" by Margaret Juliet Bailey
[comment about Mento music]
"The most heart warming form of music that brings back memories of yesteryear for Jamaicans is Mento music. Mento music is comprised of folk music, mento instrumentation and calypso. The first presenters of Jamaican mento music were the "Cudjoe Minstrels". However, the Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverly turned mento into an International art form with songs such as "Wheel and Tun Me" and "Long Time Gal Me Nevva See You".”...
[comment about Ska music]
"The first popular music was Ska or Julian Jingles which was created in the early 60's. Ska is described as a fusion of Jamaican mento rhythms, R&B and American Music. Ska became very popular due to the middle class, a dance called "the ska" was eventually developed. Vocalists such as, Lascelles Perkins, Laurel Aitken, and Clancy Eccles were instrumental in promoting ska to the top of the music charts. Groups like the Skattelites were formed; however, their fame was short lived due to another type of music [Rock Steady] emerging [in the late 1960s]".
****
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=9627&messages=60 [hereafter given as Mudcat: Hill And Gully Rider"], posted by Gibb Sahib, 30 Sep 10
[[comment #1]
"FWIW "Hill and Gully," from my experience with Jamaican music (I am not Jamaican) "Hill and Gully" is extremely well known, to the point that it functions as a sort of "standard reference"... maybe something like "Mary Had a Little Lamb" in North America. As such, the song been recycled in various genres... However, beyond that, I have heard the melody "quoted" by instrumentalists in other genre contexts, and have even heard the phrase "hill and gully" used by at least one toaster/dj/rapper... "Hill and Gully" has also been adopted by people in the names for other things...I can't point to any examples, but perhaps you'll take my word for it that they are there, eg. a jerk chicken shack might call itself "Hill and Gully Jerk Centre" or something of that sort.
[comment #2]
..."I don't know where it [the song "Hill And Gully Rider" originated but I know that this was a very popular Jamaican folk song in the early-to-mid 1900s. It had been sung in Jamaica for decades before anyone there ever recorded it (as they didn't have a recorder until Times Records started recording and sending them to Decca in the UK to be pressed).
The earliest recording I know of "Hill And Gully Ride" is a Mento medley on a Jamaican 78 on the MRS label (#31). Considering this label started in '51 or so, this record was probably released in '53 by Lord Composer... the side B was "Hill And Gully Ride / Mandeville Road" Ironically, Belefonte also borrows from the second song on this medley in his version of "Emanual Road". He did not use "Hill and Gully Ride" in his version of Day-O. That was the version released by the Tarriers called "Banana Boat Song"."
****
THREE FOLK LYRICS FOR THE SONG "HILL AND GULLY RIDER"
[As is the case with all folk music, there are multiple versions of the song "Hill N Gully Rider". All of the versions of that song that I have heard use the same tune (melody), but the tempos of different versions of that song may differ.
The spelling in the first example leads me to believe that that version is the oldest of the examples in this post. I also believe that that version-and probably the other two versions as well- are older than the Mento & Ska lyrics that are showcased in Part II of this series.]
Example #1:
From Mudcat: Hill And Gully Rider, posted by Long Firm Freddie, 09 Feb 04
"In a book called Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean songs chosen by Yvonne Conolly, Gloria Cameron and Sonia Singham, published by A & C Black of London, it gives the following:
HILL AN GULLY - Words and Melody Traditional Jamaican
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
An ah ben dung low dung,
(Hill an gully)
An a low dung bessy dung,
(Hill an gully)
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
An yu better mind you tumble dung,
(Hill an gully)
An yu tumble down yu bruk yu neck,
(Hill an gully)
The notes say Hill an Gully is a call and response song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut.
The response can be sung in unison or in two part harmony.
The thud of pick axes driven into the ground provided the accompaniment to the song... as the leader sang out his call, the pick axes were raised for the next downward swing.
-snip-
Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean Songs was published in 1981. Here's a comment about the lyrics of that song from that book [p. 23]:
"Hill an gully is a call and response work song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut.
bessy dung-bend down
The response can be sung in unison or in two part harmony.
The thud of pick axes driven into the ground provided the accompaniment to the song and this could be imitated by bass drums or tambours striking the first beat of each bar sung by the chorus. As the leader sung out his call, the pick axes were raised for the next downward swing."
-snip-
"An ah ben dung low dung" = And I been down low down
"An a low dung bessy dung" = and a [or "I"] low down bend down
****
Example #2
From http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Hill_and_Gully_Rider.htm
"I have a version in one of my ABC (Australia) school song books
and it has appeared in the past more than once. It's listed as traditional Jamaican and has
four verses as shown:
Took my horse an' comin' down,
Hill an' gully
But my horse done stumble down
Hill an' gully Hill an' gully
An' the nighttime come an' tumble down
Hill an' gully
The refrain appears between each line of the following verses too.
Oh the moon shone bright down,
Ain't no place to hide in down,
An' a zombie come a ridin' down
Oh, my knees they shake down
An' my heart starts quakin' down
An' I run 'til daylight breakin' down.
That's the last I set down,
Pray the Lord don' let me down.
Ain't nobody goin' to get me down.
****
Example #3
From http://www.harptabs.com/song.php?ID=17522
[Editor's note: This site gives the same lyrics as found in Example #2 as "1st "pos" [possibility] for the words to "Hill And Gully Rider".
HILL AND GULLY RIDER 2nd pos
Jamaican folk song
Hill an’ gul-ly rid-er hill an’ gul-ly
Hill an’ gul-ly rid-er hill an’ gul-ly
I was walk-in’ real slow down hill an’ gul-ly
When I break my toe down hill an’ gul-ly
Ma-ma told me don’t go down hill an’ gul-ly
All the boys walk the road
down hill an’ gul-ly
Wom-en car-ry all the load
Down hill an’ gul-ly
Grass too green to be mowed
Down hill an’ gul-ly
Hill an’ gul-ly rid-er hill an’ gul-ly
****
This completes Part I of this series.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Old Dan Tucker - Minstrel Song & Play Party Song
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post provides information, lyrics, and videos of the American song "Old Dan Tucker" (also given as "Ole Dan Tucker"}
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "OLD DAN TUCKER"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Dan_Tucker
"Old Dan Tucker", also known as "Ole Dan Tucker", "Dan Tucker", and other variants, is a popular American song. Its origins remain obscure; the tune may have come from oral tradition, and the words may have been written by songwriter and performer Dan Emmett. The blackface troupe the Virginia Minstrels popularized "Old Dan Tucker" in 1843, and it quickly became a minstrel hit, behind only "Miss Lucy Long" and "Mary Blane" in popularity during the antebellum period...
The first sheet music edition of "Old Dan Tucker", published in 1843, is a song of boasts and nonsense in the vein of previous minstrel hits such as "Jump Jim Crow" and "Gumbo Chaff". In exaggerated Black Vernacular English, the lyrics tell of Dan Tucker's exploits in a strange town, where he fights, gets drunk, overeats, and breaks other social taboos. Minstrel troupes freely added and removed verses, and folk singers have since added hundreds more. Parodies and political versions are also known...
Composition
The origin of the music of "Old Dan Tucker" has always been obscure, and no sheet music edition from 1843, its year of its first publication, names a composer. The first performance of the tune (but not lyrics) may have happened as early as 1841.[40] The music may in fact be from the oral tradition or may have been a product of collaboration.[33]
...[Some of the lyrics to “Old Dan Tucker]... seem to partially derive from an earlier minstrel song called "Walk Along John" or "Oh, Come Along John", first published in various songsters in the early 1840s.[46] Some verses have clear echoes in versions of "Old Dan Tucker":
Johnny law on de rail road track,
He tied de engine on his back;
He pair's his corn wid a rail road wheel,
It gib 'em de tooth ache in de heel.
Possible slave origin
A story dating to at least 1965 claims that "Old Dan Tucker" was written by slaves about a man named Daniel Tucker who lived in Elbert County, Georgia. Tucker was a farmer, ferryman, and minister who appears in records from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The story, as related by Mrs. Guy Rucker, the great-great-granddaughter of one of Tucker's neighbors, claims that Tucker became quite well liked by the slaves in his area through his ministry to them.[49]
According to this interpretation, the lyrics address Tucker directly. The chorus, "You're too late to get your supper" is a kindhearted taunt to a man who often arrived after dark, forcing his hosts to scrape up a meal for him.[49] The song's occasional lewdness is explained by the natural impromptu nature of its supposed origin.[50]
"Old Dan Tucker" does show evidence of black influence. For example, bizarre imagery in folk versions of the song (e.g., "toothache in his heel") may be a sign of legitimate black input (or of someone poking fun of slaves who had an incomplete knowledge of English).[45] "Old Dan Tucker" most closely resembles African music in its call-and-response refrain.[35]
Daniel Tucker was buried in Elbert County in 1818.[51] The Elbert County Chamber of Commerce today promotes his grave as a tourist attraction due to his possible connection with the character from the song."
-snip-
Here's another comment about the possible Black American origin of this song and the possible connection between the Egbert County Dan Tucker and the character mentioned in that song from http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=27246 "Old Dan Tucker", posted by Bill D, 10 May 03 - 12:14 PM
"My wife was just looking thru some old newspapers saved by her aunt in Georgia in 1945 and found an entire article on Rev. Daniel Tucker, with photographs of the gravesite, and of Fiddlin' John Carson. ...I will try to scan the article, which claims the the original song was begun by the local Negroes, who adored Rev. Tucker...the implication being that Dan Emmett merely added to it and popularized it. (not surprising, given the loose way 'ownership' and credit was treated in those days)......THe article in the Atlanta Journal gives a LOT of history of Rev. Tucker and the area and culture
In the meantime, search found this page with this quote in it [hyperlink no longer viable]
"Old Dan Tucker"
Rev. Daniel Tucker owned a large plantation on the Savannah River and is buried near his old hometown, "Point Lookout", six miles from here. Born in Virginia, February 14, 1774, Daniel Tucker came here to take up a land grant. A revolutionary soldier, planter and minister, he owned and operated Tucker's Ferry near his home. He died April 7, 1818 - but not "of a toothache in his heel". Esteemed by his fellow planters, he was loved by the Negroes who composed the many verses of the famous ditty, "Old Dan Tucker", a favorite song at corn shuckings and social gatherings. Marker is on GA 72 southeast of Middleton."
-snip-
Click that Mudcat link for the "original" lyrics that are credited to Daniel Emmett, and other comments that include lyrics for that song. Here's a quote* followed by a comment that was posted by Dicho Date: 04 Jun 02 - 10:53 PM
" "Composed by Dan D. Emmet, and sung by him with unbounded applause in Howe's Amphitheatre of the Republic, New York." Page 622 in "Marsh's Selection, or Singing For the Million, Containing the Choicest and Best Collection of Admired Patriotic, Comic, Irish, Negro, Temperance, and Sentimental Songs Ever Embodied in One Work." Three volumes in one, New York, Richard Marsh, 374 Pearl Street, 1854. Reproduced in Newman I. White, 1928, American Negro Folk Songs, pp. 446-447 (1965 reprint)."
Some verses borrowed from Negro song, some Negro folk song verses were borrowed from Emmett. A complete version of a minstrel song. Note: Spelling preserved."
-snip-
WARNING:
Some verses of early versions of "Old Dan Tucker" include what is now known as "the n word".
****
"OLD DAN TUCKER" PERFORMED AS A PLAY PARTY SONG
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_party
"A play party is a social event in which people gather to sing and dance. Play parties began in the 1830s in the United States as a route around strict religious practices banning dancing and the playing of musical instruments. The areas most influenced by the practice were the Southern and Midwestern parts of the United States. Folk songs, many of European and English origin, were used as means to give the attendants choreographed movements for each phrase. No instruments were played at the events, as they were banned by the religious movements of the area. Singing and clapping were used to convey each song. Because dancing was banned, the movements took on the quality of children's games. Though the performance of play parties dwindled in the 1950s, music educators use them as ways to incorporate music and dance in their classrooms.
Some traditional examples of play-parties are: Skip to My Lou, Coffee Grows on White Oak Trees, Shoot the Buffalo, Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight, B.I.N.G.O., Pop Goes the Weasel, Old Dan Tucker."
-snip-
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=27246 posted by Dicho, 29 Apr 02 - 09:36 PM
"...here is a "playparty" version from Missouri.
OLD DAN TUCKER
"In this game all the players choose partners and form a big circle, holding hands. An odd boy is called "Old Dan," and he stands alone in the center. Everybody sings lustily:
Old Dan Tucker down in town,
Swingin' the ladies all a-round,
First to the right and then to the left,
An' then to the one that you love best.
At the words "first to the right" it is "Old Dan's" privilege to pull a girl out into the ring by her right hand, turn her around once, and thrust her back into her place again. When they sing "then to the left" he takes another girl out by the left hand and swings her as before. At the words "then to the one that you love best" every boy swings his own partner. It is at this moment that "Old Dan" tries desperately to grab a girl for himself, and if he succeeds, the man who has lost his partner must be the next "Old Dan."
The following stanza is a sort of chorus, used to keep "Old Dan" in the ring as long as possible, since he has no opportunity to get a partner while it is being sung.
Git out of the way for old Dan Tucker,
He's too late to git his supper,
Supper's over and breakfast a-cookin',
An' Old Dan Tucker standin' a-lookin'.
If "Old Dan" really wishes to expedite matters he can use one girl for all three movements of the game, and thus be sure of getting himself a partner, but this is not considered the sporting thing, and is not often done- usually not unless "Old Dan" loses his temper. Several other verses are used as filler in this game:
Old Dan Tucker down in town,
A-ridin' a goat and leadin' a hound,
The hound gives a howl an' the goat gives a jump,
An' throwed Old Dan a-straddle of a stump.
Old Dan Tucker he got drunk,
Fell in the fire and kicked out a chunk,
Fire coal got in Dan's old shoe,
Oh my golly how the ashes flew!"
From Mr. Carl Durbin, Missouri, 1927.
Found in minstrel shows as early as 1841. Often credited to Dan D. Emmett. A related piece, "Get Out of the Way, Old Johnny Tucker" (Negro Minstrel's Song Book, 1850), and many other citations.
Vance Randolph, 1982, Ozark Folksongs, Vol. 3, pp. 301-304. Several other sets of verses given from Missouri and Arkansas.
-snip-
From http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/playparty-indiana/playparty-indiana%20-%200178.htm "Indiana Play Party Song"
Old Dan Tucker's still in town,
Swinging the ladies all around,
First to the East and then to the West,
Then to the one that you love best.
Chorus
Get out of the way of Old Dan Tucker!
He's too late to get his supper.
Supper's over and breakfast's cooking,
Old Dan Tucker's stands a-looking.
Old Dan Tucker's a fine old man,
Washed his feet (or face) in the frying pan,
Combed his hair with a wagon wheel
And died with a tooth-ache in his heel.
[version collected from] Mrs. Leslie Beall, Versailles, Indiana]
Get out o' the way for Old Dan Tucker,
He's too late to get his supper.
Some are black and some are blacker,
Some are the color of a chew a' terbacker.
Ripley County [Indiana] variants.
Swing three ladies, Old Dan Tucker [3 times]
Down in the valley.
Promenade round Old Dan Tucker [3 times]
Down in the valley
****
VIDEOS OF "OLD DAN TUCKER"
(These videos are posted in chronological order based on their posting date, with the oldest dated video presented first.)
Example #1: Ol Dan Tucker
AMSOMmp, Uploaded on Jul 7, 2009
Andy and Opie sings Ol Dan Tucker
****
Example #2: Ol' Dan Tucker From the Second South Carolina String Band.
rosestar77, Uploaded on Feb 19, 2010
Shot in Gettysburg, PA.
****
Example #3: Grandpa Jones - Old Dan Tucker
ClassicCountryMusic1, Uploaded on Feb 20, 2011
Grandpa Jones And His Wife Ramona Jones On The Grand Ole Opry.
****
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to the performers & musicians, and thanks to the producers of these videos on YouTube.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This pancocojams post provides information, lyrics, and videos of the American song "Old Dan Tucker" (also given as "Ole Dan Tucker"}
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "OLD DAN TUCKER"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Dan_Tucker
"Old Dan Tucker", also known as "Ole Dan Tucker", "Dan Tucker", and other variants, is a popular American song. Its origins remain obscure; the tune may have come from oral tradition, and the words may have been written by songwriter and performer Dan Emmett. The blackface troupe the Virginia Minstrels popularized "Old Dan Tucker" in 1843, and it quickly became a minstrel hit, behind only "Miss Lucy Long" and "Mary Blane" in popularity during the antebellum period...
The first sheet music edition of "Old Dan Tucker", published in 1843, is a song of boasts and nonsense in the vein of previous minstrel hits such as "Jump Jim Crow" and "Gumbo Chaff". In exaggerated Black Vernacular English, the lyrics tell of Dan Tucker's exploits in a strange town, where he fights, gets drunk, overeats, and breaks other social taboos. Minstrel troupes freely added and removed verses, and folk singers have since added hundreds more. Parodies and political versions are also known...
Composition
The origin of the music of "Old Dan Tucker" has always been obscure, and no sheet music edition from 1843, its year of its first publication, names a composer. The first performance of the tune (but not lyrics) may have happened as early as 1841.[40] The music may in fact be from the oral tradition or may have been a product of collaboration.[33]
...[Some of the lyrics to “Old Dan Tucker]... seem to partially derive from an earlier minstrel song called "Walk Along John" or "Oh, Come Along John", first published in various songsters in the early 1840s.[46] Some verses have clear echoes in versions of "Old Dan Tucker":
Johnny law on de rail road track,
He tied de engine on his back;
He pair's his corn wid a rail road wheel,
It gib 'em de tooth ache in de heel.
Possible slave origin
A story dating to at least 1965 claims that "Old Dan Tucker" was written by slaves about a man named Daniel Tucker who lived in Elbert County, Georgia. Tucker was a farmer, ferryman, and minister who appears in records from the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The story, as related by Mrs. Guy Rucker, the great-great-granddaughter of one of Tucker's neighbors, claims that Tucker became quite well liked by the slaves in his area through his ministry to them.[49]
According to this interpretation, the lyrics address Tucker directly. The chorus, "You're too late to get your supper" is a kindhearted taunt to a man who often arrived after dark, forcing his hosts to scrape up a meal for him.[49] The song's occasional lewdness is explained by the natural impromptu nature of its supposed origin.[50]
"Old Dan Tucker" does show evidence of black influence. For example, bizarre imagery in folk versions of the song (e.g., "toothache in his heel") may be a sign of legitimate black input (or of someone poking fun of slaves who had an incomplete knowledge of English).[45] "Old Dan Tucker" most closely resembles African music in its call-and-response refrain.[35]
Daniel Tucker was buried in Elbert County in 1818.[51] The Elbert County Chamber of Commerce today promotes his grave as a tourist attraction due to his possible connection with the character from the song."
-snip-
Here's another comment about the possible Black American origin of this song and the possible connection between the Egbert County Dan Tucker and the character mentioned in that song from http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=27246 "Old Dan Tucker", posted by Bill D, 10 May 03 - 12:14 PM
"My wife was just looking thru some old newspapers saved by her aunt in Georgia in 1945 and found an entire article on Rev. Daniel Tucker, with photographs of the gravesite, and of Fiddlin' John Carson. ...I will try to scan the article, which claims the the original song was begun by the local Negroes, who adored Rev. Tucker...the implication being that Dan Emmett merely added to it and popularized it. (not surprising, given the loose way 'ownership' and credit was treated in those days)......THe article in the Atlanta Journal gives a LOT of history of Rev. Tucker and the area and culture
In the meantime, search found this page with this quote in it [hyperlink no longer viable]
"Old Dan Tucker"
Rev. Daniel Tucker owned a large plantation on the Savannah River and is buried near his old hometown, "Point Lookout", six miles from here. Born in Virginia, February 14, 1774, Daniel Tucker came here to take up a land grant. A revolutionary soldier, planter and minister, he owned and operated Tucker's Ferry near his home. He died April 7, 1818 - but not "of a toothache in his heel". Esteemed by his fellow planters, he was loved by the Negroes who composed the many verses of the famous ditty, "Old Dan Tucker", a favorite song at corn shuckings and social gatherings. Marker is on GA 72 southeast of Middleton."
-snip-
Click that Mudcat link for the "original" lyrics that are credited to Daniel Emmett, and other comments that include lyrics for that song. Here's a quote* followed by a comment that was posted by Dicho Date: 04 Jun 02 - 10:53 PM
" "Composed by Dan D. Emmet, and sung by him with unbounded applause in Howe's Amphitheatre of the Republic, New York." Page 622 in "Marsh's Selection, or Singing For the Million, Containing the Choicest and Best Collection of Admired Patriotic, Comic, Irish, Negro, Temperance, and Sentimental Songs Ever Embodied in One Work." Three volumes in one, New York, Richard Marsh, 374 Pearl Street, 1854. Reproduced in Newman I. White, 1928, American Negro Folk Songs, pp. 446-447 (1965 reprint)."
Some verses borrowed from Negro song, some Negro folk song verses were borrowed from Emmett. A complete version of a minstrel song. Note: Spelling preserved."
-snip-
WARNING:
Some verses of early versions of "Old Dan Tucker" include what is now known as "the n word".
****
"OLD DAN TUCKER" PERFORMED AS A PLAY PARTY SONG
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Play_party
"A play party is a social event in which people gather to sing and dance. Play parties began in the 1830s in the United States as a route around strict religious practices banning dancing and the playing of musical instruments. The areas most influenced by the practice were the Southern and Midwestern parts of the United States. Folk songs, many of European and English origin, were used as means to give the attendants choreographed movements for each phrase. No instruments were played at the events, as they were banned by the religious movements of the area. Singing and clapping were used to convey each song. Because dancing was banned, the movements took on the quality of children's games. Though the performance of play parties dwindled in the 1950s, music educators use them as ways to incorporate music and dance in their classrooms.
Some traditional examples of play-parties are: Skip to My Lou, Coffee Grows on White Oak Trees, Shoot the Buffalo, Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight, B.I.N.G.O., Pop Goes the Weasel, Old Dan Tucker."
-snip-
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=27246 posted by Dicho, 29 Apr 02 - 09:36 PM
"...here is a "playparty" version from Missouri.
OLD DAN TUCKER
"In this game all the players choose partners and form a big circle, holding hands. An odd boy is called "Old Dan," and he stands alone in the center. Everybody sings lustily:
Old Dan Tucker down in town,
Swingin' the ladies all a-round,
First to the right and then to the left,
An' then to the one that you love best.
At the words "first to the right" it is "Old Dan's" privilege to pull a girl out into the ring by her right hand, turn her around once, and thrust her back into her place again. When they sing "then to the left" he takes another girl out by the left hand and swings her as before. At the words "then to the one that you love best" every boy swings his own partner. It is at this moment that "Old Dan" tries desperately to grab a girl for himself, and if he succeeds, the man who has lost his partner must be the next "Old Dan."
The following stanza is a sort of chorus, used to keep "Old Dan" in the ring as long as possible, since he has no opportunity to get a partner while it is being sung.
Git out of the way for old Dan Tucker,
He's too late to git his supper,
Supper's over and breakfast a-cookin',
An' Old Dan Tucker standin' a-lookin'.
If "Old Dan" really wishes to expedite matters he can use one girl for all three movements of the game, and thus be sure of getting himself a partner, but this is not considered the sporting thing, and is not often done- usually not unless "Old Dan" loses his temper. Several other verses are used as filler in this game:
Old Dan Tucker down in town,
A-ridin' a goat and leadin' a hound,
The hound gives a howl an' the goat gives a jump,
An' throwed Old Dan a-straddle of a stump.
Old Dan Tucker he got drunk,
Fell in the fire and kicked out a chunk,
Fire coal got in Dan's old shoe,
Oh my golly how the ashes flew!"
From Mr. Carl Durbin, Missouri, 1927.
Found in minstrel shows as early as 1841. Often credited to Dan D. Emmett. A related piece, "Get Out of the Way, Old Johnny Tucker" (Negro Minstrel's Song Book, 1850), and many other citations.
Vance Randolph, 1982, Ozark Folksongs, Vol. 3, pp. 301-304. Several other sets of verses given from Missouri and Arkansas.
-snip-
From http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/playparty-indiana/playparty-indiana%20-%200178.htm "Indiana Play Party Song"
Old Dan Tucker's still in town,
Swinging the ladies all around,
First to the East and then to the West,
Then to the one that you love best.
Chorus
Get out of the way of Old Dan Tucker!
He's too late to get his supper.
Supper's over and breakfast's cooking,
Old Dan Tucker's stands a-looking.
Old Dan Tucker's a fine old man,
Washed his feet (or face) in the frying pan,
Combed his hair with a wagon wheel
And died with a tooth-ache in his heel.
[version collected from] Mrs. Leslie Beall, Versailles, Indiana]
Get out o' the way for Old Dan Tucker,
He's too late to get his supper.
Some are black and some are blacker,
Some are the color of a chew a' terbacker.
Ripley County [Indiana] variants.
Swing three ladies, Old Dan Tucker [3 times]
Down in the valley.
Promenade round Old Dan Tucker [3 times]
Down in the valley
****
VIDEOS OF "OLD DAN TUCKER"
(These videos are posted in chronological order based on their posting date, with the oldest dated video presented first.)
Example #1: Ol Dan Tucker
AMSOMmp, Uploaded on Jul 7, 2009
Andy and Opie sings Ol Dan Tucker
****
Example #2: Ol' Dan Tucker From the Second South Carolina String Band.
rosestar77, Uploaded on Feb 19, 2010
Shot in Gettysburg, PA.
****
Example #3: Grandpa Jones - Old Dan Tucker
ClassicCountryMusic1, Uploaded on Feb 20, 2011
Grandpa Jones And His Wife Ramona Jones On The Grand Ole Opry.
****
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks to the performers & musicians, and thanks to the producers of these videos on YouTube.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Sunday, December 15, 2013
"Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" Rhymes That Include The "Saw You With Your Boyfriend" Verse (Analysis & Examples)
Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest Revision- April 18, 2023
This pancocojams post features examples of the playground rhyme that begins with the "eenie meenie sisaleenie" (or similar spelling) verse and also includes the "saw you with your boyfriend" verse. Text analysis and other comments about these rhymes and some other related rhymes are also included in this post.
The content of this post is provided for folkloric and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
DISCLAIMER
The presentation of certain rhymes and certain singing games on pancocojams isn't meant to mean or infer that all of those rhymes originally come from African American or other Black people.
However, given their structure and words (as found below), I believe that some, early examples of "Eenie Meaning Sissaleenie (Saw You With Your Boyfriend)" rhymes (and not the "Eenie Meenie Minie Mo" rhymes that are their sources) originated with African Americans.
****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S ANALYSIS OF "EENIE MEENIE SISALEENIE" RHYMES
"Eenie Meenie Sissaleeni" (or similarly pronounced spelling) is a large family of playground rhymes (children's recreational rhymes) that originated in the United States. Those rhymes can be chanted as a three or four line verse without the addition of certain other rhymes. However, it appears that that rhyme's three line or four line "core verse is usually combined with certain other rhymes. Read the section below.
"Eenie Meenia Sissaleeni" is an extension of the earlier "Eenie Meenie Miney Mo" children's rhymes that are used for counting out (choosing it).
According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eeny,_meeny,_miny,_moe ,
the earliest "Eenie Meenie Miny Mo" rhyme is documented from children in New York City in 1815. That Wikipedia page indicates that "Variations of this rhyme with the nonsense/counting first line have been collected since the 1820s. This one, which includes the 'toe' and 'olla' from Kipling's version, is one of many variants of "counting out rhymes" collected by Bolton in 1888:[7]
THE CORE VERSE: THREE LINE STRUCTURE OF EENIE MEENIE SISALEENIE (SAW YOU WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND" RHYME
Some versions of "Eenie Meenie Sissaleeni" (or similar words) have a three line structure
such as:
Eenie Meanie Justa Leanie
Ooca lacka Trackalacka
I love you.
In those examples, the first line contains an internal rhyme based on the "eenie" syllable, and the second line contains an internal rhyme based on the "acka" syllable.
**
SOME CORE VERSES FOR "EENIE MEENIE SISALEENIE" RHYMES
I categorize the three line or four line verses given above as the "core verses" for "Eenie Meenie Sisaleenie". Those verses recited after the core rhyme flow into each other without any transitioning words or phrases.
****
CORE VERSE: FOUR LINE STRUCTURE
I chanted a four line version of this rhyme while doing a partner hand clap routine (Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1950s). We sang:
Eenie meenie epsodeenie
Ooh aah umbaleenie
Ashie mashie kohkah lashie
I_ love_ you
[The dashes represent one pause in the beat.]
In the four line "eenie meenie sissalini" verse, the first line contains an internal rhyme made from the the "eenie" syllable.
The last word of the second line also ends with the "eenie" sound and thus rhymes with the first line.
The third line contains an internal rhyme made by the "ie" (pronounced "ee") syllable, and thus rhymes with the first and second lines.
The fourth line is the only one that does not have an internal or end word rhyme.
****
ANALYSIS OF SOME WORDS THAT ARE FOUND IN THESE RHYMES
The words "eenie meenie" undoubtedly have their source in the very old European counting out rhyme "Eeny meenie minie mo". Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eeny,_meeny,_miny,_moe for information about that rhyme.
**
The word "sisaleenie" or similarly pronounced words is a made-up rhyming word with no meaning.
**
I believe that the word "liberace" (also found as "Liberachi", "Liborachi" or similar spellings) is a newer substition for made-up rhyming phonetic phrases such as "kohkah lashie" which have no meaning. "Liberace" (also written as "Liberachi") has its origins in the last name of the flamboyant American pianist/vocalist known by his last name "Liberace" (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberace. However, I doubt that most people who've recited that rhyme are aware of that informational tidbit.
**
To date, I've only collected one example of "saw you with.your girlfriend" that replaces the word "boyfriend" e.g. "caught you with your girlfriend".
****
SAW YOU WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND
"Saw You With Your Boyfriend" verses are a series of non-rhyming lines that are each followed by a two word or one word response to that particular line - for instance "looked through the key hole/nosy nosy" (or "nosy"). My guess is that the two word response is the earliest version of the responding line as it appears to me to be the more rhythmic than the single word. However, that is just a guess. In some contemporary versions of this rhyme "looked through the key hole" and "looked through the peep hole" has been changed to "looked through the window".
Other independent rhymes (such as verses of the "Down Down Baby" rhymes) may be combined with "eenie meenie sissaleeni" without the "saw you with your boyfriend" lines. Or other independent rhyme*s might be combined with the core verse and be placed before or after those "saw you with your boyfriend" lines.
-snip-
*I refer to "saw you with your boyfriend" as a rhyme that can be chanted by itself (i.e. an independent rhyme, or a stand alone rhyme). However, to date (Oct. 2020) I've only come across this rhyme in combination with certain other rhymes". Read the Addendum below for two examples of "saw you with your boyfriend" verses in other rhymes.
Examples of those rhymes are given later in this post.
****
TUNE
To date, I've heard two different tunes for "Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" rhymes. I believe that the most common tune in the United States is the one used in video example given as example #1 and example #2 below. That is the tune that I used when I chanted this rhyme in the 1950s.
****
HOW "EENIE MEENIE SISALEENIE" RHYMES AE PERFORMED
As is the case with most playground rhymes in the United States, "Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" rhymes were originally chanted while jumping rope. However, since at least the 1970s, they are usually chanted as a partner hand clap game. And, as it appears to often be the case with many hand clap rhymes in the United States, those rhymes are also performed with actions which mimic the words that are chanted.
****
VIDEO EXAMPLES WITH TRANSCRIPTIONS
[I made these transcriptions after listening to their videos. Additions and corrections are welcome.]
Video Example #1: Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny Clapping Songs
sharonmnich, Uploaded on Oct 2, 2009
Kids Clapping Songs
-snip-
Transcription:
Eenie meanie sassaleeny.
Oops ah tumbalini.
Achi achi liberace.
I love you.
Take a peach.
Take a plum.
Take a stick of bubble gum.
No peach.
No plum.
No stick of bubble gum.
Saw you with my boyfriend
last night.
How'd you know.
Peekin through the peep hole*
Nosy
Ate a lot of candy
Greedy
Didn't do the dishes
Lazy
Jumped out the window
Doggone crazy
And that's why they call you.
Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny,
Ooh ah babalini,
Achi atchi Liberace,
I love you.
-snip-
*One of the girls seemed to start to chant "looked out" instead of "peeped through".
Additional examples of this rhyme are found in the viewer comment section of this video.
****
Video Example #2: Eenie meenie sissalini
Miamichellekaraoke, Published on May 19, 2012
Mia and Michelle demonstrate their new hand game
-snip-
Transcription: Rhyme begins at .021
Ready. Go.
Eenie meanie sassaleeny,
Ooh ah babalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you,
Take a peach,
Take a plum,
Take a stick of bubble gum,
No peach
No plum
Just a stick of bubble gum
Saw you with my boyfriend
last night
How'd you know
I looked through my window
Nosy
Ate a lot of cookies
Greedy
Didn’t flush the toilet
Nasty
Didn't do the dishes
Lazy
And that's why they call you.
Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny,
Oops ah tumbalini.
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you.
Oops ah tumbalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you!
****
Video Example #3: eenie mini dissemini fun and easy clapping games!
Mitzi Brennan, Published on Apr 28, 2013
-snip-
Transcription:
Eenie mini dissemini
You are the one and only
Education
Liberation
I like you.
Downtown baby
Down by the roller coaster
Sweet sweet cherry
No place to go
Didn’t do the dishes
Lazy lazy
Stole a box of chocolates
Greedy greedy
Snogged your boyfriend
Naughty naughty
Jumped out the window
Flippin crazy
Eenie mini dissemini
You are the one and only
Education
Liberation
I like you.
-snip-
"Italics" mean that I'm not sure of this word.
From the girls' accents, I assumed that this example of "Eenie Meanie" is from outside of the United States.
[Update: December 16, 2013: I corrected the words that I was uncertain about as per a comment from that video uploader Mitzi Brennan, who thanked me for featuring her video. Mitzi confirmed that she lives in England.]
"Education liberation", "downtown baby", "down by the rollercoaster" etc. are phrases that either come from or are folk etymology forms of phrases that are found in some versions of the playground rhyme "Down Down Baby". For example, "downtown baby” is folk etymology for "down down baby" and "Sweet sweet cherry/No place to go" is a folk etymology form of "sweet sweet baby/I really love you so".
Similar examples of "Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" that include phrases from "Down Down Baby" are found in the viewer comments threads for the video given as Example #1 in this post.
****
OTHER TEXT EXAMPLES
Example #1
Eenie Meanie Justa Leanie
Ooca lakca Trackalacka, I love you.
Take a peach, Take a plum
Take a piece of bubble gum.
Teacher, Teacher, Dummy Dum
Gimme back my bubble gum.
Saw you with your boyfriend last night.
How do you know?
I was peekin' through the keyhold.
NOSY
Wash them dishes
LAZY
Jump out the window
CRAZY
Peaches on the tree, Bananas on the floor
Jump back baby. I Don't Love You No More!
-Donetta A. (Pittsburgh, PA 1984); collected by Azizi Powell,
1998; posted on Cocojams by Azizi on 2/26/2006
-snip-
Donetta A (African American woman) responded to a voluntary written survey of playground rhymes that I conducted at my former work place. Donetta said she learned this rhyme when she was growing up from her cousin who visited her from the South. She indicated that she performed it as a partner hand clap game.
The line "peaches on the tree, bananas' on the floor" reminds me of the "apples on the shelf /I'm so tired of living by myself" verse that is found in in Thomas W. Talley's 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes Wise And Otherwise.* Versions of that line are found in other African American playground rhymes, Blues songs, and other compositions along with the line "I've seen the line "Jump back, baby I don't love you no more" or similar lines such as "Step back, baby/I don't love you no more".
*This is the last verse of the rhyme entitled "Mama's Darling" (p. 188) http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm
"I has apples on de table,
An' I has peaches on de shelf;
But I wish I had a husband—
I'se so tired stayin' to myself."
****
Example #2:
Eenie meenie sicileenie ooh ahh combaleenie ochie cochie liverochi C-O-D
Take a peach, take a plum, take a stick of bubblegum
No peach, no plum, just a stick of bubblegum
Saw you with your boyfriend last night
How'd you know?
Peeked through the peek hole
Noisy
Didn't do the dishes
Lazy
Ate a box of candy
Greedy
Jumped out the window
Now I know you're really crazy, thats why we call you
Eenie meenie sicileenie ooh ahh combaleenie ochi cochi liverochi C-O-D
Source:
Me and my friends used to love this!
-qwerty, http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080126135642AA0Q3LB "Hand clap game.. What are the words?", 2007
-snip-
Asker's rating [the highest rating 5 stars] & comment
"Haha so did we! i was trying to think of it the other day and i couldnt. Thanks!
-ashley jonasss; (asked 2007).o
****
Example #3:
Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny,
Opps ah tumbalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you,
Take a peach,
Take a plum,
Take a stick of bubble gum,
No peach
No plumb
No stick of bubble gum
Saw you with your boyfriend
last night
How'd you know
I was peaking through the key hole
Nosy
Didn't do the dishes
Lazy
Stole a box of candy
Greedy
Jumped out the window
Dog on crazy*
That's why they call me...
Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny,
Opps ah tumbalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you!
- http://funclapping.com/Eenie.php
****
Example #4
eenie meenie sissaleney
o a tumbaline
achie gachif temberachi
i love you
take a peach
take a plum
take a sitck of bubble gum
no peach no plum
just a stick a bubble gum
saw you with your boyfreind last night
you werea huggin anda kissin
anda holdin on tight
how do i know
LOOK THROUGH THE WINDOW
NOSEY
ATE ALL YA COOKIES
GREEDY
DIDNT DO THE DISHES
LAZY THATS WY DEY CALL ME
eenie meenie sissaleney
o a tumberlinie
achie gachie liverachie
i love you
-jazz09932, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C2cBh_NZNU, 2012
-snip-
This version of "Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" is found in the comment thread for this video. I reformatted this example from its paragraph form (a form that seems to be the default for YouTube.com) to lined poetry form. However, I left the capitalizations that the blogger wrote "as is". I think those words were capitalized to serve as a "correction" for the words to the rhyme that were chanted in the video. Btw, I also believe that the tempo in that video is slower than the tempo that I've usually found for this rhyme.
****
ADDENDUM - TWO EXAMPLES OF "SAW YOU WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND" VERSE WITHOUT THE "EENIE MEANIE SISALEENI" VERSE
Example #1:
A.B.C.
It’s easy as 1.2.3.
My momma takes care of me.
My father don’t yell at me.
Caught you with your boyfriend.
Naughty, Naughty.
Didn’t do the dishes.
Lazy, Lazy.
Ate all the candy
Greedy, greedy.
Jumped out the window.
Man, you’re crazy!
- anonymous woman (White; Washington, D. C), collected by Azizi Powell,1999
-snip-
This example was collecting via a voluntary written survey that I conducted at my former workplace. As per my directions, the woman indicated the geographical location where she performed this rhyme. She wrote that she learned it when she was a child living in a "mostly Black neighborhood". She also wrote that she performed it as a hand clap game.
"ABC it's easy as 1, 2, 3" is lifted from the Jackson Five R&B song "ABC". That song could help to date the earliest examples of rhymes with that introductory verse.
****
Example #2
Ziz Zag zag
take a piece take a plum
take a piece of bubble gum
do you like it?
do you love it?
do the alabama shake it
shake it up
shake it down
shake it all around
Spying on my boy friend - baby
didn't do the dishes - lazy
jumped out the window - crazy
and thats the facts of boys boys boys
- Miranda R, http://octopuses.chaoticinsanity.com (also given as "Octoblog- "Schoolyard games"), December 5, 2004. [This website is no longer available].
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Latest Revision- April 18, 2023
This pancocojams post features examples of the playground rhyme that begins with the "eenie meenie sisaleenie" (or similar spelling) verse and also includes the "saw you with your boyfriend" verse. Text analysis and other comments about these rhymes and some other related rhymes are also included in this post.
The content of this post is provided for folkloric and recreational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to all those who are featured in these videos and thanks to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
DISCLAIMER
The presentation of certain rhymes and certain singing games on pancocojams isn't meant to mean or infer that all of those rhymes originally come from African American or other Black people.
However, given their structure and words (as found below), I believe that some, early examples of "Eenie Meaning Sissaleenie (Saw You With Your Boyfriend)" rhymes (and not the "Eenie Meenie Minie Mo" rhymes that are their sources) originated with African Americans.
****
PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S ANALYSIS OF "EENIE MEENIE SISALEENIE" RHYMES
"Eenie Meenie Sissaleeni" (or similarly pronounced spelling) is a large family of playground rhymes (children's recreational rhymes) that originated in the United States. Those rhymes can be chanted as a three or four line verse without the addition of certain other rhymes. However, it appears that that rhyme's three line or four line "core verse is usually combined with certain other rhymes. Read the section below.
"Eenie Meenia Sissaleeni" is an extension of the earlier "Eenie Meenie Miney Mo" children's rhymes that are used for counting out (choosing it).
According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eeny,_meeny,_miny,_moe ,
the earliest "Eenie Meenie Miny Mo" rhyme is documented from children in New York City in 1815. That Wikipedia page indicates that "Variations of this rhyme with the nonsense/counting first line have been collected since the 1820s. This one, which includes the 'toe' and 'olla' from Kipling's version, is one of many variants of "counting out rhymes" collected by Bolton in 1888:[7]
Eenie, Meenie, Tipsy, toe;
Olla bolla Domino,
Okka, Pokka dominocha,
Hy! Pon! Tush!"...
THE CORE VERSE: THREE LINE STRUCTURE OF EENIE MEENIE SISALEENIE (SAW YOU WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND" RHYME
Some versions of "Eenie Meenie Sissaleeni" (or similar words) have a three line structure
such as:
Eenie Meanie Justa Leanie
Ooca lacka Trackalacka
I love you.
In those examples, the first line contains an internal rhyme based on the "eenie" syllable, and the second line contains an internal rhyme based on the "acka" syllable.
**
SOME CORE VERSES FOR "EENIE MEENIE SISALEENIE" RHYMES
I categorize the three line or four line verses given above as the "core verses" for "Eenie Meenie Sisaleenie". Those verses recited after the core rhyme flow into each other without any transitioning words or phrases.
****
CORE VERSE: FOUR LINE STRUCTURE
I chanted a four line version of this rhyme while doing a partner hand clap routine (Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1950s). We sang:
Eenie meenie epsodeenie
Ooh aah umbaleenie
Ashie mashie kohkah lashie
I_ love_ you
[The dashes represent one pause in the beat.]
In the four line "eenie meenie sissalini" verse, the first line contains an internal rhyme made from the the "eenie" syllable.
The last word of the second line also ends with the "eenie" sound and thus rhymes with the first line.
The third line contains an internal rhyme made by the "ie" (pronounced "ee") syllable, and thus rhymes with the first and second lines.
The fourth line is the only one that does not have an internal or end word rhyme.
-snip-
Here's a four line version of this rhyme from the early 2000s:
Eenie meanie sassaleeny.
Oops ah tumbalini.
Achi achi liberace.
I love you.
**
Since at least the 1970s, it appears that some examples of "Eenie Meenie Sissaleeni" rhymes begin with the four line "eenie meenie sissaleeni" verse and repeat that same verse at the end of the rhyme.
Eenie meanie sassaleeny.
Oops ah tumbalini.
Achi achi liberace.
I love you.
**
Since at least the 1970s, it appears that some examples of "Eenie Meenie Sissaleeni" rhymes begin with the four line "eenie meenie sissaleeni" verse and repeat that same verse at the end of the rhyme.
****
ANALYSIS OF SOME WORDS THAT ARE FOUND IN THESE RHYMES
The words "eenie meenie" undoubtedly have their source in the very old European counting out rhyme "Eeny meenie minie mo". Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eeny,_meeny,_miny,_moe for information about that rhyme.
**
The word "sisaleenie" or similarly pronounced words is a made-up rhyming word with no meaning.
**
I believe that the word "liberace" (also found as "Liberachi", "Liborachi" or similar spellings) is a newer substition for made-up rhyming phonetic phrases such as "kohkah lashie" which have no meaning. "Liberace" (also written as "Liberachi") has its origins in the last name of the flamboyant American pianist/vocalist known by his last name "Liberace" (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberace. However, I doubt that most people who've recited that rhyme are aware of that informational tidbit.
**
To date, I've only collected one example of "saw you with.your girlfriend" that replaces the word "boyfriend" e.g. "caught you with your girlfriend".
****
SAW YOU WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND
"Saw You With Your Boyfriend" verses are a series of non-rhyming lines that are each followed by a two word or one word response to that particular line - for instance "looked through the key hole/nosy nosy" (or "nosy"). My guess is that the two word response is the earliest version of the responding line as it appears to me to be the more rhythmic than the single word. However, that is just a guess. In some contemporary versions of this rhyme "looked through the key hole" and "looked through the peep hole" has been changed to "looked through the window".
Other independent rhymes (such as verses of the "Down Down Baby" rhymes) may be combined with "eenie meenie sissaleeni" without the "saw you with your boyfriend" lines. Or other independent rhyme*s might be combined with the core verse and be placed before or after those "saw you with your boyfriend" lines.
-snip-
*I refer to "saw you with your boyfriend" as a rhyme that can be chanted by itself (i.e. an independent rhyme, or a stand alone rhyme). However, to date (Oct. 2020) I've only come across this rhyme in combination with certain other rhymes". Read the Addendum below for two examples of "saw you with your boyfriend" verses in other rhymes.
Examples of those rhymes are given later in this post.
****
TUNE
To date, I've heard two different tunes for "Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" rhymes. I believe that the most common tune in the United States is the one used in video example given as example #1 and example #2 below. That is the tune that I used when I chanted this rhyme in the 1950s.
****
HOW "EENIE MEENIE SISALEENIE" RHYMES AE PERFORMED
As is the case with most playground rhymes in the United States, "Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" rhymes were originally chanted while jumping rope. However, since at least the 1970s, they are usually chanted as a partner hand clap game. And, as it appears to often be the case with many hand clap rhymes in the United States, those rhymes are also performed with actions which mimic the words that are chanted.
****
VIDEO EXAMPLES WITH TRANSCRIPTIONS
[I made these transcriptions after listening to their videos. Additions and corrections are welcome.]
Video Example #1: Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny Clapping Songs
sharonmnich, Uploaded on Oct 2, 2009
Kids Clapping Songs
-snip-
Transcription:
Eenie meanie sassaleeny.
Oops ah tumbalini.
Achi achi liberace.
I love you.
Take a peach.
Take a plum.
Take a stick of bubble gum.
No peach.
No plum.
No stick of bubble gum.
Saw you with my boyfriend
last night.
How'd you know.
Peekin through the peep hole*
Nosy
Ate a lot of candy
Greedy
Didn't do the dishes
Lazy
Jumped out the window
Doggone crazy
And that's why they call you.
Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny,
Ooh ah babalini,
Achi atchi Liberace,
I love you.
-snip-
*One of the girls seemed to start to chant "looked out" instead of "peeped through".
Additional examples of this rhyme are found in the viewer comment section of this video.
****
Video Example #2: Eenie meenie sissalini
Miamichellekaraoke, Published on May 19, 2012
Mia and Michelle demonstrate their new hand game
-snip-
Transcription: Rhyme begins at .021
Ready. Go.
Eenie meanie sassaleeny,
Ooh ah babalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you,
Take a peach,
Take a plum,
Take a stick of bubble gum,
No peach
No plum
Just a stick of bubble gum
Saw you with my boyfriend
last night
How'd you know
I looked through my window
Nosy
Ate a lot of cookies
Greedy
Didn’t flush the toilet
Nasty
Didn't do the dishes
Lazy
And that's why they call you.
Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny,
Oops ah tumbalini.
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you.
Oops ah tumbalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you!
****
Video Example #3: eenie mini dissemini fun and easy clapping games!
Mitzi Brennan, Published on Apr 28, 2013
-snip-
Transcription:
Eenie mini dissemini
You are the one and only
Education
Liberation
I like you.
Downtown baby
Down by the roller coaster
Sweet sweet cherry
No place to go
Didn’t do the dishes
Lazy lazy
Stole a box of chocolates
Greedy greedy
Snogged your boyfriend
Naughty naughty
Jumped out the window
Flippin crazy
Eenie mini dissemini
You are the one and only
Education
Liberation
I like you.
-snip-
"Italics" mean that I'm not sure of this word.
From the girls' accents, I assumed that this example of "Eenie Meanie" is from outside of the United States.
[Update: December 16, 2013: I corrected the words that I was uncertain about as per a comment from that video uploader Mitzi Brennan, who thanked me for featuring her video. Mitzi confirmed that she lives in England.]
"Education liberation", "downtown baby", "down by the rollercoaster" etc. are phrases that either come from or are folk etymology forms of phrases that are found in some versions of the playground rhyme "Down Down Baby". For example, "downtown baby” is folk etymology for "down down baby" and "Sweet sweet cherry/No place to go" is a folk etymology form of "sweet sweet baby/I really love you so".
Similar examples of "Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" that include phrases from "Down Down Baby" are found in the viewer comments threads for the video given as Example #1 in this post.
****
OTHER TEXT EXAMPLES
Example #1
Eenie Meanie Justa Leanie
Ooca lakca Trackalacka, I love you.
Take a peach, Take a plum
Take a piece of bubble gum.
Teacher, Teacher, Dummy Dum
Gimme back my bubble gum.
Saw you with your boyfriend last night.
How do you know?
I was peekin' through the keyhold.
NOSY
Wash them dishes
LAZY
Jump out the window
CRAZY
Peaches on the tree, Bananas on the floor
Jump back baby. I Don't Love You No More!
-Donetta A. (Pittsburgh, PA 1984); collected by Azizi Powell,
1998; posted on Cocojams by Azizi on 2/26/2006
-snip-
Donetta A (African American woman) responded to a voluntary written survey of playground rhymes that I conducted at my former work place. Donetta said she learned this rhyme when she was growing up from her cousin who visited her from the South. She indicated that she performed it as a partner hand clap game.
The line "peaches on the tree, bananas' on the floor" reminds me of the "apples on the shelf /I'm so tired of living by myself" verse that is found in in Thomas W. Talley's 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes Wise And Otherwise.* Versions of that line are found in other African American playground rhymes, Blues songs, and other compositions along with the line "I've seen the line "Jump back, baby I don't love you no more" or similar lines such as "Step back, baby/I don't love you no more".
*This is the last verse of the rhyme entitled "Mama's Darling" (p. 188) http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm
"I has apples on de table,
An' I has peaches on de shelf;
But I wish I had a husband—
I'se so tired stayin' to myself."
****
Example #2:
Eenie meenie sicileenie ooh ahh combaleenie ochie cochie liverochi C-O-D
Take a peach, take a plum, take a stick of bubblegum
No peach, no plum, just a stick of bubblegum
Saw you with your boyfriend last night
How'd you know?
Peeked through the peek hole
Noisy
Didn't do the dishes
Lazy
Ate a box of candy
Greedy
Jumped out the window
Now I know you're really crazy, thats why we call you
Eenie meenie sicileenie ooh ahh combaleenie ochi cochi liverochi C-O-D
Source:
Me and my friends used to love this!
-qwerty, http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080126135642AA0Q3LB "Hand clap game.. What are the words?", 2007
-snip-
Asker's rating [the highest rating 5 stars] & comment
"Haha so did we! i was trying to think of it the other day and i couldnt. Thanks!
-ashley jonasss; (asked 2007).o
****
Example #3:
Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny,
Opps ah tumbalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you,
Take a peach,
Take a plum,
Take a stick of bubble gum,
No peach
No plumb
No stick of bubble gum
Saw you with your boyfriend
last night
How'd you know
I was peaking through the key hole
Nosy
Didn't do the dishes
Lazy
Stole a box of candy
Greedy
Jumped out the window
Dog on crazy*
That's why they call me...
Eenie Meanie Sassaleeny,
Opps ah tumbalini,
Achi cachi Liberace,
I love you!
- http://funclapping.com/Eenie.php
****
Example #4
eenie meenie sissaleney
o a tumbaline
achie gachif temberachi
i love you
take a peach
take a plum
take a sitck of bubble gum
no peach no plum
just a stick a bubble gum
saw you with your boyfreind last night
you werea huggin anda kissin
anda holdin on tight
how do i know
LOOK THROUGH THE WINDOW
NOSEY
ATE ALL YA COOKIES
GREEDY
DIDNT DO THE DISHES
LAZY THATS WY DEY CALL ME
eenie meenie sissaleney
o a tumberlinie
achie gachie liverachie
i love you
-jazz09932, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C2cBh_NZNU, 2012
-snip-
This version of "Eeny Meenie Sisaleenie" is found in the comment thread for this video. I reformatted this example from its paragraph form (a form that seems to be the default for YouTube.com) to lined poetry form. However, I left the capitalizations that the blogger wrote "as is". I think those words were capitalized to serve as a "correction" for the words to the rhyme that were chanted in the video. Btw, I also believe that the tempo in that video is slower than the tempo that I've usually found for this rhyme.
****
ADDENDUM - TWO EXAMPLES OF "SAW YOU WITH YOUR BOYFRIEND" VERSE WITHOUT THE "EENIE MEANIE SISALEENI" VERSE
Example #1:
A.B.C.
It’s easy as 1.2.3.
My momma takes care of me.
My father don’t yell at me.
Caught you with your boyfriend.
Naughty, Naughty.
Didn’t do the dishes.
Lazy, Lazy.
Ate all the candy
Greedy, greedy.
Jumped out the window.
Man, you’re crazy!
- anonymous woman (White; Washington, D. C), collected by Azizi Powell,1999
-snip-
This example was collecting via a voluntary written survey that I conducted at my former workplace. As per my directions, the woman indicated the geographical location where she performed this rhyme. She wrote that she learned it when she was a child living in a "mostly Black neighborhood". She also wrote that she performed it as a hand clap game.
"ABC it's easy as 1, 2, 3" is lifted from the Jackson Five R&B song "ABC". That song could help to date the earliest examples of rhymes with that introductory verse.
****
Example #2
Ziz Zag zag
take a piece take a plum
take a piece of bubble gum
do you like it?
do you love it?
do the alabama shake it
shake it up
shake it down
shake it all around
Spying on my boy friend - baby
didn't do the dishes - lazy
jumped out the window - crazy
and thats the facts of boys boys boys
- Miranda R, http://octopuses.chaoticinsanity.com (also given as "Octoblog- "Schoolyard games"), December 5, 2004. [This website is no longer available].
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