Category Archives: Musical

Song

Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 15, 2007
Primary Language: English

Kappa Alpha Theta Sisterhood Song

We are the best

We are the K A T

We make up

The best sorority

You can try

But you can’t match the fun

Cuz Kappa Alpha Theta’s always number one!

We got swing

No one else is better

And we’re always hot no matter what the weather

We the top the list

The cream of the crop

Kappa Alpha Theta is the top!

She’s a Kappa Alpha Theta

Cute little lass

She’s a Kappa Alpha Theta

Notice her class

She’s a Kappa Alpha Theta

Doin’ it right

She’s a Kappa Alpha Theta

Wearin’ her kite, yeah!

Kristin Boyert pledged the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority at Southern Methodist University in Fall 2003 and transferred to the University of Southern California two years later.  She is now an active member of Theta at USC and has focused a lot of effort on philanthropies and rush. The Theta sisterhood song is recited at special events such as bid night in order to generate excitement. This song, however, was much more prominent at Southern Methodist and is not sang very often at USC.

Unlike the songs at rush that are humbly designed to impress girls, this song is a declaration of superiority, aimed at making the new initiates excited about their new status within the sorority. It describes the Thetas as well-balanced girls (class, attractive, fun) who are the envy of the other sororities and coveted by the men. While it is understandable that sororities have tremendous pride and tradition, songs like this help to explain the resentment that often develops between members of different sororities. Although girls may feel like their association to the group makes them superior to others, the reality is that any two girls could have easily ended up in the same sorority during rush. As a USC Greek, I have directly seen this out-group bias (and have sometimes been guilty of it myself), and while I have tremendous faith in the Greek system, this song certainly indicates the resentment potentially fostered amongst the row.

Hymn – Calabasas, California

Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 21, 2007
Primary Language: English
Language: Hebrew

V’Shamru

And the Children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath,

To make the Sabbath an eternal covenant for their generations.

V’shamru v’nei Yisarel et ha’shabbat

La’asot et ha’shabbat l’dorotam b’rit olam

Jay Rockman is a freshman at USC and a dedicated follower of Jewish religion and tradition. His mother is Israeli, and as a child he learned to speak Hebrew. From grades 6-12 he attend Milken Community School, a prestigious private school in Calabasas, CA that integrates Jewish education into its curriculum. According to Jay, they would often sing Jewish hymns and prayers at assemblies or certain classes; the school would combine both the Hebrew text and the English translation into these short hymns. The third and fourth lines of the hymn are normally written in Hebrew characters, with this version containing the phonetic pronunciation of the words.

“V’Shamru” speaks of the Sabbath as an obligation, mandating that it will be passed down eternally throughout the generations. The past conceptions of the Sabbath (known as “Shabbat”) required that people refrain from laborious activities, such as kindling a fire (which obviously required much more effort hundreds of years ago). However, the modern conception suggests that people should refrain from using electrical appliances or driving cars on Friday night or Saturday until sundown. Obviously, only devout Jews follows these strict guidelines, and more casual followers (such as Jay’s family) try to view Shabbat as a recuperation day, avoiding stressful commitments or laborious tasks. The Sabbath is intended to mirror the period during which God created the Earth; according to the Torah, He spent six days creating, and on the seventh day He rested. The hymn also implies that most people (non-Jews) will not keep the Sabbath, but that is the responsibility of the Jewish people to maintain its sanctity.

Song

Age: 11
Occupation: Student
Residence: Westlake Village, CA
Performance Date: April 7, 2007
Primary Language: English

99 bottles of sprite on the wall

99 bottles of sprite

You take one down

Pass it around

98 bottles of sprite on the wall

(Song repeats until there are no bottles left)

Talia Fiance is in the sixth grade and often rides the school bus to school and fieldtrips. During these bus rides, the children often break out in song, with a few students eagerly leading the chant until ultimately almost everyone is singing. She cannot pinpoint exactly when she learned this song, but she noted that it is obviously derived from the traditional folk song “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall.” On the bus rides to and from school, there is no adult supervision (with the exception of the driver), and hence the children have no censorship on their songs. However, on field trips, there are often teachers and parent liaisons, and these individuals discouraged Talia’s peers from singing about beer. Instead, they mandated that they sing about soda and suggested punishment to those who would not adapt to the new lyrics.

While this song does not have any profound meaning to the informant, the adults’ desire to modify the lyrics is indicative of increasing restrictions on what children hear and say. As technology consistently improves, children are gaining more access to media and folklore beyond what they learn in school or from their parents; hence, parents are becoming more concerned with monitoring kids’ behavior. In this case, the children were originally singing a harmless song, but the adults deemed it inappropriate for them to be singing freely about alcoholic beverages.

The song “99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall” always presents an interesting dynamic amongst the kids. It is known as an annoying and demanding song, and the kids rarely reach the end (when there are no bottles left). Likewise, the song presents an element of humor, because the leaders of the song are aware of the nuisance that the song presents to zthe bus driver (or to the other adults). The song is somewhat empowering, because simply starting the song implies that about fifteen minutes of obnoxious melodic pattern may ensue. Yet, the song rarely gets past about 75 bottles, as the singers get tired and pressure the medley to end.

Song – Westlake Village, California

Age: 21
Occupation: Summer Camp Director
Residence: New York, NY
Performance Date: April 8, 2007
Primary Language: English

I said a Boom Chic-A-Boom

I said a Boom Chic-A-Boom

I said a Boom Chic-A-Rocka, Chic-A-Rocka, Chic-A-Boom

Uh-huh (echo Uh-huh)

Oh yeah (echo Oh yeah)

One more time (echo One more time)

______ style!!!!!

(The person leading the song can choose from a variety of “styles” and continue as long as he/she wants. Popular styles include ‘Under water style,’ ‘Valley girl style,’ ‘Pirate style,’ or anything else the leader thinks of or chooses)

Nicole Ross is the camp director of First Neighborhood Day Camp in Westlake Village, CA. Over 200 kids attend camp every week, and throughout the day the counselors lead multiple song medleys. Generally, Nicole selects a counselor to come on stage with his/her group of campers and pick a song, which they will sing on stage in front of the entire camp. I attended the camp from ages 7-13, but when I arrived to work as a head counselor in the summer of 2006 I noticed that many of the songs had changed. Since the camp has been around for more than twenty years, many of the songs have been modified, and Nicole brought many new songs to the camp’s tradition. She claims to have learned “Boom-Chic-A-Boom” back when she was a camper around 1993.

The song is filled mostly with meaningless lyrics designed to get kids excited and rowdy. The song is recited in “repeat-after-me” style, meaning the kids have an opportunity to get up and perform in front of a large group. While the lyrics may seem irrelevant, the idea behind the song is to build confidence and creativity. The last line enables campers to choose the “style” of their choice; although there are popular favorites, the kids can essentially make up any style they want on the spot. Sometimes, a specific person will be selected (for example, “Jason style”) to lead his/her own completely unique, goofy rendition. As camp went on, campers became more eager to do their own “style,” revealing that they gradually became comfortable enough to chant alone in front of 200 people. According to Nicole, this transformation in the campers’ self-assurance is a primary goal of the summer camp.

Hymn – Calabasas, California

Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 21, 2007
Primary Language: English
Language: Hebrew

Etz Chaim Hee

It is a tree of life to those who hold fast to it,

And all of it’s supporters are happy

Etz chaim hee lamachazikim bah,

Vetomecheha m’ushar.

Jay Rockman is a freshman at USC and a dedicated follower of Jewish religion and tradition. His mother is Israeli, and as a child he learned to speak Hebrew. From grades 6-12 he attend Milken Community School, a prestigious private school in Calabasas, CA that integrates Jewish education into its curriculum. According to Jay, they would often sing Jewish hymns and prayers at assemblies or certain classes; the school would combine both the Hebrew text and the English translation into these short hymns. The third and fourth lines of the hymn are normally written in Hebrew characters, with this version containing the phonetic pronunciation of the words.

This hymn is a dedication to the Torah, which the Jewish equivalent to the Bible (written in Hebrew text). It describes the holy scripture as a “tree of life,” meaning one can constantly grow and flourish as a result of reading the Torah throughout one’s life. Those who follow the words of the Torah will find happiness because it contains many moral lessons, and reading it is also a direct praise to God. Thus, those who “hold fast to it” are rewarded not only by the stable morality they gain, but also because God is said to reward those who adhere to his teachings. In actuality, reading the Torah properly is a demanding process that requires tremendous knowledge and practice, potentially requiring many hours each week. Also, the undressing and redressing of the Torah requires prayers; it cannot simply be pulled out of a closet and opened. For these reasons, people find it hard to consistently read the scripture as God has mandated. However, many people find tremendous gratification and comfort in its messages, which speak of peace, love, charity, and faith.