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Little Sally Walker is an interactive song/game that involves a group of people. Everyone arranges into a circle with at least one person in the center. The person (or people, depending how large your group is) in the center starts walking/skipping around the circle while everyone sings: “Little Sally Walker, walking down the street. She didn’t know what to do so she stopped in front of me, she said, hey girl, do your thing, do your thing, do your thing. Hey girl, do your thing, do your thing, do your thing, now switch!” When the song reaches “stopped in front of me,” the person in the middle will stop in front of any member of the circle and face them. This center person will then do a dance move, and the person on the edge will mirror this move, all while the group continues to sing, “hey girl, do your thing, do your thing, do your thing. Hey girl, do your thing, do your thing, do your thing, now switch!” The person from the circle now switches positions with the person in the middle, and becomes the new “Little Sally Walker” and the cycle continues. - Context
This song/activity was a tradition at my childhood summer camp that I encountered in my first summer there in 2008, and repeated every year until my most recent summer (now working as a counselor) in 2022. Little Sally Walker always occurred on the first day of camp, once all the campers had arrived and it was the first official “icebreaker” of the 2-week overnight session. - Interpretation
While I’m sure this jingle has deeper historical origins than I’m aware of, it seems to express values around interaction and engagement with others. As it requires nothing more than a group of people, it is able to be done anywhere. In the context of my camp, it was also a successful way of passing time or distracting campers until an event or activity starts.
Tag Archives: song
“Rasputin” by Boney M.: A folk tale song
Text
As soon as the interview began, the informant was in smiles. “It’s basically just a song,” they started. “It’s like a… It’s a song from the 1990s/early 2000s. And it’s like, about…” The smile grew wider. “It’s about Rasputin. He’s kinda known as like ‘the Mad Monk.'”
At this, the informant’s eyes squinted and their hands came up to form air-quotes around the phrase. Immediately after saying this, they chuckled at their own words. “So.. Yeah- have you heard of it? The song?”
I ensured them that I did. Still, we went through the lyrics together:
There lived a certain man in Russia long ago
He was big and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow
Most people looked at him with terror and with fear
But to Moscow chicks he was such a lovely dear
He could preach the Bible like a preacher
Full of ecstasy and fire
But he also was the kind of teacher
Women would desire
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
There lived a certain man in Russia long ago
He was big and strong, in his eyes a flaming glow
Most people looked at him with terror and with fear
But to Moscow chicks he was such a lovely dear
He could preach the Bible like a preacher
Full of ecstasy and fire
But he also was the kind of teacher
Women would desire
Ra ra Rasputin
Lover of the Russian queen
There was a cat that really was gone
Ra ra Rasputin
Russia’s greatest love machine
It was a shame how he carried on
He ruled the Russian land and never mind the Czar
But the kazachok he danced really wunderbar
In all affairs of state he was the man to please
But he was real great when he had a girl to squeeze
For the queen he was no wheeler dealer
Though she’d heard the things he’d done
She believed he was a holy healer
Who would heal her son
Ra ra Rasputin
Lover of the Russian queen
There was a cat that really was gone
Ra ra Rasputin
Russia’s greatest love machine
It was a shame how he carried on
But when his drinking and lusting
And his hunger for power
Became known to more and more people
The demands to do something
About this outrageous man
Became louder and louder
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
“This man’s just got to go”, declared his enemies
But the ladies begged, “don’t you try to do it, please”
No doubt this Rasputin had lots of hidden charms
Though he was a brute, they just fell into his arms
Then one night some men of higher standing
Set a trap, they’re not to blame
“Come to visit us”, they kept demanding
And he really came
Ra ra Rasputin
Lover of the Russian queen
They put some poison into his wine
Ra ra Rasputin
Russia’s greatest love machine
He drank it all and said, “I feel fine”
Ra ra Rasputin
Lover of the Russian queen
They didn’t quit, they wanted his head
Ra ra Rasputin
Russia’s greatest love machine
And so they shot him ’til he was dead
Oh, those Russians
Context
RELATIONSHIP –
“It’s sort of weird– It’s a childhood favorite of mine.” The informant put a hand to their head and looked up in thought. “My mom is Polish. I think it’s the only song she listens to which could be kinda connected to Polish roots due to the content. Not really culturally relevant to her, but just ‘Here’s this song! You like this song?'” They smiled at the memory.
WHERE THEY HEARD IT –
“My mom introduced me to it. And then it became the song which we played whenever she would drop me off at school at stuff.”
They told me that listening to the song was almost a daily occurrence. It would be on a recurring playlist of songs they would play.
INTERPRETATION –
“It’s one of those songs where you never really think of the lyrics, and then you heard it and it’s like ‘Oh, it’s about the revolution in Russia and the weird mystical powers of this guy named Rasputin- and then people trying to murder him.'”
“I think the song is kinda of what you would think of as classic Russian dance music. In terms of oral storytelling, it’s not a historical event, but the weird tale of this guy. I think it’s supposed to not be comical in its presentation, but comical in how they present Rasputin since he tried to convince everyone that he was mystic. And they talk about the consequences of all of his actions and the people he ended up annoying. I think it’s more about putting him down than about finding a lesson. I think it’s also teasing Russians in general. I think it’s laughing with than laughing at, though. The main thing that this song capitalizes on is the womanizing.”
Analysis
The song Rasputin takes the life of the real man and retells the story in a way that makes it how like he is a mythical figure or a character of folklore. Aside from the phrase “long ago” which is frequently used in tales to begin the story, the song describes Rasputin as having mystical features such as flaming eyes, healing powers, and irresistible charm. Something else the song does is highlight Rasputin’s flaws and the reasons behind why some people wished for his demise and saying that they weren’t wrong for plotting it. This depicts him as being an unsympathetic character as emphasis is placed on his drinking, womanizing, and hunger for power. In this song, Rasputin’s life is spun to sound like a cautionary tale, warning people of the dangers of prideful thinking.
99 little bugs in the code
“99 little bugs in the code,
99 little bugs…
Take one down,
patch it around, 127 bugs in the code!”
Genre: joke/song
Source: 20 year old USC student majoring in computer science
Context: The student doesn’t remember exactly when she learned this tune, but says it is the coders’ take on the classic “99 bottles of beer” song.
Analysis: In this adapted version, the number of bugs increases many instead of going down by one classically. The student explains this is the focus of the joke, because the patching of an error frequently leads to the creation of more “bugs” in the code. Where the traditional version of this song is normally heard during monotonous tasks, or when killing excess time. In this 21st century rendition, the song achieves the same purposes, as fixing code is often a seemingly endless and time intensive process.
Korean Folksong 1: Arirang
1) Original Performance:
“아리랑 아리랑 홀로 아리랑
아리랑 고개를 넘어가보자
가다가 힘들면 쉬어가더라도
손잡고 가보자 같이 가보자”
Romanization/Transliteration:
“a-ri-rang a-ri-rang hol-lo a-ri-rang
ari-rang go-gae-reul nuh-muh gan-da
Ga-da-ga him-deul-myun shee-uh-ga-duh-ra-do
Son jab-go ga bo-ja ga-chee ga bo-ja”
Full Translation (Literal / Dynamic):
“arirang arirang arirang alone
Let’s go beyond the arirang pass
Even if we rest and go because we’re tired from the journey
Let’s hold hands and go, let’s go together”
2) The informant is my grandmother, a Korean who immigrated to the US in the 1970s. My grandmother said that this song is a folk song that “every Korean knows.” She claims she heard it being played outside early in elementary school. She shared it with me because she said she wishes even her family who lives in America could try and understand some of the sentiments Korean’s attach to this song.
3) This was performed after my family came back from a hike during spring break and I asked if my grandmother had any famous folk songs she knew. She said Arirang is the most well-known and has multiple lyrical forms, but that she would share the one she knows.
4) In hearing this song, I’m led to make connections with a theme of Korea’s “suffering yet overcoming” throughout its history. The size of its land was always being altered due to invasions by China, it was colonized during the early 20th century by Japan, yet fought and gained independence, and it was split into North and South during the Korean War, a proxy war of the Cold War. Although different versions have different lyrics, the idea of suffering combined with a brilliant hope and resilience for a better future is echoed in nearly all renditions. This type of history could be what has both initiated and sustained the oral tradition of Arirang throughout generations. The lyrics of two people remaining together in a journey despite all odds has often been tied to a metaphor for the longing of Koreans to remain together despite obstacles like Japanese colonization, the Korean War, and a constant state of diaspora.
Annotation: For a fuller version of the song, go to UNESCO’s webpage which is dedicated to Arirang and Korean cultural heritage:
“Arirang, Lyrical Folk Song in the Republic of Korea.” UNESCO, Intangible Cultural Heritage, 2012, https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/arirang-lyrical-folk-song-in-the-republic-of-korea-00445.
Miss Mary Mack (“bad version”)
Text:
Performed with handclapping:
“Miss Mary Mack Mack Mack
All dressed in black black black
With the silver buttons buttons buttons
All down her back back back
She couldn’t read read read
She couldn’t write write write
But she could smoke smoke smoke
Her father’s pipe pipe pipe.”
Context:
KY is an 18-year-old American Student at USC. She grew up in North Carolina. I asked her if she knew any proverbs or commonly said phrases and she told me this one. She told me this song/rhyme that was played with handclapping when I asked her about any childhood games she remembers, but she told me she could only remember the “bad version,” which she thinks was “bad” because of the discussion of smoking/pipes.
Interpretation:
Miss Mary Mack is rather widespread, and while I’ve heard the beginning before, it wasn’t common where I grew up, so I didn’t know the whole thing. I would be considered a passive bearer of this tradition, whereas my informant would be an active bearer. It’s common that children’s songs like this will have the “good [original] version” and the “bad version” derived from the original with a few things changed to make it naughty. The naughty oikotype might be specific to the area my informant grew up in, and there may be different oikotypes in other places that are similar but have slight variations. And since this can be played as a game with handclapping, it is a way for kids to entertain themselves without a need for toys or things of that sort and it is easy to learn with a simple melody and repeating words.