Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest revision: (title change) January 12, 2021
This pancocojams post features some examples of children's parodies of "I Believe I Can Fly" (I Got Shot By The FBI") from the United States and from Jamaica.
Information about R. Kelly's 1996 pop/R&B song "I Believe I Can Fly" is included in this post along with my analysis of some differences between the United States versions of these rhymes and the Jamaican versions of these rhymes.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to R. Kelly for composing the song "I Believe I Can Fly". Thanks also to those who contributed examples and/or videos that are featured in this post.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/10/childrens-parodies-of-i-believe-i-can_2.html for a 2013 pancocojams post entitled Children's Parodies Of "I Believe I Can Fly" (text & video examples)
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "I BELIEVE I CAN FLY"
"I Believe I Can Fly" is a 1996 song written, produced and performed by American singer R. Kelly, from the soundtrack to the 1996 film Space Jam. It was originally released on November 26, 1996, and was later included on Kelly's 1998 album R.
In early 1997, "I Believe I Can Fly" reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100; it was kept from the number one spot by Toni Braxton's "Un-Break My Heart". Although Kelly has had two number one songs on the pop chart, "I Believe I Can Fly" is his most successful single. It reached the number-one spot of the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and remained there for six non-consecutive weeks, keeping "Un-Break My Heart" from the top position of that chart for four of those weeks. "I Believe I Can Fly" also topped the charts in eight countries (including the United Kingdom), has won three Grammy Awards, and was ranked number 406 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004. The music video was directed by Kelly with Hype Williams.[1]
[...]
Parodies
In the 1999 episode "The Best of Both Worlds" of the animated TV series KaBlam!, in the Life with Loopy segment, the song was spoofed as "I (Don't) Believe I Can Fly."
In 2013, the song was parodied by sports radio show Tim & Sid, spoofing the song as "I Believe in Masai", in reference to Toronto Raptors General Manager Masai Ujiri.
In 2016, the song was parodied as "I'm Convinced I Can Swim" by "Art Smelly" from the soundtrack to the hit film Earth Jelly in an episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt."...
-snip-
"I Believe I Can Fly" children's parodies are based on the chorus of R. Kelly's 1996 song:
[Chorus]
I believe I can fly
I believe I can touch the sky
I think about it every night and day
Spread my wings and fly away
I believe I can soar
I see me running through that open door
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
I believe I can fly
Source: https://genius.com/R-kelly-i-believe-i-can-fly-lyrics
****
EXAMPLES OF CHILDREN'S PARODIES OF "I BELIEVE I CAN FLY" FROM THE UNITED STATES
Excerpt for Example #1, these examples are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
Example #1:
I believe I can fly.
I got chased by the FBI. (or less often "I'm being chased by the FBI").
It's all because of those collards greens
that I ate with those chicken wings.
I believe I can fly.**
See me running through that open door.
I believe I can fly.
I believe I can fly.
-African American boys & girls (ages 7-12), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, collected by Azizi Powell, 1999
-snip-
This example is the first time that I heard of any parody version of "I Believe I Can Fly". I collected this version during a cultural presentation that I conducted in 1999 at a children's recreation center in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As a prelude to my presentation of traditional, adapted traditional, and contemporary African American game songs and cheers I asked the children in attendance what game songs they like to sing or play. Parodies of "I Believe I Can Fly" was the most popular song that was mentioned and the most enthusiastically sung by boys and girls in attendance of these cultural sessions in various (mostly Black) Pittsburgh neighborhoods from 1999 to about 2003.
The parodies I heard in Pittsburgh were always the same as or very similar to the one given above. All of those examples had the same tune and tempo as the chorus to R. Kelly's record*. No body movements such as individual hand clapping, partner hand clap routines, jumping, or dancing accompanied the singing of these parodies.
I never learned how these parodies became so widely known among these children. They just said they made it up or they learned it from hearing other children sing it.
*Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIQn8pab8Vc for the official YouTube video of
R Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly".
**Added October 4, 2018:
In a number of "I Believe I Can Fly" children's parodies this line is given as "I believe I can soar". The word "soar" rhymes with the word "door" in the subsequent line in this example and in many other examples. However, the boys and girls in this group (and some others) may not have known the word "soar" and therefore repeated the line "I believe I can fly".
**
Example #2:
I believe can fly I got shot by the fbi
mari, Published on Jun 25, 2014
Mari and mike
-snip-
[Here's my transcription of this video, written in poetry/song line format instead of the paragraph form that is used most of the time for online comments]
"I believe I can fly
I got shot by the FBI
All I wanted is some chicken wings, cornbread, and collard greens
I believe I can soar
I got a whoopin at the grocery store
I told my daddy I can't take no more
I got shot by the FBI"
**
Example #3:
"I believe I can fly, got shot by the FBI, all I wanted was a bag of chips, then they shot off my dangling bits..."
-Daniela Lopez, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArMTpyrncak [video given above]
**
Example #4:
"@Daniela Lopez When I was 5 it was, I believe i can fly, i got shot by the FBI, all i wanted was a bag of chips, then hit my sister in the bits
-IA Gaming, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArMTpyrncak [video given above]
**
Example #5
"I believe I can fly I got shot by the FBI all I wanted was some Burger King but instead they gave me chicken wings I believe I can soar got a whoopin at the grocery store I told my daddy I can't take it no more I got shot by the FBI"
-Gavin Walsh, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArMTpyrncak [video given above]
**
Example #6:
"I believe I can fly, I got shot by the FBI, All I wanted was a chicken wing, From McDonald's or Burger King, I still believe I can fly, I got caught by the Pepsi Guy, All I wanted was a Mountain Dew, Then he shot me with his 42, I'll always believe I can fly, Until the day I die, A clown hit me with a pie, After I told him to go die, I believe I could soar, I got killed by a open door, All I needed was 20 cents, For a package of Junior Mints.
That's the version I like!!"
-fireland47, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUxEagMd8m0
**
Example #7:
"I believe I can fly, then I got shot by the FBI, all I wanted was a chicken wing, from KFC or Burger King. I believe I can soar, then I got hit with the kitchen door.
I love how everyone has their own special versions :)))"
-King Melik's Broadcast, 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUxEagMd8m0
**
Example #8:
"I believe I can fly I got shot by the pizza guy all I wanted was some onion rings or some mc Donald’s or Burger King I believe I can sore my mamma slapped me at the grocery store even though I was 34"
-FAKEJAKEPAUL TEAM 10, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUxEagMd8m0
**
Example #9:
"The version we sang was I believe I can die. Got shot by the FBI. All I wanted was some chicken wings. Some corn bread and some collard greens. I believe I can sore. Got a beaten in the grocery store."
-Purple Capricorn, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUxEagMd8m0
**
Example #10:
"real version: I believe I can fly I got shot by the FBI all I wanted was a chicken wing cornbread and collard greens I believe I can soar I got hit by the kitchen door
-Angela Evans, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUxEagMd8m0
****
Example #11:
"I learned it like this ~ I believe I can fly, I got shot by the FBI, all I wanted was a chicken wing; from McDonalds and Burger King. I ended up in the hospital. And all they gave me was a popsicle. I looked beside me in the garbage can, and inside there was a naked man."
-jasmine chan, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArMTpyrncak
**
Example #12:
This is how I learned it. I believe I can fly, I got shot down by the FBI all i wanted was a chicken wingggggg, but i didn't get my chicken wing. So i went to burger king I asked for a side of fries, but i didn't get my side of fries. all i wanted was a side of fries, so i blew up burger king yeah yeah i blew up burger king. I believe I can fly i got shot down by the FBI so i went to the hospital all i got was a popsicle and i looked in a garbage can and i saw a naked man. All i wanted was a chicken wing
-MaddieIsVeryBored, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArMTpyrncak
**
Example #13:
"I believe I can fly I got shot by the FBI all I wanted was some chicken wings from McDonald's or Burger King and hit my mom with the frying pan she hit me back with the minivan i ended up in the hospital then I got a free popsicle 😄😄😄😄😂😂😂"
-Shanielia Williams, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArMTpyrncak
**
Example #14:
"I made another version that's way better than guys I believe I could fly I got shot by the FBI all I was trying to do is playing my PS4 but my mom came screaming at my door"
-these pistolsonly aQ, 2018
-snip-
Ps4 = Sony PlayStation 4 Slim [video game console]
**
Example #15:
i believe i can fly got shot by the fbi, all i wanted was a chicken wing, but then they shot me in the dingaling.iwent to the hostpital, and they replaced it with a popcicle, i got hit by a metal door, and that hurt so much more.
Source(s):
boys in my classes still sing it
-Myra L, 2009, https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090624005743AAxbczS
**
Example #16:
"I believe I can fly. I got shot by the FBI. All I wanted was a chicken wing, mashed potatoes and collard greens. I believe I can soar. My momma beat me at the grocery store. I believe I can fly. I believe I can fly. 🦅
-Sandy Rivera, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIQn8pab8Vc [official video of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly"]
**
Example #17:
"I believe I can Fly, I got shot by the FBI,My Mom hit me with a frying pan, I hit her with a trash Can, I believe I can fly
-Marsh VEVO, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIQn8pab8Vc [official video of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly"]
**
Example #18:
I Believe I can fly I got shot by an fbi all a wanted was a chicken wing a cross the street from Burger King I believe I can fly I believe I can fly
-Yanelba Reyes, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIQn8pab8Vc [official video of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly"]
**
Example #19:
"I believe I can fly,
Got shot by the pizza guy,
All I wanted was some onion rings,
From McDonald's or Burger King,
I believe I can soar,
My mom slapped me in the grocery store,
Even though I'm 24,
I still got an imaginary dinosaur"
-itznajah, 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIQn8pab8Vc [official video of R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly"
**
Example #20:
"I believe i can fly
I got shot by the fbi
All i wanted was a chicken wing
So i blew up burger king
I believe i can soar
I got hit by an apple cooooore
I hit my dog with a frying pan
He hit me back with a mini-vaaaaaaaaan!"
-snoopdawgproductions, Published on Nov 8, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYlVpjke9Vs
****
EXAMPLES OF CHILDREN'S PARODIES OF "I BELIEVE I CAN FLY" FROM JAMAICA
Example #1
"I know this. I believe i can fly I believe i can touch the sky i been shot by an fbi but the fbi never had a gun so he shot me with a easter bun but easter bun never had no cheese so he shot me with a gung peas gung peas never have no seed so he shot me with a mango seed mango seed never have no hair so he shot me with beer but beer never have cork so he shot me a bobocloth"
Tyrone Sings13, 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArMTpyrncak [video given above]
**
Example #2
"i believe i can fly i got shot by an FBI the fbi never have nuh gun so him shot me with a easter bun the easter bun never i have nuh cheese so shot me with a gungo peas the gungo peas never have nuh seed so him shot me with a mango seed the mango seed never have nuh hair so him shot me with a red strip beer the red strip never have nuh cork so him shot with a bomboclat
-Faith, 2013, https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090624005743AAxbczS
****
NOTES ABOUT SOME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SOME UNITED STATES AND SOME JAMAICAN EXAMPLES OF CHILDREN'S PARODIES OF "I BELIEVE I CAN FLY"
UNITED STATES VERSIONS:
As of October 3, 2018, the Wikipedia article for "I Believe I Can Fly" makes no mention of the apparently widespread and long lasting (since 1999) custom among boys and girls in the United States of singing parodies of this song.
The earliest children's parodies of R. Kelly's song "I Believe I Can Fly" that I heard is from 1999. [Example #1 above]. Numerous versions of these parodies are found online, particularly in discussion threads for YouTube videos of R. Kelly's song or YouTube discussion threads of children singing those parodies. [Note that after February 2019, YouTube instituted a policy of disallowing comments on YouTube discussion threads for children's videos.]
**
Based on comments such as this one*, it appears that a number of children in the United States are still reciting parodies of "I Believe I Can Fly".
* "Ya it's still a huge parody in my school"
-krista lime, October 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIQn8pab8Vc [from the discussion thread for R kelly’s official YouTube video of "I Believe I Can Fly"]
**
It should be noted that my use of "children's parodies" refers to the fact that I've heard boys and girls ages 5 to 12 years old sing these songs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (from 1999 to around 2003). I have also seen videos of children reciting these examples and commenters mention that they remember reciting these examples in school or write that they are still reciting these parodies in school.
That said, it's also possible that children began to sing these parodies after hearing them or similar parodies that were sung by adults (for instance, children may have heard a parody of that song "in the 1999 episode "The Best of Both Worlds" of the animated TV series KaBlam!, in the Life with Loopy segment, the song was spoofed as "I (Don't) Believe I Can Fly." [as indicated in the Wikipedia article that is cited above). I haven't found a transcript of that segment, but note that no children's versions that I've heard or found online have the line "I don't believe I can fly". Also, in probable contrast to that 1999 television spoof, almost all of the children's parodies of "I Believe I Can Fly" feature "FBI" as the rhyme for the word "fly".
**
The usual format for these United States children's versions of "I Believe I Can Fly" appears to consist of a series of two line verses with the last word in the first line of each verse rhyming with the last word of the second line. However, the format that is used for Example #12 given above is the same as the format that is used for the two Jamaican examples given below.
**
None of the children's parodies of this song that I've heard or found online have the inspirational message that is found in R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" song.
**
Almost all of the children's parody examples refer to being shot by the FBI"(Federal Bureau of Investigation). The referent "FBI" rhymes with the word "fly". (Note that the older referent for FBI agents "G men" isn't used in any of these examples). However, by at least 2009, I've read a few references online in examples of these rhyme parodies to being shot by "the pizza guy" or "the grocery guy" instead of "the FBI".
**
A number of United States versions of children's parodies of "I Believe I Can Fly" include references to dishes that are considered "soul food" (African American associated food): chicken wings, cornbread, and collard greens. These references don't necessarily mean that these parodies originally were composed by African Americans as they could have easily been composed by a non-African American spoofing African American cultural traditions.
**
United States versions of children's parodies of "I Believe I Can Fly" contain a number of references to the widely known fast food restaurants Burger King, KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), and McDonalds.
**
United States versions of children's parodies of "I Believe I Can Fly" are much more violent now (in 2018) than they were in 1999. In addition to being shot by the fbi, children sing about getting a whooping (beating) from their mother or their father, being hit by their mother a frying pan or a trash can, and hitting her back, slapped by an open door, blew up Burger King, got hit by a minivan etc.
**
At some point (date?) examples of United States versions of children's parodies of "I Believe I Can Fly" started to include the sexual referents "dangling bits", hot me in the dingaling, a "naked man in a trash can.
****
JAMAICAN VERSIONS
I came across the Example of a Jamaican children's version of "I Believe I Can Fly" given as Example #1 in the Jamaican section above in the discussion thread for the video that is given as Example #1 above. I was surprised to read this version as I didn't know that parodies of "I Believe I Can Fly" were recited in Jamaica. After finding that example, I searched online for additional Jamaican or Caribbean examples of this parody and found one other example (given as Example #2 in the Jamaican section above.
Here's the only comment that was written in reply to Example #1:
"Tyrone Sings what u make no sense at all 😂😂🚹"
-Jeremiah Grant, 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArMTpyrncak [video given above]
**
The reason why Tyrone Sing13's version probably makes no sense to most people in the United States is that it is full of cultural referents from Jamaica that aren't known to people from the United States.
Here's the comment that I wrote on October 1, 2018 in response to Jeremiah Grant's comment
"+Jeremiah Grant, actually Tyrone Sings13 's example does make sense from a Jamaican (and possibly other Caribbean) standpoint. References to "easter buns" are found on various websites, including one that notes that "The Jamaican Spice Bun is eaten year-round however it is a must with cheese have during the Easter season.". "Gung peas" = "gungo peas", also known as "pigeon peas", "mango seeds" are self explanatory. Finally, I think it's likely that Trone Sings13 meant to write "so he shot me with a bobocloth". The probable meaning for "bobocloth" (more often also given as "bloodcloth" and a "bombocloth") is the cloths that were used before the invention of "maxi pads" and "tampons".
As a self-described community folklorist whose particularly interested in Black children's rhymes and cheers, I'm curious if kids or teens in Jamaica and elsewhere in the Caribbean sing this parody or other "I believe I can fly" parodies and if so, when they started doing so."
**
The two Jamaican examples of "I Believe I Can Fly" parodies that I found use what I call a "trading rhymes" format.
Here's an excerpt from a pancocojams post about trading rhymes http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/10/childrens-trading-rhymes-such-as-hush.html:
"Trading rhymes" is my term for a category of children's rhymes in which throughout the rhyme one defective item is traded (exchanged) for another item which also turns out to be defective. The last word in the first line of each verse rhymes or near rhymes with the last word in the second line:
Example:
Hush little baby, don't say a word,
Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird.
And if that mockingbird won't sing,
Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring.
Or the example includes internal rhymes within each trading item line:
Example:
Pie too sweet I wanna piece of meat
Meat too rough I wanna ride a bus
**
In the United States, probably the most widely known example of these rhymes is "Hush Little Baby, Don't Say A Word" (Papa's gonna buy you a mockingbird") which is given as Example #4 & Example #5 below.
The trading rhyme format that these Jamaican examples use is in contrast to every United States example of "I Believe I Can Fly" parodies that I've found except for Example #12 above.
Also in contrast to the United States versions of these parodies, some lines of the Jamaican versions of "I Believe I Can Fly" don't rhyme. Also, the two Jamaican examples aren't as violent as some of the United States examples. However, the inclusion of the word "bombocloth" ("bobocloth") in the Jamaican versions make those examples more gross than their United States counterparts.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
No comments:
Post a Comment