Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. - "The Alphabet" (A Stroll Song That Is Based On The African American Gospel Song "Since I Laid My Burdens Down")

UpCloseAndLovely, May 1, 2012

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.: FAMU's Beta Alpha Chapter Singing After Graduation in Spring 2012
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The stroll song that is the focus of this post begins at 1:22 in this video until the end of the video. My unofficial transcript of these lyrics is found below.

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Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a 2012 YouTube video of Beta Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. performing a gradution stroll that consists of the letters for the Greek alphabet. That stroll song has the same tune and some of the same  lyrics of the African American Gospel song "Glory Glory Hallelujah" ("Since I Laid My Burdens Down"). 

My unofficial transcript of that song is included in this post along with some performance notes. Additions and corrections are welcome.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to members of the Beta Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. who are featured in these video. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publisher of this video on YouTube. 
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Songs, chants, steps, hops, strolls, calls, and/or gestures that are associated with a historically Black Greek letter organization should never be performed by anyone who isn't a member of that specific sorority or fraternity.  

Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2022/03/glory-glory-hallelujah-since-i-laid-my.html for a pancocojams post entitled "Glory Glory Hallelujah Since I Laid My Burdens Down" (with historical information, a YouTube video, & three lyric examples)". 

The tune that is used for this Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. stroll song is the same as the tune that is usually used for "Since I Laid My Burdens Down". Also, the lyrics "since I laid my pledges down" is an adapted version of the lyrics "since I laid my burdens down".

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INFORMATION ABOUT ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC.
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_Kappa_Alpha
"Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (ΑΚΑ) is the first intercollegiate historically African American sorority.[4] The sorority was founded on January 15, 1908, at the historically black Howard University in Washington, D.C., by a group of sixteen students led by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle. Forming a sorority broke barriers for African-American women in areas where they had little power or authority due to a lack of opportunities for minorities and women in the early 20th century.[5] Alpha Kappa Alpha was incorporated on January 29, 1913.

The sorority is one of the nation's largest Greek-letter organizations, having more than 300,000 members in 1,024 chapters in the United States and several other countries.^[3][6] Women may join through undergraduate chapters at a college or university, or they may also join through a graduate chapter after acquiring an undergraduate or advanced college degree.^[7] "...

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PANCOCOJAMS EDITOR'S NOTES ABOUT THIS ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC. (AKA) SONG

[Additions and corrections are welcome.]

This song is part of a YouTube video of members of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) 's Beta Alpha chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. singing after that university's Spring 2012 graduation ceremony. The sorority members who just graduated wear customized kente cloth stoles that have the official colors of that sorority: salmon pink and apple green.(and other forms of pink and green). 

The portion of this video focuses on the stroll song introduced as "The Alphabet". The alphabet that is referred to in that song is the Greek alphabet that every person who pledges (joins) a Greek letter organization must learn. 

This AkA song has a call & response pattern. 

This video shows members of this chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. performing a stroll that consist of multiple songs. The sorors stand in a vertical line and stand still or "stroll" forward in a circlular manner while singing thesee songs.

Historically Black Greek letter organization (BGLO) strolls are usually performed to recorded music (usually Hip Hop/Rap or R&B). However, in this video, the only music is the women's voices, their synchronized bass sounding foot stomps, and their individual hand claps. The only other movement that is made while the women move around their self made circle is a "lean back" motion that they make on the word "down". 

The bass sounding foot stomps and individual hand claps that the women performed as well as the call & response structure of this "Alphabet" stroll song remind me somewhat of the performance activities of foot stomping cheers*, but not those cheers' words. 

I wasn't able to understand some of the "calls" that the lead singer said. As such, this is only a partial transcript.

In this video each song has its own distinct movements. The movements for "The Alphabet" song are given in parenthesis in my unofficial transcript of the lyrics.
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* Foot stomping cheers were recreational activities that were performed by girls around age six-12 years old (around late 1970s to around 2008). The foot stomping performance activity was very similar to steppin that was done by (mostly) African American girls and pre-teen girls from around the late 1970s to around 2008. "Introduce Yourself", "Shabooya Roll Call", and "L.O.V.E." are some examples of  foot stomping cheers.  Note that I've never observed or read about foot stomping cheers being done as strolls such as the one performed in this video.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/11/an-overview-of-foot-stomping-cheers.htmlfor an overview of foot stomping cheers for information about foot stomping cheers. 

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UNOFFICIAL  TRANSCRIPT OF THIS ALPHA KAPPA ALPHA SORORITY, INC SONG

Additions and corrections are welcome.

From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nwKCm-Tbfw&feature=emb_logo [beginning at 1:22 in this video] 

[Sorors stroll in a counterclockwise circular formation while singing, doing bass sound foot stomps, and individual hand claps. There is no record or live musical instrumentation.]

{Leader/Call - I say my sorors

Group/Response) - Yes

Caller/leader - Let’s do this 

Group- Yes

Leader - the Alphabet
[The sorors perform three bass sounding foot stomps followed by one clap. For the "clap", their hands going up and then down near the ground.

This beat routine continues throughout the entire song without stopping. The vertical line of sorors strolls forward each time they do this complete beat routine. In between the Greek alphabet that the group sings, the caller says some interjections that are sometimes indecipherable to me.  However, I added those words that I believe I heard.]  

Group - Alpha Beta

Gamma Zeta

Delta Epsilon

Zeta Eta Theta

Leader -Iota Kappa

Group- Iota Kappa

Lambda Mu

Caller- Sing it loud

Group -Nu Xi omicron

Leader- Sing it now

Group -Rho Sigma

Upsilon

Phi Chi Psi

Omega

Since we laid our pledges down [On the word "down", the sorors lean slightly back before continuing the stroll beat routine.]

I feel better

Oh so much better

Leader - Since what?

Group - Since we laid our pledges down

I feel better

Oh so much better

Caller- You did what?

Since we laid our pledges down.

Leader - Twenty pearls, y’all.

Group  -Twenty pearls

What special pearls

Leader - Since we did what?

Group - Since we crossed the burning sand.

Leader-  Twenty pearls

What special pearls

Leader - Since we did what?

Group - Since we crossed the burning sand.

Leader -  [Says something about the alphabet]

Group - Beta

Alpha [sorors do the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority signature call "skee wee"]

Alpha Kappa Alpha [Sorors do an elongated form of the "skee" beginning of AKA’s signature call]

 Beta

 Alpha [Sorors do the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority signature call "skee wee"]

 Alpha Kappa Alpha [Sorors do an elongated form of the skee beginning of AKA’s signature call]

Beta Alpha skee wee

Beta Alpha skee wee

Beta Alpha skee wee

Beta Alpha skee wee

Since we laid our pledges down.

Woo! [Sorors arop srolling, but remain standing in their straight vertical line. Sorors wave their hands in the air smiling.]
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Other members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. probably replace the Greek letters of their chapter with the "Beta Alpha skee wee etc." that is used in FAMU's version of this song.

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EXPLANATIONS OF CERTAIN TERMS IN THIS SONG

"crossed the burning sands"
From https://everythingwhat.com/what-does-crossing-the-burning-sands-mean
"The term “crossing the burning sands” describes pledging a Greek-letter organization and crossing over from being a pledge to becoming a full member."

**
pledge - A person who is going through the process of joining a Greek letter organization. That process is called "pledging".  "Hazing" used to be a large part of pledging, but hazing is prohibited now. 

"since we laid our pledges down" - since our pledge period ended and we became full members of that Greek letter organization. 

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sorors
"Sorors" (from the word "sorority" means "sisters". "Sorors" is a term that is used by historically Black Greek letter sororities to refer to members of that sorority as well as members of other historically Black Greek letter sororities. People who aren't members of a historically Black Greek letter organization shouldn't use the referent "soror" to address a member or members of those organizations. 

**
"twenty pearls"
From https://aka1908.com/about/quick-facts#:~:text=%E2%80%9CTwenty%20Pearls%E2%80%9D%3A%20Refers%20to,Flower%3A%20Pink%20Tea%20Rose
"Twenty Pearls - a term that refers to the Founders and Incorporators of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. "

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