tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post5598774494770433729..comments2024-03-29T08:48:14.872-04:00Comments on pancocojams: Ma Ma, Bake That Johnny Cake, Christmas Comin’ (examples & lyrics) Azizi Powellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-56773448685215289842022-05-14T17:46:16.020-04:002022-05-14T17:46:16.020-04:00Greetings, Nancy in Tennessee.
You're welcome...Greetings, Nancy in Tennessee.<br /><br />You're welcome. Thanks to your grandmother for sharing a song about Johnnycakes and thank you for letting me and other pancocojam readers know that that song was sung in Tennessee.. <br /><br />What are the words to the song that she taught you?Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-13303445457185357372022-05-14T13:32:06.804-04:002022-05-14T13:32:06.804-04:00Mrs. Powell --
Thanks for your wonderful blog, w...Mrs. Powell -- <br /><br />Thanks for your wonderful blog, which I have just discovered as I researched the song about Johnny Cakes which my grandmother sang to me. I've never had one either, but definitely will try although I am more a baker than a fry-er! Best of luck to you and thanks for sharing the history, lyrics, and music. Nancy in TennesseeAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-7799575989990026002019-04-03T01:25:31.945-04:002019-04-03T01:25:31.945-04:00Btw Anonymous, I'mm not familiar with the song...Btw Anonymous, I'mm not familiar with the song John B Sails, but I published this pancocojams post on the song "Funky Nassau" (which I first learned about from an American children's street rhyme) <a href="http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/funky-nassau-lyrics-examples-comments.html" rel="nofollow">http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/12/funky-nassau-lyrics-examples-comments.html</a>.<br /><br />I'm off to suss out some examples of "John B Sails" [after I go to bed for the night).<br /><br />Thanks again for the conversation and the information! Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-46064457413158390672019-04-03T00:55:47.181-04:002019-04-03T00:55:47.181-04:00Well, Anonymous you were somewhat close as my mate...Well, Anonymous you were somewhat close as my maternal grandfather was Tobagan and my maternal grandmother was Bajan.<br /><br />I just like learning about, listening to, and sharing information about & examples of certain forms of old school Black music from around the world and certain forms of new Black music from around the world.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-58974356821340062402019-04-02T23:15:46.581-04:002019-04-02T23:15:46.581-04:00Interesting, I always thought you were Jamaican. I...Interesting, I always thought you were Jamaican. I too have taken an interest in the old "Calypso" songs. Particularly in The Bahamas because although not known for its music, a few of the songs have made quite an impression on global pop culture. Particularly Funky Nassau and John B Sails. <br /><br />Best wishes to you as well Mrs. Powell.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-88375592926560720482019-04-02T14:28:53.844-04:002019-04-02T14:28:53.844-04:00I believe that I saw the lyrics "Mama makes t...I believe that I saw the lyrics "Mama makes the Johnny cake" in a YouTube discussion thread of the "mama bake the Johnny cake" song. <br /><br />I like learning about these songs though I've never been to the Caribbean and never tasted "Johnny cake" before. :o(<br /><br />Best wishes! Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-45213126250285678432019-04-02T13:03:07.361-04:002019-04-02T13:03:07.361-04:00Hello, and you're welcome. I believe Bahamians...Hello, and you're welcome. I believe Bahamians are the only one who Bakes their Johnny Cake as well. The song is all very popular in the Virgin Islands but they fry their Johnny Cake. I found a mention of the song in the Virgin Islands in 1967 which was recorded as Bake the Johnny Cake. It was remade to Mama make the Johnny Cake by a band in their country not to long ago. I hope that helps.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-23186332455837793272019-04-02T11:18:50.765-04:002019-04-02T11:18:50.765-04:00Hello, Anonymous April 2, 2019.
I'm assuming ...Hello, Anonymous April 2, 2019.<br /><br />I'm assuming you are the same person as Anonymous June 25, 2017 at 1:05 AM.<br /><br />Thanks for sharing that addition information and your guess about about the Bahamian folk song origin of "Ma Ma, Bake That Johnny Cake."Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-32508487067869093612019-04-02T09:24:03.112-04:002019-04-02T09:24:03.112-04:00I meant to say earliest available recording, appar...I meant to say earliest available recording, apparently a Cuban band recorded a version of the song in New York called Ce La Rage but it also states that the song was genuinely a Bahamian folk song. I am guessing a Cuban Band heard the song or was given the song to perform while still acknowledging where the song originally came from.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-82768861213253250332019-04-02T09:15:45.786-04:002019-04-02T09:15:45.786-04:00I don't know if he was the original composer o...I don't know if he was the original composer or not but I know his version of the song in 1952 is the earliest recording of the song and I found something dated to the 1949 clearly stating that the song was a Bahamian folk song (Saturday Review of Literature volume 32, 1949) Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-23201556580590257072017-06-25T01:28:17.341-04:002017-06-25T01:28:17.341-04:00Anonymous, here's the hyperlink that you share...Anonymous, here's the hyperlink that you shared with us <a href="http://www.copyrightencyclopedia.com/the-prettiest-girl-i-ever-saw-based-on-a-traditional-theme/" rel="nofollow">http://www.copyrightencyclopedia.com/the-prettiest-girl-i-ever-saw-based-on-a-traditional-theme/</a>.<br /><br />That page is <i>very</i> interesting. I recognize some of the songs listed there and I featured a video of Blind Blake in this pancocojams post: <a href="https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/song-sources-for-down-by-banks-of-hanky.html" rel="nofollow">https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/song-sources-for-down-by-banks-of-hanky.html</a> Song Sources For Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky.<br /><br />This post showcases nine examples of songs or rhymes that influenced the development of the playground rhyme "Down By The Banks Of The Hanky Panky" or versions of that large "family" of playground rhymes. The video (actually a sound file) that I'm referring to here is for Example #3 for "Foolish Frog" by Blind Blake (1952).<br /><br />I gather that "copyright" means that Blind Blake registered his version of the song that are listed in that website, and wasn't the original composer of those songs. Is that your take on that website?<br /><br />Also, does that website list the year that those copyrights were given? If so, where is that listed on that page?Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-85232821984037994462017-06-25T01:05:07.514-04:002017-06-25T01:05:07.514-04:00Yes no problem. I also found the origins of how th...Yes no problem. I also found the origins of how the song spread. It was Blind Blake Higgs a Bahamian artist whose recording of the song is played by many people. So he is likely the origin of the Spread of the song in America and the Caribbean at large. He has the copyright for the song and most of the music you find for it associated with him, so he is definitely the source of the spread of the song. http://www.copyrightencyclopedia.com/the-prettiest-girl-i-ever-saw-based-on-a-traditional-theme/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-49934643980374067882017-06-24T11:32:15.728-04:002017-06-24T11:32:15.728-04:00Anonymous, thanks for sharing this information abo...Anonymous, thanks for sharing this information about the song "Mama, Bake The Johnny Cake".<br /><br />Please feel free to share other information and corrections and suggest other possible songs/dances from the Bahamas which can be featured on this pancocojams cultural blog.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-62875544378030985602017-06-24T10:51:48.895-04:002017-06-24T10:51:48.895-04:00I meant by the Fresh Creek band in 1959. Mama bake...I meant by the Fresh Creek band in 1959. Mama bake the Johnny Cake is originally from the Bahamas.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-77231112616009820822017-06-24T10:46:45.426-04:002017-06-24T10:46:45.426-04:00This song has been first recorded in 1959 in the B...This song has been first recorded in 1959 in the Bahamas. By popular artist Joseph Spence and it was adopted likely by other countries in the region. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5893219718076521675.post-57340909946085258392013-12-29T18:16:04.309-05:002013-12-29T18:16:04.309-05:00I wonder if the Caribbean tradition of associating...I wonder if the Caribbean tradition of associating baking johnny cakes with Christmas came from the Pancake Day customs in the United Kingdom. For instance, here's an excerpt from Iona & Peter Opies' <i>The Lore And Language Of School Children</i> <br />"Away in the West Country in remote farmsteads of Exmoor and in the Brendan Hills children still give voice to this wistful entreaty:<br />Tippety tippety tin<br />Give me a pancake and I will come in.<br />Tippety tippet toe<br />Give me a pancake and I will go.<br /><br />“If your doors are left open, writes a correspondent, ‘the children with blackened faces will creep in and throw a load of broken crocks all over the floor and try to decamp unseen. If the householders catch them, they further black their faces with soot, and then give them a cake before letting them go."<br />[p. 239]<br /><br />Here's some information about Shrove Tuesday from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrove_Tuesday" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrove_Tuesday</a><br />"Shrove Tuesday (also known as Pancake Tuesday and Pancake Day) is the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. Shrove Tuesday is determined by Easter; its date changes annually.<br /><br />The expression "Shrove Tuesday" comes from the word shrive, meaning "confess."[1] Related popular practices are associated with celebrations before the fasting and religious obligations associated with the penitential season of Lent. The term Mardi gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday."<br />-snip-<br />I think that the custom of baking pancakes to use up all of the rich fatty foods before Lent and the custom of children going door to doo,r singing & asking for treats and money during that times combined with West African customs of masquerading for special reasons and special occasions resulted in the association in those Caribbean nations of johnny cakes with Christmas and the creation of other Jonkanoo traditions.Azizi Powellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14963772326145910073noreply@blogger.com