Author Archives: Kellianne Abshier

Happy Birthday… Any Many More

Nationality: White
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Fullerton, CA
Performance Date: 4/23/11
Primary Language: English

“You sing the Happy Birthday Song. Ya know…

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to so and so,

Happy Birthday to you.

And then… you sing…

And MANY more… on channel four,

And Scooby Doo on channel two,

And Frankenstein on channel nine,

And a big fat lady on channel 80,

And all the rest on CBS.”

The informant is a high school student from Southern California.  He learned the ending to the Happy Birthday song in Elementary School from his friends, and he and his family has been singing it ever since.  He says that he has heard other additions and versions to the addendum onto the Happy Birthday songs. And he says “you can get creative with it.” He also says that he likes how many variations there are to the song because each family has their own special version.  The informant’s family always calls to sings “Happy Birthday” to every family member on their birthday.  And the song is always sung at Birthday parties when the cake is brought out.

This song adds silliness to the “Happy Birthday” song.  It provides laughter for everyone in attendance.  In watching, the informant perform the song it seems as if the performance is just as silly as the actual words.  His tempo speeds up and slows down as he sings the lyrics.  And he adds hand motions representing Frankenstein and a “big fat lady”.   This song has no known original author but is a collective tradition passed down between generations.

Proverb

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 51
Occupation: Real Estate Investor
Residence: Rancho Santa Fe, California
Performance Date: 4/7/11
Primary Language: English

“What a tangled life web we weave, when at first we practice to deceive.”

The informant is a 51 year-old father of four children and has lived in Southern California for most of his life.  He lost his mother at a very young age, so his grandmother helped his father raise him.  His grandmother was an educator from the Mid-West.  The informant’s grandmother was very involved in raising the informant. .  The informant was told that his grandmother was the “wisest woman in the world”, always willing to share a proverb or piece of wisdom.  He had a great respect for her and always took her word to heart.  Now the informant shares the wisdom he has learned from his grandmother with his own children.

He says that he would tell the proverb when someone or himself would tell a lie.  The proverb is a source of advice to people who may try getting out of things by lying.   The informant thinks the proverb is true and demonstrates a slippery slope.  He says that the proverbs is so important because once you start a lie and cover that lie up with another lie, you get so tangled up in a spider-like web of deception you are stuck in your life.

I agree with the informant’s views on the proverb.  By comparing lies to a spider web, we are able to see just how tangled one can become if they lie.  For instance, one lie turns into another and so on and so forth.  This is a practical saying and provides a metaphor to the process of getting caught in a lie.

Gargle with Salt Water

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 51
Occupation: Real Estate Investor
Residence: Rancho Santa Fe, California
Performance Date: 4/7/11
Primary Language: English

“Gargle with hot salt water when you have a sore throat.”

The informant is a 51 year-old father of four children and has lived in Southern California for most of his life.  He lost his mother at a very young age, so his grandmother helped his father raise him.  His grandmother was an educator from the Mid-West.  The informant’s grandmother was very involved in raising the informant. .  The informant was told that his grandmother was the “wisest woman in the world”, always willing to share a piece of wisdom.  He had a great respect for her and always took her word to heart.  Now the informant shares the wisdom he has learned from his grandmother with his own children.

The informant recalls his grandmother telling him this piece of folk medicine many times.  Once time in particular, he remembers in college having a sore throat before a sports game and his grandmother reminded him to gargle with salt water.  He believes it to be true and uses it and passes it down to his children.  The informant said that this is his first line of defense to a sore throat, and the salt water always soothes his sore throat.

The idea of using hot salt water to soothe a sore throat is well known in American society.  This is not the first time I have heard that this folk medicine is successful in medicating a sore throat.  This piece of folklore medicine was actually the basis for a study done in Japan.  Researchers found that people who gargled with salt water were less likely to contract upper respiratory tract infections.

Annotation:

Satomura, K., T. Kitamura, T. Kawamura, T. Shimbo, M. Watanabe, M. Kamei, Y. Takano, and A. Tamakoshi. “Prevention of Upper Respiratory Tract Infections by GarglingA Randomized Trial.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 29.4 (2005): 302-07. Print.

Folk Saying/Proverb

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 51
Occupation: Real Estate Investor
Residence: Rancho Santa Fe, California
Performance Date: 4/7/11
Primary Language: English

“Nothing good happens after midnight.”

The informant is a 51 year-old father of four children and has lived in Southern California for most of his life.  He lost his mother at a very young age, so his grandmother helped his father raise him.  His grandmother was an educator from the Mid-West.  The informant’s grandmother was very involved in raising the informant.  The informant was told that his grandmother was the “wisest woman in the world”, always willing to share a proverb or piece of wisdom.  He had a great respect for her and always took her word to heart.  Now the informant shares the wisdom he has learned from his grandmother with his own children.

The informant learned this proverb from his grandmother.  He recalls coming home really late one night from hanging out with friends.  His grandmother was so angry that he did not come home by his curfew.  She told him this saying, and he says he believed it to be true.  The informant says that this is a practical outlook on life.  He always shares this with his children and always wanted them home before midnight.

This is a very interesting modern proverb.  It assumes that only bad things happen once midnight strikes.  The idea of liminal time may play into this saying.  There is an uncertainty with the liminal period of midnight.  People do not like uncertainty, and thus may be frightened of what could happen after this midnight time, when everyone is supposed to sleeping.

Tattoo- Ojibwa Proverb

Nationality: Hispanic
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, Ca
Performance Date: 4/25/11
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

“No tree has branches so foolish as to fight amongst themselves.”

The informant had this Ojibwa Proverb tattoo onto her ribs.  She decided that she wanted this tattoo because she believes in the message.  She says that the message share such truth.  She believes that we should live in peace rather than in a constant state of war.  The informant believes in this proverb is so powerful that she had it tattooed onto her body.  She says the saying stood out to her amongst the other sayings.  The informant had the tattoo done while she was studying abroad in Greece.  She choose to include the olive branch to symbolize both Greece and peace.

I agree with the informant on the value of this proverb.  This proverb is taken from the Ojibwa tribe and promotes the ideals of peace and harmony.  The informant’s idea of utilizing a olive branch to compliment the quote is fitting as the olive branch is the folkloric, cultural, and biblical symbol for peace.  In the Bible, Noah is given an olive branch from God after the flood symbolizing the end of the flood, which represents turmoil.

This proverb is quoted in several blogs and articles.  However, I found that it also is published in a song called “Luminous” by Stratovarius.  The verse with the proverb is as follows:

No tree has branches so foolish
As to fight among themselves
We share the same biology
We are one
We are luminous

This song maintains the message of the proverb and promotes the idea of peace.  We are a part of mankind, like branches are a part of a tree.  And the branches do not fight, so we must not fight as well.

Tolkki, Timo, Timo Kotipelto, Jari Kainulainen, Jens Johansson, Jörg Michael, and Riku Niemi. “Luminous.” Stratovarius. Sanctuary, 2005. MP3.