tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post5416841634676597366..comments2024-03-28T04:13:55.692-04:00Comments on pancocojams: Videos Of "Four White Horses" Caribbean Hand Clap Rhyme (Part II)Azizi Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-36647043215445739922018-10-03T17:44:07.458-04:002018-10-03T17:44:07.458-04:00Thanks for sharing this information with us, Abiga...Thanks for sharing this information with us, Abigail.<br /><br />I hope you enjoyed singing and performing Four White Horses in music class at your school.<br /><br />Best wishes!Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-33320329433961503492018-10-02T19:34:31.028-04:002018-10-02T19:34:31.028-04:00I did that at jct at school I n music classI did that at jct at school I n music classAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-45136272744432718812017-07-20T08:55:04.312-04:002017-07-20T08:55:04.312-04:00I'm re-posting this comment that I wrote in th...I'm re-posting this comment that I wrote in the discussion thread for Part I here.<br /><br />It seems to me that the "right" way to teach the Caribbean folk song "Four White Horses" is to admit that no one knows what the original words were. <br /><br />I'm leaning toward the theory that "Four White Horses" was originally a "Sally Brown" shanty (seamen's work song) and that the words "Sally Brown" became "Shallow Brown" and then "shallow bay" by folk processing.<br /><br />As to the theory that the line "shallow bay is a ripe banana" means that there is a location in the Caribbean (or anywhere else) called "shallow bay" that is shaped like a ripe banana, I don't know whether there is an actual bay in the United States Virgin Island or in any other Caribbean nation that is named "Shallow Bay". And I don't know if that particular bay is shaped like a banana. There <i>is</i> a Shallow Bay Beach in Canada <a href="http://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/PlanYourTrip/Detail/29641117" rel="nofollow">http://www.newfoundlandlabrador.com/PlanYourTrip/Detail/29641117</a>. <br /><br />And there are a number of touristy type homes in the Caribbean named "Shallow Bay". But that's probably because those tourist residences/locations were named "Shallow Bay" because of the popularity of that folk song.<br /><br />Also, given that I think that it's likely that this song was a shanty, I also think that "four white horses on the river" might have been a reference to four high white waves on the river. That said, it's still possible that the words "on the rainbow" might have been an earlier than "on the river".<br /><br />There appears to be a lot of evidence that the word "up" in the "Four White Horses" song was the way people in the Caribbean (who have difficulty pronouncing the letter "h") pronounced the word "hope". Therefore, it doesn't seem to me to be any reason why people who have no difficulty pronouncing the letter "h" would sing "up tomorrow" instead of the "hope tomorrow"...<br /><br />Personally, singing "up" for me feels like insisting on singing "gwine" and “heben” instead of "gonna" and “heaven” in African American Spirituals, although I admit that it's not really the same thing because African Americans don't say "gwine" and “heben” anymore, but lots of people in the Caribbean may still pronounce the word "hope" like "up".<br /><br />Everyone can do as they choose, but I've decided to sing "Four White Horses" to children this way:<br /><br />Four white horses, on the river,<br />Hey, hey, hey, hope tomorrow,<br />Hope tomorrow's not a rainy day.<br />Come on up to the Shallow Bay,<br />Shallow Bay is a ripe banana,<br />Hope tomorrow's not a rainy day.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.com