Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams series showcases the original Gospel song “Corona Can’t Hold Me Down” by Keyla Richardson with her siblings as background singers.
My unofficial, partial transcription of this song is given in this post along with selected comments from this video's discussion thread.
The content of this post is presented for religious, health education, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Keyla Richardson and her siblings and all others who were involved in composing this song, making this video, and publishing it on YouTube.
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A number of commenters in this video's discussion thread used the present tense, African American Vernacular English term "sang". My definition of the African American Vernacular English use of "sang" is "to sing very well, particularly, to sing soulfully very well".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/02/linguistic-alert-another-verncular.html for a 2014 pancocojams post entitled "African American Vernacular English Meaning For The Words "Sang", "Sanging", And "Sanger" (with videos & comment examples)".
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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Keyla Richardson “Corona Can’t Hold Me Down”
Greg Lyons, Mar 28, 2020
Keyla Richardson and her siblings sing “Corona Can”t Hold Me Down” while “Staying Home”!
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Statistics as of April 11, 2020 at 8:00 AM EDT
total # of views- 32,705
total # of likes-1.1K
total # of dislikes-9
total # of comments-194
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This message is given on this video's page prior to the video itself:
COVID-19
Get the latest information from the CDC about COVID-19.
Learn More: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
See more resources on Google. [This is given as a hyperlink.]
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In the context of this song, I believe that "can't hold me down" means "to beat me"; "to conquer me"; to stop me from achieving my goals".
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PARTIAL LYRICS*- CORONA CAN'T HOLD ME DOWN
(as sung by Keyla Richardson & her siblings)
Lead extends word - Yeaaaaahhhh , hold me down
Group -Corona can’t hold me down
Lead – Yeah Corona
Group – can’t hold me down
Lead – Corona can’t hold me down
Group-Corona can’t hold me down
Lead- Yeaaaah, ain't no sickness or disease
Group -Corona can’t hold me down
Lead- Can’t hold me down
Group- Corona can’t hold me down
Lead extends word- Yeaaaaahhhh, hold me down
Group -Corona can’t hold me down
[...]
Lead - He’s gonna wrap His arms around me
Group-Corona can’t hold me down
Lead- It won’t be able to hold me.
Group- Hold me down
Lead - Corona can’t hold me down
Group - Corona can’t hold me down
Lead – Ain't no problem that God can’t solve
Group - Hold me down
Lead- You gotta believe it
Group- Corona can’t hold me down
[...]
Lead- I saw in the Bible
Group -Hold me down
Lead- That God can do anything
Group- Corona can’t hold me down
[...]
Lead – I know that no weapon formed against me
Group- Corona can’t hold me down
Lead- Can prosper ‘cause
Group- Corona can’t hold me down
[...]
Lead – Hold me
Group- Corona can’t hold me down
Lead- Hold me
Lead – Hold me
Group- Corona can’t hold me down
Lead - Hold me
Group - Corona can’t hold me down
[...]
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*This is my unofficial, partial transcript of this song. Additions and corrections are welcome.
I regret that I wasn't able to transcribe the complete song, but I think this partial transcription gives a sense of how this song goes. The remainder of the song follows this call & response pattern. The Lead's (caller's) lyrics while the Group's (responders) lyrics remain the same or basically the same. The Lead's lyrics are usually a "testifying" statement* (a statement attesting to God's power and grace). Near the end of this song the Lead speaks (gives a spoken testimony) and then she and the group go back to singing again.
*People singing this song could substitute or add any religious testifying statement for the ones that the Lead used.
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SELECTED COMMENTS FROM THIS VIDEO'S DISCUSSION THREAD
(All of these comments are from March 28, 2020 to April 11, 2010 at 8:33 AM. Numbers were added for referencing purposes only.)
1. Lia Bridgeforth
"Sangin it Claimin it! Corona can't hold me/us down! +Amen.🎁🌷"
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2. Quanica Silver
"Her voice makes you want to push through this virus!! Blessings"
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3. Brandi Brown
"This song should be the national anthem for this season. Straight anointed. GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY LADY!!!"
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4. Jas s
"This is how it should be done, build a following outside of church. I loved this do more fun living room concerts with just straight up singing and artistry"
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5. Laffy Taffy
"You betta sing That ViRUS AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️"
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6. Sharon Robinson
"In the MIGHTY NAME of JESUS, NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ME SHALL PROSPER!!! 👐👐👐
Y'all blessed my soul!!"
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7. kara D money
"Amen I know that’s right! No weapon ❤️"
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REPLY
8. Greg Lyons
"Amen! None at All! Bless You!! Please share!!"
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9. Yess Sirr
"That voice alone. Corona move on."
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10. Julie Brown
"Love it......nobody, I mean nobody m😠d but the Devil!
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11. Trey Williams
"I love it .. keep up good work .. we to strong 💪🏿"
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12. Q White
"Love her voice! What an anoited young lady!eyla Richardson and her siblings sing “Corona Can”t Hold Me Down” while “Staying Home”!"
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13. Cynthia Howell
"Good God from Zion! I can't stop listening. POWERHOUSE VOICE! Saaaaaaaannnnnnng!"
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14. Tiryan Roby
"Y'all need to put this on a CD"
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REPLY
15. Greg Lyons
"We are! Bless you! Please share!!"
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16. dwhite64dw
"Girl you got me shouting over here.Praise God"
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17. kara D money
"Amen I know that’s right! No weapon ❤️"
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18. E Cole
"Sang Baby Girl!! This blessed me today!!"
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19. Will Grandberry
"Love this yo!! Reminds me of my childhood 🤟🏽"
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20. Adon Martin
"SANG THE SONG, GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
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21. Lidia Jones
"Sing Richardson's!!!🎤🎶🎤🎶"
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22. C.Marie Said-It
"Hallelujah!!!!"
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23. Zora Dees
"Sing girl...amen"
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24. Christa Dawson
"Heyyyyyy Gloryyyyyy!!!!"
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25. demejj
"Yes!!! Praise God! I love a worship sanging family!!! ❤️ 🙌🏼"
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26. Kimberly Trawick
"You go Girl.🌹 This bless my soul."
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27. K Lewis
"Good mornting believers! This was the opening song for my church service here in my bedroom this morning! Heyyyy! We serve a mighty God...and IT...whatEVER...IT is (Corona, sickness, job loss, divorce, emotional distress, psychological turmoil)...and YES, even POLLEN! It can’t hold YOU down! Can’t hold ME down! Can’t hold US down! Thank you Sister Richardson! Glory be to GOD! Praise JESUS! Amen...🙏🏽"
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The portion of this comment that starts with "We serve a mighty God" and ends with "Can't hold us down" may have been the spoken part that Keyla Richardson said in that video (I heard her say something about "allergies"). If not, this is a good example of the term "testifying" as it refers to Christianity.
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28. Jimmy Creates
"But it can. Lol be safe y’all."
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29. T. F. Sims
"Stay Safe...Stay Home....Stay Social Distance"
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30. Heaven Horne
"Yasssss!!!!! Ma’am sangggg it 🙏🏽🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾💜💜"
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31. Shannon White
"Where would I find background music like the one in this video????"
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REPLY
32. sxm76
"I'm sure they made it up themselves. It's basic old school gospel. If you have a computer, you can make it yourself. It's only 2 part harmony."
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REPLY
33. Shannon White
"How would I do that with a computer?"
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REPLY
34. sxm76
"@Shannon White I downloaded a program called Audacity. It allows you to record your voice multiple times and add music.....there may be other programs as well."
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35. Adon Martin
"SANG THE SONG, GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
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36. Love Lee
"Saaang!!!!"
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37. Jessica Matthews
"Girl you betta sang!!"
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38. Monica Glover
"Lord I love Black people!"
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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Although I agree with the commenters who praised this song, unfortunately-unlike the other pancocojams post that showcase songs about Covid-19 such as Deacon Otis Winenine's "Don't Let Corona Get On You" and "Stay Home" and "Pamela Pupkin's Covid 19 Quarantine Video & Song"*, Keyla Richardson's song doesn't include any education about safety recommendations such as staying home, maintaining social distance, and frequently washing your hands with soap & water for at least 20 seconds.
ReplyDelete*Google search these titles +pancocojams, or enter these titles in pancocojams' internal search engine.
This is unfortunate because in the United States, the numbers of Black Americans getting Covid-19, and dying from Covid-19 have been documented to be quite high in proportion to our percentage in that nation.
Here's a quote from Denise Oliver Velez's April 11, 2020 daily kos' article entitled "No one should be surprised about COVID-19's impact on the black community". https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/11/1936149/-No-one-should-be-surprised-about-COVID-19-s-impact-on-the-black-community:
“When white folks catch a cold, black folks get pneumonia,” is an old saying in my community, which is proving to be all too true in these days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tragically, and alarmingly, I’ve seen that proverb quoted all too frequently in the last few weeks, by journalists, black pundits and politicians, health officials, and regular folks on social media. As data begins to be collected and released on the disparate impact of the epidemic on black Americans, we are seeing higher rates of both infection and deaths.
What the data we currently have (as of April 9) show is beyond disturbing; however, for me, it did not come as a surprise. Medical anthropologists like myself, sociologists and public health researchers have relentlessly addressed racial disparities—in access to health care, the environmental effects of housing segregation, black maternal and infant mortality, racism as a stress factor, bad diet and food deserts in poorer communities—for decades. Black Americans have been dying early at high rates for a long time. it is just now being starkly illustrated, but hopefully not ignored—again."....