Category Archives: Folk speech

The Rolling Stones, You Can’t Always Get What You Want

Nationality: American
Age: 56
Occupation: Contract Landscaper
Residence: NYC, USA
Performance Date: 4/4/18
Primary Language: English

“Rolling stones, can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes you get what you need.”

My dad grew up in the 70s and 80s and with that, he grew up learning various different decades of music. He had a particularly fond liking for classic rock and roll and garage band music. One of his all-time favorite bands is the Rolling Stones. As a result of that, I grew up listening to so much classic rock. Like my dad, the Rolling Stones have a special place in my heart, because it bothers me more with my father and gives us something to talk about and analyze. A lot of their song lyrics are about being on the road, love, drugs, sex, and other forms of profanity. One of our favorite songs is you can’t always get what you want. This song is a reminder that you always have enough and it’s also just an incredible song. The main chorus of the song goes “you can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need”. The significance of the song pertains specifically Richard’s use of Heroin, Jagger’s girlfriend who suffered a miscarriage and Jone’s who had overdosed in previous years. While not everyone has these experiences, it explains the specifics the band members experienced and has vague enough references to make it pertain to a generalized group of people.  I have always kept in the back of my mind and thought about this song and times that I’ve struggled. Again, it serves as a friendly reminder that you have everything that you need in life and you cannot always get what you want. Music is an incredible way to share folklore, especially when it’s shared through an epic band such as the Rolling Stones. They have had a 50-year career, And have toured all around the world. Wherever you go, people will know one of their songs. I personally know many of their songs by heart, and most of my friends will know a certain part of any given song. It has been a classic song and can be universally known and understood even when the language is spoken is different. People have idolized this band, and while they were on their tour around the world, they have gained an innumerable following. Again, this leads to the understanding of songs, messages, and sayings as a form of folklore.

Bibliography:

Cali vs California (The Great Debate)

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student/Gemini
Residence: Los Angeles, California.
Performance Date: 4/10/18
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Bella Estrada, a senior studying History at the University of Southern California, who hails from Los Angeles, California, provided four pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, amidst dinner and drinks, at the University of Southern California located Greenleaf, a popular post-class bar for many students at the prestigious institution.

Folklore Performance: Cali vs California (The Great Debate).

Folk Type: Folk-Speech

“Because I’m so foreign, my main interest honestly lies in California based folklore. Got anything?” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: So, there’s this way that all California natives know not to say. You never refer to California as “Cali.” That’s exclusively for tourists and that’s how you can spot one.

Background Information: The use of the term “Cali”, according to Californians, suggests that a person knows nothing about the “real” California and only see’s the state through the skewed lens of reality television, MTV, and other various faux representations what Californian life is like.

Bella is a Californian native and thus learned the term through the various tourists that pass through the state. This is an important statement to her because the term is an affront to her heritage and thus she takes pride in shaming those that disrespect it.

Context Performance: Tourists use this term when they visit California.

The context of Bella’s rehashing of the tale was done after our “Forms of Folklore” class taught by Tok Thompson because the both of us had a folklore collection project due.

Thoughts: This is another example of folklore created to establish an “in” group and an “out” group. I find this recurring pattern interesting because folklore is a shared experience and is defined as such. However, it would appear that the act of sharing within a small-group is, on the other-hand, an exclusionary experience.

 

The Beggar vs. The Rich Man

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Performance Date: 04/18/18
  1. Did your parents ever tell you any stories that taught you important lessons?

They weren’t really big storytellers but there was one from the bible. It’s the story about the poor man in the streets who gave a coin as a donation and a rich man who gave the same. The poor man had much less to give than the rich man and when he gave that coin, he gave so much more of what he had. When the rich man gave a coin, he gave only a small amount of his wealth.

  1. What lesson did this teach you?

Quantity is not necessarily what’s important, but gauging what you have to give is.   If you’re having a bad day, and you give someone a smile it means so much more than on any other day. This story originates from the bible and to be honest I don’t really know how or where. All I know is when I was younger my parents would always say remember the beggar with the coin. I don’t know what entirely they meant by that especially when I was little. But know I remember always the beggar with a coin… I think it might’ve been a lady.

My Thoughts:

I’m always interested in hearing a good moral story. I’ve also heard that in the bible, there are many comparisons to rich men and poor men. There’s something in the bible where they teach about how much money one should give to the church. It’s interesting how it’s very similar to a tax as opposed to a donation

“So, It’s like you’ve grown wings, oshe” (a Nigerian Saying)

Nationality: Nigerian
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Abuja, Nigeria.
Performance Date: 4/22/18
Primary Language: English
Language: N/A

Michael Iluma, a senior studying International Relations and Acting at the University of Southern California, who hails from Abuja, Nigeria, provided two pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, within his bedroom, on West 30th Street in the outskirts of the University of Southern California campus.

Folk Performance: “So, It’s like you’ve grown wings, oshe” (a Nigerian Saying)

Folk Type: Folk-Speech.

“What about Nigerian parents, man they’re always saying the wildest things.” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: truuueeee. So, like, another thing too, is like when you’re at home and let’s say that you’re not being very—I guess whether you’ve been misbehaving at home and your mom or your dad will be like “Oh, so it’s like you’ve grown wings, oshe” which is like “oh, you think you can fly” or you’re like above what they’re trying to tell you or ask you to do. And then, like, what they end up saying is “ohhh, we’ll chop those wings.” Which is like, we’re gonna bring you down to our level which is a way of reminding you that they are your parents.

Background Information: The statement historically refers to poultry. Historically, Nigeria is an agrarian nation and, as such, many common sayings refer back to farming. Often times, a growing chicken will flap their wings and become aggressive. To counteract this, Nigerians will often clip the wings of their chickens.

Michael enjoys this statement because, as apart of the Nigerian Diaspora, he is currently displaced. The reenactment of statements of this sort remind him of home and provide an initial common, vernacular ground between himself and other members of the Nigerian Diaspora.

Context of performance: Michael performed this act, as many Nigerian children do, in an accent-heavy impression of his father. The Father, in Nigerian culture, is often the disciplinarian.

Thoughts: Nigeria, like most places around the world, is a culture that not only accepts, but also actively encourages beating children as a form of disciplinary action. My initial thought, despite the Abrahamic religious link that legitimizes such an action, is whether this attitude is derived from an agrarian perspective. If you beat an animal and it behaves, or in the case of poultry cut off it’s wings, then perhaps it’ll be the same for children.

 

 

 

 

“Thunder Fire You” (A Nigerian Phrase).

Nationality: Nigerian
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Abuja, Nigeria.
Performance Date: 4/22/18
Primary Language: English
Language: N/A

Michael Iluma, a senior studying International Relations and Acting at the University of Southern California, who hails from Abuja, Nigeria, provided two pieces of folklore for this collection.

The interview was run, within his bedroom, on West 30th Street in the outskirts of the University of Southern California campus.

Folk-Type: Folk-Speech.

Folk Performance: “Thunder Fire You” (A Nigerian Phrase).

“Because we’re both Nigerian, we understand that there is a saying for just about everything…” – Stanley Kalu

STORY: Yes…so something we say at, let’s say like we’re talking and let’s say my friend says something to, like, come at me, you know, diss me—disrespect me—I’ll be like “Thunder fire you,” which has a religious sentiment to it but also, like, you know, God strike you down and strike down what you’re saying.

Background Information: The statements religious leanings are representative of Nigeria’s mixed heritage as a nation deeply steeped in both Vudun and the Abrahamic religions of Islam and Christianity. Each religious culture places high value on the power of the spoken word, therefore, it becomes imperative to counter-act words with words.

Michael enjoys this statement because, as apart of the Nigerian Diaspora, he is currently displaced. The reenactment of statements of this sort remind him of home and provide an initial common, vernacular ground between himself and other members of the Nigerian Diaspora.

Context of performance: As aforementioned, the term is usually employed only as a reaction against disrespect.

Thoughts: The phrase, to me, has a natural link to the Abrahamic “eye for and eye, tooth for a tooth” philosophy or, in more colloquial American terms, “fight fire with fire.” It’s interesting to notice similarities within rather disparate cultures. My initial thought would be that such crossover would exist simply because we live in an increasingly globalized world but that wouldn’t make sense historically. I suppose, such similarities suggest that there’s a fundamental human attitudes that occur across cultures.