Category Archives: Proverbs

“El Que Come y Canta Luego Loco Se Levanta”

Informant: My informant is a current sophomore at the University of Southern California. Her parents are from Jalisco, Mexico. However, she grew up in Denver, Colorado. 

Main Piece: “El que come y canta luego loco se levanta”

Transliteration: “He who eats and sings later crazy he wakes up”

Translation: “He who eats and sing later gets up crazy” 

Context: My informant stated that this proverb was/is usually directed to her whenever she sings at the table during dinner or at breakfast. She stated the following “I think my dad was trying to calm me down because out of respect you know you don’t want anyone to be humming while you are eating. Another reason, which I can think of why he would quiet me down was just for cautionary because I could choke or something. As for where he got this proverb, I believe, he got it from his parents as well. Honestly, now that I think about it…him and I are very similar. I’m more than sure that he also hummed at the table when he was younger. “

Analysis: Although it is sweet that my informant’s dad might say this proverb to her as means to be careful. I interpreted it in another way. I think when this proverb was told to my informant’s dad, it might have been to silence children and make them behave by presenting sort of like a threat/excuse that they would choke. I for one also have parents that come from Mexico, but I never have heard this phrase from them, but the rule at the table for is to eat with very little chatter. It comes to no surprise that maybe this proverb was drive by the desire to quiet down children, because sometimes children can be extremely chatty.

Every Closed Eye Ain’t Sleep Proverb

MS is a 60 year old mother of five who grew up in rural Virginia.

Context: This was performed over dinner, talking about black and southern culture.

Transcript:

MS: My mother said this all the time.

Collector: I think I know what it is.

MS: I’m sure you do. It goes:

“Every closed eye ain’t sleep and every goodbye ain’t gone”

MS: She used this in two different contexts. The first is when she would be resting her eyes and we thought she was asleep. We’d talk around her and try to be quiet, but when her eyes were still closed, she’d recite that. When she fell ill she’d tell all her folks that. “Every goodbye ain’t gone” meaning she would see us again.

Thoughts/Analysis: This proverb can be used in a religious context also. MS’s mother was very religious and strongly believed that her and her family would reunite after death and that her soul would remain with them until then. Death/afterlife related proverbs vary over different culture but overall convey the same thing.

For variations of this proverb, see:

Nieri, Itabari. “Only in the Americas : Every Good-Bye Ain’t Gone : Family Portraits and Personal Escapades by Itabari Njeri .” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, February 25, 1990. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-02-25-bk-1997-story.html#:~:text=The%20title%20of%20this%20collection,bye%20ain’t%20gone.%E2%80%9D.

Bringing home a wolf (humorous proverb)

Main Piece:

JK (50s, american-polish, father): “It’s like buying a wolf and then freaking out when it attacks your kids!”

Background:

The informant is my dad remarking over the phone in response to me explaining how I was upset about not being able to finish working on a multitude of projects outside of school. When asked about where he heard the phrase, he pointed to Catholic school and the sort of lamb/wolf proverbs that he was exposed to there. He also claimed it to have similarity to the saying “bringing a knife to a gunfight.”

Context:

The phrase was said in an effort to make me laugh and bring light to the worry I’d been expressing (and it did get me to do so). It’s as if to say “well, what were you expecting to happen?”

Thoughts:

The proverb itself is innately very dark in nature, and yet hits that sort of shock humor coupled with a simple realization. The idea of having your children eaten is a terrible concept, but the ignorance/gullibility of the person who would do such is. An added factor to the proverb is the in the word choice of “buying” said wolf. There is a certain action in paying for the beast that ends up screwing you over, which bolsters and reveals the main lesson of the saying. It asks the recipient of said advice to be more pragmatically present in the day to day; to not hyperextend their own capabilities.

The shrimp that falls asleep is taken by the current

Context:

M has learned about different proverbs from family members, often elder ones, and learned this particular one from her great aunt when she was a child. She uses this particular one often to her grandchildren.

The context of this piece was collected during a movie when the protagonist was late for an important interview.

Text:

M: Precisamente por eso les digo a los niños que la gamba que se duerme, se deja llevar por la corriente.

Yo: ¿Qué significa eso?

M: Tienes que ir un paso por delante del resto. Si no estás atento y aprovechas las oportunidades que se te presentan, otro las aprovechará. En otras palabras, serás como la gamba y te arrastrará la corriente.

//Translation

M: That’s exactly why I tell the kids that the shrimp that falls asleep, is taken by the current.

Me: What does it mean?

M: You have to stay one step ahead of the rest. If you are not on alert and seize the opportunities ahead of you then someone else will take advantage of them. In other words, you would be just like the shrimp and get taken by the current.

Analysis:

I found this proverb really interesting because I had already heard American variations of this proverb. I had heard of “Early bird gets the worm” which I believe has similar meaning to the proverb said by M. The phrasing reveals a lot about how the meaning or essence of a proverb changes as it transcend among different cultures I also found it interesting how the proverb used simple imagery so that realistically anyone can understand what it means.

He who gets close to a good tree, gets good shade

Context:

A is an immigrant from Nayarit and has collected many proverbs throughout their life. They often use proverbs in conversations they have with younger generations. They have collected these proverbs through friends and family members.

The context of this piece was during a graduation party when A was celebrating their granddaughter’s graduation from college and told her a proverb to guide her in entering college.

Text:

A: “Bueno mija, te voy a decir algo que me dijo mi mamá cuando era joven y es lo que le dije a tu mamá y a tus tíos cuando eran jóvenes también…Al que a buen árbol se arrima, buena sombra le cobija”

Me: ¿Se supone que somos el árbol?

A: Tú no eres el árbol, pero sí eres la que lo busca. En esta vida, es tu responsabilidad encontrar un buen trozo de sombra de un buen árbol que te ayude en la vida. Tus padres no estarán aquí para siempre, así que tienes que aprender estas habilidades por ti mismo”

// Translation

A: “Well mija, I’m going to tell you something my mom told me when I was young and it’s what I told your mom and your uncles when they were young as well…’He who gets close to a good tree is sheltered by good shade’”

Me: “So are we supposed to be the tree?”

A: You are not the tree, but you are the one looking for it. In this life, it is your responsibility to find a good piece of shade from a good tree to help you in life. Your parents won’t be here forever, so you have to learn these skills on your own.

Analysis:

Proverbs are often used within the Mexican cultures and are typically called “dichos.” Dichos are meant to be sayings that are filled with advice and are meant to teach a person a lesson. This Mexican proverb is about the specific people in a person’s life. The tree in this proverb is meant to symbolize the people that one chooses to surround themselves with.  The shade is meant to symbolize the relationship one has with others, this could be friends or family members. A sturdy, reliable tree will always give good shade, but fickle tress will never guarantee shade to someone. If a person surrounds themselves with trustworthy people that they can rely on and if the form a good relationship with them then they well progress in life. The proverb dictates that if one surrounds themselves with bad influences and irresponsible people then their life will be negatively influenced as well. This proverb is meant to advise someone to keep a skilled, well-grounded person by them so that they themselves can benefit from the experience.