Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases examples of the Jamaican Mento (folk song)
"John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" (John Crow Says He Doesn't Work On Sunday").
The Addendum to this post showcases two Reggae examples of this song.
This post continues this blog's compilation of Jamaican songs that mention "John Crow". Click the John Crow tab below for other pancocojams post on John Crow.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to these featured vocalists for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on the Internet.
****
LYRICS: JOHN CROW SAY HIM NAAH WUK PAN SUNDAY
(traditional Jamaican Mento)
John Crow say him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Tink a lie mi tell!
Kill yuh Mawga Cow!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him a study fi teacha!!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him a study fi lawya!!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him a study fi parson!!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
John Crow say him a dry lan' touris'!!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Tink a lie mi tell!
Kill yuh Mawga Cow!
Naah wuk! Him naah wuk pan Sunday!
Source: http://thelongwayhome-andreadowner.blogspot.com/2012/12/john-crow-brer-anancy-brer-tocuma-abna.html,
-snip-
Explanation of certain words:
"John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" - John Crow Says He Doesn't Work On Sunday(s).
"Tink a lie mi tell!"- I think he's lying.
"Kill yuh Mawga Cow!"= (He'll even) kill your skinny (meager) cow [on Sundays]
"a study fi" - study for (studying to be a ...)
"mawga" - meagre skinny
Source: http://www.thedialectdictionary.com/view/search/Jamaican/1592/ "Jamaican Dialect / Glossary"
"Dry land tourist" - "Slang expression for a Jamaican who has never left the island of Jamaica, but has begun to speak with a foreign accent, especially when he/she is around a tourist."
Source: http://jamaicanpatwah.com/term/Dry-land-tourist/1400
****
WHAT THE SONG "JOHN CROW SAY HE NO WORK ON SUNDAY" MEANS
Here is one theory about this song from http://thelongwayhome-andreadowner.blogspot.com/2012/12/john-crow-brer-anancy-brer-tocuma-abna.html, Sunday, 8 December 2012 Andrea Downer
"JOHN CROW, BRER ANANCY, BRER TOCUMA, ABNA DUPPY (JAMAICAN ORAL & FOLK TRADITIONS)"
..."In Jamaica where I grew up, Sundays are hallowed days! Even for people who are NOT regular church goers! Even the most dedicated farmer or low-life lay-a-about in the district would take the occasional bath and put on some decent clothes and look respectable on Sundays...
As a matter of fact, on Sundays, the shops never used to really open of such, just a one window where the shopkeeper would sell the few items that would be purchased on Sundays...
Sundays were sacred! Trust mi! I could never imagine writing an exam or doing anything strenuous pon a Sunday back home. But here, having voluntarily transferred myself to a foreign land, I must confront the glaring differences in culture, lifestyle, grammar, syntax and practices and while it is a process I am learning and growing from, it takes much getting used to...
And as I was doing dishes and singing the song with my daughter, I remembered the oral tradition from which such a song [about John Crow] evolved. I also recalled that that particular song had originated from the African slaves that had been uprooted and taken to Jamaica and the rest of the Caribbean in sub-human conditions to be raped, exploited and robbed of their human dignity and cultural clingings. I believe the song might have come about due to the slave's defiance at being compelled to work seven days a week and they insisted on at least one rest day: the aforementioned hallowed Sunday....
-snip-
Italics added by me to highlight this sentence.
****
My Opinion About This Song's Meaning:
I don't think that the song "John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" has to do with enslaved people wanting to have at least one rest day.
I think this song was composed after slavery and addresses the tendency of people to turn their backs on traditional ways when they are studying for professional occupations, or when they want to pretend to be from outside that culture.
In my opinion, an important word in the title "John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" is the word says. Note that the song title isn't "John Crow Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" ("John Crow, He Doesn't Work On Sunday"). Whether it's Sunday or not John Crow (the vulture) will scoop down and eat even a mawga cow (a skinny cow).
John Crow (the Jamaican vulture) is a despised character in most Jamaican songs.* This song is saying that those Jamaicans who disregard their culture -such as those professional people who work on Sunday and those "dry land tourists" (Jamaicans who put on an American accent) should also be despised, or at least be derided (held in contempt, made fun of). Notice how in the skits of people singing this song that are shown above, the group makes fun of those people mentioned. I believe they are making fun of them because those groups of people are acting like they are better than, or at least different from other Jamaicans. And I think that's the central problem that this song speaks to.
*Although John Crow is almost always a despised character, in Beenie Man's [Reggae Song] "John Crow" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOMBNQXWR60) when the (black?) motorcyle is referred to as "John Crown" it's a complimente. My guess is that like John Crow (the vulture), that motorcyle is seen as "intimidating" and "fierce" in the vernacular sense of those words.
****
FEATURED YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
These examples are presented in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest dates given first.
Example #1: John crow says he na work on Sundays
Claire Kinkead, Uploaded on Nov 23, 2011
Traditional Jamaican song by the students of the Assemblies of God Bible College Jamaica
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Example #2: The Jamaican Folk Singers - John Crow
Dead Wax, Published on Mar 9, 2014
Jamaican Folk Singers - Volume II - John Crow
****
Example #3: Jamaica folk Song - John crow seh im naah wok pan sunday
Wesley Henry, Published on Mar 17, 2014
House of Prayer Canada culture day 2013 - Jamaicans singing
****
ADDENDUM: REGGAE EXAMPLES OF THIS SONG
Example #1: TENOR SAW - NO WORK ON AH SUNDAY (WHAT ONE RIDDIM CAN DO RIDDIM)
KILLA SELECTOR Uploaded on Nov 9, 2011
" BAD BAD TENOR SAW " !!!!!!!!!!!!!
-snip-
Here's a comment that quotes one portion of that song
Ason, 2013
"yesterday a big cow die in the pasture yesterday a big cow die in the pasture woah I see a flock of crows flying in the sky making a circle and then the crows fly down yes the crows fly down but the leader of the crows was gray and he come in the front an say yesterday when you was on earth kicking up dust but today you die, who is gonna bury you? but today you die, I wanna know who's gonna bury you then all his folks shout and say we gonna eat you me and my folks all gonna eat you
****
Example #2: KING KONG - JOHN CROW WORK ON SUNDAY (PRESSURE & SLIDE RIDDIM)
KILLA SELECTOR, Uploaded on Nov 23, 2011
" WICKED KING KONG TUNE " ...
****
UPDATE: January 30, 2016
The song "John Crow Say I'm Wan' Decent Woman" is a version of the John Crow Say Him Naah Wuk Pan Sunday" family of songs. An example of that song is included in the 1981 Folkways Record album entitled "John Crow Say..: Jamaican Music of Faith, Work and Play".
The song begins with the verse
John Crow say "I wan' decent woman
Can't work can't work can't work on Sunday.
John Crow say "I wan' decent woman
Can't work can't work can't work on Sunday."
http://www.folkways.si.edu/john-crow-say-jamaican-music-of-faith-work-and-play/caribbean-world/album/smithsonian
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label Mento. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mento. Show all posts
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Chi Chi Bud Oh - Jamaican Folk Song (Mento) Examples
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases two text examples (lyrics) and three YouTube sound file examples of the Jamaican folk song (Mento) "Chi Chi Bud Oh" (also known as "Chi Chi Bud". This post also includes excerpts of a 2001 article from the Jamaican Gleaner that provides information about the changing meaning of the jamaican term "chi chi".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/one-ska-one-reggae-example-of-chi-chi.html for the pancocojams post "One Ska & One Reggae Example Of "Chi Chi Bud" (with 2 Chi Chi Bud Riddim songs)"
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to these featured vocalists for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on the Internet.
****
FEATURED TEXT EXAMPLES
(These examples are given in no particular order.)
Example #1
A chi-chi bud oh!
Some a dem a holla some a bawl
Chi-chi bud oh!
Some a dem a holla some a bawl
Some a black bud...
Some a grass bud...
Some a white bud...
Somee a beeny bud...
Chi-chi bud oh...
Some a lagga-head...
An a chickman chick...
Some a John crow...
An a docta bud...
Hi! Docta bid a cunning bud,
Him build him nest a low limb,
Ah never shoot him ah only adore him.
A bud oh!
Chi–chi bud oh...
Some a peer dove...
Some a grung dove...
Some a white dove...
Some a bubble dove...
Chi-chi bud oh...
Hawk...
Stork...
Owl...
Pitchceeriee...
Chi-chi bud oh...
"The success of this lively call and response song depends on the ability of the leader to think of as many bird names as possible. It originates as a light-hearted accompaniment to tiring work in the fields and often ended in hilarity when the leader ran out of real names and had to start inventing them.
Most of the names given are local nicknames, for instance, docta bud is th Jamaican namd for theee swallow-tailed humming bird.
chi chi bud [means] a flock, or gathering of birds
Some a dem a holla, some a bawl[means]some of them holler, some of them bawl"
Source: Mango Spice: 44 Caribbean songs
Editors Yvonne Canolly, Gloria Cameron, and Sonia Singham
A&C Black Publishers, London, 1981 [Song #14]
-snip-
"bud" = bird
"bawl" = cry
The line given in italics is sung by the group after each line with the "...".
There are no set names of birds for this Mento song, although most of the examples that I have heard (online) and read include John Crow (jancro) - the Jamaican vulture.
****
Example #2: CHI CHI BUD
Chi chi bud, oh!
Some of them holler some a bawl
Some a band neck...
Some a woodpecker...
some are brown dove
some are white wing...
Chi chi bud, oh!...
Why Chi chi bud, oh!...
Some are brown dove...
some are John Crow...
some are handsticker...
some are band neck...
-traditional Jamaican mento; traditional, arrangement by Lord Messam
Source: http://www.mentomusic.com/messam.htm#lyrics
-snip-
Reformatted for this post. The line given in italics is sung by the group after each line with the "...".
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Messam for information about Lord Messam.
****
FEATURED YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
These examples are given according to their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest dates given first.
Example #1: Miss Lou (Part 9) ~ Oman A Breadwinner ~ Chi Chi Bud ~ Gay Paree ~ Walk Good
Bajanbloom Bloom, Uploaded on Jan 15, 2011
Dr. Louise Bennett Coverley, through many years of research, has provided Jamaica with a vast reference collection of "valid documents reflecting the way Jamaicans think and feel and live". The proud recipient of two Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Letters, one from the University of the West Indies in 1983 and the other from York University of Toronto Canada in 1998 -- is testimony in itself and an achievement which speaks volumes of the high recognition of one of our true Caribbean Gems.
.025-2:05 [Chi Chi Bud Oh]
-snip-
Here's my partial transcription of Miss Lou's introduction to this song (Sorry. I'm unable to provide even an adequate transcription of the song itself.)
"I’m going to sing my favorite song. It was the first song I knew. When I was a little girl, it was the first song I knew, a digging song. Chi chi bud oh...Chi chi birds, a flock of birds."
-snip-
I think that "Oman A Breadwinner" means "Woman A Breadwinner" (woman works outside the home for money to buy food, pay bills etc.)
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Bennett-Coverley for information about Miss Lou. Here's an excerpt of that page:
"Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley or Miss Lou, OM, OJ, MBE (7 September 1919 – 26 July 2006), was a Jamaican poet, folklorist, writer, and educator. Writing and performing her poems in Jamaican Patois or Creole, she was instrumental in having this "dialect" of the people given literary recognition in its own right ("nation language"). She is located at the heart of the Jamaican poetic tradition, and has influenced other popular Caribbean poets, including Mutabaruka, Linton Kwesi Johnson, and Paul Keens-Douglas."
****
Example #2: Chi Chi Bud Oh - Ainsworth Rose
Ainsworth Rose, Published on Aug 1, 2013
Jamaican Folk Songs
****
Songs From The British West Indies [Smithsonian Records]
sung and played by "The Caribbean Chorus"
Editor's comment.
One year ago I copied the code for another YouTube sound file of "Chi Chi Bud". That example was recorded by Jamaican university students in 1956. Unfortunately, that sound file appears to be no longer available on YouTube. However, I still can share that sound file's summary statement:
"In 1956, a group of ambitious students from McGill University and Sir George William's College (now Concordia University) performed West Indies--style folk music for a university function. The group was so successful that they created the Caribbean Chorus, which catered to off--campus audiences and was the counterpart to the university--sponsored West Indies Society. In B.W.I. (British West Indies) Songs, the chorus sings folk tunes and labor songs influenced by Caribbean, South American, and calypso styles.
Liner notes include a first--person account by the manager of the group's formation and the historical background of each piece.
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from that album's liner notes http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/folkways/FW08809.pdf
"It [the song "Chi Chi Bud"] is done by labourers in the field as they try to keep their minds of their arduous work...
The singer can go on for hours and hours, as long as the chorus can hold out."
****
ADDENDUM: Article excerpt "From cha-cha to chi-chi"
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20010529/cleisure/cleisure2.html
-Garth A. Rattray, May 29, 2001
"I GREW up in a kinder, gentler more civil society. The popular music was happier and more serene. It was very entertaining and often soothing and relaxing.
Nothing less than talented voices were accepted. Lyrics espousing violence were unheard of. I tend to interpret the popular music as a sign of the times. The artistic and social transition from cha-cha to chi-chi has been a culture shock for many of us.
"Everybody loves to cha-cha-cha" was the title of the famous Sam Cooke hit song. The cha-cha has its roots in Haiti where there is a plant with seedpods that make a "cha-cha" sound when shaken. This was used as a metronome for music rhythms. In 1953 the Cuban orchestra 'America' started playing the mambo with a different beat, it was slower and allowed dancers to use a slight hip undulation with the slow count. It was a cute, rhythmic, Latin dance that was soft, entreating and yet innocent. It was a clean, light-hearted dance that everyone could perform with little effort. The cha-cha remains the most popular Latin dance in the USA.
The song itself goes on to state that, "Little children love to cha-cha-cha". Cha-cha songs held no hidden meanings. They spawned the Jamaican term cha-cha man (or cha-cha boy). It was a descriptive term used to refer to a 'face man', a 'sweet boy', a 'ladies man', a Casanova of sorts. It was not a demeaning term nor did it berate anybody's sexuality. The phrase was often used as a friendly tease and very rarely denoted disrespect, as in the expression, "He's a cha-cha boy", meaning shallow, superficial, good-looking, well dressed but only a player. That was as bad as it got in those days...
That same era saw the beginning of the transition of the Jamaican mento to ska. Our own ska started off with artistes like Cecil Bustamante Campbell (Prince Buster) and Desmond Dekker. Sound system operators like Duke Reid (The Trojan) and Clement Seymore Dodd (Sir Coxsone) made invaluable contributions to the music of that day. Our music eventually went on to 'evolve' into rocksteady, reggae, roots reggae, dub and finally the current dance-hall music.
Now we have popular songs (like the one by TOK) loudly referring to chi-chi men with the concomitant tumult as to the true intended meaning of the term. Originally 'chi-chi' was used to describe termites. These destructive little creatures seemed to deserve such a term as it captured the very essence of their ruinous activities. The next time that I recall hearing the term chi-chi was in the popular Louise Bennett-Coverley song Chi-chi bud. We all knew that the bird and termite had nothing in common; we just enjoyed the song for it's cultural value and never ascribed any negative meanings to it.
The last innocent use of the word was in reference to a type of bus called the chi-chi 'white' bus. This was a large, white bus (made by the White Motor Company) that was introduced into Jamaica in the mid to late 1960s. It produced short, sharp, explosive, sneezing sounds whenever the air brakes were applied. The sounds were mimicked by the word chi-chi.
Then came the term 'chi-chi man'. I am not certain about how this once innocent word came to be corrupted into its new meaning but the current consensus is that it now refers to homosexuality. Why a song gibing homosexuals and promulgating conflagration should become so popular is perplexing to me. Some claim that the song may also be alluding to nefarious underworld figures. Either way, the popularity of this song depicts our society's current preoccupation with sex and violence...
Our entire society has moved from popular hits consisting of mostly sweet melodies to turbulent, troubled tunes. We need to encourage our performers to produce softer, gentler, friendlier, sex-free, violence-free, feel-good, family-type music."...
-Dr. Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases two text examples (lyrics) and three YouTube sound file examples of the Jamaican folk song (Mento) "Chi Chi Bud Oh" (also known as "Chi Chi Bud". This post also includes excerpts of a 2001 article from the Jamaican Gleaner that provides information about the changing meaning of the jamaican term "chi chi".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/10/one-ska-one-reggae-example-of-chi-chi.html for the pancocojams post "One Ska & One Reggae Example Of "Chi Chi Bud" (with 2 Chi Chi Bud Riddim songs)"
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to these featured vocalists for their musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on the Internet.
****
FEATURED TEXT EXAMPLES
(These examples are given in no particular order.)
Example #1
A chi-chi bud oh!
Some a dem a holla some a bawl
Chi-chi bud oh!
Some a dem a holla some a bawl
Some a black bud...
Some a grass bud...
Some a white bud...
Somee a beeny bud...
Chi-chi bud oh...
Some a lagga-head...
An a chickman chick...
Some a John crow...
An a docta bud...
Hi! Docta bid a cunning bud,
Him build him nest a low limb,
Ah never shoot him ah only adore him.
A bud oh!
Chi–chi bud oh...
Some a peer dove...
Some a grung dove...
Some a white dove...
Some a bubble dove...
Chi-chi bud oh...
Hawk...
Stork...
Owl...
Pitchceeriee...
Chi-chi bud oh...
"The success of this lively call and response song depends on the ability of the leader to think of as many bird names as possible. It originates as a light-hearted accompaniment to tiring work in the fields and often ended in hilarity when the leader ran out of real names and had to start inventing them.
Most of the names given are local nicknames, for instance, docta bud is th Jamaican namd for theee swallow-tailed humming bird.
chi chi bud [means] a flock, or gathering of birds
Some a dem a holla, some a bawl[means]some of them holler, some of them bawl"
Source: Mango Spice: 44 Caribbean songs
Editors Yvonne Canolly, Gloria Cameron, and Sonia Singham
A&C Black Publishers, London, 1981 [Song #14]
-snip-
"bud" = bird
"bawl" = cry
The line given in italics is sung by the group after each line with the "...".
There are no set names of birds for this Mento song, although most of the examples that I have heard (online) and read include John Crow (jancro) - the Jamaican vulture.
****
Example #2: CHI CHI BUD
Chi chi bud, oh!
Some of them holler some a bawl
Some a band neck...
Some a woodpecker...
some are brown dove
some are white wing...
Chi chi bud, oh!...
Why Chi chi bud, oh!...
Some are brown dove...
some are John Crow...
some are handsticker...
some are band neck...
-traditional Jamaican mento; traditional, arrangement by Lord Messam
Source: http://www.mentomusic.com/messam.htm#lyrics
-snip-
Reformatted for this post. The line given in italics is sung by the group after each line with the "...".
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Messam for information about Lord Messam.
****
FEATURED YOUTUBE EXAMPLES
These examples are given according to their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest dates given first.
Example #1: Miss Lou (Part 9) ~ Oman A Breadwinner ~ Chi Chi Bud ~ Gay Paree ~ Walk Good
Bajanbloom Bloom, Uploaded on Jan 15, 2011
Dr. Louise Bennett Coverley, through many years of research, has provided Jamaica with a vast reference collection of "valid documents reflecting the way Jamaicans think and feel and live". The proud recipient of two Honorary Degrees of Doctor of Letters, one from the University of the West Indies in 1983 and the other from York University of Toronto Canada in 1998 -- is testimony in itself and an achievement which speaks volumes of the high recognition of one of our true Caribbean Gems.
.025-2:05 [Chi Chi Bud Oh]
-snip-
Here's my partial transcription of Miss Lou's introduction to this song (Sorry. I'm unable to provide even an adequate transcription of the song itself.)
"I’m going to sing my favorite song. It was the first song I knew. When I was a little girl, it was the first song I knew, a digging song. Chi chi bud oh...Chi chi birds, a flock of birds."
-snip-
I think that "Oman A Breadwinner" means "Woman A Breadwinner" (woman works outside the home for money to buy food, pay bills etc.)
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_Bennett-Coverley for information about Miss Lou. Here's an excerpt of that page:
"Louise Simone Bennett-Coverley or Miss Lou, OM, OJ, MBE (7 September 1919 – 26 July 2006), was a Jamaican poet, folklorist, writer, and educator. Writing and performing her poems in Jamaican Patois or Creole, she was instrumental in having this "dialect" of the people given literary recognition in its own right ("nation language"). She is located at the heart of the Jamaican poetic tradition, and has influenced other popular Caribbean poets, including Mutabaruka, Linton Kwesi Johnson, and Paul Keens-Douglas."
****
Example #2: Chi Chi Bud Oh - Ainsworth Rose
Ainsworth Rose, Published on Aug 1, 2013
Jamaican Folk Songs
****
Songs From The British West Indies [Smithsonian Records]
sung and played by "The Caribbean Chorus"
Editor's comment.
One year ago I copied the code for another YouTube sound file of "Chi Chi Bud". That example was recorded by Jamaican university students in 1956. Unfortunately, that sound file appears to be no longer available on YouTube. However, I still can share that sound file's summary statement:
"In 1956, a group of ambitious students from McGill University and Sir George William's College (now Concordia University) performed West Indies--style folk music for a university function. The group was so successful that they created the Caribbean Chorus, which catered to off--campus audiences and was the counterpart to the university--sponsored West Indies Society. In B.W.I. (British West Indies) Songs, the chorus sings folk tunes and labor songs influenced by Caribbean, South American, and calypso styles.
Liner notes include a first--person account by the manager of the group's formation and the historical background of each piece.
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from that album's liner notes http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/folkways/FW08809.pdf
"It [the song "Chi Chi Bud"] is done by labourers in the field as they try to keep their minds of their arduous work...
The singer can go on for hours and hours, as long as the chorus can hold out."
****
ADDENDUM: Article excerpt "From cha-cha to chi-chi"
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20010529/cleisure/cleisure2.html
-Garth A. Rattray, May 29, 2001
"I GREW up in a kinder, gentler more civil society. The popular music was happier and more serene. It was very entertaining and often soothing and relaxing.
Nothing less than talented voices were accepted. Lyrics espousing violence were unheard of. I tend to interpret the popular music as a sign of the times. The artistic and social transition from cha-cha to chi-chi has been a culture shock for many of us.
"Everybody loves to cha-cha-cha" was the title of the famous Sam Cooke hit song. The cha-cha has its roots in Haiti where there is a plant with seedpods that make a "cha-cha" sound when shaken. This was used as a metronome for music rhythms. In 1953 the Cuban orchestra 'America' started playing the mambo with a different beat, it was slower and allowed dancers to use a slight hip undulation with the slow count. It was a cute, rhythmic, Latin dance that was soft, entreating and yet innocent. It was a clean, light-hearted dance that everyone could perform with little effort. The cha-cha remains the most popular Latin dance in the USA.
The song itself goes on to state that, "Little children love to cha-cha-cha". Cha-cha songs held no hidden meanings. They spawned the Jamaican term cha-cha man (or cha-cha boy). It was a descriptive term used to refer to a 'face man', a 'sweet boy', a 'ladies man', a Casanova of sorts. It was not a demeaning term nor did it berate anybody's sexuality. The phrase was often used as a friendly tease and very rarely denoted disrespect, as in the expression, "He's a cha-cha boy", meaning shallow, superficial, good-looking, well dressed but only a player. That was as bad as it got in those days...
That same era saw the beginning of the transition of the Jamaican mento to ska. Our own ska started off with artistes like Cecil Bustamante Campbell (Prince Buster) and Desmond Dekker. Sound system operators like Duke Reid (The Trojan) and Clement Seymore Dodd (Sir Coxsone) made invaluable contributions to the music of that day. Our music eventually went on to 'evolve' into rocksteady, reggae, roots reggae, dub and finally the current dance-hall music.
Now we have popular songs (like the one by TOK) loudly referring to chi-chi men with the concomitant tumult as to the true intended meaning of the term. Originally 'chi-chi' was used to describe termites. These destructive little creatures seemed to deserve such a term as it captured the very essence of their ruinous activities. The next time that I recall hearing the term chi-chi was in the popular Louise Bennett-Coverley song Chi-chi bud. We all knew that the bird and termite had nothing in common; we just enjoyed the song for it's cultural value and never ascribed any negative meanings to it.
The last innocent use of the word was in reference to a type of bus called the chi-chi 'white' bus. This was a large, white bus (made by the White Motor Company) that was introduced into Jamaica in the mid to late 1960s. It produced short, sharp, explosive, sneezing sounds whenever the air brakes were applied. The sounds were mimicked by the word chi-chi.
Then came the term 'chi-chi man'. I am not certain about how this once innocent word came to be corrupted into its new meaning but the current consensus is that it now refers to homosexuality. Why a song gibing homosexuals and promulgating conflagration should become so popular is perplexing to me. Some claim that the song may also be alluding to nefarious underworld figures. Either way, the popularity of this song depicts our society's current preoccupation with sex and violence...
Our entire society has moved from popular hits consisting of mostly sweet melodies to turbulent, troubled tunes. We need to encourage our performers to produce softer, gentler, friendlier, sex-free, violence-free, feel-good, family-type music."...
-Dr. Garth A. Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Lord Invader -"Sly Mongoose" (information, lyrics, & sound file)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases a sound file of and lyrics for Lord Invader's version of "Sly Mongoose". Information about this old Caribbean song and two additional lyric versions of this song are included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thank to the composers of Sly Mongoose. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to those featured in these sound files and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT SLY MONGOOSE
The original "Sly Mongoose was composed in Jamaica, but versions of this song are well-known throughout the Caribbean.
From http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20030629/arts/arts1.html
..."mento's roots lie in the early 19th century when European dances like the quadrille were popular throughout the Caribbean. By the end of the 19th century, mento was all the "rage" in Jamaica, and (like dance hall today) served as "throw wu'd" music, providing an avenue to discuss taboos and social issues.
{Some] mento songs commented on local news, the Bible, politics, infidelity, even obeah, and their subtle innuendo, humouros double entendres and suggestive lyrics helped to protect the innocent from the song's baser meanings.
According to the research, Slim and Sam were two of the best known writers of "throw wu'd" songs in the 1930s and 1940s. "Sly Mongoose" is one of the most popular "scandal" songs, which is still sung today:
Mongoose go down Missa Beckford kitchen,
Tek out one a 'im ritious chicken,
Put 'im inna 'im waiscoat pocket
Run mongoose
Sly (slide) mongoose, yu name gone abroad.
Sly (slide) mongoose, yu name gone abroad."
Originally, the lyrics likened the eccentric religious leader, Alexander Bedward, to a cunning mongoose (a dodgy character). But Bedward is absent from later versions sung today, which leaves the object of the song's criticism open to interpretation."...
****
From http://www.dramonline.org/content/notes/nwr/80427.pdf
"Zoop Zoop Zoop: Traditional Music And Folklore of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John" (New World Records 80427-2)
"This song, wellknown throughout the Caribbean is not really about the mongoose. In fact, the animal and its character is used to allude to sexual liaisons between the master of the house and the cook or between the mistress and a worker.
Sly Mongoose, all them dogs they know your name
Oh yes, sly mongoose, all them dogs they know your name
You went into the mistress kitchen
Take out one of the fattest chickens
Put it into your waistcoat pocket
sly mongoose. "
****
[regarding Lord Invaders' version of "Sly Mongoose":
From http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/smithsonian_folkways/SFW40454.pdf
“...originating in Jamaica where virtually all versions revolve around the activities of the Black prophet Alexander Bedward, “Sly Mongoose [Sly Mongoose Every Dog Knows Your Name] is reported as a carnival song in 1923 in Trinidad. Based on the symbolic references to a trickster with a sexual proclivity, in Eastern Caribbean versions, the mongoose goes into the White man’s kitchen rather than Bedward’s, and steals “one of his fattest chickens”.*
With incredulity, Invader describes his defeat in a calypso contest in the United States. Despite their up-to-date repertoire Houdini vanquishes Destroyer, Growler, and Invader in New York in 1941. Personified as a trickster, Houdini was much despised in Trinidad because of his U. S success and lack of esteem on the island."
-snip-
*Read my interpretation of the line about the Mongoose "going into the White man's kitchen and stealing one of his fattest chickens" regarding the lyrics for Lord Invader's version of this song.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: sly mongoose
roger ramirez Uploaded on Mar 24, 2009
****
LYRICS: SLY MONGOOSE
(Lord Invader, 1946)
There was a competition in America
With Houdini and Destroyer
Houdini sang Adolf Hitler
And yet they said that Houdini was the winner
What he won?
Chorus:
Sly Mongoose
-all together-
Only dog know your name
-Sing the chorus-
Sly Mongoose
-everybody-
Only dog know your name
Yes, mongoose went into the White man’s kitchen
Took up one of his fattest chickens
Push it in his waistcoat pocket,
Sly Mongoose.
Then he challenge the Growler
And the Growler sand a hot number
Growler told the Houdini
He gonna win him with this melody,
What it was: “Old lady, you’re mashing my toe,”
“Oh lady, stop it isn’t”
And yet he won him with,
Chorus
Sly Mongoose
-all together-
Only dog know your name
-Sing it Macbeth-
Sly Mongoose
Only dog know your name
Yes, mongoose went into the White man’s kitchen
Took up one of his fattest chickens
Push it in his waistcoat pocket,
Sly Mongoose.
So as I’m Lord Invader, I said
“I can’t lose my name in America”,
I entered the competition,
And I sang a hot composition.
What it was: “Prisoner leve [Prisoner arise]
“Mete limier bai [Put a light]
and Yet he won me with
Chorus
Sly Mongoose
-everybody
Only dog know your name
-Duke of Iron-
Sly Mongoose
Only dog know your name
Yes, mongoose went into the White man’s kitchen
Took up one of his fattest chickens
Push it in his waistcoat pocket,
Sly Mongoose.
Source: http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/smithsonian_folkways/SFW40454.pdf
-snip-
Rather than Lord Invader's "Sly Mongoose" being about a man with sexual proclivities, it is a critique about what Lord Invader and other Calypsonians considered to be Houdini's inauthenticity as a Calypsonian. When Lord Invader referred to Houdini as "Sly Mongoose" he was using lines from that well known Caribbean song to insult Houdini. When he referred to Houdini as "Sly Mongoose" and said that Sly Mongoose "went into the White man’s kitchen/Took up one of his fattest chickens", Lord Invader was saying that Houdini had achieved success in the United States as a Calypsonian that he and other Calypsonians believe that Houdini wouldn't have received in the Caribbean - in particular Houdini- the sly Mangoose, stole the crown for that particular Calypso competition. By mentioning "Macbeth [Macbeth the Great"]" and "Duke Of Iron", Lord Invader calls on other well respected Calypsonians to join him in his condemnation of Houdini.
****
OTHER EXAMPLES OF "SLY MONGOOSE"
(lyric composer/s ?)
Listen to the song about a sly mongoose.
Sly Mongoose, your name gone abroad,
Sly Mongoose, your name gone abroad
Mongoose slip into Bedward kitchen,
Steal out one of his righteous chicken,
Steal out one of his waistcoat pocket,
Sly Mongoose.
Sly Mongoose, your name gone abroad
Mongoose went up to Bedward daughter,
Ask her if he could have some water.
Bedward daughter say, Whats the matter?
Sly Mongoose.
Sly Mongoose, your name gone abroad
Mongoose get out a dollar and a quarter,
Slipped it to old Bedward daughter.
Bedward daughter say, My Lord and master!
Sly Mongoose.
Sly Mongoose, your name gone abroad
Bedward went up to see his daughter,
Found Mongoose playing with one garter,
Bedward hit him just where he oughter.
Sly Mongoose.
Sly Mongoose, your name gone abroad
[Comment:]
The mongoose of this topical song was a well-known government official who tried to buy the affections of one of the prophet Bedward's daughters.
Source: http://www.unlockingthearchives.rgs.org/themes/journeys/gallery/resource
****
SLY MONGOOSE
(Lyrics to Sly Mongoose, Sam Manning version, 1925)
Listen to the story why mongoose fly from Jamaica
Listen to the story why mongoose fly from Jamaica
Mongoose, the newspaper reported
Jumped into bed with the preacher’s daughter
Baptise her with his holy water
Slide mongoose
Slide mongoose, now your name gone abroad
Slide mongoose, now your name gone abroad
Mongoose went into Bedward’s kitchen
Took up one of his fattest chicken
That’s the reason he fly from Jamaica
Slide mongoose
Slide mongoose, now your name gone abroad
Slide mongoose, now your name gone abroad
Mongoose fly from Jamaica
Slide right over down to Cuba
Wouldn’t stop til he reach America
Slide mongoose
Slide mongoose, now the world know your name
Brother mongoose, now the world know your fame
Mongoose told his high brown mama
Go away gal get another papa
I love your sister a whole lot better
Slide mongoose
Source: http://slymongoose.blogspot.com/2014/01/lyrics-to-sly-mongoose-sam-manning.html Posted by Martin
-snip-
"high brown mama" - light skinned Black woman
"get another papa" - get another lover
Click this link to a page of my cocojams cultural website for the words to another version of "Sly Mongoose": http://www.cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitors' comments are welcome.
This post showcases a sound file of and lyrics for Lord Invader's version of "Sly Mongoose". Information about this old Caribbean song and two additional lyric versions of this song are included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thank to the composers of Sly Mongoose. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to those featured in these sound files and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT SLY MONGOOSE
The original "Sly Mongoose was composed in Jamaica, but versions of this song are well-known throughout the Caribbean.
From http://jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20030629/arts/arts1.html
..."mento's roots lie in the early 19th century when European dances like the quadrille were popular throughout the Caribbean. By the end of the 19th century, mento was all the "rage" in Jamaica, and (like dance hall today) served as "throw wu'd" music, providing an avenue to discuss taboos and social issues.
{Some] mento songs commented on local news, the Bible, politics, infidelity, even obeah, and their subtle innuendo, humouros double entendres and suggestive lyrics helped to protect the innocent from the song's baser meanings.
According to the research, Slim and Sam were two of the best known writers of "throw wu'd" songs in the 1930s and 1940s. "Sly Mongoose" is one of the most popular "scandal" songs, which is still sung today:
Mongoose go down Missa Beckford kitchen,
Tek out one a 'im ritious chicken,
Put 'im inna 'im waiscoat pocket
Run mongoose
Sly (slide) mongoose, yu name gone abroad.
Sly (slide) mongoose, yu name gone abroad."
Originally, the lyrics likened the eccentric religious leader, Alexander Bedward, to a cunning mongoose (a dodgy character). But Bedward is absent from later versions sung today, which leaves the object of the song's criticism open to interpretation."...
****
From http://www.dramonline.org/content/notes/nwr/80427.pdf
"Zoop Zoop Zoop: Traditional Music And Folklore of St. Croix, St. Thomas, and St. John" (New World Records 80427-2)
"This song, wellknown throughout the Caribbean is not really about the mongoose. In fact, the animal and its character is used to allude to sexual liaisons between the master of the house and the cook or between the mistress and a worker.
Sly Mongoose, all them dogs they know your name
Oh yes, sly mongoose, all them dogs they know your name
You went into the mistress kitchen
Take out one of the fattest chickens
Put it into your waistcoat pocket
sly mongoose. "
****
[regarding Lord Invaders' version of "Sly Mongoose":
From http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/smithsonian_folkways/SFW40454.pdf
“...originating in Jamaica where virtually all versions revolve around the activities of the Black prophet Alexander Bedward, “Sly Mongoose [Sly Mongoose Every Dog Knows Your Name] is reported as a carnival song in 1923 in Trinidad. Based on the symbolic references to a trickster with a sexual proclivity, in Eastern Caribbean versions, the mongoose goes into the White man’s kitchen rather than Bedward’s, and steals “one of his fattest chickens”.*
With incredulity, Invader describes his defeat in a calypso contest in the United States. Despite their up-to-date repertoire Houdini vanquishes Destroyer, Growler, and Invader in New York in 1941. Personified as a trickster, Houdini was much despised in Trinidad because of his U. S success and lack of esteem on the island."
-snip-
*Read my interpretation of the line about the Mongoose "going into the White man's kitchen and stealing one of his fattest chickens" regarding the lyrics for Lord Invader's version of this song.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: sly mongoose
roger ramirez Uploaded on Mar 24, 2009
****
LYRICS: SLY MONGOOSE
(Lord Invader, 1946)
There was a competition in America
With Houdini and Destroyer
Houdini sang Adolf Hitler
And yet they said that Houdini was the winner
What he won?
Chorus:
Sly Mongoose
-all together-
Only dog know your name
-Sing the chorus-
Sly Mongoose
-everybody-
Only dog know your name
Yes, mongoose went into the White man’s kitchen
Took up one of his fattest chickens
Push it in his waistcoat pocket,
Sly Mongoose.
Then he challenge the Growler
And the Growler sand a hot number
Growler told the Houdini
He gonna win him with this melody,
What it was: “Old lady, you’re mashing my toe,”
“Oh lady, stop it isn’t”
And yet he won him with,
Chorus
Sly Mongoose
-all together-
Only dog know your name
-Sing it Macbeth-
Sly Mongoose
Only dog know your name
Yes, mongoose went into the White man’s kitchen
Took up one of his fattest chickens
Push it in his waistcoat pocket,
Sly Mongoose.
So as I’m Lord Invader, I said
“I can’t lose my name in America”,
I entered the competition,
And I sang a hot composition.
What it was: “Prisoner leve [Prisoner arise]
“Mete limier bai [Put a light]
and Yet he won me with
Chorus
Sly Mongoose
-everybody
Only dog know your name
-Duke of Iron-
Sly Mongoose
Only dog know your name
Yes, mongoose went into the White man’s kitchen
Took up one of his fattest chickens
Push it in his waistcoat pocket,
Sly Mongoose.
Source: http://media.smithsonianfolkways.org/liner_notes/smithsonian_folkways/SFW40454.pdf
-snip-
Rather than Lord Invader's "Sly Mongoose" being about a man with sexual proclivities, it is a critique about what Lord Invader and other Calypsonians considered to be Houdini's inauthenticity as a Calypsonian. When Lord Invader referred to Houdini as "Sly Mongoose" he was using lines from that well known Caribbean song to insult Houdini. When he referred to Houdini as "Sly Mongoose" and said that Sly Mongoose "went into the White man’s kitchen/Took up one of his fattest chickens", Lord Invader was saying that Houdini had achieved success in the United States as a Calypsonian that he and other Calypsonians believe that Houdini wouldn't have received in the Caribbean - in particular Houdini- the sly Mangoose, stole the crown for that particular Calypso competition. By mentioning "Macbeth [Macbeth the Great"]" and "Duke Of Iron", Lord Invader calls on other well respected Calypsonians to join him in his condemnation of Houdini.
****
OTHER EXAMPLES OF "SLY MONGOOSE"
(lyric composer/s ?)
Listen to the song about a sly mongoose.
Sly Mongoose, your name gone abroad,
Sly Mongoose, your name gone abroad
Mongoose slip into Bedward kitchen,
Steal out one of his righteous chicken,
Steal out one of his waistcoat pocket,
Sly Mongoose.
Sly Mongoose, your name gone abroad
Mongoose went up to Bedward daughter,
Ask her if he could have some water.
Bedward daughter say, Whats the matter?
Sly Mongoose.
Sly Mongoose, your name gone abroad
Mongoose get out a dollar and a quarter,
Slipped it to old Bedward daughter.
Bedward daughter say, My Lord and master!
Sly Mongoose.
Sly Mongoose, your name gone abroad
Bedward went up to see his daughter,
Found Mongoose playing with one garter,
Bedward hit him just where he oughter.
Sly Mongoose.
Sly Mongoose, your name gone abroad
[Comment:]
The mongoose of this topical song was a well-known government official who tried to buy the affections of one of the prophet Bedward's daughters.
Source: http://www.unlockingthearchives.rgs.org/themes/journeys/gallery/resource
****
SLY MONGOOSE
(Lyrics to Sly Mongoose, Sam Manning version, 1925)
Listen to the story why mongoose fly from Jamaica
Listen to the story why mongoose fly from Jamaica
Mongoose, the newspaper reported
Jumped into bed with the preacher’s daughter
Baptise her with his holy water
Slide mongoose
Slide mongoose, now your name gone abroad
Slide mongoose, now your name gone abroad
Mongoose went into Bedward’s kitchen
Took up one of his fattest chicken
That’s the reason he fly from Jamaica
Slide mongoose
Slide mongoose, now your name gone abroad
Slide mongoose, now your name gone abroad
Mongoose fly from Jamaica
Slide right over down to Cuba
Wouldn’t stop til he reach America
Slide mongoose
Slide mongoose, now the world know your name
Brother mongoose, now the world know your fame
Mongoose told his high brown mama
Go away gal get another papa
I love your sister a whole lot better
Slide mongoose
Source: http://slymongoose.blogspot.com/2014/01/lyrics-to-sly-mongoose-sam-manning.html Posted by Martin
-snip-
"high brown mama" - light skinned Black woman
"get another papa" - get another lover
Click this link to a page of my cocojams cultural website for the words to another version of "Sly Mongoose": http://www.cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitors' comments are welcome.
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Different Meanings Of "Wheel And Turn" In Two Jamaican Mento Songs & In The Wailers" "Rude Boy" Song
Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest Revision: Oct. 30, 2021
This pancocojams post provides comments about the phrase "wheel and turn" in the Jamaican Mento songs "One Solja Man" and "This Long Time Gal" and contrasts that meaning with the use of the phrase "wheel and turn" in the Wailers' Ska song "Rude Boy".
Video examples of "wheel and turn" as performed in Jamaican Kumina dancing are also showcased in this post.
Information about Mento music is provided in the Addendum #1 to this post .Information about Ska music is provided in Addendum #2.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/wheel-and-turn-phrase-in-two-jamaican.html The Wailers - "Rude Boy" (sound file & comments) for a spin off of this post :
****
WHAT "WHEEL AND TURN" MEANS IN JAMAICAN MENTO
"Wheel and turn" is a referent for a Jamaican folk culture dance move in which dancers spin as fast as they can to the beat (wheel), then stop and spin in the opposite direction (turn).
Source: "Part Admin/Part Tour Guide", self-described as Jamaican, in 2010 in response to the question "Jamaicans what does "wheel and turn me" mean?", https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100707150927AA7b8ed
**
A 1904 book about Jamaican music probably refers to "wheel and turn" in this note to the Jamaican song "Me Lover Gone A Colon Bay"
"Sung with a dance in which the dancers whirl around, "the wheeling becomes a giddy business..... The dancers never seem to feel it, nor do they appear to mind the heat. They simply stream with perspiration and put their handkerchiefs round their necks to save their white collars."
Walter Jekyll, 1904, Jamaican Song and Story, CXII." quoted by Q in 11 Jun 11 - 06:31 PM http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40845#3168972.
****
TWO MENTO SONGS WHICH INCLUDE THE PHRASE "WHEEL AND TURN"
Example #1: Excerpt from "One Solja Man" [Also known as "Wheel And Turn"]
A weh yuh dah weel an' tun me,
A weh yuh dah weel an' tun me,
Yuh mussa wan' me fe go fall dung,
An' lick me belly pon tambourina.
-snip-
in Standard English:
Why are you wheeling and turning me [so fast; so rough]
Why are you wheeling and turning me [so fast; so rough]
You must want me to fall down
And hit my belly on the tambourine.
-snip-
With regard to "hit my belly on the tambourine", that line may mean that the woman is concerned that she would hit her stomach against an actual band member playing a tambourine instrument because she was being spun around too fast. Or maybe that line means that the woman was concerned that she would fall down because she was being spun around so hard or so fast.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/caribbean-song-one-solja-man.html for a pancocojams post about this song.
****
Example #2: Excerpt from "Long Time Gal"
Dis long time gal mi neva see you
Come let mi wheel an' tun
Dis long time gal mi neva see you
Come let mi wheel an' tun.
-From http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=2856&c=113
-snip-
The lyrics to this song are provided on that website in Jamaican Patois and in Standard English.
****
TWO VIDEOS THAT INCLUDE "WHEEL AND TURN" MOVES IN JAMAICAN KUMINA DANCING
Previous Video #1: Kumina (Cumina) Dance
Marsha Reid, Published on Jun 12, 2012
-snip-
This video is no longer available. Here is the summary that was given with that video.
This was a dance that was shown to us during Sunset Beach's cultural night. In this instance, this dance is for the proper send off of the dead. It is a tradition taken from our African heritage.
For a better explanation, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumina
****
Vincent Moiso, Published on Sep 2, 2012
Caught this on our way back to the ship at the port of Fallmouth. These guys were amazing! I could have watched them the whole time, this is just a few minute clip. Enjoy!
-snip-
Here's a comment from that video's discussion thread:
jahmeykan, 2013
"Hey Vincent, nice footage. The dance is actually called Kumina. It brings back memories of when I used to play drums for these and many other traditional dances. It's nice to see that this tradition is alive and well. Thanks for sharing! Walk good."
****
WHAT "WHEEL AND TURN" MEANS IN THE WAILERS' SKA SONG "RUDE BOY"
Here's a transcription of that verse of the Wailers' "Rude Boy" song includes the phrase "wheel and turn":
Me want you come wheel an' turn me.
Me want you come wheel an' turn me.
Me want you come wheel an' turn me,
Fi go lick a mi head 'pon you tambourine.
I've got to keep on movin'.
I've got to keep on movin'.
I've got to keep on movin'.
I've got to keep on movin'.
I've got to keep on movin'.
Source: http://www.jah-lyrics.com/index.php?songid=1416
"Comment:
This song is the original version first released in 1965.
It was later covered by Gladiators in 1976 and by Bunny Wailer in 1981."
-snip-
HOWEVER, in a YouTube discussion thread for this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nhgb9hC7UI, Rebelman19 in 2009 gives that line as "Now waan u come wheel an tun me (x3) Fi go lick mi head pon yuh tambourine!".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-wailers-rude-boy-sound-file-comments.html for a pancocojams post about the possible meaning of that verse in the Wailers "Rude Boy" song.
****
WHAT "RUDE BOY" MEANS
"Rude boy" = "bad boy" ; "Rude boys" is a Jamaican referent for sharp dressing young men who hang out in the streets and are known for their violent, anti-social behavior.
From http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/may/24/rude-boys-jamaican-subculture-photography-exhibition "Rude boys: Shanty Town to Savile Row":
"It was towards the end of 1963 that the Wailers released their first single, Simmer Down, on the legendary Studio One label in Jamaica. The song was written and sung by an 18-year-old Bob Marley, the lyrics intended to placate his mother, Cedella, who was worried about the company her son was keeping in the Trench Town ghetto of the Jamaican capital, Kingston, where they lived. Simmer Down was aimed directly at the often sharply dressed young men locally known as "rude boys", who were making headlines in the then newly independent island with their violent and antisocial behavior/"
-snip-
Note that 'rude boy"-now often given as "rude bwoy" may be a complimentary referent. http://jamaicanpatwah.com/term/Rude-bwoy/1078#.U8apCI1OVv4
However, two commenters on that Yahoo answer website whose link is given above, shared a different meaning for those lines:
Shayne, 2010
"It means ya confuse him"
**
Part Admin/Part Tour Guide, 2010
[In the song "Rude Boy"] "The artists could also have been using artistic license to say not only was his heart hurt (emotainally hurt) but he was so confused he lost physical balance, fell and hurt his head by hitting it against a tambourine. But the rest of the song does not speak to this it speaks to dancing similar to elephant man's 'pon de river' where he goes through todays pop moves"
-snip-
I believe that the singer is certain about what (or who) he wants. It's the other person who is undecided or confused. That's indicated by these lyrics from that song: "Wanti wanti cyaan get it, an' getti getti no want it./ Wanti wanti cyaan get it, an' getti getti no want it."
****
ADDENDUM #1: INFORMATION ABOUT JAMAICAN MENTO
From http://worldmusic.about.com/od/genres/p/Mento.htm Jamaican Mento Music 101 By Megan Romer
"Mento music emerged as a distinct style of Jamaican music in the early part of the 1900s, although its roots run much deeper. Mento, much like other Caribbean folk music, is a blending of African rhythms, Latin rhythms, and Anglo folksongs. Mento found its greatest popularity in the 1940s and 1950s in Jamaica, before Rocksteady and Reggae became the predominant musical styles...
Mento music is often referred to as Jamaican Calypso, although the rhythms and song patterns are markedly different from those of Trinidadian Calypso.
While many mento songs are about traditional "folksong" subjects, from political commentary to simple day-to-day life, a disproportionately large number of the songs are "bawdy songs", often featuring poorly-veiled (and delightfully funny) sexual double-entendres."
-snip-
Although the Caribbean songs that were first popularized in the United States in the 1950s by Harry Belafonte were labeled "Calypso", those songs were actually Jamaican Mentos. Because of the growing popularity of Calypso music, some Jamaican Mento singers used the descriptors "Calypso" and "Calypsonian" for their music and for their groups. One example of that practice was the Jamaican group "Lord Flea and the Calypsonians" who recorded "Shake Shake Sonora", "Naughty Little Flea", "Wheel And Turn Me" and other Mento songs under the category of "Calypso" or "Jamaican Calypso".
****
ADDENDUM #2: INFORMATION ABOUT SKA MUSIC
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ska
"Ska ... is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae.[1] Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the upbeat. In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant music genre of Jamaica and was popular with British mods. Later it became popular with many skinheads."
[
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitors' comments are welcome.
Latest Revision: Oct. 30, 2021
This pancocojams post provides comments about the phrase "wheel and turn" in the Jamaican Mento songs "One Solja Man" and "This Long Time Gal" and contrasts that meaning with the use of the phrase "wheel and turn" in the Wailers' Ska song "Rude Boy".
Video examples of "wheel and turn" as performed in Jamaican Kumina dancing are also showcased in this post.
Information about Mento music is provided in the Addendum #1 to this post .Information about Ska music is provided in Addendum #2.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to all those who are featured in these videos. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/wheel-and-turn-phrase-in-two-jamaican.html The Wailers - "Rude Boy" (sound file & comments) for a spin off of this post :
****
WHAT "WHEEL AND TURN" MEANS IN JAMAICAN MENTO
"Wheel and turn" is a referent for a Jamaican folk culture dance move in which dancers spin as fast as they can to the beat (wheel), then stop and spin in the opposite direction (turn).
Source: "Part Admin/Part Tour Guide", self-described as Jamaican, in 2010 in response to the question "Jamaicans what does "wheel and turn me" mean?", https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100707150927AA7b8ed
**
A 1904 book about Jamaican music probably refers to "wheel and turn" in this note to the Jamaican song "Me Lover Gone A Colon Bay"
"Sung with a dance in which the dancers whirl around, "the wheeling becomes a giddy business..... The dancers never seem to feel it, nor do they appear to mind the heat. They simply stream with perspiration and put their handkerchiefs round their necks to save their white collars."
Walter Jekyll, 1904, Jamaican Song and Story, CXII." quoted by Q in 11 Jun 11 - 06:31 PM http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40845#3168972.
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TWO MENTO SONGS WHICH INCLUDE THE PHRASE "WHEEL AND TURN"
Example #1: Excerpt from "One Solja Man" [Also known as "Wheel And Turn"]
A weh yuh dah weel an' tun me,
A weh yuh dah weel an' tun me,
Yuh mussa wan' me fe go fall dung,
An' lick me belly pon tambourina.
-snip-
in Standard English:
Why are you wheeling and turning me [so fast; so rough]
Why are you wheeling and turning me [so fast; so rough]
You must want me to fall down
And hit my belly on the tambourine.
-snip-
With regard to "hit my belly on the tambourine", that line may mean that the woman is concerned that she would hit her stomach against an actual band member playing a tambourine instrument because she was being spun around too fast. Or maybe that line means that the woman was concerned that she would fall down because she was being spun around so hard or so fast.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/caribbean-song-one-solja-man.html for a pancocojams post about this song.
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Example #2: Excerpt from "Long Time Gal"
Dis long time gal mi neva see you
Come let mi wheel an' tun
Dis long time gal mi neva see you
Come let mi wheel an' tun.
-From http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=2856&c=113
-snip-
The lyrics to this song are provided on that website in Jamaican Patois and in Standard English.
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TWO VIDEOS THAT INCLUDE "WHEEL AND TURN" MOVES IN JAMAICAN KUMINA DANCING
Previous Video #1: Kumina (Cumina) Dance
Marsha Reid, Published on Jun 12, 2012
-snip-
This video is no longer available. Here is the summary that was given with that video.
This was a dance that was shown to us during Sunset Beach's cultural night. In this instance, this dance is for the proper send off of the dead. It is a tradition taken from our African heritage.
For a better explanation, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumina
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Replacement video Video #1: Jamaican Kumina dancing (Manchioneal Cultural Group)
Tv Teago, Aug 1, 2020
Hey people Kumina is 1 Jamaican cultural dancing. Kamina is originate from St Thomas in hour forks parents time.
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Video #2: Traditional Jamaican Dance - Royal Carribean Allure of the Seas
Tv Teago, Aug 1, 2020
Hey people Kumina is 1 Jamaican cultural dancing. Kamina is originate from St Thomas in hour forks parents time.
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Video #2: Traditional Jamaican Dance - Royal Carribean Allure of the Seas
Vincent Moiso, Published on Sep 2, 2012
Caught this on our way back to the ship at the port of Fallmouth. These guys were amazing! I could have watched them the whole time, this is just a few minute clip. Enjoy!
-snip-
Here's a comment from that video's discussion thread:
jahmeykan, 2013
"Hey Vincent, nice footage. The dance is actually called Kumina. It brings back memories of when I used to play drums for these and many other traditional dances. It's nice to see that this tradition is alive and well. Thanks for sharing! Walk good."
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WHAT "WHEEL AND TURN" MEANS IN THE WAILERS' SKA SONG "RUDE BOY"
Here's a transcription of that verse of the Wailers' "Rude Boy" song includes the phrase "wheel and turn":
Me want you come wheel an' turn me.
Me want you come wheel an' turn me.
Me want you come wheel an' turn me,
Fi go lick a mi head 'pon you tambourine.
I've got to keep on movin'.
I've got to keep on movin'.
I've got to keep on movin'.
I've got to keep on movin'.
I've got to keep on movin'.
Source: http://www.jah-lyrics.com/index.php?songid=1416
"Comment:
This song is the original version first released in 1965.
It was later covered by Gladiators in 1976 and by Bunny Wailer in 1981."
-snip-
HOWEVER, in a YouTube discussion thread for this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Nhgb9hC7UI, Rebelman19 in 2009 gives that line as "Now waan u come wheel an tun me (x3) Fi go lick mi head pon yuh tambourine!".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-wailers-rude-boy-sound-file-comments.html for a pancocojams post about the possible meaning of that verse in the Wailers "Rude Boy" song.
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WHAT "RUDE BOY" MEANS
"Rude boy" = "bad boy" ; "Rude boys" is a Jamaican referent for sharp dressing young men who hang out in the streets and are known for their violent, anti-social behavior.
From http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/may/24/rude-boys-jamaican-subculture-photography-exhibition "Rude boys: Shanty Town to Savile Row":
"It was towards the end of 1963 that the Wailers released their first single, Simmer Down, on the legendary Studio One label in Jamaica. The song was written and sung by an 18-year-old Bob Marley, the lyrics intended to placate his mother, Cedella, who was worried about the company her son was keeping in the Trench Town ghetto of the Jamaican capital, Kingston, where they lived. Simmer Down was aimed directly at the often sharply dressed young men locally known as "rude boys", who were making headlines in the then newly independent island with their violent and antisocial behavior/"
-snip-
Note that 'rude boy"-now often given as "rude bwoy" may be a complimentary referent. http://jamaicanpatwah.com/term/Rude-bwoy/1078#.U8apCI1OVv4
However, two commenters on that Yahoo answer website whose link is given above, shared a different meaning for those lines:
Shayne, 2010
"It means ya confuse him"
**
Part Admin/Part Tour Guide, 2010
[In the song "Rude Boy"] "The artists could also have been using artistic license to say not only was his heart hurt (emotainally hurt) but he was so confused he lost physical balance, fell and hurt his head by hitting it against a tambourine. But the rest of the song does not speak to this it speaks to dancing similar to elephant man's 'pon de river' where he goes through todays pop moves"
-snip-
I believe that the singer is certain about what (or who) he wants. It's the other person who is undecided or confused. That's indicated by these lyrics from that song: "Wanti wanti cyaan get it, an' getti getti no want it./ Wanti wanti cyaan get it, an' getti getti no want it."
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ADDENDUM #1: INFORMATION ABOUT JAMAICAN MENTO
From http://worldmusic.about.com/od/genres/p/Mento.htm Jamaican Mento Music 101 By Megan Romer
"Mento music emerged as a distinct style of Jamaican music in the early part of the 1900s, although its roots run much deeper. Mento, much like other Caribbean folk music, is a blending of African rhythms, Latin rhythms, and Anglo folksongs. Mento found its greatest popularity in the 1940s and 1950s in Jamaica, before Rocksteady and Reggae became the predominant musical styles...
Mento music is often referred to as Jamaican Calypso, although the rhythms and song patterns are markedly different from those of Trinidadian Calypso.
While many mento songs are about traditional "folksong" subjects, from political commentary to simple day-to-day life, a disproportionately large number of the songs are "bawdy songs", often featuring poorly-veiled (and delightfully funny) sexual double-entendres."
-snip-
Although the Caribbean songs that were first popularized in the United States in the 1950s by Harry Belafonte were labeled "Calypso", those songs were actually Jamaican Mentos. Because of the growing popularity of Calypso music, some Jamaican Mento singers used the descriptors "Calypso" and "Calypsonian" for their music and for their groups. One example of that practice was the Jamaican group "Lord Flea and the Calypsonians" who recorded "Shake Shake Sonora", "Naughty Little Flea", "Wheel And Turn Me" and other Mento songs under the category of "Calypso" or "Jamaican Calypso".
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ADDENDUM #2: INFORMATION ABOUT SKA MUSIC
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ska
"Ska ... is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae.[1] Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the upbeat. In the early 1960s, ska was the dominant music genre of Jamaica and was popular with British mods. Later it became popular with many skinheads."
[
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Visitors' comments are welcome.
Thursday, March 20, 2014
The Chosen Brothers - Mango Walk (Roots Reggae/Dub Music)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases a sound file of the Roots Reggae song "Mango Walk" by The Chosen Brothers. Information about Roots Reggae, and about Dub music are also included in this post as are two selected comments from this sound file's viewer comment thread and a link to the Dub Reggae tune "Mango Drive" by Rhythm & Sound which is mentioned by one of the commenters.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All content remain with their owners.
Thanks to The Chosen Brothers for this song. Thanks also to the publishers of this sound video on Youtube. And thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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INFORMATION ABOUT ROOTS REGGAE
From http://www.omuzic.net/blog/the_history_of_roots_reggae/
"Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer and the rural poor. Lyrical themes include spirituality and religion, poverty, cultural pride, social issues, resistance to government and racial oppression as well as repatriation to Africa. The increasing influence of the Rastafari movement after the visit of Haile Selassie to Jamaica in 1966 played a major part in the development of roots reggae, with spiritual themes becoming more common in reggae lyrics in the late 1960s...
While roots reggae was largely overtaken in popularity in Jamaica by dancehall, several artists from the original era, such as Culture, Burning Spear and Isreal Vibration continued to produce roots reggae and artists like Beres Hammond and Freddie McGregor continued the use of roots reggae, as a musical style and thematically, through the 1980s. In the 1990s younger Jamaican artists became interested in the Rastafari movement and began incorporating roots themes into their music"...
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INFORMATION ABOUT DUB MUSIC
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dub_(music)
"Dub is a genre of music[1] which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre,[2] though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae. Music in this genre consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings[3] and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing music piece, and emphasizing the drum and bass parts (this stripped down track is sometimes referred to as a 'riddim'). Other techniques include dynamically adding extensive echo, reverb, panoramic delay, and occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works."...
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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Chosen Brothers - Mango Walk - Heavy Roots Reggae Dubwize.1979 Wackies 12 INCH
pablowkingstoned, Uploaded on Mar 20, 2009
the chosen brothers - mango walk - heavy roots reggae dubwize.1979 wackies..... its me 400th jamaican music jukebox video, so we have a big one here ...heavy and deep hope you like it!!!! ....enjoy!!!
-snip-
This recording is instrumental except for these words that recur periodically throughout the song: "Maaaaangooo” (It’s a fruit y’all) and "Everybody shout “Maaaaangooo”".
-snip-
Nigel Gillett, 2013
"This was recorded in a baement in the Bronx. The low-fi, distorted quality of the recording was by all accounts intentional.He wanted to create a distinctive sound and vibe, like Lee Perry's Black Ark."
***
silverdroid, 2013
"I had no idea until recently that Mango Drive (Rhythm & Sound) was inspired by this. Now it's stuck in my head forever. At my desk at work chanting "Maaaaangoooooooo!" And people with quality concerns: it's intentional. Dub is warm and gritty by nature."
RELATED LINKS
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS0yS2102gM for a sound file of the instrumental tune "Mango Drive".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-in-crowd-mango-walk-reggae-video.html for the pancocojams post about The In-Crowd's Roots Reggae song "Mango Walk".
****
NFORMATION ABOUT THE PHRASE "MANGO WALK"
"Mango Walk" is the title of an old Jamaican Mento song. That song refers to a person stealing mango fruit from the trees in the mango walk (the mango orchard).
Visit this page of my Cocojams cultural website for examples of lyrics for the Mento song "Mango Walk" http://www.cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases a sound file of the Roots Reggae song "Mango Walk" by The Chosen Brothers. Information about Roots Reggae, and about Dub music are also included in this post as are two selected comments from this sound file's viewer comment thread and a link to the Dub Reggae tune "Mango Drive" by Rhythm & Sound which is mentioned by one of the commenters.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All content remain with their owners.
Thanks to The Chosen Brothers for this song. Thanks also to the publishers of this sound video on Youtube. And thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT ROOTS REGGAE
From http://www.omuzic.net/blog/the_history_of_roots_reggae/
"Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer and the rural poor. Lyrical themes include spirituality and religion, poverty, cultural pride, social issues, resistance to government and racial oppression as well as repatriation to Africa. The increasing influence of the Rastafari movement after the visit of Haile Selassie to Jamaica in 1966 played a major part in the development of roots reggae, with spiritual themes becoming more common in reggae lyrics in the late 1960s...
While roots reggae was largely overtaken in popularity in Jamaica by dancehall, several artists from the original era, such as Culture, Burning Spear and Isreal Vibration continued to produce roots reggae and artists like Beres Hammond and Freddie McGregor continued the use of roots reggae, as a musical style and thematically, through the 1980s. In the 1990s younger Jamaican artists became interested in the Rastafari movement and began incorporating roots themes into their music"...
****
INFORMATION ABOUT DUB MUSIC
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dub_(music)
"Dub is a genre of music[1] which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre,[2] though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae. Music in this genre consists predominantly of instrumental remixes of existing recordings[3] and is achieved by significantly manipulating and reshaping the recordings, usually by removing the vocals from an existing music piece, and emphasizing the drum and bass parts (this stripped down track is sometimes referred to as a 'riddim'). Other techniques include dynamically adding extensive echo, reverb, panoramic delay, and occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works."...
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: Chosen Brothers - Mango Walk - Heavy Roots Reggae Dubwize.1979 Wackies 12 INCH
pablowkingstoned, Uploaded on Mar 20, 2009
the chosen brothers - mango walk - heavy roots reggae dubwize.1979 wackies..... its me 400th jamaican music jukebox video, so we have a big one here ...heavy and deep hope you like it!!!! ....enjoy!!!
-snip-
This recording is instrumental except for these words that recur periodically throughout the song: "Maaaaangooo” (It’s a fruit y’all) and "Everybody shout “Maaaaangooo”".
-snip-
Nigel Gillett, 2013
"This was recorded in a baement in the Bronx. The low-fi, distorted quality of the recording was by all accounts intentional.He wanted to create a distinctive sound and vibe, like Lee Perry's Black Ark."
***
silverdroid, 2013
"I had no idea until recently that Mango Drive (Rhythm & Sound) was inspired by this. Now it's stuck in my head forever. At my desk at work chanting "Maaaaangoooooooo!" And people with quality concerns: it's intentional. Dub is warm and gritty by nature."
RELATED LINKS
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uS0yS2102gM for a sound file of the instrumental tune "Mango Drive".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-in-crowd-mango-walk-reggae-video.html for the pancocojams post about The In-Crowd's Roots Reggae song "Mango Walk".
****
NFORMATION ABOUT THE PHRASE "MANGO WALK"
"Mango Walk" is the title of an old Jamaican Mento song. That song refers to a person stealing mango fruit from the trees in the mango walk (the mango orchard).
Visit this page of my Cocojams cultural website for examples of lyrics for the Mento song "Mango Walk" http://www.cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
The In-Crowd - "Mango Walk" (Reggae), video & lyrics
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases a video of The In Crowd's Reggae record "Mango Walk". My partial transcription of the lyrics for this song are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All content remain with their owners.
Thanks to The In-Crowd and the producer of this video. Thanks also to the publishers of this video on Youtube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
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SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: The In-Crowd - Mango Walk
Brio deparis, Published on Feb 13, 2013
Music by The In-Crowd. Track: Mango Walk.
"Boom ! Wagan? Memba a mi fi tell yu tings a crawb up you done know. Beat dem bad !"
-snip-
I agree that this “Beat dem bad” and the video is also excellent.
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PARTIAL LYRICS*
Let’s go down mango walk
Free from all idle talk**
So let’s go down mango walk
The trees are ripe
And the meat is nice
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell from the recordings. Additions and corrections are welcome.
*This is mostly an instrumental record. I'm referring to my attempt to suss out the words to this record as a "partial transcription" as I'm not including the "Whamp" (or something like it) sounds.
If "meat" is the correct transcription, it refers to the inside of the mango fruit.
**Thanks to anonymous October 15, 2015 for this corrected lyric.
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT THE PHRASE "MANGO WALK"
"Mango Walk" is the title of an old Jamaican Mento song.* That song refers to a person stealing mango fruit from the trees in the mango walk (the mango orchard). As such, "Mango Walk" (and particularly this version of that well known Jamaican song) was a great pick for the soundtrack of Episode 1 of the very popular American television series "Breaking Bad".
This commenter who wrote on the discussion thread of a sound file of The In-Crowd's "Mango Walk" pin pointed when this song was used in that "Breaking Bad" episode:
Quinn Marnich, 2012
"Mr. White stealing school equipment to this song so that he can make Meth. Epic."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPMIiGRnV5A
*Visit this page of my Cocojams cultural website for examples of lyrics for the Mento song "Mango Walk" http://www.cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs
****
RELATED LINK
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-chosen-brothers-mango-walk-roots.html for the pancocojams post on the Roots Reggae/Dub record "Mango Walk" by The Chosen Brothers.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases a video of The In Crowd's Reggae record "Mango Walk". My partial transcription of the lyrics for this song are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All content remain with their owners.
Thanks to The In-Crowd and the producer of this video. Thanks also to the publishers of this video on Youtube. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post.
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLE: The In-Crowd - Mango Walk
Brio deparis, Published on Feb 13, 2013
Music by The In-Crowd. Track: Mango Walk.
"Boom ! Wagan? Memba a mi fi tell yu tings a crawb up you done know. Beat dem bad !"
-snip-
I agree that this “Beat dem bad” and the video is also excellent.
****
PARTIAL LYRICS*
Let’s go down mango walk
Free from all idle talk**
So let’s go down mango walk
The trees are ripe
And the meat is nice
-snip-
Transcription by Azizi Powell from the recordings. Additions and corrections are welcome.
*This is mostly an instrumental record. I'm referring to my attempt to suss out the words to this record as a "partial transcription" as I'm not including the "Whamp" (or something like it) sounds.
If "meat" is the correct transcription, it refers to the inside of the mango fruit.
**Thanks to anonymous October 15, 2015 for this corrected lyric.
****
ADDENDUM: INFORMATION ABOUT THE PHRASE "MANGO WALK"
"Mango Walk" is the title of an old Jamaican Mento song.* That song refers to a person stealing mango fruit from the trees in the mango walk (the mango orchard). As such, "Mango Walk" (and particularly this version of that well known Jamaican song) was a great pick for the soundtrack of Episode 1 of the very popular American television series "Breaking Bad".
This commenter who wrote on the discussion thread of a sound file of The In-Crowd's "Mango Walk" pin pointed when this song was used in that "Breaking Bad" episode:
Quinn Marnich, 2012
"Mr. White stealing school equipment to this song so that he can make Meth. Epic."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPMIiGRnV5A
*Visit this page of my Cocojams cultural website for examples of lyrics for the Mento song "Mango Walk" http://www.cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs
****
RELATED LINK
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/03/the-chosen-brothers-mango-walk-roots.html for the pancocojams post on the Roots Reggae/Dub record "Mango Walk" by The Chosen Brothers.
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Hill And Gully Rider (General Information & Folk Lyrics)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part I of a three part series on the Jamaican song "Hill & Gully Rider" (also given as "Hill 'N Gully Rider"). This post provides general information about Jamaican music, with an emphasis on information about Mento music and Ska music. This post also includes general comments about the song "Hill and Gully Rider" and three examples of folk lyrics for that song.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/lord-composer-hill-n-gully-ride-sound.html for Part II of this post.
Part II showcases a sound file of and lyrics for Lord Composer's Mento version of "Hill 'N Gully Ride". Information & comments about that song are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-charms-jamaican-ska-hill-and-gully.html for Part III of this series.
Part III showcases a sound file of and lyrics for The Charm's Ska version of "Hill 'N Gully Rider". Selected comments from that YouTube sound file's viewer comment thread are also included in that post.
The content in this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
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DEFINITION OF THE WORD "GULLY"
From http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gully
"deep ditch or channel cut in the earth by running water after a prolonged downpour."
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GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT JAMAICAN MUSIC
From http://www.mentomusic.com/WhatIsMento.htm
"Mento music had its beginnings in Jamaica in the 19th century, and was uniquely Jamaican fusion of African and European musical traditions. In mento's recorded history pre-history, from the 1920s through the 1940s, a number of Jamaican songs were put to wax by Caribbean jazz artists. In the 1930 and 1940s, Slim and Sam, a mento group who performed in Kingston, gained renown and are recalled today. They're remembered for their originals, and sold "tracts" -- printed lyrics -- at their performances...
But it wasn't until the early 1950s that true mento recordings first began to appear on 78 RPM discs. This decade was mento’s golden age, as a variety of artists recorded mento songs in an assortment of rhythms and styles. It was the peak of mento's creativity and popularity in Jamaica and the birth of Jamaica's recording industry.
These recordings reveal mento to be a diverse musical genre, sometimes played with reckless abandon and other times with orderly precision...
Some styles of mento would evolve into ska and reggae. (As a matter of fact, some mento songs are still being recorded inna dancehall stylee today.) Other styles, while purely mento, seem to have done less to contribute to the development of later Jamaican music...
Recording more than one vocal performance to the same musical backing is a quintessentially reggae practice. But it appears to have originated in mento, where this was not uncommon. Old folk and mento melodies would sometimes acquire altered, or an entirely new set of lyrics. (The melody from "Rucumbine" proved to be especially reusable.)... The lyrical content and vocal style couldn’t be more different, but the music is essentially the same. Or compare the two Lord Composer clips, Galag Gully; Matilda and Hill and Gully Ride; Mandeville Road. As in reggae, this practice does nothing to take away from the enjoyment of these recordings...
Some mento artists followed the calypsonian practice of adding a title such as "Count" or "Lord" to their name. But make no mistake, mento is a distinctly different sound from calypso, with its own instrumentation, rhythms, pacing, vocal styles, harmonies, and lyrical concerns."...
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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mento
"Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music.
Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso; mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques. As in Calypso, Mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues.[2] Sexual innuendos are also common"...
****
From http://www.mentomusic.com/1scans.htm
..."By 1957 the popularity of Mento began to fade and “sales were not there anymore in Jamaica. And…. by the time the decade drew to a close, interest in Mento was almost non-existent in Jamaica. As the sixties opened Emil Shallit would go on to found the hugely influential Blue Beat label licensing Jamaican Rhythm &Blues and Ska recordings for U.K. release."
****
GENERAL COMMENTS
From the editors of Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean Songs
"Hill an gully is a call and response work song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut. folk song which was sung as a work song (a digging song that was sung while building roads)"
-snip-
Multiple Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully [Rider"} have been sung and recorded for social dancing. It appears to me that many if not all Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully Rider" are dance instruction songs (songs whose lyrics for the most part or entirely consist of directions for dance moves.) It seems to me that the words to the song given below as Example #1 meets that definition of a dance instruction song. I'm not as certain about the lyrics to Example #2 and Example #3 below.
I believe that it's important to emphasize the fact that many folk songs were or are also used as social [or religious] dance songs since people in the United States often try to separate the experience of singing and playing instrumental folk music & other genres of music from the experience of dancing to that music.
****
From http://www.jamaicans.com/music/articles_reggae/50-years-of-unforgettable-jamaican-music~print.shtml "50 Years of Unforgettable Jamaican Music" by Margaret Juliet Bailey
[comment about Mento music]
"The most heart warming form of music that brings back memories of yesteryear for Jamaicans is Mento music. Mento music is comprised of folk music, mento instrumentation and calypso. The first presenters of Jamaican mento music were the "Cudjoe Minstrels". However, the Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverly turned mento into an International art form with songs such as "Wheel and Tun Me" and "Long Time Gal Me Nevva See You".”...
[comment about Ska music]
"The first popular music was Ska or Julian Jingles which was created in the early 60's. Ska is described as a fusion of Jamaican mento rhythms, R&B and American Music. Ska became very popular due to the middle class, a dance called "the ska" was eventually developed. Vocalists such as, Lascelles Perkins, Laurel Aitken, and Clancy Eccles were instrumental in promoting ska to the top of the music charts. Groups like the Skattelites were formed; however, their fame was short lived due to another type of music [Rock Steady] emerging [in the late 1960s]".
****
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=9627&messages=60 [hereafter given as Mudcat: Hill And Gully Rider"], posted by Gibb Sahib, 30 Sep 10
[[comment #1]
"FWIW "Hill and Gully," from my experience with Jamaican music (I am not Jamaican) "Hill and Gully" is extremely well known, to the point that it functions as a sort of "standard reference"... maybe something like "Mary Had a Little Lamb" in North America. As such, the song been recycled in various genres... However, beyond that, I have heard the melody "quoted" by instrumentalists in other genre contexts, and have even heard the phrase "hill and gully" used by at least one toaster/dj/rapper... "Hill and Gully" has also been adopted by people in the names for other things...I can't point to any examples, but perhaps you'll take my word for it that they are there, eg. a jerk chicken shack might call itself "Hill and Gully Jerk Centre" or something of that sort.
[comment #2]
..."I don't know where it [the song "Hill And Gully Rider" originated but I know that this was a very popular Jamaican folk song in the early-to-mid 1900s. It had been sung in Jamaica for decades before anyone there ever recorded it (as they didn't have a recorder until Times Records started recording and sending them to Decca in the UK to be pressed).
The earliest recording I know of "Hill And Gully Ride" is a Mento medley on a Jamaican 78 on the MRS label (#31). Considering this label started in '51 or so, this record was probably released in '53 by Lord Composer... the side B was "Hill And Gully Ride / Mandeville Road" Ironically, Belefonte also borrows from the second song on this medley in his version of "Emanual Road". He did not use "Hill and Gully Ride" in his version of Day-O. That was the version released by the Tarriers called "Banana Boat Song"."
****
THREE FOLK LYRICS FOR THE SONG "HILL AND GULLY RIDER"
[As is the case with all folk music, there are multiple versions of the song "Hill N Gully Rider". All of the versions of that song that I have heard use the same tune (melody), but the tempos of different versions of that song may differ.
The spelling in the first example leads me to believe that that version is the oldest of the examples in this post. I also believe that that version-and probably the other two versions as well- are older than the Mento & Ska lyrics that are showcased in Part II of this series.]
Example #1:
From Mudcat: Hill And Gully Rider, posted by Long Firm Freddie, 09 Feb 04
"In a book called Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean songs chosen by Yvonne Conolly, Gloria Cameron and Sonia Singham, published by A & C Black of London, it gives the following:
HILL AN GULLY - Words and Melody Traditional Jamaican
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
An ah ben dung low dung,
(Hill an gully)
An a low dung bessy dung,
(Hill an gully)
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
An yu better mind you tumble dung,
(Hill an gully)
An yu tumble down yu bruk yu neck,
(Hill an gully)
The notes say Hill an Gully is a call and response song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut.
The response can be sung in unison or in two part harmony.
The thud of pick axes driven into the ground provided the accompaniment to the song... as the leader sang out his call, the pick axes were raised for the next downward swing.
-snip-
Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean Songs was published in 1981. Here's a comment about the lyrics of that song from that book [p. 23]:
"Hill an gully is a call and response work song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut.
bessy dung-bend down
The response can be sung in unison or in two part harmony.
The thud of pick axes driven into the ground provided the accompaniment to the song and this could be imitated by bass drums or tambours striking the first beat of each bar sung by the chorus. As the leader sung out his call, the pick axes were raised for the next downward swing."
-snip-
"An ah ben dung low dung" = And I been down low down
"An a low dung bessy dung" = and a [or "I"] low down bend down
****
Example #2
From http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Hill_and_Gully_Rider.htm
"I have a version in one of my ABC (Australia) school song books
and it has appeared in the past more than once. It's listed as traditional Jamaican and has
four verses as shown:
Took my horse an' comin' down,
Hill an' gully
But my horse done stumble down
Hill an' gully Hill an' gully
An' the nighttime come an' tumble down
Hill an' gully
The refrain appears between each line of the following verses too.
Oh the moon shone bright down,
Ain't no place to hide in down,
An' a zombie come a ridin' down
Oh, my knees they shake down
An' my heart starts quakin' down
An' I run 'til daylight breakin' down.
That's the last I set down,
Pray the Lord don' let me down.
Ain't nobody goin' to get me down.
****
Example #3
From http://www.harptabs.com/song.php?ID=17522
[Editor's note: This site gives the same lyrics as found in Example #2 as "1st "pos" [possibility] for the words to "Hill And Gully Rider".
HILL AND GULLY RIDER 2nd pos
Jamaican folk song
Hill an’ gul-ly rid-er hill an’ gul-ly
Hill an’ gul-ly rid-er hill an’ gul-ly
I was walk-in’ real slow down hill an’ gul-ly
When I break my toe down hill an’ gul-ly
Ma-ma told me don’t go down hill an’ gul-ly
All the boys walk the road
down hill an’ gul-ly
Wom-en car-ry all the load
Down hill an’ gul-ly
Grass too green to be mowed
Down hill an’ gul-ly
Hill an’ gul-ly rid-er hill an’ gul-ly
****
This completes Part I of this series.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This is Part I of a three part series on the Jamaican song "Hill & Gully Rider" (also given as "Hill 'N Gully Rider"). This post provides general information about Jamaican music, with an emphasis on information about Mento music and Ska music. This post also includes general comments about the song "Hill and Gully Rider" and three examples of folk lyrics for that song.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/lord-composer-hill-n-gully-ride-sound.html for Part II of this post.
Part II showcases a sound file of and lyrics for Lord Composer's Mento version of "Hill 'N Gully Ride". Information & comments about that song are also included in this post.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-charms-jamaican-ska-hill-and-gully.html for Part III of this series.
Part III showcases a sound file of and lyrics for The Charm's Ska version of "Hill 'N Gully Rider". Selected comments from that YouTube sound file's viewer comment thread are also included in that post.
The content in this post is presented for folkloric, historical, and educational purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
DEFINITION OF THE WORD "GULLY"
From http://www.thefreedictionary.com/gully
"deep ditch or channel cut in the earth by running water after a prolonged downpour."
****
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT JAMAICAN MUSIC
From http://www.mentomusic.com/WhatIsMento.htm
"Mento music had its beginnings in Jamaica in the 19th century, and was uniquely Jamaican fusion of African and European musical traditions. In mento's recorded history pre-history, from the 1920s through the 1940s, a number of Jamaican songs were put to wax by Caribbean jazz artists. In the 1930 and 1940s, Slim and Sam, a mento group who performed in Kingston, gained renown and are recalled today. They're remembered for their originals, and sold "tracts" -- printed lyrics -- at their performances...
But it wasn't until the early 1950s that true mento recordings first began to appear on 78 RPM discs. This decade was mento’s golden age, as a variety of artists recorded mento songs in an assortment of rhythms and styles. It was the peak of mento's creativity and popularity in Jamaica and the birth of Jamaica's recording industry.
These recordings reveal mento to be a diverse musical genre, sometimes played with reckless abandon and other times with orderly precision...
Some styles of mento would evolve into ska and reggae. (As a matter of fact, some mento songs are still being recorded inna dancehall stylee today.) Other styles, while purely mento, seem to have done less to contribute to the development of later Jamaican music...
Recording more than one vocal performance to the same musical backing is a quintessentially reggae practice. But it appears to have originated in mento, where this was not uncommon. Old folk and mento melodies would sometimes acquire altered, or an entirely new set of lyrics. (The melody from "Rucumbine" proved to be especially reusable.)... The lyrical content and vocal style couldn’t be more different, but the music is essentially the same. Or compare the two Lord Composer clips, Galag Gully; Matilda and Hill and Gully Ride; Mandeville Road. As in reggae, this practice does nothing to take away from the enjoyment of these recordings...
Some mento artists followed the calypsonian practice of adding a title such as "Count" or "Lord" to their name. But make no mistake, mento is a distinctly different sound from calypso, with its own instrumentation, rhythms, pacing, vocal styles, harmonies, and lyrical concerns."...
****
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mento
"Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music.
Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso; mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques. As in Calypso, Mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues.[2] Sexual innuendos are also common"...
****
From http://www.mentomusic.com/1scans.htm
..."By 1957 the popularity of Mento began to fade and “sales were not there anymore in Jamaica. And…. by the time the decade drew to a close, interest in Mento was almost non-existent in Jamaica. As the sixties opened Emil Shallit would go on to found the hugely influential Blue Beat label licensing Jamaican Rhythm &Blues and Ska recordings for U.K. release."
****
GENERAL COMMENTS
From the editors of Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean Songs
"Hill an gully is a call and response work song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut. folk song which was sung as a work song (a digging song that was sung while building roads)"
-snip-
Multiple Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully [Rider"} have been sung and recorded for social dancing. It appears to me that many if not all Mento and Ska versions of "Hill And Gully Rider" are dance instruction songs (songs whose lyrics for the most part or entirely consist of directions for dance moves.) It seems to me that the words to the song given below as Example #1 meets that definition of a dance instruction song. I'm not as certain about the lyrics to Example #2 and Example #3 below.
I believe that it's important to emphasize the fact that many folk songs were or are also used as social [or religious] dance songs since people in the United States often try to separate the experience of singing and playing instrumental folk music & other genres of music from the experience of dancing to that music.
****
From http://www.jamaicans.com/music/articles_reggae/50-years-of-unforgettable-jamaican-music~print.shtml "50 Years of Unforgettable Jamaican Music" by Margaret Juliet Bailey
[comment about Mento music]
"The most heart warming form of music that brings back memories of yesteryear for Jamaicans is Mento music. Mento music is comprised of folk music, mento instrumentation and calypso. The first presenters of Jamaican mento music were the "Cudjoe Minstrels". However, the Hon. Louise Bennett-Coverly turned mento into an International art form with songs such as "Wheel and Tun Me" and "Long Time Gal Me Nevva See You".”...
[comment about Ska music]
"The first popular music was Ska or Julian Jingles which was created in the early 60's. Ska is described as a fusion of Jamaican mento rhythms, R&B and American Music. Ska became very popular due to the middle class, a dance called "the ska" was eventually developed. Vocalists such as, Lascelles Perkins, Laurel Aitken, and Clancy Eccles were instrumental in promoting ska to the top of the music charts. Groups like the Skattelites were formed; however, their fame was short lived due to another type of music [Rock Steady] emerging [in the late 1960s]".
****
From http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=9627&messages=60 [hereafter given as Mudcat: Hill And Gully Rider"], posted by Gibb Sahib, 30 Sep 10
[[comment #1]
"FWIW "Hill and Gully," from my experience with Jamaican music (I am not Jamaican) "Hill and Gully" is extremely well known, to the point that it functions as a sort of "standard reference"... maybe something like "Mary Had a Little Lamb" in North America. As such, the song been recycled in various genres... However, beyond that, I have heard the melody "quoted" by instrumentalists in other genre contexts, and have even heard the phrase "hill and gully" used by at least one toaster/dj/rapper... "Hill and Gully" has also been adopted by people in the names for other things...I can't point to any examples, but perhaps you'll take my word for it that they are there, eg. a jerk chicken shack might call itself "Hill and Gully Jerk Centre" or something of that sort.
[comment #2]
..."I don't know where it [the song "Hill And Gully Rider" originated but I know that this was a very popular Jamaican folk song in the early-to-mid 1900s. It had been sung in Jamaica for decades before anyone there ever recorded it (as they didn't have a recorder until Times Records started recording and sending them to Decca in the UK to be pressed).
The earliest recording I know of "Hill And Gully Ride" is a Mento medley on a Jamaican 78 on the MRS label (#31). Considering this label started in '51 or so, this record was probably released in '53 by Lord Composer... the side B was "Hill And Gully Ride / Mandeville Road" Ironically, Belefonte also borrows from the second song on this medley in his version of "Emanual Road". He did not use "Hill and Gully Ride" in his version of Day-O. That was the version released by the Tarriers called "Banana Boat Song"."
****
THREE FOLK LYRICS FOR THE SONG "HILL AND GULLY RIDER"
[As is the case with all folk music, there are multiple versions of the song "Hill N Gully Rider". All of the versions of that song that I have heard use the same tune (melody), but the tempos of different versions of that song may differ.
The spelling in the first example leads me to believe that that version is the oldest of the examples in this post. I also believe that that version-and probably the other two versions as well- are older than the Mento & Ska lyrics that are showcased in Part II of this series.]
Example #1:
From Mudcat: Hill And Gully Rider, posted by Long Firm Freddie, 09 Feb 04
"In a book called Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean songs chosen by Yvonne Conolly, Gloria Cameron and Sonia Singham, published by A & C Black of London, it gives the following:
HILL AN GULLY - Words and Melody Traditional Jamaican
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
An ah ben dung low dung,
(Hill an gully)
An a low dung bessy dung,
(Hill an gully)
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
Hill an gully rida,
(Hill an gully)
An yu better mind you tumble dung,
(Hill an gully)
An yu tumble down yu bruk yu neck,
(Hill an gully)
The notes say Hill an Gully is a call and response song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut.
The response can be sung in unison or in two part harmony.
The thud of pick axes driven into the ground provided the accompaniment to the song... as the leader sang out his call, the pick axes were raised for the next downward swing.
-snip-
Mango Spice - 44 Caribbean Songs was published in 1981. Here's a comment about the lyrics of that song from that book [p. 23]:
"Hill an gully is a call and response work song which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut.
bessy dung-bend down
The response can be sung in unison or in two part harmony.
The thud of pick axes driven into the ground provided the accompaniment to the song and this could be imitated by bass drums or tambours striking the first beat of each bar sung by the chorus. As the leader sung out his call, the pick axes were raised for the next downward swing."
-snip-
"An ah ben dung low dung" = And I been down low down
"An a low dung bessy dung" = and a [or "I"] low down bend down
****
Example #2
From http://www.traditionalmusic.co.uk/folk-song-lyrics/Hill_and_Gully_Rider.htm
"I have a version in one of my ABC (Australia) school song books
and it has appeared in the past more than once. It's listed as traditional Jamaican and has
four verses as shown:
Took my horse an' comin' down,
Hill an' gully
But my horse done stumble down
Hill an' gully Hill an' gully
An' the nighttime come an' tumble down
Hill an' gully
The refrain appears between each line of the following verses too.
Oh the moon shone bright down,
Ain't no place to hide in down,
An' a zombie come a ridin' down
Oh, my knees they shake down
An' my heart starts quakin' down
An' I run 'til daylight breakin' down.
That's the last I set down,
Pray the Lord don' let me down.
Ain't nobody goin' to get me down.
****
Example #3
From http://www.harptabs.com/song.php?ID=17522
[Editor's note: This site gives the same lyrics as found in Example #2 as "1st "pos" [possibility] for the words to "Hill And Gully Rider".
HILL AND GULLY RIDER 2nd pos
Jamaican folk song
Hill an’ gul-ly rid-er hill an’ gul-ly
Hill an’ gul-ly rid-er hill an’ gul-ly
I was walk-in’ real slow down hill an’ gul-ly
When I break my toe down hill an’ gul-ly
Ma-ma told me don’t go down hill an’ gul-ly
All the boys walk the road
down hill an’ gul-ly
Wom-en car-ry all the load
Down hill an’ gul-ly
Grass too green to be mowed
Down hill an’ gul-ly
Hill an’ gul-ly rid-er hill an’ gul-ly
****
This completes Part I of this series.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
Thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Jamaican Mento Song “One Two Three Four Colon Man He Come” (with lyrics)
Edited by Azizi Powell
Latest revision: February 3, 2020
This post showcase the Jamaican Mento song "One Two Three Four Colon Man He Come." This post also includes background information about that song, a sound file, and two versions of lyrics for that song.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights belong with their owners.
Thanks to the unknown composers of this song and thanks to the vocalists who are featured in this video. Thanks to those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the producer of this showcased video.
****
BACKGROUND TO THE SONG "ONE TWO THREE FOUR COLON MAN HE COME"
From "Brown Gal In De Ring: 12 Jamaican Folk-Songs Collected & arranged for schools by Olive Lewin: Oxford University Press 1974
"Colon is another name for Panama. Many Jamaicans who went there to help build the Panama canal were therefore called Colon Men. With the money they earned some of them were able to buy watches, and this song makes fun of the Colon Man who is showing off his watch on his return home. In some cases, however, there was no watch on the end of the chain! When his neighbours suspected this they would tease him by asking him to take it out and tell them the time."
-snip-
Hat tip to Nigel Parsons for posting this information & the lyrics to that song [the first verse of which is the same as the first verse found below] on http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40845
-snip-
Several Jamaican Mento songs refer to the Panamanian town of Colon, to Colon Bay, or to Colon men. Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40845 for lyrics to three of those songs: "Me Lover Gone A Colon Bay", "Isaac Park gone a Colon", and "One, Two, Three, Four, Colon Man A Come".
This comment was posted after the lyrics to the song "Isaac Park gone a Colon":
"Colon was the port of disembarkation for labourers on the Panama Canal.
In 1888, the French De Lesseps company began with 20,000 laborers, most of them Afro-Caribbean. Over 22,000 died in the 1880s. The United States took over in 1904, the year Jekyll's book was published.
The deaths took place because of yellow fever, and the work of assassination squads who murdered any 'wooly-haired man" in the camps. "Straight-haired Coolies, that is to say East Indians, were allowed to go unharmed."
Walter Jekyll, 1904, Jamaican Song and Story, CXII"
[This quote is reformatted with the source credited at the end.]
****
FEATURED VIDEO:
Cedella Booker Marley Colon Man
G4nJa4LiFe, Uploaded on Apr 6, 2011
Cedella Booker Marley - Smiling' Island of Song (1992)- Silvanio Rockers
-snip=
This song is found beginning at 1:30 & ending at 4:12 of that sound file.
****
LYRICS:
Example #1:
1 2 3 4 Colon man a-come (3x)
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
Ask him what the time and he look upon the sun (3x)
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
One two three four Colon man he come (3x)
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
One two three four Colon man he come (3x)
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
So hee glance there upon the sun (3x)
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum
One two three four Colon man he come (3x)
That’s me.[This is said between each repeat of the first line]
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
So fast he leave the island so quickly he come back
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
One two three four Colon man he come (3x)
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
One two three four Colon man he come (3x)
That’s me [This is said between each repeat of the first line]
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
[ending line] With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum
-snip-
Lick = hit (strike)
-snip-
This is my transcription of this song from the sound file that is found above. Additions & corrections are welcome.
****
Example #2
1 2 3 4 Colon man he come (3x)
And his watch and chain hit the belly bum bum bum.
I asked him for a dollar he gave to me a dime (3x)
And his watch and chain hit the belly bum bum bum
One two three four Colon man he come (3x)
His watch and chain hit the belly bum bum bum.
I ask him for the time, he look up at the sun (3x)
His watch and chain hit the belly bum bum bum.
I think I go to Colon and get some money too (3x)
My watch and chain will hit the belly bum bum bum.
-snip-
Source:
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=138570#3184427 posted by Kendell
Here's the comment that Kendell included with these lyrics:
"The story, as told to me was the Colon man was a boss in the sugar cane fields of Barbados, and he was illiterate, knew nothing about money or even how to read a watch. He went to Colon, Columbia and came back with a fancy pocket watch and gold chain. The field hand he was talking to saw right through him and made a fool out of him by asking for money and the time."
****
RELATED LINK
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/08/panamanian-calypso-get-ready-for.html
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Latest revision: February 3, 2020
This post showcase the Jamaican Mento song "One Two Three Four Colon Man He Come." This post also includes background information about that song, a sound file, and two versions of lyrics for that song.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights belong with their owners.
Thanks to the unknown composers of this song and thanks to the vocalists who are featured in this video. Thanks to those who are quoted in this post, and thanks to the producer of this showcased video.
****
BACKGROUND TO THE SONG "ONE TWO THREE FOUR COLON MAN HE COME"
From "Brown Gal In De Ring: 12 Jamaican Folk-Songs Collected & arranged for schools by Olive Lewin: Oxford University Press 1974
"Colon is another name for Panama. Many Jamaicans who went there to help build the Panama canal were therefore called Colon Men. With the money they earned some of them were able to buy watches, and this song makes fun of the Colon Man who is showing off his watch on his return home. In some cases, however, there was no watch on the end of the chain! When his neighbours suspected this they would tease him by asking him to take it out and tell them the time."
-snip-
Hat tip to Nigel Parsons for posting this information & the lyrics to that song [the first verse of which is the same as the first verse found below] on http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40845
-snip-
Several Jamaican Mento songs refer to the Panamanian town of Colon, to Colon Bay, or to Colon men. Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40845 for lyrics to three of those songs: "Me Lover Gone A Colon Bay", "Isaac Park gone a Colon", and "One, Two, Three, Four, Colon Man A Come".
This comment was posted after the lyrics to the song "Isaac Park gone a Colon":
"Colon was the port of disembarkation for labourers on the Panama Canal.
In 1888, the French De Lesseps company began with 20,000 laborers, most of them Afro-Caribbean. Over 22,000 died in the 1880s. The United States took over in 1904, the year Jekyll's book was published.
The deaths took place because of yellow fever, and the work of assassination squads who murdered any 'wooly-haired man" in the camps. "Straight-haired Coolies, that is to say East Indians, were allowed to go unharmed."
Walter Jekyll, 1904, Jamaican Song and Story, CXII"
[This quote is reformatted with the source credited at the end.]
****
FEATURED VIDEO:
Cedella Booker Marley Colon Man
G4nJa4LiFe, Uploaded on Apr 6, 2011
Cedella Booker Marley - Smiling' Island of Song (1992)- Silvanio Rockers
-snip=
This song is found beginning at 1:30 & ending at 4:12 of that sound file.
****
LYRICS:
Example #1:
1 2 3 4 Colon man a-come (3x)
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
Ask him what the time and he look upon the sun (3x)
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
One two three four Colon man he come (3x)
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
One two three four Colon man he come (3x)
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
So hee glance there upon the sun (3x)
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum
One two three four Colon man he come (3x)
That’s me.[This is said between each repeat of the first line]
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
So fast he leave the island so quickly he come back
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
One two three four Colon man he come (3x)
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
One two three four Colon man he come (3x)
That’s me [This is said between each repeat of the first line]
With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum.
[ending line] With his brass chain a-lick his belly bum bum bum
-snip-
Lick = hit (strike)
-snip-
This is my transcription of this song from the sound file that is found above. Additions & corrections are welcome.
****
Example #2
1 2 3 4 Colon man he come (3x)
And his watch and chain hit the belly bum bum bum.
I asked him for a dollar he gave to me a dime (3x)
And his watch and chain hit the belly bum bum bum
One two three four Colon man he come (3x)
His watch and chain hit the belly bum bum bum.
I ask him for the time, he look up at the sun (3x)
His watch and chain hit the belly bum bum bum.
I think I go to Colon and get some money too (3x)
My watch and chain will hit the belly bum bum bum.
-snip-
Source:
http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=138570#3184427 posted by Kendell
Here's the comment that Kendell included with these lyrics:
"The story, as told to me was the Colon man was a boss in the sugar cane fields of Barbados, and he was illiterate, knew nothing about money or even how to read a watch. He went to Colon, Columbia and came back with a fancy pocket watch and gold chain. The field hand he was talking to saw right through him and made a fool out of him by asking for money and the time."
****
RELATED LINK
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/08/panamanian-calypso-get-ready-for.html
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
The Real Meaning Of The Jamaican Folk Song "Cudelia Brown" ("Cordelia Brown")
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post provide information & comments about as well as lyrics and sound files of the Jamaican Mento song "Cudelia Brown" (also known as "Cordelia Brown").
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, sociological, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MENTO MUSIC
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mento:
"Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music...
Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms...
Mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues. Sexual innuendos are also common. Mento was strongly influenced by calypso, the musical traditions of the Kumina religion and Cuban music. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso; mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques.
****
CUDELIA BROWN
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcUNWfxCfko for a sound file of Cudelia Brown sung by Louise Bennett.
[embedding disabled]
-snip-
ZACK MATALON & THE SONNY BRADSHAW QUARTET - Cordelia brown (MRS Uk press)
Published on Sep 19, 2012 by mightydoctorbird
MORE ON
http://mightydoctorbird.blogspot.fr
-snip-
LYRICS - CUDELIA BROWN
(Jamaica Mento [folk song], no known composer)
O Cudelia Brown,
Wha mek yu head so red? (Yu head so red!)
O Cudelia Brown,
Wha mek yu head so red? (Yu head so red!)
Yu si' dung eena di sunshine wit' nut'n 'pon yu head,
O Cudelia Brown,
Wha mek yu head so red? (Yu head so red!)
On a moonshine night, on a moonshine night,
I met Missa Ivan, an' Missa Ivan tol' me,
Sey dat 'im gi Neita di drop, Jamaica flop, and di moonshine drop,
Ee-hee-aw, haw; Ee-hee-aw, haw; Ee-hee-aw, haw.
-from Noel Dexter and Godfrey Taylor: Mango Time: Folk Songs of Jamaica (Ian Randle Publishers ; 2007)
-snip-
Editor: This version of "Cordelia Brown" was included in Louise Bennett's 1954 record Jamaican Folk Songs", an LP on the Folkways label [F-6846]... http://www.akh.se/lyrics/cordelia_brown.htm
****
CORDELIA BROWN
Cordelia Brown
Uploaded by Cupa42 on Mar 7, 2010
-snip-
LYRICS: CORDELIA BROWN
(Traditional folk song adapted by Mento composer Lord Burgess)
Oh, Cordelia Brown, although' you never tell,
Oh, Cordelia Brown, still I know your secret well
Yes you fell in love with Ned
And when he left, your head turned red
And right well you know,
That what I say is true
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
You say you come out in the sunshine
With nothing on your head
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
Oh, Cordelia Brown, yes I've been far and wide
Now I'm telling you, every girl wants to be a bride
So I know what happen to you
And please strike me down if it isn't true
He said he never would wed,
And that when your head turned red
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
You say you come out in the sunshine
With nothing on your head
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
Oh, Cordelia Brown, Saw you waiting' at the train,
Yes, he's gone away, might never return again
Now miss Brown may I confess,
I've yearned this long for your caress
Since your head so red
I think I'll marry Mabel instead
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
You say you come out in the sunshine
With nothing on your head
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
Reposted from http://www.nomorelyrics.net/harry_belafonte-lyrics/176355-cordelia_brown-lyrics.html
-snip-
* This version was popularized by Harry Belafonte in 1957.
****
COMMENTARY: HOW CUDELIA BROWN'S (CORDELIA BROWN) HAIR BECAME RED
Traditional Version
From http://dianebrowneblog.blogspot.com/, an excerpt from an April 17, 2011 post by Diane Brown about her award winning children's book Cordelia Finds Fame and Fortune*:
"O Cordelia Brown whe mek you head so red?
O Cordelia Brown whe mek you head so red?
For you siddung ina de sunshine
Wid nuttin' pon you head
O Cordelia Brown dats why you head so red.
...The story is about a little girl who is teased because she has red hair, in a village where everyone else has chocolate coloured skin like her, but they do not have red hair. She survives the teasing, and in fact, her red hair becomes something of importance in her 'fame and fortune'. It stands out...
It’s a diss [a snap, a rip, a taunt] The other children are “rippin on” (teasing Cordelia Brown in an unkind way) by saying that her hair is red hair because she stood in the sunshine when they actually know her hair is that color because of her mixed racial heritage...
Mento draws on musical traditions brought over by African slaves. The influence of European music is also strong, as slaves who could play musical instruments were often required to play music for their masters. They subsequently incorporated some elements of these traditions into their own folk music. The lyrics of mento songs often deal with aspects of everyday life in a light-hearted and humorous way. Many comment on poverty, poor housing and other social issues. Thinly-veiled sexual references and innuendo are also common themes. Although the treatment of such subjects in mento is comparatively innocent, their appearance has sometimes been seen as a precursor of the slackness found in modern dancehall."
* The book Cordelia Finds Fame and Fortune was first published in Jamaica in 1990 and was also published in the USA in 1994.
-snip-
Diane Brown's conclusions about how Cudelia (Cordelia) Brown's came to have naturally red hair is the same conclusion that I reached. The singers taunt a female named Cordelia because her hair's naturally red hair color is different from the hair color of others in her village. They ask her "What makes your hear red?" knowing that it is because she is mixed race. The second verse of that traditional version of "Cudelia Brown" gives an account of Mr. Ivan (a White man) "having relation" with Cordelia's mother Neita (Nita").
I believe that the singers' suggestion that Cudelia's hair is red because she stood out in the sun too long [and thus got sunburnt] was given derisively and would have been met with a scornful "Yeah, right" response. A light skinned or White person's face can turn red due to sunburn, and brown hair may get reddish tinges due to the sun. But I think the people who offered an explanation that Cordelia's hair is red due to her hair being burnt by the sun would have done so for taunting reasons since they know that that's not the real reason for that hair color.
Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=76631#3159758 "Lyr Req: Cudelia Brown / Cordelia Brown" to read my comments and other comments about that song.
-snip-
Lord Burgess Version (popularized by Harry Belafonte)Version
This version of "Cordelia Brown" gives the implausible explantion for Cordelia's hair being naturally red* because she is embarrassed that the man she wanted to marry left her. In my opinion, if anyone would have actually suggested that explanation, they would have done so in a tongue in cheek, taunting manner because they would have known that the real reason that Cordelia's hair is red is that she is of Black/non-Black ancestry.
*The word "naturally" is emphasized here to distinguish hair color that is natural to a person from hair color which is changed due to the hair being chemical treated.
****
RELATED LINKS
Here's a link to an instrumental version of "Cudelia Brown" ("Cordelia Brown"):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5utpgUFUeE
Dennis Haynes / Ooh cudelia brown
**
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordelia for information about the origin and meanings of the female name "Cordelia".
**
Click http://www.mentomusic.com/edricConner.htm for information about & text examples of Mento music.
****
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
Thanks to the unknown composer of "Cudelia Brown". Thanks to those who performed that song and its adaptation "Cordelia Brown". Thanks also to those whose quotes I featured in this post and to the uploaders of the sound files that are showcased in this post.
Finally, thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcomed.
This post provide information & comments about as well as lyrics and sound files of the Jamaican Mento song "Cudelia Brown" (also known as "Cordelia Brown").
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, sociological, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MENTO MUSIC
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mento:
"Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music...
Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms...
Mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues. Sexual innuendos are also common. Mento was strongly influenced by calypso, the musical traditions of the Kumina religion and Cuban music. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso; mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques.
****
CUDELIA BROWN
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcUNWfxCfko for a sound file of Cudelia Brown sung by Louise Bennett.
[embedding disabled]
-snip-
ZACK MATALON & THE SONNY BRADSHAW QUARTET - Cordelia brown (MRS Uk press)
Published on Sep 19, 2012 by mightydoctorbird
MORE ON
http://mightydoctorbird.blogspot.fr
-snip-
LYRICS - CUDELIA BROWN
(Jamaica Mento [folk song], no known composer)
O Cudelia Brown,
Wha mek yu head so red? (Yu head so red!)
O Cudelia Brown,
Wha mek yu head so red? (Yu head so red!)
Yu si' dung eena di sunshine wit' nut'n 'pon yu head,
O Cudelia Brown,
Wha mek yu head so red? (Yu head so red!)
On a moonshine night, on a moonshine night,
I met Missa Ivan, an' Missa Ivan tol' me,
Sey dat 'im gi Neita di drop, Jamaica flop, and di moonshine drop,
Ee-hee-aw, haw; Ee-hee-aw, haw; Ee-hee-aw, haw.
-from Noel Dexter and Godfrey Taylor: Mango Time: Folk Songs of Jamaica (Ian Randle Publishers ; 2007)
-snip-
Editor: This version of "Cordelia Brown" was included in Louise Bennett's 1954 record Jamaican Folk Songs", an LP on the Folkways label [F-6846]... http://www.akh.se/lyrics/cordelia_brown.htm
****
CORDELIA BROWN
Cordelia Brown
Uploaded by Cupa42 on Mar 7, 2010
-snip-
LYRICS: CORDELIA BROWN
(Traditional folk song adapted by Mento composer Lord Burgess)
Oh, Cordelia Brown, although' you never tell,
Oh, Cordelia Brown, still I know your secret well
Yes you fell in love with Ned
And when he left, your head turned red
And right well you know,
That what I say is true
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
You say you come out in the sunshine
With nothing on your head
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
Oh, Cordelia Brown, yes I've been far and wide
Now I'm telling you, every girl wants to be a bride
So I know what happen to you
And please strike me down if it isn't true
He said he never would wed,
And that when your head turned red
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
You say you come out in the sunshine
With nothing on your head
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
Oh, Cordelia Brown, Saw you waiting' at the train,
Yes, he's gone away, might never return again
Now miss Brown may I confess,
I've yearned this long for your caress
Since your head so red
I think I'll marry Mabel instead
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
You say you come out in the sunshine
With nothing on your head
Oh, Cordelia Brown, what make your head so red
Reposted from http://www.nomorelyrics.net/harry_belafonte-lyrics/176355-cordelia_brown-lyrics.html
-snip-
* This version was popularized by Harry Belafonte in 1957.
****
COMMENTARY: HOW CUDELIA BROWN'S (CORDELIA BROWN) HAIR BECAME RED
Traditional Version
From http://dianebrowneblog.blogspot.com/, an excerpt from an April 17, 2011 post by Diane Brown about her award winning children's book Cordelia Finds Fame and Fortune*:
"O Cordelia Brown whe mek you head so red?
O Cordelia Brown whe mek you head so red?
For you siddung ina de sunshine
Wid nuttin' pon you head
O Cordelia Brown dats why you head so red.
...The story is about a little girl who is teased because she has red hair, in a village where everyone else has chocolate coloured skin like her, but they do not have red hair. She survives the teasing, and in fact, her red hair becomes something of importance in her 'fame and fortune'. It stands out...
It’s a diss [a snap, a rip, a taunt] The other children are “rippin on” (teasing Cordelia Brown in an unkind way) by saying that her hair is red hair because she stood in the sunshine when they actually know her hair is that color because of her mixed racial heritage...
Mento draws on musical traditions brought over by African slaves. The influence of European music is also strong, as slaves who could play musical instruments were often required to play music for their masters. They subsequently incorporated some elements of these traditions into their own folk music. The lyrics of mento songs often deal with aspects of everyday life in a light-hearted and humorous way. Many comment on poverty, poor housing and other social issues. Thinly-veiled sexual references and innuendo are also common themes. Although the treatment of such subjects in mento is comparatively innocent, their appearance has sometimes been seen as a precursor of the slackness found in modern dancehall."
* The book Cordelia Finds Fame and Fortune was first published in Jamaica in 1990 and was also published in the USA in 1994.
-snip-
Diane Brown's conclusions about how Cudelia (Cordelia) Brown's came to have naturally red hair is the same conclusion that I reached. The singers taunt a female named Cordelia because her hair's naturally red hair color is different from the hair color of others in her village. They ask her "What makes your hear red?" knowing that it is because she is mixed race. The second verse of that traditional version of "Cudelia Brown" gives an account of Mr. Ivan (a White man) "having relation" with Cordelia's mother Neita (Nita").
I believe that the singers' suggestion that Cudelia's hair is red because she stood out in the sun too long [and thus got sunburnt] was given derisively and would have been met with a scornful "Yeah, right" response. A light skinned or White person's face can turn red due to sunburn, and brown hair may get reddish tinges due to the sun. But I think the people who offered an explanation that Cordelia's hair is red due to her hair being burnt by the sun would have done so for taunting reasons since they know that that's not the real reason for that hair color.
Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=76631#3159758 "Lyr Req: Cudelia Brown / Cordelia Brown" to read my comments and other comments about that song.
-snip-
Lord Burgess Version (popularized by Harry Belafonte)Version
This version of "Cordelia Brown" gives the implausible explantion for Cordelia's hair being naturally red* because she is embarrassed that the man she wanted to marry left her. In my opinion, if anyone would have actually suggested that explanation, they would have done so in a tongue in cheek, taunting manner because they would have known that the real reason that Cordelia's hair is red is that she is of Black/non-Black ancestry.
*The word "naturally" is emphasized here to distinguish hair color that is natural to a person from hair color which is changed due to the hair being chemical treated.
****
RELATED LINKS
Here's a link to an instrumental version of "Cudelia Brown" ("Cordelia Brown"):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5utpgUFUeE
Dennis Haynes / Ooh cudelia brown
**
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordelia for information about the origin and meanings of the female name "Cordelia".
**
Click http://www.mentomusic.com/edricConner.htm for information about & text examples of Mento music.
****
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
Thanks to the unknown composer of "Cudelia Brown". Thanks to those who performed that song and its adaptation "Cordelia Brown". Thanks also to those whose quotes I featured in this post and to the uploaders of the sound files that are showcased in this post.
Finally, thank you for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcomed.
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Two Jamaican Mento Songs That Mention John Crow
Edited by Azizi Powell
This is Part II of a three part series about the Jamaican character/symbol "John Crow". This post provides excerpts of two Jamaican mento songs that mention John Crow.
Part I of this series provides information about the cultural meaning of "John Crow". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/john-crow-part-i-what-john-crow-means.html for that post.
Part III of this series features the Jimmy Cliff song "John Crow".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/jimmy-cliff-john-crow-lyrics-video.html for that post.
The content of this post is provided for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
FEATURED EXAMPLES
LONG TIME GAL [excerpt]
(traditional Jamaican song)
Dis long time, gal, me never see yu,
Come mek me hol your han.
Dis long time, gal, me never see yu,
Come mek me hol your han.
Peel head John Crow sid upon tree-top
Pick off de blossom,
Mek me hold your han, gal, mek me hol
your han.
Reposted from http://www.unlockingthearchives.rgs.org/themes/journeys/gallery/resource/?id=488&resource_id=488
Also, click http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=2856&c=113 for similar Jamaican words and a standard American English "translation" of those words.
-snip-
I believe that "peel head" means "bald headed" (having no hair on your head).
Here's a video of the Jamaican mento song "Long Time Gal":
"Long Time Gal"
uploaded by BajanBloom on Jan 13, 2011
"Miss Lou -- Dr. Louise Bennett Coverley has made a distinguished contribution to the development of Arts and Culture in both in Jamaica and the Caribbean region at large. Through her skillfully penned prose in Jamaican patois, Miss Lou has been able to raise the folk dialect to an art level now accepted and appreciated by all Jamaicans."
****
ONE SOLJA MAN
(traditional Jamaican song)
Verse 1
One solja man come fe court me,
Me sey me no ha' nobody,
Him gimme one shillin' an' quatty.
Me tek i' buy silk an' satin.
Verse 2
Me wash i' me starch i' me iron i',
Me pred i' pon pingwing macka,
An one ole un-conscionable John Crow
Come fling i' eena crevice an' corner...
Verse 3
No tear i' Jeremiah, no tear i',
No tear i' Jeremiah, no tear i',
No tear i' Jeremiah, no tera i',
No tear up me silk an' satin.
Verse 4
A weh yuh dah weel an' tun me,
A weh yuh dah weel an' tun me,
Yuh mussa wan' me fe go fall dung,
An' lick me belly pon tambourina.
Solja- Soldier
Ha'- Have
Quatty- Penny halfpenny
Pred- Spread
Pingwing macka- Cactus
John Crow- Jamaican scavenger bird, but here used in a derogatory sense, alluding to 'Jeremiah'.
Eena- In
Weh- Why
Mussa- Must
Fe go fall dung- To fall down
Tambourina- Tambourine
Also sung as 'One Bungo Man', Bungo meaning an African.
*May be sung as: 'Him gimme one cock-y'eye fourbit', 'fourbit' being one shilling and sixpence.
Pp. 58-59, With music for voice and piano.
Tom Murray, Ed. and arr., 1951, Folk Songs of Jamaica, Oxford University Press.
[These lyrics & notes are were posted on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40845 by Q on October 4, 2011]
-snip-
In Jamaican tradition "John Crow" is commonly referred to as a "disgraceful" bird. The adjective "unconscionable" means the same thing as "disgraceful".
In the context of this song, "John Crow" is used as a derogatory referent to a dark skinned Black man. The phrase "An one ole un-conscionable John Crow" doubles down the derogatory meaning of the description (an unconscionable dark skinned Black man"). That meaning is substantiated by the note that the song is also sung as "One Bungo Man", Bungo meaning "an African."
For another Jamaican mento that refers to "bungo", click http://cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs for the song "Bungo Moolatta".
****
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to the unknown composers of these two songs. Thanks also for those who collected these songs, and those sand them, and those who posted them online.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
This is Part II of a three part series about the Jamaican character/symbol "John Crow". This post provides excerpts of two Jamaican mento songs that mention John Crow.
Part I of this series provides information about the cultural meaning of "John Crow". Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/john-crow-part-i-what-john-crow-means.html for that post.
Part III of this series features the Jimmy Cliff song "John Crow".
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/09/jimmy-cliff-john-crow-lyrics-video.html for that post.
The content of this post is provided for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
****
FEATURED EXAMPLES
LONG TIME GAL [excerpt]
(traditional Jamaican song)
Dis long time, gal, me never see yu,
Come mek me hol your han.
Dis long time, gal, me never see yu,
Come mek me hol your han.
Peel head John Crow sid upon tree-top
Pick off de blossom,
Mek me hold your han, gal, mek me hol
your han.
Reposted from http://www.unlockingthearchives.rgs.org/themes/journeys/gallery/resource/?id=488&resource_id=488
Also, click http://www.mamalisa.com/?t=es&p=2856&c=113 for similar Jamaican words and a standard American English "translation" of those words.
-snip-
I believe that "peel head" means "bald headed" (having no hair on your head).
Here's a video of the Jamaican mento song "Long Time Gal":
"Long Time Gal"
uploaded by BajanBloom on Jan 13, 2011
"Miss Lou -- Dr. Louise Bennett Coverley has made a distinguished contribution to the development of Arts and Culture in both in Jamaica and the Caribbean region at large. Through her skillfully penned prose in Jamaican patois, Miss Lou has been able to raise the folk dialect to an art level now accepted and appreciated by all Jamaicans."
****
ONE SOLJA MAN
(traditional Jamaican song)
Verse 1
One solja man come fe court me,
Me sey me no ha' nobody,
Him gimme one shillin' an' quatty.
Me tek i' buy silk an' satin.
Verse 2
Me wash i' me starch i' me iron i',
Me pred i' pon pingwing macka,
An one ole un-conscionable John Crow
Come fling i' eena crevice an' corner...
Verse 3
No tear i' Jeremiah, no tear i',
No tear i' Jeremiah, no tear i',
No tear i' Jeremiah, no tera i',
No tear up me silk an' satin.
Verse 4
A weh yuh dah weel an' tun me,
A weh yuh dah weel an' tun me,
Yuh mussa wan' me fe go fall dung,
An' lick me belly pon tambourina.
Solja- Soldier
Ha'- Have
Quatty- Penny halfpenny
Pred- Spread
Pingwing macka- Cactus
John Crow- Jamaican scavenger bird, but here used in a derogatory sense, alluding to 'Jeremiah'.
Eena- In
Weh- Why
Mussa- Must
Fe go fall dung- To fall down
Tambourina- Tambourine
Also sung as 'One Bungo Man', Bungo meaning an African.
*May be sung as: 'Him gimme one cock-y'eye fourbit', 'fourbit' being one shilling and sixpence.
Pp. 58-59, With music for voice and piano.
Tom Murray, Ed. and arr., 1951, Folk Songs of Jamaica, Oxford University Press.
[These lyrics & notes are were posted on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40845 by Q on October 4, 2011]
-snip-
In Jamaican tradition "John Crow" is commonly referred to as a "disgraceful" bird. The adjective "unconscionable" means the same thing as "disgraceful".
In the context of this song, "John Crow" is used as a derogatory referent to a dark skinned Black man. The phrase "An one ole un-conscionable John Crow" doubles down the derogatory meaning of the description (an unconscionable dark skinned Black man"). That meaning is substantiated by the note that the song is also sung as "One Bungo Man", Bungo meaning "an African."
For another Jamaican mento that refers to "bungo", click http://cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs for the song "Bungo Moolatta".
****
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to the unknown composers of these two songs. Thanks also for those who collected these songs, and those sand them, and those who posted them online.
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Caribbean Song "One Solja Man" (example, lyrics, and comments)
Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post presents lyrics, video, and comments about the Caribbean song "One Solja" man.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic reasons.
My thanks to the unknown composer/s of this song. My thanks also to the collector of this song, and those who have published the lyrics of & notes about this song. Thanks also to the performers on the featured video and the uploader of this video.
All rights remain with their owners.
FEATURED VIDEO
Jamaican Folk Song/ The Carifolk Singers
Uploaded by hollythomas18 on Jul 9, 2010
LYRICS: ONE SOLJA MAN
Verse 1
One solja man come fe court me,
Me sey me no ha' nobody,
Him gimme one shillin' an' quatty.
Me tek i' buy silk an' satin.
Verse 2
Me wash i' me starch i' me iron i',
Me pred i' pon pingwing macka,
An one ole un-conscionable John Crow
Come fling i' eena crevice an' corner.
Verse 3
No tear i' Jeremiah, no tear i',
No tear i' Jeremiah, no tear i',
No tear i' Jeremiah, no tera i',
No tear up me silk an' satin.
Verse 4
A weh yuh dah weel an' tun me,
A weh yuh dah weel an' tun me,
Yuh mussa wan' me fe go fall dung,
An' lick me belly pon tambourina.
Solja- Soldier
Ha'- Have
Quatty- Penny halfpenny
Pred- Spread
Pingwing macka- Cactus
John Crow- Jamaican scavenger bird, but here used in a derogatory sense, alluding to 'Jeremiah'.
Eena- In
Weh- Why
Mussa- Must
Fe go fall dung- To fall down
Tambourina- Tambourine
Also sung as 'One Bungo Man', Bungo meaning an African.
*May be sung as: 'Him gimme one cock-y'eye fourbit', 'fourbit' being one shilling and sixpence.
Pp. 58-59, With music for voice and piano.
Tom Murray, Ed. and arr., 1951, Folk Songs of Jamaica, Oxford University Press.
****
COMMENTS ABOUT THIS SONG [Revised July 16, 2014]
Read comments posted on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40845 by Q on October 4, 2012. Among those comments is this quote: "One Solja Man" is a Jamaican Mento song. Another name for this song is "Wheel And Turn Me"."
-snip-
The "wheel and turn" phrase is in the 4th verse of this song.
-snip-
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0fMZp8Nerk for a 1952 sound clip of "Wheel And Turn Me" by Lord Flea with The Jamaican Calypsonians. Regarding the name "the Jamaican Calypsonians", a number of Jamaican Mento songs are miscategorized as the more popular in the USA category "calypso". Subsequently, some Jamaican Mento singers used the descriptor "Calypso" and "Calypsonian" for their music and their groups.
-snip-
I believe that "John Crow" in this song is a derogatory referent for a dark skinned Black man. The phrase "An one ole un-conscionable John Crow" doubles down the derogatory meaning of the description (an unconscionable dark skinned Black man"). That meaning is substantiated by the note that the song is also sung as "One Bungo Man", "Bungo" meaning an "African." Read the notes for the song "Bungo Moolatta" on http://cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs Caribbean Folk Songs.
The origin of the name "John Crow" comes from the black color of the crow. In the USA "John Crow" became "Jim Crow" and much later was used as a referent for discriminatory practices against Black people in the United States South and elsewhere in that nation.
-snip-
"Jeremiah" is the name of the soldier (Solja man). The word "tear" in the lyrics "No tear i' Jeremiah, no tera i'/ No tear up me silk an' satin" in the "One Solja Man" song appears to have the clear meaning of "Jeremiah, don't dance with me so fast that I'll fall down and tear [cut] my silk and satin dress".
-snip-
In the version of "One Solja Man" found above, the verse that includes the word "tambourine" is given as "Yuh mussa wan' me fe go fall dung/ An' lick me belly pon tambourina."
UPDATE July 17, 2014: I think that the word "tambourine" doesn't refer to the musical instrument but the musician (a female?) playing the tambourine.
Mudcat blogger Q shared a verse from a 1965 ska track by the Wailers [the song "Rude Boy" that includes the lyrics: "Now why you come wheel and turn me/ Fi go lick a mi head 'pon you tambourine".
Here's my "transcription" of verse 4 in standard American English:
Why are you wheeling and turning me [so fast; so rough]
Why are you wheeling and turning me [so fast; so rough]
You must want me to fall down
And hit my belly on the tambourine player.
With regard to "hit my belly on the tambourina", in that song that line may mean that the woman is concerned that she would crash into the tambourine player because she was being spun around too fast.
In trying to suss out the meaning of that verse in "One Solja Man" I think that it's important to remember that the woman speaking doesn't like that soldier. She complains about him throughout the song and his way of dancing with her is just one of those complaints.
I think that the "wheel and turn, hit my head lines" in the Wailers' song is an analogy to how rude boys are moving around at a fast pace in one direction and then another only to crash into (hit one's head) against the tambourine (player). In the context of that song the tune that is being played and the tambourine player herself (or himself) symbolizes the System (Babylon).
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-wailers-rude-boy-sound-file-comments.html for a pancocojams post about the meaning of that verse in the Wailers "Rude Boy" song.
-snip-
I also wonder if the choice of the name "Jeremiah" for the soldier in the song "One Solja Man" as well as the lyrics "no tear I Jeremiah" lyrics may have been creative allusions to the Biblical prophet Jeremiah who was known as the weeping prophet (Jeremiah 9, verses 1-18).
-snip-
I've just come across this explanation for the phrases "wheel and turn" and "lick your head against a tambourine":
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100707150927AA7b8ed
Part Admin/Part Tour Guide, 2010
"The songs* is from the dance era of the 60s, 70s and 80s. The lyrics go through a number of popular dance moves of the time. Including 'wheel and turn' a move where you spin as fast and rhymically as you can and then break or stop and change moves or spin in the oposite direction. The artists could also have been using artistic license to say not only was his heart hurt (emotainally hurt) but he was so confused he lost physical balance, fell and hurt his head by hitting it against a tambourine. But the rest of the song does not speak to this it speaks to dancing similar to elephant man's 'pon de river' where he goes through todays pop moves
Source(s):
Its my culture and I keep abreast of area "
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
This pancocojams post presents lyrics, video, and comments about the Caribbean song "One Solja" man.
The content of this post is presented for folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic reasons.
My thanks to the unknown composer/s of this song. My thanks also to the collector of this song, and those who have published the lyrics of & notes about this song. Thanks also to the performers on the featured video and the uploader of this video.
All rights remain with their owners.
FEATURED VIDEO
Jamaican Folk Song/ The Carifolk Singers
Uploaded by hollythomas18 on Jul 9, 2010
LYRICS: ONE SOLJA MAN
Verse 1
One solja man come fe court me,
Me sey me no ha' nobody,
Him gimme one shillin' an' quatty.
Me tek i' buy silk an' satin.
Verse 2
Me wash i' me starch i' me iron i',
Me pred i' pon pingwing macka,
An one ole un-conscionable John Crow
Come fling i' eena crevice an' corner.
Verse 3
No tear i' Jeremiah, no tear i',
No tear i' Jeremiah, no tear i',
No tear i' Jeremiah, no tera i',
No tear up me silk an' satin.
Verse 4
A weh yuh dah weel an' tun me,
A weh yuh dah weel an' tun me,
Yuh mussa wan' me fe go fall dung,
An' lick me belly pon tambourina.
Solja- Soldier
Ha'- Have
Quatty- Penny halfpenny
Pred- Spread
Pingwing macka- Cactus
John Crow- Jamaican scavenger bird, but here used in a derogatory sense, alluding to 'Jeremiah'.
Eena- In
Weh- Why
Mussa- Must
Fe go fall dung- To fall down
Tambourina- Tambourine
Also sung as 'One Bungo Man', Bungo meaning an African.
*May be sung as: 'Him gimme one cock-y'eye fourbit', 'fourbit' being one shilling and sixpence.
Pp. 58-59, With music for voice and piano.
Tom Murray, Ed. and arr., 1951, Folk Songs of Jamaica, Oxford University Press.
****
COMMENTS ABOUT THIS SONG [Revised July 16, 2014]
Read comments posted on http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=40845 by Q on October 4, 2012. Among those comments is this quote: "One Solja Man" is a Jamaican Mento song. Another name for this song is "Wheel And Turn Me"."
-snip-
The "wheel and turn" phrase is in the 4th verse of this song.
-snip-
Click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0fMZp8Nerk for a 1952 sound clip of "Wheel And Turn Me" by Lord Flea with The Jamaican Calypsonians. Regarding the name "the Jamaican Calypsonians", a number of Jamaican Mento songs are miscategorized as the more popular in the USA category "calypso". Subsequently, some Jamaican Mento singers used the descriptor "Calypso" and "Calypsonian" for their music and their groups.
-snip-
I believe that "John Crow" in this song is a derogatory referent for a dark skinned Black man. The phrase "An one ole un-conscionable John Crow" doubles down the derogatory meaning of the description (an unconscionable dark skinned Black man"). That meaning is substantiated by the note that the song is also sung as "One Bungo Man", "Bungo" meaning an "African." Read the notes for the song "Bungo Moolatta" on http://cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-songs Caribbean Folk Songs.
The origin of the name "John Crow" comes from the black color of the crow. In the USA "John Crow" became "Jim Crow" and much later was used as a referent for discriminatory practices against Black people in the United States South and elsewhere in that nation.
-snip-
"Jeremiah" is the name of the soldier (Solja man). The word "tear" in the lyrics "No tear i' Jeremiah, no tera i'/ No tear up me silk an' satin" in the "One Solja Man" song appears to have the clear meaning of "Jeremiah, don't dance with me so fast that I'll fall down and tear [cut] my silk and satin dress".
-snip-
In the version of "One Solja Man" found above, the verse that includes the word "tambourine" is given as "Yuh mussa wan' me fe go fall dung/ An' lick me belly pon tambourina."
UPDATE July 17, 2014: I think that the word "tambourine" doesn't refer to the musical instrument but the musician (a female?) playing the tambourine.
Mudcat blogger Q shared a verse from a 1965 ska track by the Wailers [the song "Rude Boy" that includes the lyrics: "Now why you come wheel and turn me/ Fi go lick a mi head 'pon you tambourine".
Here's my "transcription" of verse 4 in standard American English:
Why are you wheeling and turning me [so fast; so rough]
Why are you wheeling and turning me [so fast; so rough]
You must want me to fall down
And hit my belly on the tambourine player.
With regard to "hit my belly on the tambourina", in that song that line may mean that the woman is concerned that she would crash into the tambourine player because she was being spun around too fast.
In trying to suss out the meaning of that verse in "One Solja Man" I think that it's important to remember that the woman speaking doesn't like that soldier. She complains about him throughout the song and his way of dancing with her is just one of those complaints.
I think that the "wheel and turn, hit my head lines" in the Wailers' song is an analogy to how rude boys are moving around at a fast pace in one direction and then another only to crash into (hit one's head) against the tambourine (player). In the context of that song the tune that is being played and the tambourine player herself (or himself) symbolizes the System (Babylon).
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-wailers-rude-boy-sound-file-comments.html for a pancocojams post about the meaning of that verse in the Wailers "Rude Boy" song.
-snip-
I also wonder if the choice of the name "Jeremiah" for the soldier in the song "One Solja Man" as well as the lyrics "no tear I Jeremiah" lyrics may have been creative allusions to the Biblical prophet Jeremiah who was known as the weeping prophet (Jeremiah 9, verses 1-18).
-snip-
I've just come across this explanation for the phrases "wheel and turn" and "lick your head against a tambourine":
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100707150927AA7b8ed
Part Admin/Part Tour Guide, 2010
"The songs* is from the dance era of the 60s, 70s and 80s. The lyrics go through a number of popular dance moves of the time. Including 'wheel and turn' a move where you spin as fast and rhymically as you can and then break or stop and change moves or spin in the oposite direction. The artists could also have been using artistic license to say not only was his heart hurt (emotainally hurt) but he was so confused he lost physical balance, fell and hurt his head by hitting it against a tambourine. But the rest of the song does not speak to this it speaks to dancing similar to elephant man's 'pon de river' where he goes through todays pop moves
Source(s):
Its my culture and I keep abreast of area "
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Viewer comments are welcome.
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