Category Archives: Musical

Rugby Song: Jesus Can’t Play Rugby

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: USC Rugby
Residence: Philadelphia, PA
Performance Date: 23 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Italian, Arabic

Italian-American

University of Southern California

USC Rugby

International Relations

Italian, Arabic, English

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

23 April 2011

Rugby Song, “Jesus Can’t Play Rugby”

Transcription (because it would not be the same if not sung in context)

One person :”Jesus can’t play Rugby because he’s hung up on the cross.”

Everybody repeats twice, followed by “Jesus saves, Jesus saves, Jesus saves”

Next person: “Jesus can’t play rugby ’cause his mother was a whore.”

Everybody repeats twice, followed by “Jesus saves, Jesus saves, Jesus saves”

Etc.

Everybody: “God you know were only kidding, God you know were only kidding, God you know were only kidding, Jesus saves, Jesus saves, Jesus saves”

CG explains that the Rugby song, and songs like it, is a definite part of the rugby experience and rugby traditions at USC. He mentions that he doesn’t think that that it particular to just USC rugby, and he believes that he once heard another rugby player from another school mention it. CG explains that the context to the performance of this song is very important. The songs are generally only sung when there is a large gathering of rugby players and there are copious amounts of alcohol. The purpose of the event, in his words, is to have a good time while getting really drunk. CG mentions that the majority of the rugby songs are raunchy, sexist, and offensive. He explains that it is all in good fun and in no way should be taken seriously.  He explains that the culture of rugby is defined by a duality: one offensive and dirty, the other “gentlemanly.” To explain this, CG stated, “You know how soccer is described as a gentleman’s sport played by hooligans? Well, rugby is a hooligan’s sport played by gentlemen.”

Looking at the song, and having witnessed the context that it was performed; I find that the significance behind it as reported by CG is logical. The song, without a doubt is offensive, and borders on inappropriate. However, I believe this is the reason that the rugby team sings it. In a way, the team is looking to push/test the boundaries of what is appropriate in society. It is supposed to be shocking, as participants will often comment on just how bad it is. I also agree with the statement that it is not inherently meant to be offensive. Having known the informant for several years, I can safely say that he is religious and a practicing Catholic. Looking at the song, the structure and wording of it is designed to demonstrate that the participants don’t really mean what their saying. Each different line is finished with the statement “Jesus saves,” and the ending clearly demonstrates this. The second purpose of the song is to test members on rugby “lore.” After one person completes a line, another person is picked out to recite another line. If the person fails or stumbles, everybody dips there hands into their beer and throws it at the individual yelling, “Redeem thyself” until they can think of a new line. The song is a way for the team to include younger individuals and make them feel apart of a group.

The clip below is an example of some of the lyrics to the song.

http://youtu.be/9ucfrVFc70g

Folklore 2.0: Charlie Sheen Auto Tune

Nationality: American
Age: 25
Occupation: Colorist for Cartoon Network
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 20 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, Japanese

White/Hispanic

California State University Fullerton

Illustration

Colorist for Cartoon Network’s Regular Show

English, Spanish, Japanese

Los Angeles, CA

20 April 2011

Folklore 2.0 -Auto tune of Charlie Sheen

http://youtu.be/9QS0q3mGPGg

“I’m sure you’ve seen the auto tune of Charlie Sheen. It’s pretty funny. A friend sent it to me through Facebook. The premise of the whole auto tune thing I that you take a song or someone speaking, and you run it through an auto tune program. By adding a beat, splicing clips, and slowing down or speeding up the words, you can make sorta a rap song. The only reason it’s gone really viral is the fact that the makers actually did a pretty good job and the whole controversy with Charlie Sheen right now in the media. The people who made it, also like to auto tune the news a lot.” AT mentioned that the explosion of auto tuning is really an evolution of media and the Internet. As she explains, the sheer amount of information and the ease of accessibility allow people to really play around with the notion of music. Now anyone can make music using a program, or alter another person’s work and post it on the Internet. When asked about the right of copyrights, AT gave a pretty liberal answer. “I mean its not like the person is making definite money off of it. Mostly people are just doing it for entertainment purposes and the chance to create things given a skill set. Now people don’t have to be artists or singers, they can work with programs that do most of the work for them.” She goes on to mention that she still considers auto tuning a creative process and is largely benign.”

Considering that AT works for Cartoon Network, a well-known television network and studio, her answers are pretty telling. She has mentioned that she doesn’t feel cheated when people post the show she works on onto the Internet. If anything she’s happy that people without cable or television can enjoy things she helped create. The whole auto tuning process that has appeared on the Internet in the last couple years is an example of folklore 2.0. It has multiplicity and variation; as people often auto tune the same things differently. It is also very unofficial, to the point that it borders on copyright infringement. The Internet has allowed people to share vast quantities of information that is as diverse as any form of language. The Charlie Sheen video is also interesting because it brings up the notion of “Win.” Win is an idea that started out on the Internet that has crossed over to everyday speech. Now, because of the Charlie Sheen auto tune, I have heard individuals use the term “Wining” in speech. It’s used to imply that something is awesome or going good for you. I.e., ” my parents bought me a brand new car. Winning!”

Children’s Song

Nationality: Caucasian American
Age: 34
Occupation: Waiter and tobacconist
Residence: Huntington Beach, CA
Performance Date: April 17, 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Conversational German, Latin

The informant learned the following children’s song “while [he] was on Catalina Island with [his], um, Indian Guides Troop as a young man.” Here are the lyrics:

Catalina Magalina Hoopa Stina Walladina

Hoka Poka Loka was her name.

Oh, she dove like a feather and floated like a rock,

When she hit the bottom you could hear her at the top,

Catalina Magalina Hoopa Stina Walladina

Hoka Poka Loka was her name.

Oh, she had two hairs that were on her head,

One was live and the other was dead,

Catalina Magalina Hoopa Stina Walladina

Hoka Poka Loka was her name.

Oh, she had two teeth that were in her mouth,

One pointed north and the other pointed south,

Catalina Magalina Hoopa Stina Walladina

Hoka Poka Loka was her name.

Here is a sound clip of the informant performing the song: Catalina Magalina

The informant said that he usually sang around the campfire as a boy and that “it does seem to be kind of a camp song, uh, something that, uh, that kids sing. And see how fast they can sing.”

The informant appears to find the song mildly amusing: “Izza goofy li’l song that basically, uh, insults the hell out of one poor girl. [snort]”

This song—aside from being a way for children to confound adults as to what on earth their children are singing—seems to be build as a challenge, perhaps even a sort of rite of passage. How many names can you remember? How clearly can you pronounce them? How quickly can you sing them? How much can you get through before you have to take a breath? The song also might be considered Indian fakelore, since it was being sung by a group of children pretending to be Natve Americans but is clearly not a traditional Native American song, though it might be possible to fool younger children into believing that it is. Insulting this girl could be a form of trying to counter the evil eye—if you accuse someone else of being ugly, perhaps you won’t be so yourself.

Folksong – North Carolina

Nationality: American - Caucasian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student - Theatre
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 20 April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Conversational Spanish

‘The River, she is flowing, flowing and growing

The River, she is flowing back to the sea.

Oh, Mother carry me – a child I will always be.

Oh, Mother carry me, back to the sea.

Back to the sea.”

The informant learned this song at a summer camp called the Green River Preserve in North Carolina. It was a song that they would sing on the bus on the way to a hiking site or sometimes in the evening around the camp fire. It was “theoretically a Native American song” though she wasn’t sure about that. She said that if her friends ask her to sing a song and she’s not warmed up she would sing this song because “it’s an easy song and it sounds nice”. She said it was “rather haunting and almost relaxing.”

I think it makes sense that this folk song was a song from a summer camp, as they are typically for children and the line, “Oh, Mother carry me – a child I will always be” is clearly relevant for children. For a young adult to be singing this song also makes sense as being college aged is this interesting time, that some refer to as emerging adulthood, where one is in a liminal stage between adulthood and childhood and this song expresses a resistance to growing up. I also think it is particularly suited to a young woman who moved across the country from North Carolina to Los Angeles to miss her home state and the land there. The East Coast actually has rivers that are not paved in concrete and so an organic notion of a river would likely remind the informant of her home, as this song clearly references as the river in it is “flowing and growing back to the sea.” The folkness of the song, in that it seems to be a song written by the people of her home state would also suggest a certain nostalgia is at play here.

Folk Song, CN

Danish Christmas Dance

Nationality: Danish
Age: 18
Occupation: Student at Copenhagen Business School
Residence: Copenhagen, Denmark
Performance Date: December 23rd, 2010
Primary Language: Danish
Language: Italian, English, Spanish

“In Denmark it’s tradition to get a Christmas tree, and after dinner, before we open our presents we sing a bunch of Christmas songs, and while we are singing the whole family/friends, whoever, hold hands and dance around the tree.

I learnt it at Christmas when I was really small, from my parents and the rest of the family, and I like it very much because it’s cozy and it brings everyone together, drifts attention from solely opening presents, which is purely materialistic. It means a lot to me, family bonding time.”

Eva talked very fondly of this Christmas experience in Denmark. She says she does it every year, though until now she has spent most of her Christmases in Rome, Italy. Though she was not surrounded by Danish experiences when younger, she says keeping traditions like this is what, she feels, makes her an authentic Danish person. Considering my experience with Danish people, I am not surprised that their traditions involve singing and dancing around. From the ones I have met, I find that Danish people are friendly, outgoing, and very fun loving. Eva’s family has almost become my family, and so I was extremely happy when I got to spend Christmas with them this past year. Experiencing this tradition first hand I couldn’t help but feel engulfed by both Christmas spirit and pure joy. I think that by holding hands you truly embrace the meaning of unity during Christmas, as well as the importance of family. By singing it shows the true symbolism of celebrating Christmas, which is of course celebrating the birth of Jesus. Considering that it is dancing around a tree, I see a little paganism in it. However I don’t know enough about the actual Christmas holiday versus Denmark’s pagan influences to decide whether it is part of Christmas that is perhaps more Pagan than Christian or whether it is this tradition that is perhaps more Pagan than Christian.

I was impressed by Eva’s insight regarding this tradition as drifting attention from the materialistic part, as sometimes I feel that for many children, Christmas tree equals presents, and here is a tradition, happily practiced since childhood, that adds another role to this beautiful tree, and this is a purely spiritual one, the togetherness.

This tradition is mentioned in a book, a journal of European Ethnology.

Pedersen, Marriane H. “Making Traditions in a New Society.” Ethnologia Europaea. Museum Tusculanum, 2007. 7. Web. 26 Apr. 2011.