Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases a sound file of Derrick Morgan's 2001 Ska (or early Reggae?) tune "John Crow Skank". A bonus sound file of Lee "Scratch" Perry's instrumental record "John Crow Skank" is also included in this post.
This post also includes my speculations about the use of the name "John Crow" for these and other records.
Information about skanking and a video that documents an early form of skanking is presented in the Addendum to this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Derrick Morgan, and to Lee "Scratch" Perry for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all the publishers of videos that are included in this post.
RELATED LINK
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/john-crow-part-i-what-john-crow-means.html "What "John Crow" Means In Jamaica"
****
SHOWCASE SOUND FILE: Derrick Morgan - John Crow Skank - Pama Reggae
Mrrkdino, Published on Oct 8, 2012
Boss tune from Derrick Morgan.
-snip-
This is from the album "Straighten Up - Vol.2."
****
LYRICS: JOHN CROW SKANK
(Derrick Morgan)
Wacka wacka
Wacka wacka
Wacka wacka
Wacka wacka
Hey eh eh hey, little girl,
Little one girl
All dressed in blue.
You standin in the corner
Like you don’t know what to do.
Do you see that man
In his barefoot pants?
Just take him by his hand and say
Come let’s dance
The John Crow Skank.
Baby, will you do that?
Hun.
The John Crow Skank
Baby, will you do that?
Wacka wacka
Wacka wacka wacka
Lift the right foot out
And you jump to the back.
Shake your shoulders,
Get right on the beat.
That’s the John Crow Skank.
Baby, will you do that?
Hey!
Lift your arms,
And you rock your body line.
Jump to the back, baby, baby
Shake it in the line,
The John Crow Skank.
Baby, will you do that?
Hun.
Little one mama,
Dressed in your hot pants
You’re standing there
Why don’t you jump and prance?
You see that man
In his barefoot pants?
Just take him by his hands and say
Come let’s dance
The John Crow Skank.
Baby, you are doin it fine.
Hun!
The John Crow Skank
Baby you are doin it fine
Hey!
Wacka wacka
wacka wacka wacka
Wacka wacka
Hey!
-snip-
"Wacka wacka")
-snip-
This transcription is by Azizi Powell. Additions and corrections are welcome.
I think that "Wacka wacka" (or similarly spelled words) is meant to be imitative of the sound a vulture (John Crow) makes.
****
BONUS SOUND FILE: Lee Perry - Kotch Up Dub & John Crow Skank
RootsReggaeDubAmsterdam, Uploaded on Mar 13, 2010
From The Album: Skanking With The Upsetter
-snip-
"John Crow Skank" begins at 4:40 of this video.
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT SKANKING [DANCE]
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skank_(dance)
"Skanking is a form of dancing practiced in the ska, ska punk, hardcore punk, reggae, jump-up (a drum and bass sub-genre) and other music scenes.
The dance style originated in the 1950s or 1960s at Jamaican dance halls, where ska music was played.[1] British mods and skinheads of the 1960s adopted these types of dances and altered them. The dancing style was revived during the 1970s and 1980s 2 Tone era, and has been adopted by some individuals in the hardcore punk subculture.
Originally, skanking consisted of a “running man” motion of the legs to the beat while alternating bent-elbow fist-punches, left and right.[1] Over time, however, variations have emerged across the musical world. The punk version features a sharp striking out look with the arms, and is sometimes used in moshing to knock around others doing the same."...
****
Skanking, Lesson By Tony Verity
Jyo Ska Uploaded on Jul 7, 2008
Ska Documental in 'Sombrero Club' With Byron Lee & The Dragonaires. Jamaica 1964
-snip-
Here's a comment about skanking from that video's viewer comment thread:
hultonclint, Feb 17, 2009
"This kind of dancing was sort of manufactured. Prince Buster himself said there was no distinct "ska dance" like this. Basically, this was to fit it "ska" as one of the "dance crazes" (think Cha cha cha, rhumba, the Twist, etc) that consumer (upper class) audience would do at the time. One way the music industry sold records was by popularizing dances that went w/ certain music. In 1964, there was an attempt to popularize ska in the US as the latest craze which is why they made up these moves."
****
SPECULATIONS ABOUT WHY THE NAME "JOHN CROW" WAS USED FOR THIS DANCE
I'm assuming that "John Crow Skank" was (is) just one of a number of different ways of "skanking".
Derrick Morgan's "John Crow Skank" fits the description of an of instructional dance song in that part of its lyrics give instructions as to how to do that dance. But I'm curious as to why the name "John Crow" would be used for a type of dance.
This article http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090517/arts/arts1.html Extracts from the 'Jamaica Journal' - "Plants, Spirits and the meaning of 'John' in Jamaica" by John Rashford (May 17, 2009) suggests that [the plant that Jamaicans call] "John Crow Bead, and it links - by virtue of John as a generic term - to the Christmas dancing in Jamaica called John Canoe (also spelled Jonkonnu) and to the vulture called John Crow (Cathartes aura)... all have the name John because of their relationship to the world of spirits and spirit possession."
That article also indicates that "John Canoe, who is the chief dancer of a troupe of dancers, is the spirit person or obeahman (variously described as a witch doctor, magician, jumbie-man or sorcerer) and both the John Crow and the John Crow Bead are associated with death and with materials used in the practice of obeah."
-snip-
I don't think that the John Crow Skank was meant to be religious or refer to death or the spirit world. Yet, if the concept of John Crow was connected to the Jonkanoo dancers, did that connection inluence the choice of the name "John Crow" for this skank dance. Or could the choice of that dance name be as uncomplicated as the possibility that the John Crow (Jamaican vulture) might be known for its dance like movements? Having never seen a John Crow, I don't know if its movements could be equated to a dance or not.
It should also be noted that Jamaicans also refer to a type of rhythm as "John Crow Skank rhythm".
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090719/ent/ent8.html "STORY OF THE SONG - One line makes a 'Bangarang'"
Editor's Note: This article is about the 1968 record "Bangarang" by Lester Sterling & Stanger Cole]
..."John Crow Skank
Among the musicians with whom [music producer Bunny 'Striker'] Lee worked at the time were Lloyd Chalmers, Aston and Carlton Barrett and Robbie Shakespeare. Cole definitely remembers keyboard player Glen Adams playing on Bangarang, introducing what was called the 'John Crow Skank' style into Jamaican music in the process"...
Another example of this rhythm is http://www.allmusic.com/song/john-crow-skank-rhythm-preacher-man-uk395-mt0012977802 John Crow Skank Rhythm: Preacher Man (UK395)
****
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Visitor comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label John Crow Skank dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label John Crow Skank dance. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Eric Donaldson - "Cherry Oh Baby" (with lyrics & comments)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases the 1971 Reggae song "Cherry Oh Baby" by Eric Donaldson.
Selected comments about that song are included in this post along with my notes about some of those comments use of Caribbean Patois.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
Thanks to Eric Donaldson for his musical legacy. Thanks also to the publishers of this featured video and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC DONALDSON AND THE SONG "CHERRY oH BABY"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Donaldson
Eric Donaldson (born 11 June 1947, St. Catherine, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter....
Donaldson ... submmitted "Cherry Oh Baby" to the 1971 Jamaican Festival Song Competition, going on to win the competition and giving him a big Jamaican hit single.[1] Donaldson has won the competition six times, in 1971, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1993 and 1997.[3] "Cherry Oh Baby" has been covered by both The Rolling Stones (on their 1976 album, Black and Blue) and UB40 (on their 1983 album, Labour of Love).[1] The riddim has remained extremely popular – over thirty cover versions have been recorded, including an update by Donaldson himself. Two of his festival winners ("Sweet Jamaica" (1977) and "Land of My Birth" (1978)) were written by Winston Wallace.[4] In an online poll held in 2103 by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, "Land of My Birth" was voted the most popular winner in the contest's history.[5]...
Donaldson currently lives in Kent Village, Jamaica where he runs the 'Cherry Oh Baby Go-Go' bar.[1]"
****
From http://www.allmusic.com/song/cherry-oh-baby-mt0035138483
"Song Review by Jo-Ann Greene"
"For the pop masses, reggae music is defined by a handful of numbers -- songs like Desmond Dekker's "The Israelites," the Wailers' "Jamming" and "One Love," and Tony Tribe's "Red Red Wine," et al. Among these must be numbered Eric Donaldson's "Cherry Oh Baby," which swept away with the top prize at the Jamaican Independence Song Competition in 1971.
The single proved wildly popular, and boasted one of the most unforgettable rhythms in history. Overseen by Bunny Lee and expertly laid down by members of Inner Circle, the backing was built to appeal to the dancehalls, currently flocking around the latest dance craze -- the John Crow skank. Its swooping moves and intricate footwork were best displayed to a slower tempo and a stop-start rhythm. The band gives them precisely that; the hefty bass and guitar lines and the adamant organ riff are all sharply outlined by Lloyd "Tin Leg" Adams' staccato beats, and only Michael "Ibo" Cooper's piano adds some frills to the stomping power of the riddim. Overhead, Donaldson woos Cherry for all he's worth, and Lee's production and the arrangement showcase the former West Indian at his best. Emotive, warm and tender, soulful and impassioned, the singer makes his play, and one can't imagine that in response the girl didn't fall straight into his arms.
Certainly groups worldwide fell head over heels for this number, which -- beyond the usual spate of Jamaican versions -- was covered by an amazingly diverse range of bands, including the Rolling Stones, who covered it on their Black and Blue album; UB40, who put their's into the U.K. Top 15; and reggae-core heroes Sublime. Donaldson, who inspired them all, never saw his original chart outside Jamaica, but can take comfort in knowing he delivered up an international favorite."
-snip-
That review is reformatted for this post.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE - Eric Donaldson - Cherry, Oh Baby
GioSkaRocksteady, Published on Mar 27, 2012
(1971)
[LYRICS - CHERRY OH BABY
(written by Eric Donaldson)
Oh Cherry oh, Cherry oh, baby,
Don`t you know I`m in need of thee?
If you don`t believe it`s true,
What have you left me to do?
Look how long I,ve been waiting,
For you to come right in.
And now that we are together,
Please make my joys come over*
Whoa -oh-oh-oh oh oh oh oy
Whoa -oh-oh-oh oh oh oh oy
Yea-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Yea-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Oh Cherry, oh, Cherry, oh, baby,
Don`t you see I`m in love with you?
If you don`t believe I do,
Then why don`t you try me?
I will never let you down,
I will never make you wear no frown.
If you say you love me madly,
Well babe I will accept you gladly.
Whoa -oh-oh-oh oh oh oh oy
Whoa -oh-oh-oh oh oh oh oy
Yea-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Yea-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Oh Cherry, oh, Cherry, oh, baby,
Don`t you see I`m in love with you?
If you don`t believe I do,
Then why don`t you try me?
I will never let you down,
I will never make you wear no frown.
If you say you love me madly,
Well babe I will accept you gladly.
Whoa -oh-oh-oh oh oh oh oy
Whoa -oh-oh-oh oh oh oh oy
Yea-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Yea-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
-snip-
*"joy come over" = to feel joyful
****
SELECTED COMMENTS ABOUT "CHERRY OH BABY"
From another uploaded example of this sound file https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTRLKqGDHao published on YouTube in 2008 by S4INT MYTHZz "Cherry Oh Baby original With Lyrics By Eric Donaldson"
[along with some notes that I've added]
blazey2, May 25, 2011
"boooooom! BIG TUNE!!!
i'm lookink for the version made by Charlie Chaplin! anyone?"
-snip0
"Boom" is an interjection that indicates enthusiasm for or about (excitement about) something.
In the Caribbean, the word "tune" means the entire song and not just the music.
**
Kushprincess66, Mar 8, 2012
..."this tune still sounds fresh after all these years, a lot of years.
-snip-
Notice the tag name for this commenter. "The Kingdom of Kush or Kush was an ancient African kingdom situated on the confluences of the Blue Nile, White Nile and River Atbara in what is now the Republic of Sudan...After king Kashta ("the Kushite") invaded Egypt in the 8th century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as Pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt for a century, until they were expelled by Psamtik I in 656 BC". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kush
**
15heartz, Aug 7, 2012
"i swear theres another reggae version?"
**
Cam Yallits, Jan 31, 2013 in reply to 15heartz
"He has another version, with the upsetters, the tempos a bit faster, and is extended, its about 5:40 long."
*&
LionEntity, 2012
"My GOD what a heavenly voice this bredren have"
-snip-
"Bredren" = brother (man)
**
ijah mano, May 9, 2012
j'adore!!!!! big up
-snip-
"j'adore" - "I love it"
"Big Up" means to "Give praises/compliments to or for something". Written alone it probably means that "I am complimenting this song (and/or singer).
I wonder if "Big up" meaning came from the statement "Give a big round of applause (a big hand clap to or for something.)
**
ben gitonga, Jun 23, 2012
"a bigggggggg tchuuuuuuuune......."
-snip-
In Standard American English I think this comment would be "[This is] a very big [very popular/hit] tune (song).
**
Avery Forrest Braun, Dec 3, 2013
"Boombastic"
-snip-
"Boombastic" probably come from the much older word "bombastic". However, while "bombastic" (high-sounding; high-flown; inflated; pretentious) is a negative descriptor, "boombastic" is an adjective that means "amazing" ,"awesome". "Boombastic's" meaning is the same as or very similar to the [no longer used] African American Vernacular English phrases "out of sight" and [something is] "the bomb".
**
dontbothermewithchannelsAug 5, 2014
[title of this video] "With Lyrics By Eric Donaldson" There are different versions of the song with different lyrics
-snip-
The "Cherry Oh Baby" lyrics that are sung by UB40 and by the Rolling Stones are slightly different than the original lyrics written by Eric Donaldson.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases the 1971 Reggae song "Cherry Oh Baby" by Eric Donaldson.
Selected comments about that song are included in this post along with my notes about some of those comments use of Caribbean Patois.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
Thanks to Eric Donaldson for his musical legacy. Thanks also to the publishers of this featured video and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT ERIC DONALDSON AND THE SONG "CHERRY oH BABY"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Donaldson
Eric Donaldson (born 11 June 1947, St. Catherine, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter....
Donaldson ... submmitted "Cherry Oh Baby" to the 1971 Jamaican Festival Song Competition, going on to win the competition and giving him a big Jamaican hit single.[1] Donaldson has won the competition six times, in 1971, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1993 and 1997.[3] "Cherry Oh Baby" has been covered by both The Rolling Stones (on their 1976 album, Black and Blue) and UB40 (on their 1983 album, Labour of Love).[1] The riddim has remained extremely popular – over thirty cover versions have been recorded, including an update by Donaldson himself. Two of his festival winners ("Sweet Jamaica" (1977) and "Land of My Birth" (1978)) were written by Winston Wallace.[4] In an online poll held in 2103 by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, "Land of My Birth" was voted the most popular winner in the contest's history.[5]...
Donaldson currently lives in Kent Village, Jamaica where he runs the 'Cherry Oh Baby Go-Go' bar.[1]"
****
From http://www.allmusic.com/song/cherry-oh-baby-mt0035138483
"Song Review by Jo-Ann Greene"
"For the pop masses, reggae music is defined by a handful of numbers -- songs like Desmond Dekker's "The Israelites," the Wailers' "Jamming" and "One Love," and Tony Tribe's "Red Red Wine," et al. Among these must be numbered Eric Donaldson's "Cherry Oh Baby," which swept away with the top prize at the Jamaican Independence Song Competition in 1971.
The single proved wildly popular, and boasted one of the most unforgettable rhythms in history. Overseen by Bunny Lee and expertly laid down by members of Inner Circle, the backing was built to appeal to the dancehalls, currently flocking around the latest dance craze -- the John Crow skank. Its swooping moves and intricate footwork were best displayed to a slower tempo and a stop-start rhythm. The band gives them precisely that; the hefty bass and guitar lines and the adamant organ riff are all sharply outlined by Lloyd "Tin Leg" Adams' staccato beats, and only Michael "Ibo" Cooper's piano adds some frills to the stomping power of the riddim. Overhead, Donaldson woos Cherry for all he's worth, and Lee's production and the arrangement showcase the former West Indian at his best. Emotive, warm and tender, soulful and impassioned, the singer makes his play, and one can't imagine that in response the girl didn't fall straight into his arms.
Certainly groups worldwide fell head over heels for this number, which -- beyond the usual spate of Jamaican versions -- was covered by an amazingly diverse range of bands, including the Rolling Stones, who covered it on their Black and Blue album; UB40, who put their's into the U.K. Top 15; and reggae-core heroes Sublime. Donaldson, who inspired them all, never saw his original chart outside Jamaica, but can take comfort in knowing he delivered up an international favorite."
-snip-
That review is reformatted for this post.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE - Eric Donaldson - Cherry, Oh Baby
GioSkaRocksteady, Published on Mar 27, 2012
(1971)
[LYRICS - CHERRY OH BABY
(written by Eric Donaldson)
Oh Cherry oh, Cherry oh, baby,
Don`t you know I`m in need of thee?
If you don`t believe it`s true,
What have you left me to do?
Look how long I,ve been waiting,
For you to come right in.
And now that we are together,
Please make my joys come over*
Whoa -oh-oh-oh oh oh oh oy
Whoa -oh-oh-oh oh oh oh oy
Yea-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Yea-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Oh Cherry, oh, Cherry, oh, baby,
Don`t you see I`m in love with you?
If you don`t believe I do,
Then why don`t you try me?
I will never let you down,
I will never make you wear no frown.
If you say you love me madly,
Well babe I will accept you gladly.
Whoa -oh-oh-oh oh oh oh oy
Whoa -oh-oh-oh oh oh oh oy
Yea-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Yea-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Oh Cherry, oh, Cherry, oh, baby,
Don`t you see I`m in love with you?
If you don`t believe I do,
Then why don`t you try me?
I will never let you down,
I will never make you wear no frown.
If you say you love me madly,
Well babe I will accept you gladly.
Whoa -oh-oh-oh oh oh oh oy
Whoa -oh-oh-oh oh oh oh oy
Yea-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
Yea-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay
-snip-
*"joy come over" = to feel joyful
****
SELECTED COMMENTS ABOUT "CHERRY OH BABY"
From another uploaded example of this sound file https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTRLKqGDHao published on YouTube in 2008 by S4INT MYTHZz "Cherry Oh Baby original With Lyrics By Eric Donaldson"
[along with some notes that I've added]
blazey2, May 25, 2011
"boooooom! BIG TUNE!!!
i'm lookink for the version made by Charlie Chaplin! anyone?"
-snip0
"Boom" is an interjection that indicates enthusiasm for or about (excitement about) something.
In the Caribbean, the word "tune" means the entire song and not just the music.
**
Kushprincess66, Mar 8, 2012
..."this tune still sounds fresh after all these years, a lot of years.
-snip-
Notice the tag name for this commenter. "The Kingdom of Kush or Kush was an ancient African kingdom situated on the confluences of the Blue Nile, White Nile and River Atbara in what is now the Republic of Sudan...After king Kashta ("the Kushite") invaded Egypt in the 8th century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as Pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth dynasty of Egypt for a century, until they were expelled by Psamtik I in 656 BC". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Kush
**
15heartz, Aug 7, 2012
"i swear theres another reggae version?"
**
Cam Yallits, Jan 31, 2013 in reply to 15heartz
"He has another version, with the upsetters, the tempos a bit faster, and is extended, its about 5:40 long."
*&
LionEntity, 2012
"My GOD what a heavenly voice this bredren have"
-snip-
"Bredren" = brother (man)
**
ijah mano, May 9, 2012
j'adore!!!!! big up
-snip-
"j'adore" - "I love it"
"Big Up" means to "Give praises/compliments to or for something". Written alone it probably means that "I am complimenting this song (and/or singer).
I wonder if "Big up" meaning came from the statement "Give a big round of applause (a big hand clap to or for something.)
**
ben gitonga, Jun 23, 2012
"a bigggggggg tchuuuuuuuune......."
-snip-
In Standard American English I think this comment would be "[This is] a very big [very popular/hit] tune (song).
**
Avery Forrest Braun, Dec 3, 2013
"Boombastic"
-snip-
"Boombastic" probably come from the much older word "bombastic". However, while "bombastic" (high-sounding; high-flown; inflated; pretentious) is a negative descriptor, "boombastic" is an adjective that means "amazing" ,"awesome". "Boombastic's" meaning is the same as or very similar to the [no longer used] African American Vernacular English phrases "out of sight" and [something is] "the bomb".
**
dontbothermewithchannelsAug 5, 2014
[title of this video] "With Lyrics By Eric Donaldson" There are different versions of the song with different lyrics
-snip-
The "Cherry Oh Baby" lyrics that are sung by UB40 and by the Rolling Stones are slightly different than the original lyrics written by Eric Donaldson.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
What "John Crow" Means In Jamaica
Edited by Azizi Powell
[Revised January 29, 2016]
This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series on the Jamaican character/symbol "John Crow". This post provides information about the meaning of "John Crow".
UPDATE January 29, 2016
DISCLAIMER:
This post isn't meant to provide complete information about the character/symbol John Crow (also known as Jancro).
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/01/more-information-about-what-john-crow.html for the pancocojams post entitled "More Information About What John Crow (Jancrow) Means In Jamaica". An additional post that showcases three Jamaican folktales that include John Crow will also be published ASAP. Those links will be included in this post.
End of Update January 29, 2016. Read Update March 15, 2016 below.
****
Part II of this series features two Jamaican mento songs that mention "John crow". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/two-jamaican-mento-songs-that-mention.html for that post.
Part III of this series features the Jimmy Cliff song "John Crow".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/jimmy-cliff-john-crow-lyrics-video.html for that post.
Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/derrick-morgan-john-crow-skank-example.html for a 2014 pancocojams post on the Ska song "John Crow Skank.
The content of this post is presented for historical & folkloric purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT JOHN CROW
From http://www.golocaljamaica.com/readarticle.php?ArticleID=784 "The John Crow - Graceful or Disgraceful Bird"
(Apr-22-2003)
"John Crow, the common Jamaican vulture, was once widely known as a carrion crow or turkey vulture. In towns and throughout the countryside, these birds can be seen tearing at carcasses in the streets. Sometimes they circle in the sky or simply perch in trees or on housetops, often with outspread wings.
Many stories abound as to how the name John Crow came about...
[Frederic G. Cassidy and R.B. Lapage indicate that] the first record of the bird being called John Crow was 1826. In a later book Dictionary of Jamaican English by Mr. Cassidy and R.B. Lapage it is stated that the origin of the name John Crow may be linked to Jim Crow, the American term. There is however no evidence to show that they are linked. Whatever the story behind the name John Crow, it is deeply embedded in Jamaican folk life.
The John Crow is a bird of great symbolic importance. In the Jamaican setting it is associated with ugliness, blackness, evil and disgrace. In abusive arguments people will call each other names such as "dirty John Crow, black John Crow or heng man John Crow". The John Crow is also an omen of death. It is believed that if the John Crow perches on a housetop, someone inside will die. It is also believed that if a John Crow appears in an individual's dream, it signifies death or some other form of destruction in the person's family.
The name John Crow appears in a few Jamaican proverbs. "Every John Crow tink him pickney white". This means that everyone thinks that his own children or his possessions are the best in the world. "John Crow seh him a dandy man but same time him hab so-so feather". Here the John Crow is a symbol of someone who is being very vain and pretentious. "John Crow a roast plantain fi yuh" depicting someone who is very meager and emaciated who may soon die. "If yuh fly wid John Crow yuh wi nyam dead meat" expresses the idea that a person is capable of doing the things that are done in the company that he or she keeps. Two popular folksongs also exist which speak about the John Crow. They are "Peel head John Crow" and "John Crow Seh".
Whatever the John Crow represents or however the name originated, it is one of the most significant birds underlining the culture."
Source: Jamaica: The Fairest Isle by Phillip Sherlock and Barbara Preston (1992) Plants, Spirits and the Meaning of John in Jamaica: Article Written in Jamaica Journal by John Rashford (May 1984)"
-snip-
The Jamaican "John Crow" doesn't have the same meanings in Jamaica that the similarly named "jim crow" does in the United States.
"Jump Jim Crow is a song and dance from 1828 that was performed in blackface by white comedian Thomas Dartmouth (T.D.) "Daddy" Rice."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_Jim_Crow. Thus the earliest documentation of "John Crow" predates "jim crow" by two years and the cultural meanings of these two symbols are quite different. In the USA, "jim crow" is a term used to describe a system of racial segregation that discriminated against Black people.
I'm not sure which came first- the use of the name "Jim" for the crow or the name "John" for the vulture. ("Jim" is a nickname for "James" and not "John", although a number of people aren't aware of that.)
To add to these names, I think that the nickname "jimmy" that is used for the crowbar tool is also related to the "Jim Crow" name, although I don't know which came first. As to why the tool is called a crowbar, here's a comment from http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090505044409AAEFfdV response by d_r_siva "Why is a crow bar called a crow bar? where did the name originate?"
answer posted by Nathan, 2008
"Crowbar: The association of the crowbar, that useful tool, with the bird is one of mere appearance. The grappling, wedge-shaped beak at one end reminded people of a crow's foot. This, as it were, got stuck in the tool for all time.
Source:
The Book of Beginnings"
-snip-
Nathan or that source book he quoted forgot to mention that the crowbar tool is black in color, as is the crow.
****
From http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090517/arts/arts1.html Extracts from the 'Jamaica Journal' - "Plants, Spirits and the meaning of 'John' in Jamaica ; Published: Sunday | May 17, 2009
John Rashford, Contributor
“The word 'John' appears 33 times in the Dictionary of Jamaican English as a generic term in the compound common names of people, birds, plants and other objects. This paper will show that objects named 'John' are often associated in Jamaica with the world of spirits.
I will focus on the vine Abrus precatorious, which Jamaicans call John Crow Bead, and it links - by virtue of John as a generic term - to the Christmas dancing in Jamaica called John Canoe (also spelled Jonkonnu) and to the vulture called John Crow (Cathartes aura). This paper suggests that the dance, the bird and the plant all have the name John because of their relationship to the world of spirits and spirit possession.
Practice of obeah
It shows that John Canoe, who is the chief dancer of a troupe of dancers, is the spirit person or obeahman (variously described as a witch doctor, magician, jumbie-man or sorcerer) and both the John Crow and the John Crow Bead are associated with death and with materials used in the practice of obeah.
In the Caribbean, the common names for Abrus precatorious point to its association with the spirit world and suggests that John as one of the generic terms in its compound common names is an expression of this association. The link is made by the fact that in Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean, the plant is known as Jumbie Bead, and in some places, as, for example, the Virgin Islands, it is also called Devil Bead (Williams (jumbi, jumby, jumbee, jumbay, jamby) or zombie are just different terms for spirits. These terms are more widely used in the eastern Caribbean than in Jamaica (Cassidy 1971, Beckwith 1929).
In Jamaica, spirits are most frequently identified as ‘duppies’. They are largely of human origin, being spirits of the dead. Usually considered more harmful than good, they interact with the living and in dong so directly affect the routine of daily life. They love the night, especially when perfumed by the aromatic basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and the strong sweet smell of the night blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum). They “feed upon bamboo root, ‘fig’ leaves and the gourd-like fruit of a vine called ‘duppy pumpkin'” (Beckwith 1929 p 89) and live at the root of cotton trees (Ceiba pentandra), in burial grounds and old abandoned buildings, and in dark places such as caves, mangrove swamps, bamboo thickets and forests"...
-snip-
I added italics to highlight the term "John Crow beads", and the association of John Crow (the vulture) with dancing and with the spirit world.
****
UPDATE: January 29, 2014
These connections of John Crow with the spirit world and jumbie may explain the traditional association of John Crow with death and with the color black. However, death wasn't always considered something negative in traditional West African societies, and the color "black" wasn't always and/or wasn't only associated with death. For those reasons, it's possible that the very negative image of John Crow is an old development in Jamaican culture (which is heavily influenced by West African cultures). But John Crow may have originally or early on had a deeper meaning which wasn't negative.
****
UPDATE March 15, 2016
With regard to my comment "John Crow may have originally or early on had a deeper meaning which wasn't negative", here's information about the meaning of the "vulture" in Ashanti (Asanti, Asante) culture in Ghana, West Africa:
From Symbolizing the Past: Reading Sankofa, Daughters of the Dust, & Eve's Bayou by Sandra M. Grayson (University Press of America, 2000), Page 36
"Among the Akan, the scarab and the vulture symbolize self-begetting, self-creation, and self-birth. An Akan maxim says of Odomankoma [the infinite, the interminable, absolute being], ‘The animal that symbolizes Odomankoma who created the world is the vulture.’ “Odomankoma a oboadee ne kyeneboa ne opete. (Meyerowitz . The Divine Kingship in Ghana and Ancient Egypt. See also Danquan, The Akan Doctrine of God"
-snip-
Notes from that book:
. After Nunu was killed later in the film [Haile Geima’s Sankofa] no one could find her body. Shola says that the people believed that Nunu did not die; rather that a buzzard swopped down and took her back to Africa.
7. Opete is the Akan word for vulture
-snip-
Here's information about Nunu in the film Sankofa:
"Nunu ....an African-born field hand who went about her day-to-day life with Africa still living in her heart and was characterized as a “strong motherly slave with a rebel mindset” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankofa_(film)
****
Here's another quote about the symbolism of the vulture in African culture, although no nation or ethnic group is mentioned:
"Tap Roots: The Early History of Tap Dancing
By Mark Knowles
Anthropologist Melvin Herkovits suggests that the name of the John Canoe dance is derived from the Ashanti people of Africa and is a reference for the yankoro or buzzard. In the United States the climax of the John Canoe included a buck dance known as the buzzard lope" [page 32].
-snip-
"The Ashanti is the major indigenous tribe of the Akans in Ghana" [buzzghana.com]"
-snip-
I haven't found any more information yet about the word "yankoro".
It's probable that the enslaved Africans in Jamaica and in the United States who were from the Asanti (Ashanti/Akan) people substituted the crow (John Crow) for the vulture. And, eventually, the positive meanings of the vulture were changed to the negative associations.
-snip-
Hat tip to slam2011 for her March 14, 2016 comment below that motivated me to do more research on the symbolism of "John Crow and the vulture.
End of March 15, 2016 update.
****
SOME OTHER USES OF THE NAME "JOHN CROW" IN JAMAICA
*Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park is a national park in Jamaica
* Another "John Crow" proverb:
"Bird seed don't make John Crow sing." For any reader who is not Jamaican, a John Crow is the same thing as a vulture. What it simply means is that no matter how much bird seed you feed to the John Crow, it will never sing like a bird simply because it cannot."
From http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Prosperity-requires-new-thinking_13800705 Prosperity requires new thinking" by Dennis Chung, March 08, 2013
*Jamaican folk song "John crow seh im naah wok pan sunday".
A Dancehall Reggae version of that song was recorded by Tenor Saw ("No Work On Ah Sunday").
*John Crow Skank [dance, records, and rhythm]
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/derrick-morgan-john-crow-skank-example.html for a pancocojams post about this topic.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
[Revised January 29, 2016]
This is Part I of a three part pancocojams series on the Jamaican character/symbol "John Crow". This post provides information about the meaning of "John Crow".
UPDATE January 29, 2016
DISCLAIMER:
This post isn't meant to provide complete information about the character/symbol John Crow (also known as Jancro).
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2016/01/more-information-about-what-john-crow.html for the pancocojams post entitled "More Information About What John Crow (Jancrow) Means In Jamaica". An additional post that showcases three Jamaican folktales that include John Crow will also be published ASAP. Those links will be included in this post.
End of Update January 29, 2016. Read Update March 15, 2016 below.
****
Part II of this series features two Jamaican mento songs that mention "John crow". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/two-jamaican-mento-songs-that-mention.html for that post.
Part III of this series features the Jimmy Cliff song "John Crow".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/jimmy-cliff-john-crow-lyrics-video.html for that post.
Also, click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/derrick-morgan-john-crow-skank-example.html for a 2014 pancocojams post on the Ska song "John Crow Skank.
The content of this post is presented for historical & folkloric purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT JOHN CROW
From http://www.golocaljamaica.com/readarticle.php?ArticleID=784 "The John Crow - Graceful or Disgraceful Bird"
(Apr-22-2003)
"John Crow, the common Jamaican vulture, was once widely known as a carrion crow or turkey vulture. In towns and throughout the countryside, these birds can be seen tearing at carcasses in the streets. Sometimes they circle in the sky or simply perch in trees or on housetops, often with outspread wings.
Many stories abound as to how the name John Crow came about...
[Frederic G. Cassidy and R.B. Lapage indicate that] the first record of the bird being called John Crow was 1826. In a later book Dictionary of Jamaican English by Mr. Cassidy and R.B. Lapage it is stated that the origin of the name John Crow may be linked to Jim Crow, the American term. There is however no evidence to show that they are linked. Whatever the story behind the name John Crow, it is deeply embedded in Jamaican folk life.
The John Crow is a bird of great symbolic importance. In the Jamaican setting it is associated with ugliness, blackness, evil and disgrace. In abusive arguments people will call each other names such as "dirty John Crow, black John Crow or heng man John Crow". The John Crow is also an omen of death. It is believed that if the John Crow perches on a housetop, someone inside will die. It is also believed that if a John Crow appears in an individual's dream, it signifies death or some other form of destruction in the person's family.
The name John Crow appears in a few Jamaican proverbs. "Every John Crow tink him pickney white". This means that everyone thinks that his own children or his possessions are the best in the world. "John Crow seh him a dandy man but same time him hab so-so feather". Here the John Crow is a symbol of someone who is being very vain and pretentious. "John Crow a roast plantain fi yuh" depicting someone who is very meager and emaciated who may soon die. "If yuh fly wid John Crow yuh wi nyam dead meat" expresses the idea that a person is capable of doing the things that are done in the company that he or she keeps. Two popular folksongs also exist which speak about the John Crow. They are "Peel head John Crow" and "John Crow Seh".
Whatever the John Crow represents or however the name originated, it is one of the most significant birds underlining the culture."
Source: Jamaica: The Fairest Isle by Phillip Sherlock and Barbara Preston (1992) Plants, Spirits and the Meaning of John in Jamaica: Article Written in Jamaica Journal by John Rashford (May 1984)"
-snip-
The Jamaican "John Crow" doesn't have the same meanings in Jamaica that the similarly named "jim crow" does in the United States.
"Jump Jim Crow is a song and dance from 1828 that was performed in blackface by white comedian Thomas Dartmouth (T.D.) "Daddy" Rice."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jump_Jim_Crow. Thus the earliest documentation of "John Crow" predates "jim crow" by two years and the cultural meanings of these two symbols are quite different. In the USA, "jim crow" is a term used to describe a system of racial segregation that discriminated against Black people.
I'm not sure which came first- the use of the name "Jim" for the crow or the name "John" for the vulture. ("Jim" is a nickname for "James" and not "John", although a number of people aren't aware of that.)
To add to these names, I think that the nickname "jimmy" that is used for the crowbar tool is also related to the "Jim Crow" name, although I don't know which came first. As to why the tool is called a crowbar, here's a comment from http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090505044409AAEFfdV response by d_r_siva "Why is a crow bar called a crow bar? where did the name originate?"
answer posted by Nathan, 2008
"Crowbar: The association of the crowbar, that useful tool, with the bird is one of mere appearance. The grappling, wedge-shaped beak at one end reminded people of a crow's foot. This, as it were, got stuck in the tool for all time.
Source:
The Book of Beginnings"
-snip-
Nathan or that source book he quoted forgot to mention that the crowbar tool is black in color, as is the crow.
****
From http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20090517/arts/arts1.html Extracts from the 'Jamaica Journal' - "Plants, Spirits and the meaning of 'John' in Jamaica ; Published: Sunday | May 17, 2009
John Rashford, Contributor
“The word 'John' appears 33 times in the Dictionary of Jamaican English as a generic term in the compound common names of people, birds, plants and other objects. This paper will show that objects named 'John' are often associated in Jamaica with the world of spirits.
I will focus on the vine Abrus precatorious, which Jamaicans call John Crow Bead, and it links - by virtue of John as a generic term - to the Christmas dancing in Jamaica called John Canoe (also spelled Jonkonnu) and to the vulture called John Crow (Cathartes aura). This paper suggests that the dance, the bird and the plant all have the name John because of their relationship to the world of spirits and spirit possession.
Practice of obeah
It shows that John Canoe, who is the chief dancer of a troupe of dancers, is the spirit person or obeahman (variously described as a witch doctor, magician, jumbie-man or sorcerer) and both the John Crow and the John Crow Bead are associated with death and with materials used in the practice of obeah.
In the Caribbean, the common names for Abrus precatorious point to its association with the spirit world and suggests that John as one of the generic terms in its compound common names is an expression of this association. The link is made by the fact that in Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean, the plant is known as Jumbie Bead, and in some places, as, for example, the Virgin Islands, it is also called Devil Bead (Williams (jumbi, jumby, jumbee, jumbay, jamby) or zombie are just different terms for spirits. These terms are more widely used in the eastern Caribbean than in Jamaica (Cassidy 1971, Beckwith 1929).
In Jamaica, spirits are most frequently identified as ‘duppies’. They are largely of human origin, being spirits of the dead. Usually considered more harmful than good, they interact with the living and in dong so directly affect the routine of daily life. They love the night, especially when perfumed by the aromatic basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) and the strong sweet smell of the night blooming jasmine (Cestrum nocturnum). They “feed upon bamboo root, ‘fig’ leaves and the gourd-like fruit of a vine called ‘duppy pumpkin'” (Beckwith 1929 p 89) and live at the root of cotton trees (Ceiba pentandra), in burial grounds and old abandoned buildings, and in dark places such as caves, mangrove swamps, bamboo thickets and forests"...
-snip-
I added italics to highlight the term "John Crow beads", and the association of John Crow (the vulture) with dancing and with the spirit world.
****
UPDATE: January 29, 2014
These connections of John Crow with the spirit world and jumbie may explain the traditional association of John Crow with death and with the color black. However, death wasn't always considered something negative in traditional West African societies, and the color "black" wasn't always and/or wasn't only associated with death. For those reasons, it's possible that the very negative image of John Crow is an old development in Jamaican culture (which is heavily influenced by West African cultures). But John Crow may have originally or early on had a deeper meaning which wasn't negative.
****
UPDATE March 15, 2016
With regard to my comment "John Crow may have originally or early on had a deeper meaning which wasn't negative", here's information about the meaning of the "vulture" in Ashanti (Asanti, Asante) culture in Ghana, West Africa:
From Symbolizing the Past: Reading Sankofa, Daughters of the Dust, & Eve's Bayou by Sandra M. Grayson (University Press of America, 2000), Page 36
"Among the Akan, the scarab and the vulture symbolize self-begetting, self-creation, and self-birth. An Akan maxim says of Odomankoma [the infinite, the interminable, absolute being], ‘The animal that symbolizes Odomankoma who created the world is the vulture.’ “Odomankoma a oboadee ne kyeneboa ne opete. (Meyerowitz . The Divine Kingship in Ghana and Ancient Egypt. See also Danquan, The Akan Doctrine of God"
-snip-
Notes from that book:
. After Nunu was killed later in the film [Haile Geima’s Sankofa] no one could find her body. Shola says that the people believed that Nunu did not die; rather that a buzzard swopped down and took her back to Africa.
7. Opete is the Akan word for vulture
-snip-
Here's information about Nunu in the film Sankofa:
"Nunu ....an African-born field hand who went about her day-to-day life with Africa still living in her heart and was characterized as a “strong motherly slave with a rebel mindset” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankofa_(film)
****
Here's another quote about the symbolism of the vulture in African culture, although no nation or ethnic group is mentioned:
"Tap Roots: The Early History of Tap Dancing
By Mark Knowles
Anthropologist Melvin Herkovits suggests that the name of the John Canoe dance is derived from the Ashanti people of Africa and is a reference for the yankoro or buzzard. In the United States the climax of the John Canoe included a buck dance known as the buzzard lope" [page 32].
-snip-
"The Ashanti is the major indigenous tribe of the Akans in Ghana" [buzzghana.com]"
-snip-
I haven't found any more information yet about the word "yankoro".
It's probable that the enslaved Africans in Jamaica and in the United States who were from the Asanti (Ashanti/Akan) people substituted the crow (John Crow) for the vulture. And, eventually, the positive meanings of the vulture were changed to the negative associations.
-snip-
Hat tip to slam2011 for her March 14, 2016 comment below that motivated me to do more research on the symbolism of "John Crow and the vulture.
End of March 15, 2016 update.
****
SOME OTHER USES OF THE NAME "JOHN CROW" IN JAMAICA
*Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park is a national park in Jamaica
* Another "John Crow" proverb:
"Bird seed don't make John Crow sing." For any reader who is not Jamaican, a John Crow is the same thing as a vulture. What it simply means is that no matter how much bird seed you feed to the John Crow, it will never sing like a bird simply because it cannot."
From http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Prosperity-requires-new-thinking_13800705 Prosperity requires new thinking" by Dennis Chung, March 08, 2013
*Jamaican folk song "John crow seh im naah wok pan sunday".
A Dancehall Reggae version of that song was recorded by Tenor Saw ("No Work On Ah Sunday").
*John Crow Skank [dance, records, and rhythm]
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/derrick-morgan-john-crow-skank-example.html for a pancocojams post about this topic.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
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