Willie Peacock - "Calypso Freedom" (Freedom's Comin & It Won't Be Long) Reprint of 2014 Post

 

Timmy Smith, Published on Apr 3, 2014

Voices of the Civil Rights Movement: Black American Freedom Songs 1960-1966

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post is a reprint of  a 2014 post from my  "Civil Rights songs" blog. https://civilrightssongs.blogspot.com/2014/12/willie-peacock-calypso-freedom-freedoms.html 

This post is reprinted with minor formatting changes and some additional content.

Unfortunately that blog does not accept any comments because of spamming. However, visitor comments are welcome on this post and all other pancocojams posts.

Here's that 2014 post with those content changes as noted:
 
This post showcases a song file of the African American civil rights song "Calypso Freedom" (also known as "Freedom's Comin & It Won't") as sung by Willie Peacock and group. The lyrics to that version of that song are included in this post.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to the unnamed composer of "Freedom's Coming" and thanks to Willie Peacock and his group for these lyrics and for their version of this song that is entitled "Calypso Freedom". Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publisher of this song file on YouTube.
-snip- 
Added November 1, 2026: "Calypso Freedom" and other versions of the civil rights song "Freedom" (Freedom's Comin & It Won't Be Long)" is a lyrical adaptation with the same tune and tempo) of the traditional Jamaican work song "Day-O" (The Banana Boat Song). Harry Belafonte popularized this song outside of Jamaica in his 1956 album Calypso.
Note: "Calypso" songs are from Trinidad/Tobago. "Mentos" is the correct term for Folk songs from Jamaica (such as "Day-o" and most of the other folk songs that Harry Belafonte sung.).

 Click http://www.songsforteaching.com/calypsofreedom.htm for the lyrics for another version of this "Calypso Freedom" as sung by Sweet Honey In The Rock..

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LYRICS: CALYPSO FREEDOM (as sung by Willie Peacock and group)

[Introduction]
Freedom, give us freedom
Freedom comin and it won’t be long.
Hey!
Freedom, Freedom
Freedom comin and it won’t be long.
Freedom. Freedom
Freedom comin and it won’t be long.

Verse: Well, come Mr. Kennedy take me out of my misery.
Freedom comin and it won’t be long.
Well, can’t you see what segregation’s doin to me.
Freedom comin and it won’t be long.

Chorus 2x
Everybody, Freedom comin and it won’t be long
Well, can’t you see what segregation’s doin to me.
Freedom comin and it won’t be long.

Verse:
Well, come Jackie Kennedy* take me out of my misery
Freedom comin and it won’t be long
Well, JF Kennedy ain’t doin so much for me.
Freedom comin and it won’t be long.

Chorus 1x

Verse:
Hey, I took a little trip on a Greyhound bus**
Yeah!
Freedom comin and it won’t be long.
Well, To fight segregation this we must.
Yeah, Freedom comin and it won’t be long.

Chorus [1x]
Verses [follow the above pattern]
Well, the Jordan river is ah chilly and cold
Well, it chills the body, ah but not the soul be long.

Well, the Jordan river is ah chilly and ah wide
I’m gonna get my freedom on this here side.

Well I ain’t been to heaven but I think I’m right
Well, the people in heaven are neither black or white

Well I ain’t been to heaven but I’ve been told
Well ah up in heaven is no Jim Crow***

Well, you can hinder me here. You can hinder me there.
Well I’ll go right down on my knees in prayer.

Well I never been to heaven but I know I’m right.
Well the folks in heaven they do not fight.

Come Jackie Kennedy* take me out of my misery.
Well JF Kennedy ain’t doin so much for me.

Well Mr. Kennedy take me out of my misery.
Can’t you see what segregation is doing for me.

Took a little trip on the Greyhound bus.
To end segregation this we must.
I want my freedom and I want it now.
Not gonna just stand here and pull the plow. [I'm not sure about my transcription of this line.]
-snip-
Transcription from the recording by Azizi Powell. Additions and corrections are weclome.

For what it's worth, I recall hearing and singing some version of the verses of this song, and its chorus during the 1960s. The purpose of this uptempo Calypso sounding protest song was to help energize and boost the courage and morale of the freedom fighters who are singing that song. This song combines extemporaneously composed two line rhyming verses with floating verses from African American Spirituals, interjections such as "Well!", "Hey!", and "Yeah!", and the adapted refrain from the Jamaican Mento "Banana Boat Song" (also known as "Daylight Comin And I Wanna Go Home".) Notice that one man in this recording mistakenly sings the "and I wanna go home" refrain from the "Banana Boat" song instead of the revised words "and I want it now".

*"Jackie Kennedy" was the wife of then President John F. Kennedy (JFK). Other renditions of this song may have sung "Come Bobby Kennedy". Robert F. Kennedy, widely known as Bobby Kennedy, was the U.S. Attorney General from 1961 to 1964, who served under his older brother, President John F. Kennedy (and after JFK's assassination, also served as Attorney General under JFK's his successor, President Lyndon B. Johnson). And Bobby Kennedy was considered to be a more vocal advocate for civil rights than his brother, JFK.

**As a way of challenging and seeking to change the laws in the South that legalized segregation in public transit, Black people and White people from the Northern region of the United States faced jail, injury, and death by renting Greyhound buses and sitting in an integrated manner on those buses while riding into the Southern states (i.e. a Black person seated next to a White person in the front of the bus and throughout the bus.) These men and women were known as "freedom riders".

*** Jim Crow laws - laws that legalized segregation of White and non-White people (People of Color)

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Seven Examples Of "Jumbie Jamboree" (also known as "Zombie Jamboree" & "Back To Back, Belly To Belly") 2026 Reprint

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post is a complete reprint with an update of an October 30, 2015 post that can still be found in this blog. 

That 2015 post includes two visitor comments and my replies. One visitor comment thanks me for that post and one comment is this link to Noel Anthony's rendition of "Zombie Jamboree".

Here's the link to that song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lf9p792joms&ab_channel=calypzombie85 .

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That reprint begins here:  

This pancocojams post showcases seven examples of the Caribbean song "Jumbie Jamboree" (also known as "Zombie Jamboree" and "Back To Back, Belly To Belly"). Information about this song is included in this post along with the lyrics to Laurel Aitken's Ska version of this song, and selected viewer comments.

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

Thanks to Conrad Eugene Mauge, Jr, the first person to have performed (if not composed) "Jumbie Jamboree". Thanks also to all the vocalists who are featured in this post and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "JUMBIE JAMBOREE" ("ZOMBIE JAMBOREE")
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumbie_Jamberee
"Jumbie Jamberee" is a calypso song credited to Conrad Eugene Mauge, Jr.[1] In 1953 Lord Intruder released the song as the B-side to "Disaster With Police".[2] The song is also known as "Zombie Jamboree" and "Back to Back". In the introduction to the Kingston Trio's version "Lord Invader and his Twelve Penetrators" are incorrectly credited with the song instead of Lord Intruder.

The oldest versions of the song refer to a jumbee jamboree. Jumbies are evil spirits who were thought to cause wild dancing in their victims. The song's references to Carnival also suggest a connection to the Moko jumbie, a protecting spirit figure represented during Carnival on Trinidad by stilt walkers and dancers. The switch to "Zombie Jamboree" occurred very early with King Flash's version with those lyrics coming out in 1956, only three years after "Jumbie Jamboree" first appeared.

Like many "folk" songs, there is unclear copyright in the song and many lines are variable between versions. While many versions set the song in a New York, Long Island or Woodlawn Cemetery, some place it in Kingston or an island cemetery. The third verse is the most variable with The Charmer's version discussing the local food at a previous jumbie carnival parade while Rockapella's version discusses zombies invading various New York City landmarks. The third verse of King Flash's 1956 version further discusses the female zombie's romantic pursuit of the singer.

Notable cover versions
• Back to Back, Belly to Belly" by The Charmer (Louis Farrakhan) with Johnny McCleverty Calypso Boys recorded in 1954.

• King Flash and Calypso Carnival recorded a version of "Zombie Jamboree" in 1956.

 • Jamaican mento singer Lord Foodoos recorded "Back to Back" for his 1957 Elektra album Calypso, an early production by Jac Holzman, who later produced The Doors, Nico and The Stooges among others.

• A version of "Jumbee Jamboree" appears in the 1957 movie "Calypso Joe".

 • Jamaican mento group The Wrigglers recorded "Back to Back" for their 1958 album At The Arawak featuring Ernest Ranglin on guitar.

 • The Kingston Trio recorded "Zombie Jamboree" on their Stereo Concert album in 1958 and on their ...from the Hungry i album in 1959.

 • Harry Belafonte recorded five versions of the song (in 1962, 1964, 1966, 1972 and 1974). It first appeared on Belafonte's The Many Moods of Belafonte and later became one of his signature songs.

 • Lord Jellicoe and His Calypso Monarchs recorded a version of "Zombie Jamboree" in 1962.
• Peter Tosh recorded "Jumbee Jamboree" with The Wailers in 1965. It used the original lyrics of the song (not the Zombie ones), and also added a new chorus based on "De River Ben Come Dung" by Edric Connor (a traditional Jamaican mento song). It released as a 7-inch single and was included on the 1996 CD compilation The Toughest"...
-snip-
Italics are added to highlight the fact that in Caribbean culture "jumbies" are quite different from "zombies". In contrast, a "zombie" is a corpse that has been reanimated, especially by means of a supernatural power or spell.

The summary statement given for Example #5 provides information about the history of "kaiso" (calypso) as well as information about Lord Intruder's 1953 record, the first known recording of this song.

**
From http://www.mtvhive.com/2013/03/20/walking-dead-soundtrack-zombie-jamboree/
"In Caribbean folklore, jumbies, or jumbees, are evil spirits that can possess people. Sometime around 1953, a calypso singer from Tobago known as Lord Intruder (real name: Winston O’Conner) reportedly performed — and may or may not have recorded — a song called “Jumbie Jamberee,” about finding himself surrounded by dancing jumbies. Note that that’s Lord Intruder, not the earlier, more famous calypso star Lord Invader, who’s occasionally gotten credit for it. (The latter was responsible for writing one of the biggest calypso hits ever, “Rum and Coca-Cola,” an acerbic song about profiting from American G.I.s; here’s his original version.)"

**
SONG LYRICS: JUMBIE JAMBOREE
(as sung by Laurel Aitken)

Oh what a jumbie jamboree took place in a Kingston cemetry
Oh what a jumbie jamboree took place in a Kingston cemetry
Jumbies from up north of the island
Some of them are great calypsonians
Since the season was carnival
They ska together in Bakanal
And what they singing
And what they singing

Back to back, belly to belly. I dont care a damn
I dun dead already
Back to back, belly to belly that a jumbie jamboree

One female jumbie wouldn't behave
Look how she jumping on the grave
In one hand'e holding a qwart of rum
The next hand shes beating congo drum
The lead singer starts to make his rhyme
while othe jambies rock their bones in time
One bystander started to say
It was a sight to see jumbie break away

And what they singing

Back to back...

Left to right things was getting sweet
A bystander mash a jumbie feet
One jumbie raise his finger to one
He said mister take care you mashing me corn
The funniest thing I have ever seen
To see jumbie eating salt fish and ackee
I never see more marpy or gingerbeer
That took place at a jumbie parade last year

What they singing

Back to back...


Source: http://www.ska-talk.org/forum/index.php?topic=12714.0;wap2

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SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
These examples are given in chronological order according to their publishing dates on YouTube with the oldest dated example given first.

Example #1: LAUREL AITKEN-Jumbie Jamboree




therotatingchinmen, Uploaded on Apr 23, 2009
1966.

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Example #2: - Zombie Jamboree ala Harry Belafonte (Jamaica Bob)

JamaicaBobTV, Oct 28, 2009
-snip-
This video replaces one by another artist. That video is no longer available on YouTube.

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Example #3: Jumbie Jamboree



King Selewa and his Calypsonians, Oct. 6, 2016
-snip-
This examples replaces a sound file that is no longer available.

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Example #4: THE WAILERS - JUMBIE JAMBOREE



いちイチ, Aug 26, 2015

Hot Ska vocal

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Example #5: Jumbie Jamberee Calypso Performed by Antigua Joe



acoustcarchive, Uploaded on Aug 24, 2011

Heres Calypsonian Antigua Joe performing "Jumbie Jamberee" Jumbie Jamberee is a calypso song credited to Conrad Eugene Mauge Jr.[1] In 1953 Lord Intruder released the song as the B-side to Disaster With Police.[2] The song is also known as Zombie Jamboree and Back to Back. In the introduction to the Kingston Trio's version "Lord Invader and his Twelve Penetrators" are credited with the song instead of Lord Intruder.

Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of African slaves, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song. This forged a sense of community among the Africans, who saw their colonial masters change rapidly, bringing French, Spanish and British music styles to the island of Trinidad.

It is thought that the name "calypso" was originally "kaiso," which is now believed to come from Efik "ka isu" 'go on!' and Ibibio "kaa iso" 'continue, go on,' used in urging someone on or in backing a contestant.[2] There is also a Trinidadian term, "cariso" which is used to refer to "old-time" calypsos.[3] The term "calypso" is recorded from the 1930s onwards. The word was bastardized into "Calypso" when the early European settlers put the word into print. (Best known from Homer's epic, the Odyssey, Calypso was a nymph who enticed Odysseus into a cave for seven years.)

Kind Regards

Jim Clark
All rights are reserved on this video sound recording copyright Jim Clark 2011

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Example #6: Back to Back, Belly to Belly [10 inch] - The Charmer with the Johnny McCleverty Calypso Boys



TheRealDJGIBS Published on May 8, 2012

Digital archive of Monogram / Rhythm 78RPM single M-930 B;
Back To Back, Belly To Belly by The Charmer with the Johnny McCleverty Calypso Boys

℗1954 Monogram Records Inc. (USA) / Phonodisc Ltd. (Jamaica)
-snip-
Selected comments from this sound file's discussion thread:
TheRealDJGIBS, 2012
""Jumbie Jamboree" (aka Zombie Jamboree) was first performed by Lord Intruder at the 1953 Carnival in Port-of-Span, Trinidad. This is the first recorded version I am aware of. It was later covered by such artists as Lord Foodoos, The Wigglers, Kingston Trio, Harry Belafonte and others..."

**
Bikey Hendricks, 2013
"Big man chune...Louis Farakhan dis meh boy."

**
silverderf, 2013
"The Charmer was Louis Farrakhan ! True. Look it up."

**
TheRealDJGIBS
in reply to silverderf
"Ya that's a pretty well know fact, at least those who knew him as The Charmer. He was born Louis Wolcott and joined the NOI in 1955. He was later appointed the Muslim surname Farrakhan by Elijah Muhammad himself."
-snip-
Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is the leader of the Nation Of Islam, an African American religious group. Here's the summary statement from another sound file of this same record:
"Lord Charmer (Louis Farrakhan): The Charmer Back to Back, Belly to Belly Louis Farrakhan mento", vinyhilist, Uploaded on Sep 10, 2011 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SDoHciRlok
"Louis Farrakhan was born Louis Eugene Walcott in the Bronx and was raised in Boston's Roxbury West Indian community. His mother immigrated from St Kitts in the Twenties. His father was a New York Jamaican cab driver. Louis showed musical talent from an early age, became an accomplished violinist and performed on the Ted Mack Amateur Hour. And here is Mr Farrakhan, tearing it up on violin. http://youtu.be/7xvJlxqHh28

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Example #7: Harry Belafonte - Zombie Jamboree (Back to Back)



Harry Belafonte, May 19, 2026
-snip-
Artist: Harry Belafonte
Album: The Essential Harry Belafonte
Release: October 4, 2005
-snip-
This YouTube sound file replaces the one that was originally published in this post but is no longer available.  

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How Former President Obama Changed His Use Of The 2012 "Fired Up! Ready To Go" Chant In His Speech In Atlanta, Georgia During The 2026 Midterm Elections

LIVE: Barack Obama speaks at a rally with Jon Ossoff in Atlanta, Georgia

Associated Press, Streamed live on Oct 28, 2026

Watch live as former President Barack Obama attends a rally in Atlanta, Georgia, with Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff and Georgia gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post documents the change in Barack Obama's use of the words "Fired up! Ready to go” in some of his speeches during rallies for Democratic candidates in the United States 2026 midterm elections.

Instead of his previous use of  those words as a call & response chant, in his October 28, 2026 midterm speech in Atlanta, Georgia (and possibly at midterm rallies in other cities), former President Obama used those words as a question ("Are you fired up? Are you ready to go?") The rally attendees then responded to those questions with shouts of "Yes!" along with loud, enthusiastic applause.

The content of this post is presented for historical, political, and socio-cultural purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to former President Obama for his political and socio-cultural legacy. Thanks to Edith S. Childs for creating the "Fired up! Ready to go" chant. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube.  

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE "FIRED UP! READY TO GO" CHANT
SOURCE #1
From http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/04/the-story-of-fired-up-ready-to-go-119612.html
"The story of 'Fired up! Ready to go' by Byron Tau, April 4, 2012
"Late in the evening of November 5, 2012, towards the end of his final campaign speech of the 2012 Presidential campaign in Des Moines, Iowa, President Barack Obama re-told the story of the fired up/ready to go chant. He then told the crowd of 20,000 persons in attendance at that speech that he had invited the creator of that chant Edith S. Childs to join him & his wife Michelle in Iowa for that last campaign speech. However, President Obama said that Ms. Childs thanked him but said that she wouldn't be able to come to Iowa because she was going to be knocking on doors and helping to get people out to vote in North Carolina on election day November the 6th. President Obama said that showed that she was still fired up. He then led the people in the rally in that now iconic call & response chant:

"Fired up!"
(Fired up!")

"Ready to go!"
("Ready to go!")...

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SOURCE #2
From AI Overview
"Former President Barack Obama used his signature "fired up, ready to go" chant during late-October 2026 midterm campaign rallies to energize crowds for Democratic candidates.

Context of the Slogan in 2026

Campaign Trail Appearances: Obama revived the classic call-and-response chant during rallies ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections, appearing alongside candidates in key battleground areas like Detroit, Michigan and Georgia.”…
-snip-
This write-up continues with information about the origin of this “Fire Up! Ready to go” chant and Barack Obama’s past use of that chant. That information is covered in this 2026 pancocojams post https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/10/the-fired-up-ready-to-go-chant-comments.html  "The "Fired Up! Ready To Go!" Chant (Comments & Video) Complete reprint of a 2012 pancocojams post".

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THE TRANSCRIPTION OF THE PORTION OF THE VIDEO THAT IS SHOWCASED AT THE TOP OF THIS POST  WHEN FORMER PRESIDENT OBAMA USES THE WORDS "FIRED UP. READY TO GO"

[The time stamps for this portion of that video are from 42.16 to the end of that video.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAII15aXfUE

"But Georgia, I also know this.

This election can be a start because if we're willing to be turn out in big numbers across this state across

this country, if we're willing to vote for change up and down the ballot, then this election

might just mark the moment when we begin to leave our worst impulses behind and start aligning our politics with our highest ideals.

*So, I'm asking you right now, are you fired up? Are you ready to go?

Let's go make Keisha Lance Bottoms the next governor of Georgia.

Let's go re-elect your outstanding senator, John Ossoff.

Let's go get on the path to making this country everything that it can be.

Thank you and God bless you.

And may God bless the United States of America.

Come on."
-snip-
This transcription includes my correction of how these candidates' names were spelled in that video's transcript.

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTE
It occurs to me that former President Obama's use of the words "Fire up! Ready to go" as questions to the rally attendees rather than as a call & response chant may be an example of how Americans have come to view political rallies as spectator/theater much more than as participatory experiences. 

"Call and response" chants, by their definition, mean that the group is expected to participate in that vocalization. That participation is near equal if not exactly equal in importance to the vocalization of the caller (the person who leads that chant).

In contrast, rally attendees who respond with affirmations including applause to a question that is directed to them doesn't have the same measure of importance and energy output as as rally attendees being the respondents of a call & response chant.

And, with regard to my earlier use of the word "theater", it seems to me that -much more than in the past-attending political rallies is a form of entertainment more than a way that attendees get informed, re-energized, and motivated to take a political action or actions (or- to use the words of that chant- to get "fired up" and ready to go".)

Another-much less important- example of this change from active participant to spectator/audience is the way that sport cheers occur/ed in standard American cheerleading in contrast to the way that sport cheers occur in African American stomp & shake cheerleading. In what I sometimes refer to as "Go Team Go!" standard cheerleading, the cheerleaders spell or say a word, and on cue, the crowd repeats that letter or word. In contrast, in stomp and shake cheerleading, the cheerleaders perform their cheer routines with no expectation or requirement that the crowd does anything more than respond with claps or yells at the end of that performance.

I'm not pontificating here on which way of cheering is better or worse. I'm just offering my reflections about the differences just as I'm thinking about the differences between the use or non-use of participatory call & response chants. I'll leave it to another pancocojams post or to others to speculate about what these differences and changes mean.

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The "Fired Up! Ready To Go!" Chant (Comments & Video) Complete reprint of a 2012 pancocojams post

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is a complete reprint of a 2012 pancocojams post with this title. This reprint includes the comment that I wrote that is the only comment in the discussion thread for that post.

This 2012 post remains in this pancocojams blog.

Comments to that post and this 2026 pancocojams post are welcome.

Also, click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2026/10/how-former-president-obama-changed-his.html for a closely related 2026 pancocojams post entitled "How Former President Obama Changed His Use Of The 2012 "Fired Up! Ready To Go" Chant In His Speech In Atlanta, Georgia During The 2026 Midterm Elections."

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The reprint of the 2012 pancocojams post begins here:

This pancocojams post showcases the story of the call & response chant "Fired Up! Ready To Go!" that then candidate Senator Barack Obama adopted for his 2008 United States Presidential campaign.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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COMMENTS ABOUT THE FIRED UP READY TO GO CHANT
From http://www.politico.com/politico44/2012/04/the-story-of-fired-up-ready-to-go-119612.html
The story of 'Fired up! Ready to go'
By BYRON TAU 4/4/12 12:29 PM EDT

"In honor of the one year anniversary of the kickoff of the 2012 Obama campaign, Chicago has released a video telling the story of the 2008 chant "Fired Up! Ready to go."

The video tells the tale of a 2007 Greenwood, S.C. rally where a supporter named Edith S. Childs helped create a chant that would set the tenor of the 2008 campaign.

"I'm Edith S. Childs from Greenwood, S.C. and I'm the one that got Barack Obama fired up," Childs says in the video".
-snip-
Late in the evening of November 5, 2012, towards the end of his final campaign speech of the 2012 Presidential campaign in Des Moines, Iowa, President Barack Obama re-told the story of the fired up/ready to go chant. He then told the crowd of 20,000 persons in attendance at that speech that he had invited the creator of that chant Edith S. Childs to join him & his wife Michelle in Iowa for that last campaign speech. However, President Obama said that Ms. Childs thanked him but said that she wouldn't be able to come to Iowa because she was going to be knocking on doors and helping to get people out to vote in North Carolina on election day November the 6th. President Obama said that showed that she was still fired up. He then led the people in the rally in that now iconic call & response chant:

"Fired up!"
(Fired up!")

"Ready to go!"
("Ready to go!")

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FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1 : Obama: "Fired Up? Ready To Go!"



DemRapidResponse, Uploaded on Nov 4, 2008

Manassas, Virginia, 11/3/08

Obama: Finally we get to Greenwood. We pull up -- first of all, you don't know you're in Greenwood right away when you get to Greenwood, there aren't a lot of tall buildings there. We pull up to a small building, a field house in the park. We go inside. And lo and behold, after an hour and a half drive, turns out there are twenty people there. Twenty people, and they all look kind of damp and kind of sleepy, like maybe they aren't really excited to be there either. But you know, I am a professional. Ive got to do what I got to do. [applause] So I go around, I'm shaking hands, I'm saying how ya doing, what are ya doing? [applause] Wait, wait. As I go around the room suddenly I hear this voice cry out behind me, "Fired Up!" And I'm shocked. I jump up. I dont know what's going on. But everybody else acts like this is normal and they say, "fired up." Then I hear this voice say, "ready to go!" And the other twenty people in the room, they act like this happens all the time, they say ready to go. I don't know what's going on. So I look behind me, and there's this small woman, about sixty years old, a little over five feet. It looks like she just came from church, got a big church hat. [laughter] And she's standing there and she looks at me and shes smiling. And she says, "fired up!"

Turns out she is a city councilwoman from Greenwood who also moonlights as a private detective -- I'm not making this up. [laughter] And it turns out she is famous for her chant. She does this wherever she goes, she says "fired up!" and everybody says "ready to go, ready to go." So for the next five minutes she proceeds to do this, "fired up" everybody says "ready to go." And I'm standing there and I'm thinking that I am being outflanked by this woman here. She's stealing my thunder. I look at my staff, they shrug their shoulders, they don't know how long this is going to go.

But here's the thing, Virginia -- after a minute or so, I'm feeling kind of fired up. [applause] I'm feeling like I'm ready to go. So I join in the chant. And it feels good. And for the rest of the day, even after we left Greenwood, even though it was still raining, even though I was still not getting big crowds anywhere, even though we hadn't gotten the endorsements of the people we were hoping for, somehow I felt a little lighter, I felt a little better. I'd see my staff, Id say, are you fired up? Theyd say we're fired up boss, are you ready to go?

Heres my point, Virginia -- that's how this thing started. It shows you what one voice can do. One voice can change a room; and if a voice can change a room, it can change a city; and if it can change a city it can change a state; and if change a state, it can change a nation; and if it can change a nation, it can change the world! Virginia, your voice can change the world tomorrow! [applause] In 21 hours, if you are willing, if you are willing to endure some rain, if you are willing to drag that person you know who was not going to vote to the polls, if you're willing to organize and volunteer in the offices, if you are willing to stand with me, if you are willing to fight with me, I know that your voice will matter.

So I've just got one question for you, Virginia. Are you fired up?
["Yeah"]
Are you ready to go?
["Yeah"]
Fired up?
["Fired Up!"]
Ready to go?
["Ready to Go!"]
Fired up?
["Fired Up!"]
Ready to go?
["Ready to Go!"]
Fired up?
["Fired Up!"]
Ready to go?
["Ready to Go!"]

Virginia, let's go change the world. Thank you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
-snip-
This transcription was given in the video summary but was reformatted for this post with minor punctuation corrections.

****
Example #2: The Story of "Fired up! Ready to go!" - Obama for America 2012



BarackObamadotcom, Published on Apr 4, 2012

"Edith S. Childs is the one that got Barack Obama fired up.

While attending a small campaign event in Greenwood, South Carolina, then-Senator Obama first heard the chant "Fired up! Ready to Go!".

As then-Senator Obama shared in his pre-election night speech in Virginia:

"After a minute or so I'm feeling kind of fired up. I'm feeling like I'm ready to go! So I joined in the chant. And it feels good.

And for the rest of the day, even after we left Greenwood, I'd see my staff and I'd say,

'Are you fired up?'

They'd say 'We're fired up boss. Are you ready to go?'

I'd say, 'I'm ready to go.'

So some people start putting 'Fired up! Ready to go!' on their shirts. Some people start putting 'Fired up! Ready to go!' on signs. Everybody's saying 'Fired up!' and 'Ready to go!'

It shows you what one voice can do. One voice can change a room. And if a voice can change a room it can change a city. And if it can change a city it can change a state. And if it can change a state it can change the nation. And if it can change the nation it can change the world.

Your voice can change the world."

April 4th, 2012 is the one year anniversary of the 2012 campaign.

Help President Obama stand up for working Americans. Join this campaign now. https://my.barackobama.com/firedupreadytogovid">https://my.barackobama.com/firedupreadytogovid"

****
ADDENDUM
[revised 11/9/2012]
Structure
The "Fired up! Ready to go!" chant is characteristic of African Americans' use of call & response statements in every day conversation as well as in vocal & instrumental music.

There are two types of call & response chants. Some call & response sayings are constructed so that the second part - the response - completes the first part - the call. An example of this is the saying "God is good". Those persons conversant in African American culture know that they are supposed to respond "All the time". I refer to this kind of call & response chant as a "completion chant".

From the video of this chant, "Fired Up! Ready to go" isn't voiced as a completion chant, but an "echo chant". The leader calls out "Fired up!" and another person or the group responds by repeating those same words. The leader then calls out "Ready to go!" and those words are repeated by the respondents. However, it's possible that "Fired up!" "Ready to go!" could also be said as a completion chant.

These two basic forms of call & response chants - "completion chants" and "echo chants" - are also found in call & response vocal and instrumental music. The next time you hear examples of call & response in African American music, in other music from Africa, in the African Diaspora, or elsewhere see if you can identify which form of call & response the vocalists are singing or playing.

**
How Ms. Child's Performed This Chant
In the video given above as Example #2 -as well as on her guest appearance on the Lawrence O'Donnell talk show on MSNBC - Ms. Child's chanted "Fired up! Ready to go!" two times with the same notes, but on the third & fourth repetition, she used a higher note* to chant the "fired up" line while chanting the "ready to go" line with the same note that she had previously used. Of course, this doesn't mean that this is the only way that this chant can be performed.

*This terminology may be wrong as I'm not a musician. But the point is that her voice went up the third & fourth time she chanted the words "fired up".

**
Definitions
Here's a vernacular definition of "fired up"

From http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080103005628AAtZUWv What does "fired up" mean [in English]?"

"get started
boot up the computer
load the software

fired up usually refers to get yourself started.
energized

i think its an idiom. phrase used by a culture"
-Barbara, 2007

**
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONS OF CHANTS IN GENERAL AND THE "FIRED UP! READY TO GO" CHANT IN PARTICULAR
As documented by their use in civil rights demonstrations and political rallies, chants help to unify the people who are saying those words. And as also demonstrated by their religious and spiritual use, chants help to focus the chanters' attention and help to re-energize them.

Edith S. Childs' explanation of the reasons why she started the "Fired up! Ready to go!" chant during then Senator Obama's visit to her Greenwood, South Carolina illustrates the above-mentioned psychological functions of that chant.

The psychological importance of the "Fired up! Ready to go!" chant is also illustrated by President Obama's points about how that chant's repeated words helped energize him, and how he & his campaign team's subsequently used the "Fired up! Ready to go!" chant to boost their morale.

-snip-
It's a mark of President Obama's political savvy that he recognized the importance of political chants and the "Fire up! Ready to go!" chant in particular to energize himself and to energize his base.

**
Update - 11/7/2012 1:30 PM
People being "fired up & ready to go" resulted in the re-election of President Obama & Vice President Biden, as well as the re-election and election of a large number of Democrats. Congratulations!!

**
As the result of reading a post about this election, I came across the use of the phrase "fired us up". "To get people fired up" means to anger them. People who are angry may be described as having "fire in their bellies". And that "fire" (anger) may cause them to say or do something which may be needed.

An example is what happened in Florida and Ohio as a result of the Republican Governor's and the Republican Secretary of State's efforts to disenfranchise likely Democratic voters. In those states, those officials instituted various voter suppression tactics, including reducing the number of days and hours for early voting. This caused very long lines for voters on those specified early voting days and on election day. The idea was that in doing so, fewer Black people and Brown people (Latinos/Latinas) would vote because such long lines would discourage them. However, Black people and Brown people discouraged from voting, and other people remained in those long lines for three, four, five, and more hours to vote. These people may have already been "fired up and ready to go" (motivated to vote Democratic). But those obvious voter suppression tactics resulted in them being "fired up" (angry) and as a result of that anger, those Black people and Brown people and people of other races/ethnicity were even more determined to go out to vote and remain in those long lines to vote Democratic. My thanks to them!

****
RELATED LINK

Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9gWrWMM5Mc&feature=plcp for President Obama Full Speech in Des Moines, Iowa (11/5/12)

****
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to Edith S. Childs and President Barack Obama for their fired up & ready to go energy, vision, endurance, and commitment to make the United States and the world a better place for all.

Thanks also to the Obama Presidential campaign for producing and uploading this video and for all the other work that they did to help elect then Senator Obama and to help re-elect President Obama.

We are fired up and ready to go!

****
REPRINT OF MY COMMENT THAT IS GIVEN IN THAT 2012 POST'S DISCUSSION THREAD:

Azizi PowellNovember 6, 2012 at 1:37 AM

The comments in my Addendum to this post aren't meant to distract from the importance and motivational aspects of the "Fired Up! Ready to to go" chant.

However, as a community folklorist, I'm interested in documenting, sharing information, and hopefully promoting discussion about the structure & different uses of call & response chants.

I also don't mean to imply that what I refer to as "completion call & response chants" and "echo call & response chants" are the only possible forms of chants.

A non-standard form of call & response chant that I've noticed occurs in a form of children's informal playground cheer that I've named "foot stomping cheers". A signature form of that cheer is that the "call" is actually from the group, and the response is from an individual in the group. The term I use for this form of call & response is "group/consecutive soloist" ("consecutive" because the cheer is repeated either exactly-except for identifying information such as the soloist's name or nickname- or the cheer is repeated with a relatively fixed rhyming lines until every member of the group has one turn as the soloist.

For more information and examples of "Foot Stomping Cheers", visit this page of my cultural website:

October 30, 2016 Update: I've deleted the link for the page on foot stomping cheers that was part of my multi-page cocojams.com website. Here's a link to a comparable pancocojams post:

https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/an-overview-of-foot-stomping-cheers.html "An Overview Of Foot Stomping Cheers (Part I- Characteristics, Sources, & Videos)". The link to Part II of that series is given in that post.]

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