tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post386552003595663999..comments2024-03-28T04:13:55.692-04:00Comments on pancocojams: O Berta (Prison Work Song) With LyricsAzizi Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-59742860279347123672018-09-13T13:00:17.229-04:002018-09-13T13:00:17.229-04:00Pancocojams Editor's Note: When I deleted a co...Pancocojams Editor's Note: When I deleted a comment that Lorenso Vanelli wrote that he himself had deleted, it removed the reply to that comment. Thankfully, I had saved that on Word before I pressed the delete button. <br /><br />Here's that comment:<br /><br />Lorenzo Vanelli September 13, 2018 at 12:25 PM<br />This comment has been removed by the author.<br /><br />Replies<br /><br />Lorenzo Vanelli September 13, 2018 at 12:40 PM<br />(previous comment removed to correct a couple of errors in spelling)<br /><br />Dear Azizi Powell,<br /><br />I will do my best and try. Here it is.<br />A side note: the last two stanzas are very hard, the parts in (round parentheses) are a suggestion of what I feel like could be there, but am not sure about. The very last stanza is also weird in the way the singers seem to hit a hard spot in the second verse, the one with the word "hang", which by the way you were right in your transcription, I hear it too now.<br />If you think about it, that's a verse that could get the singers in real trouble. They were black men imprisoned in a Jim Crow state farm singing to a white researcher from Washington D.C. and in the presence of the white guards overlooking the recording, who had absolute power over them and could hold them accountable for every single world they let out. I have the feeling that the singers stumbled "on purpose", as the line they had in mind was not convenient at that moment, and could have got them in trouble, so they murmured something nearly un-intelligible instead. But the key words "catch you" and "hang you" are more or less audible.<br />Also, the last repeated emistichs "when I'm down", the way the singers spell "down" sounds slightly off. Could it be "found" instead of "down"? I left the two options in the text, feel free to pick the one you deem more correct.<br />I also slightly modified the graphic subdivision in verses to be more consistent with the music patterns. Apart from that, the greatest majority of the content is the same that you suggested.<br /><br /><br />O Berta, well, o Lord, gal<br />Lord, Berta, well, Lord, gal, well<br /><br />Ain’t that Berta coming down that road, well<br />She walk like Berta but she walks too slow, well<br />She walks too slow, baby, she walks too slow, well<br />She walk like Berta but she, she walks too slow, well<br /><br />Lord, Berta, Lord, gal<br />Lord, Berta, Lord, gal, well<br /><br />I've been calling Berta, buddy, the whole day long, well<br />And how can she hear me when she, she ain’t at home, well<br />She ain’t at home, baby, she ain’t at home, well<br />And how can she hear me when she, she ain’t at home, well<br /><br />Lord, Berta, Lord, gal<br />[Spoken: Hum, hum, hum it!]<br />Lord, Berta, Lord, gal, well<br /><br />Saturday when you marry, marry to the railroad man, well<br />Saturday when you marry, marry to the railroad man, well<br />Saturday when you marry, marry to the railroad man, well<br />(he'll have) on Sundays a dollar to lay in your hand, well<br />To lay in your hand, baby, to lay in your hand, well<br />(he'll have) on Sundays a dollar to lay your hand, well<br /><br />Saturday when you marry, don’t marry no, no farmin man,<br />Saturday when you marry, don’t marry no farmin man, well<br />‘Cause Saturday when you marry, don’t marry no farmin men-eh<br />‘Cause he never did have money for to, to lay in your hand, well<br />To lay in your hand, baby, lay in your hand<br />Never did have money for to, to lay in your hand, well<br /><br />Lord, Berta, Lord, gal<br />Lord, Berta, Lord, gal, well<br /><br />(Bury 'em deep) when they, they start gettin' down, well<br />(Mama won't never 'low to, to roll em down, well)<br />To roll 'em down, baby, to roll 'em down<br />Mama wouldn't 'low nobody to roll’em down, well<br /><br />Lord, Berta, Lord, gal<br />Lord, Berta, Lord, gal, well<br /><br />When you're gon' leave 'em, don't you hang around, well<br />[or they would] catch you or hang you, when I'm (down/found), well<br />When I’m (down/found), baby, when I'm (down/found)<br />[Or they would] catch you, hang you, when I'm (down/found), well<br /><br /><br />Lord, Berta, Lord, gal<br />Lord, Berta, Lord, well<br /><br />Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-12771722870793199812018-09-13T08:25:49.577-04:002018-09-13T08:25:49.577-04:00Greetings, Lorenzo Vanelli.
I really appreciate e...Greetings, Lorenzo Vanelli.<br /><br />I really appreciate each of your comments. <br /><br />Would you please write your transcription of the lyrics to this song including the "she walks like Bertha but she walks too slow" line, the "in your hand" line, and more. <br /><br />I would like to add that transcription to the post itself with acknowledgement to you, and with the hyperlinked citations, and with a note that people should refer to your comments in this discussion thread.<br /><br />I don't feel confident about my ability to do this transcription myself with the corrections that you suggested.<br /><br />Thanks again! <br /><br /><br /> Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-29940695084061708282018-09-13T06:22:56.523-04:002018-09-13T06:22:56.523-04:00I'm sorry if I keep commenting, but I'm wo...I'm sorry if I keep commenting, but I'm working on this very subject this morning, and finding references as time goes. I found a source that confirm the "in your hand": in this version of Rosie, Cook and unidentified singers clearly split the sentence in two modules and avoid "lay", reducing it to "every Sunday [a] dollar in your hand". End of first stanza, around 00:20 onward.<br />http://research.culturalequity.org/rc-b2/get-audio-detailed-recording.do?recordingId=10539Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16832693390704744930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-50329162693319930272018-09-13T05:49:53.854-04:002018-09-13T05:49:53.854-04:00Another couple of suggestions. I must be honest, I...Another couple of suggestions. I must be honest, I'm way less sure of these ones.<br />I'd transcribe the verses of the central stanza with "lay in your hand", rather than "lay your hand": the "in" is not particularly hearable, but it makes more sense in regard to the act of giving a dollar, and its pronounciation could easily meld in the previous word.<br />Lastly, I hear something in the first verses of the last stanza (the missing ones) that could be "when you're going to leave 'em don't you hang around, well", and in the next one "Lord, they're going to catch you when you, when I'm down [etc]".<br />Those could possibly be a way of saying "when put the work tools down, or in other words when you are free again, go far away from here, for your own safety", and the next one, which may contain a slight error in the use of pronouns as it was performed extemporaneously, could be a possible remark on why it's better to leave the country as soon as they get out of there. The verse could address the risk of being the target of police enforcement of Jim Crow vagrancy laws (hence the "when I'm down" part).<br />But this is just my interpretation: I have no intention of pushing my perspective further than it can reasonably and respectfully go. As I said, the document is very opaque, and the singers could have wanted these words to not be perfectly comprehensible, to avoid retaliation from the guards. To accept and underline the veil of opacity put up by the singers is another way of pointing at the institutionalized violence that they faced.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16832693390704744930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-75912286986631350542018-09-13T05:00:08.271-04:002018-09-13T05:00:08.271-04:00Another example:
http://research.culturalequity.or...Another example:<br />http://research.culturalequity.org/rc-b2/get-audio-detailed-recording.do?recordingId=4643<br />around 00:40 onwardAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16832693390704744930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-49890246080432764572018-09-13T04:56:09.473-04:002018-09-13T04:56:09.473-04:00Just a small addition to what I said, as I went ba...Just a small addition to what I said, as I went back to work and found this note. Another point where the sentence structure can be heard in a more clear way is in "Alberta (Berta Berta)", by Leroy Miller and unidentified singers, recorded by A. Lomax in 1959 in Parchman. In this version, around 03:40 onward:<br />http://research.culturalequity.org/rc-b2/get-audio-detailed-recording.do?recordingId=4236<br />Here they spelled the "-lks t-" in "walks too slow" more distinctively, making it easier to hear.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16832693390704744930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-46211600746152992802018-09-13T04:14:22.597-04:002018-09-13T04:14:22.597-04:00Dear Azizi Powell,
I'd like to suggest a corre...Dear Azizi Powell,<br />I'd like to suggest a correction. I've been working on African American prison songs transcriptions for the past 5 years, and I believe the lines at the beginning to be "she walks like Berta, but she walks too slow". It seemed to be one of a serie of sentence structures in use in the prison contexts and levee camps from the thirties to the fifties, and may be found in other songs. For example, in Levee Camp Reminescence (the original 8 min version, not the 5 min one on youtube) by Forrest City Joe he sings a stanza with a similat structure: "She walked like medic, but she walked too slow". The meaning of these songs is opaque, but I believe "medic" in this contexts might stand for a gun (in another song a weapon is called a "forty-five medic", I suppose it could be a wry remark on the fact that a gun can end your pains..), and the stanza could be paraphrased as "she run like a bullet, but she was not fast enough". Similarly, in the case of this worksong, Berta could be not only the idealized image of a partner, but that of a saviour. In a holler from Parchman, Cole Bridges Lee sung about Rosie (another name for the idealized woman nicknamed Berta) coming "with a palm in her hand" to ask for the release of her man. The line could then perhaps mean "she's coming here, I recognize her from her walk, but she's not coming fast enough".<br />As I said, the lyrics are very opaque as a response to the violent regime of oppression and because of the research politics that contextualized the production of the documentation, and my interpretation could be wrong, but for the transcription I'm reasonably sure to be on the right track.<br />Hope that was of interest, feel free to write me if you have questions.<br />Lorenzo Vanelli, University of Bologna, Italy<br />lorvan@gmail.comAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16832693390704744930noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-5382942477299232872017-04-03T12:21:16.812-04:002017-04-03T12:21:16.812-04:00You're welcome, Veronica.
I learned about thi...You're welcome, Veronica.<br /><br />I learned about this song by internet surfing for information about African American prison songs. It's great that the internet also provides a way to share this song with other folks.<br />Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-79281392097901535312017-04-03T12:09:36.987-04:002017-04-03T12:09:36.987-04:00Thanks so much for this. This song has been somewh...Thanks so much for this. This song has been somewhere at the back of my mind since the early 90s when I lost the cassette that contained it. Good Stuff!<br /><br />Veronica Veronicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05411141822019479238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-267898714513166452016-10-04T16:21:18.921-04:002016-10-04T16:21:18.921-04:00You're welcome!You're welcome!Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-6013674716064085922016-10-04T16:16:08.266-04:002016-10-04T16:16:08.266-04:00Thank you very much for your reply. I will share i...Thank you very much for your reply. I will share it with our choir teacher.<br /><br />Thanks,<br /><br />AntonGite de Piquetalenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00923109015948347037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-32229877605105810052016-10-04T12:33:12.505-04:002016-10-04T12:33:12.505-04:00I meant to write "I think those are the words...I meant to write "I think those are the words that are being sung in that line instead of [the line] "I've been calling Berta but" that you wrote. Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-20215986047338688042016-10-04T12:30:32.085-04:002016-10-04T12:30:32.085-04:00Hello, Gite de Piquetalen.
It's good to know ...Hello, Gite de Piquetalen.<br /><br />It's good to know a choir in France is singing "Berta". <br />I found the Betty Bonifassi version of that song at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60SmxwRfzsA" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60SmxwRfzsA</a><br /><br />Here are the words that I hear in that version:<br />Oh, Lord Berta Berta<br />Oh, Lord gal<br /><br />Oh, Lord Berta Berta<br />Oh, Lord gal<br /><br />Is that Berta comin<br />Down the road (well)<br />She walk like a Berta<br />But she gonna marry to the railroad man.<br />She want you so (well)<br />She want you so (well)<br />She might not want you<br />When she go free (well well well)<br /><br />Oh Lord Berta Berta<br />Oh Lord gal<br />(oh well)<br /><br />[repeat these lines several times]<br /><br />I've been calling Alberta <br />the whole day long<br />(Well)<br />And how can she hear me when she<br />just say "I'm home." (well)<br />She might not want you when she<br />when she goes free<br />(Well)<br />And how can she hear me when she doesn't<br />__ at me.<br /><br />Oh Lord Berta Berta<br />Oh Lord gal (oh well)<br />Oh Lord Berta Berta<br />Oh Lord gal (well)<br /><br />Saturday when you gonna marry <br />to a railroad man<br />(well)<br />"Cause he gonna find you a dollar<br />to lay in your hand.<br />Oh!<br /><br />Oh Lord, Berta Berta<br />Oh Lord gal<br />(Oh well)<br /><br />[repeat these lines several times]<br /><br />****<br />I think that the line "She might not want you when she go free" is a mis-translation. Instead, (as you wrote in your comment) to be true to the song, the line should have been "She might not want you when you go free" -meaning when the man who is singing gets out of prison.<br /><br />The word "well" in the song is an interjection that means something like "Un hun", "yeah" and doesn't have the same meaning as if someone was sick and now he or she is feeling better and says "I am feeling well". <br /><br />The voice of the song is a man who is in prison. He's the one who sings "I been calling Berta or I've been calling Alberta.<br />I think that the line instead of "I've been calling Berta but" that you wrote. However, I'm not sure if that line is correct.<br /><br />I may have mentioned in this post that there was a Rock and Roll song called "Bertha butt boogie". That 1974 record was supposed to be a funny song about a woman with a big butt (behind, ass). It could be considered sexist. However, some people (male as well as female) think that having a big butt makes a woman attractive. For those people, it is a compliment to say that a woman has a big butt. However, a woman with a Bertha butt actually was an insult because that meant that her butt was too big.<br /><br />It's just a guess that the "Bertha Butt" song came from prison song "Berta". I don't know if that is true or not, but it might be true because the early singers (and Betty Bonifassi) sound like they are saying Bertha but.<br /><br />Here's the link to Jimmy Castor's Bertha Butt Boogie song <br /><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA0WUnp7xzE" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jA0WUnp7xzE</a><br /><br />Thanks again Gite.<br /><br />Good luck with your choir's performance!!<br /><br />Please feel free to ask any other questions about songs with English words. Hopefully, other pancocojams reader and/or I can help you.<br />Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-34743684735237446582016-10-04T07:55:46.394-04:002016-10-04T07:55:46.394-04:00Hi,
I live in France and our choir leader has chos...Hi,<br />I live in France and our choir leader has chosen the Betty Bonifassi version of this song. I find it a very powerful and evocative song but I don't fully understand the lyrics which I think Bonifassi has adapted. As the only native English speaking person my French choir friends naturally ask me to explain the song. Can anyone help me. The Bonifassi version has a line 'She might not want you when she, got free, Well well well.' That seems to imply that a male prisoner is sad that a female prisoner lover is about to be released, and may not want him when she is free. But that seems to change the original thrust of the song which from this web pages suggests it was about male prisoners longing for the women who they had left behind. Also wanted to check on the comment about Berta but. It sounded a bit sexist but is it actually accurate. Thanks.Gite de Piquetalenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00923109015948347037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-16243240968994036022015-05-15T07:36:44.519-04:002015-05-15T07:36:44.519-04:00Thanks for your comment, Daniel Danielson.
I upda...Thanks for your comment, Daniel Danielson.<br /><br />I updated this post to add the lyrics to "Berta Berta" that were performed in that August Wilson play.<br /><br />I found those lyrics on the Mudcat folk music forum (link given above).<br /><br />Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-47114300625705182962015-05-15T01:17:00.219-04:002015-05-15T01:17:00.219-04:00I am trying to find the lyrics that Roc sings on B...I am trying to find the lyrics that Roc sings on Branford's version, cant find it anywhere? Can you post them or a link?<br />Thank you for such a great job!<br />Daniel Danielson Harlem NYCAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08582636569220163421noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-64226146192235872602014-04-16T15:38:52.512-04:002014-04-16T15:38:52.512-04:00Thanks for your comments, A.M. Coffee.
I "h...Thanks for your comments, A.M. Coffee.<br /> <br />I "hear" what you are saying about the bond between Black men then and now. But maybe things were never as good as we think they were in the past. At any rate, there's much work to be done on that front and so many others... <br /><br />Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-10146691834115073842014-04-16T14:17:34.991-04:002014-04-16T14:17:34.991-04:00I would love to have seen the play version of &quo...I would love to have seen the play version of "The Piano Lesson". I did see the 1995 movie and the O Berta song was one of my favorite moments in it. I loved the bond the African American men shared which is no longer as prevalent as it was then. It is growing but not as appreciated my the new generations. I also enjoyed listening to "Berta, Berta" by Branford Marsalis what wonderful history in this song and they sang it with feeling and emotion. Wonderful!A.M. Coffeenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-78073276007137797082013-10-08T08:23:32.201-04:002013-10-08T08:23:32.201-04:00Anonymous,
Please share the lyrics to this song ...Anonymous, <br /><br />Please share the lyrics to this song that you know.<br /><br />Thanks! Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-85597181506710531362013-10-07T20:01:40.200-04:002013-10-07T20:01:40.200-04:00These lyrics are close, but very inaccurate.These lyrics are close, but very inaccurate.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-92017518567427304942013-09-01T02:06:42.532-04:002013-09-01T02:06:42.532-04:00Thanks for that information, mrks!
I updated this...Thanks for that information, mrks!<br /><br />I updated this post with a sound file of that song which I wasn't previously aware of.<br /><br />Youtube is amazing, isn't it as is the internet itself for its ability to connect music lovers all around the world.<br /><br />Thanks again!<br /> <br /><br />Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-44347942075016644742013-08-31T10:06:20.161-04:002013-08-31T10:06:20.161-04:00Hello, thanks for all the work,
I found another v...Hello, thanks for all the work,<br /><br />I found another version on a CD by Branford Marsalis. Actually it`s almost the same version as in the mentioned video of Wilson`s play.<br />The song is on the album "I heard you twice the first time" from 1992.<br />Bless, greets from northern Germany.mrkshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11770878764200106814noreply@blogger.com