Category Archives: Musical

Song – San Diego, California

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 06, 2008
Primary Language: English

“Miss Susie had a steam boat,

the steam boat had a bell, ding-ding

Miss Susie went to heaven,

The Steamboat went to Hell…

Ooo Operator,

Please give me number nine,

And if you disconnect me,

I’ll cut off your Beee—-

HIND the frigerator,

There was a piece of glass,

Miss Susie sat upon it,

And broker her little ASS

SK…me no more questions,

I’ll tell you no more lies,

The boys are in the bathroom,

Zipping up their Flys—

Are in the meadows,

The bees are in their park,

Miss Susie and her boyfriend,

Are kissing in the D-A-R-K, D-A-R-K, D-A-R-K DARK!

The dark is like the movies,

The movie’s like the show,

The show is like the the-a-tre,

And that is all I know

I know my mom,

I know I know my pa,

I know I know my si-as-ster

With the 40 acre BRA! BRA! BRA!”

Analysis:

Natalie was born in San Diego, California, where she first heard the song “Miss Susie”. She learned this song in first grade from her playmates during recess. Recess was the time that all the girls would get together to sing songs, jump rope, and play hand games. She thought this song was funnier than the other songs because she got the opportunity to say bad words.

This piece of folklore epitomizes the idea that children can be little angels and little monsters at the same time. According to Marina Warner’s Six Myths of our Time, children are perceived innocent, but have an innate need to rebel. For example, the words hell, ass, behind, fly, kissing, dark and bra are used in the song. Yet they are used in such a way to cover up all the negative connotations. Hell is strung with the letter O. Although hell may be emphasized, the word itself is hello. This song is a way for children to rebel in a passive manner. Notice that the children know that kissing in the dark is forbidden by them not saying the word dark, but rather spelling it out. This is similar to when parents spell a word out instead of saying it in front of their children. This song not only highlights inappropriate behavior, but touches on sexual undertones as shown by being in the park, with her boyfriend and a 40 acre BRA.

In a Freudian comparison of the situation, when children play, it is not taken seriously or as real, so it allows them to explore such topics that are considered inappropriate or prohibited by society. These modes in which children play violate the adult’s romantic notion of a child and his innocence. In this case, this piece of folklore in which the song aims to mask the forbidden topic is known as nonsense play (Oring). Most adult would consider the song as a bunch of rhymes, with a catchy tune.

However, the melody is a slight adaptation of the Looney tune theme “That’s all folks” played at the end of each episode. This tune is one heard by almost every child growing up. The incorporation of it in Miss Susie demonstrates how commercial advertisement can integrate into folklore. It also helps in dating this piece of folklore, for one can determine when the song first came out. Since the first Looney Tunes episode premiered over seventy years ago, we can say that the terminus post quem is April of 1930. We know that this piece of folklore could not have been before this date.

Game/Song

Nationality: Peruvian
Age: 55
Occupation: Laboratory Technician
Residence: Torrance, CA
Performance Date: April 28, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

EL PATIO DE MI CASA

Cancion:

“El patio de mi casa es particular, cuando llueve se moja, como los demas, chocolate, morenita, corre corre,estirar estirar que la coja va pasar”.

Hacer una ronda agarrandose las manos (6 chicas o mas, puede ser hasta 20 ), una de las chicas en el medio de la ronda y cantar la cancion, al terminar de cantar , separarse y aplaudir y la chica del centro salta en un pie hasta que se canse , finalnmente cuando para, la chica proxima a la que salto es la siguiente y asi sucesivamente.

THE PATIO OF MY HOUSE

Song:

“The patio of my house is particular, when rains gets wet like the other ones, chocolate, morenita, run run,

make room for the limp”

Make a circle holding hands ( 6 girls or more, could be even 20 ), one of the girls is in the center of the circle. Everybody sings the song. When you finish the song separate to make room, and clap your hands and the girl in the center star jumping on one leg till gets tired and give up. The girl in front of her will be the next in the center and start all over again.

Analysis:

Norma sang this song during recess with the other girls during grade school. It was one of her favorite games. Although it may not appear difficult to hop on one foot, after a while one gets tiring. She did not see any significance meaning to this game. It was just any ordinary game to her.

This is a prime example of children making fun of the handicapped or disabled. This is not like a common paraplegic joke told in the United States. The children outright say “run, run” there’s a “limp”. They even go father by hopping on one foot. This game although appears innocent enough to the eyes of adults, its an act of rebellion. Children are told at a young age to respect the disabled with expression such as: Do not point, Do not stare, Do not ask how they came to be that way. There are so many restrictions, games and jokes are ways for children to get around the rules.

Song

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Pittsburg, PA
Performance Date: April 16, 2008
Primary Language: English

Song:

One Tin Solid

Listen Children, to a story, that was written, long ago

About a kingdom, on a mountain, and the valley far below
on the mountain was a treasure, buried deep beneath the stone,

And the valley people swore they’d have if for their very own

Chorus

Go ahead and hate your neighbor,

Go ahead and cheat a friend

Do it in the name of heaven,

You can justify it in the end

There wont be any trumpets blowing,

Come the judgment day

On the bloody morning after,

One tin soldier rides away

Then the people of the valley,

Sent a message up the hill

Asking for the buried treasure,

Tons of gold for which they’d kill

Came an answer from the mountain

With our brothers, we will share

All the secrets of our kingdom,

All the riches buried there

Chorus

So the valley shook with anger,

(Mount your horses, draw your swords)

And they killed the mountain people,

So they won their just reward

Now they stand beside the treasure

On the mountain dark and red

Turn the stone and look beneath it,

Peace on earth was all it said

chorus

My sister heard this song at a Girl Scout camp in 5th grade. It was taught and sung around a campfire environment. She said she remembered it more that other camp songs because she agreed with the message that it conveyed. She continued to sing the song for several years as she continued to attend Girl Scout camp.

I heard my sister singing this song after she learned it at camp. I like this song because of how it ties religious ideas with everyday characteristics. You have the valley people that are greedy and want the treasure from the mountain. The mountain people don’t actually have treasure, but they are willing to share their way of life with them. The valley people then take war to the mountain, killing everyone on the mountain. When they look for the treasure, all the mountain people had was peace.

I had believed this song was pure folklore – a camp song that was song mainly in that environment. After some research, I discovered that the song was written by two men, Dennis Lambert and  Brian Potter, and recorded in 1969 by the band Original Caste. I know my sister did not know that when she learned the song and am sure that most, if not all, of the camp counselors teaching the song did not know there is an official, recorded version of the song. This is an example of some that went from being a published material and sort of de-evolved into a folk song.

Lullaby – Swiss

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Pittsburg, PA
Performance Date: April 18, 2008
Primary Language: English

Original script/version:

Latvian Lullaby

Aija zuzu / laca berni

Pekainam(i) / kajinam(i)

Tevs aizgaia / bisu kapt(i)

Tevs parnesa / medus poudu,

Mate – uogu / vaceliti

Tas mazam(i) / berninam(i)

Par mierigu / gulesanu

Translation:

Lully, lully, / getting sleepy,

Tiny wee(ee) / baby bear(ie)!

While daddikins / looks for honey,

Mummy hunts for raspberries (ie)

And daddikins / will bring honey,

And your mummy / will bring berries

For darling (ie) / babykins (ie)

Sweet, sweet, sweetly / getting sleepy.

“”My brothers and I all grew up hearing the same Latvian lullaby every night before we went to bed; it is called “Aija Zuzu” It’s about a little bear cub and his parents. Every Latvian kid in my family(immediate and extended) heard that song every night before they went to bed.  I’ll probably sing it to my kids when I get old.””–   -Kate

This is a neat, if incomplete, Latvian lullaby. This is all Kate could remember, and with the help of the internet, we pieced together the translation. This is only the first verse, so there are 2-3 verses missing.

The main theme in this portion of the lullaby is the parents supporting their child. The parents get food for the baby while it sleeps. This seems an appropriate theme for a child’s bedtime song. The use of “Daddikins” because in American culture, you don’t hear that used often.

For further reference in texts, see:

Leonovich, Mikhail. A History of European Versification. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Pg. 12.

Archivist Additional Annotation (April 27, 2020):  https://youtu.be/HGNeIVyOsig

Folk Song/Cheer – Los Angeles, California

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Diego, CA
Performance Date: April 30, 2008
Primary Language: English

Softball Cheer

Cheer is meant to be said by leader line by line, with the rest of the team repeating after the leader line by line.  It is also supposed to get progressively louder.  Regular text represents the leader, where italicized text represents the rest of the team.

“Icky la Boom Ba, Icky la Boom Ba”

“Icky la Ticky Wicky, Icky la Ticky Wicky”

“Ohfa Toefa Roefa, Ohfa Toefa Roefa”

“Oompa Chi Ahhhh, Oompa Chi Ahhhh”

“Icky la Boom Ba, Icky la Boom Ba”

This was a cheer used during softball games when the informant was age eight to fourteen.  The leader was usually the informant because her sister had introduced the cheer to the team.  This cheer was used to pump up the batter and get the team excited, as well as, to annoy or antagonize the opposing team (hence the repetition and loud volume).  It encouraged their teammates to do well and let them know they were cheering for them.

The cheer seems like almost a special language her team has.  Since the cheer is comprised of rhymes that aren’t even real words, this shows how only her team shares this unique rhyme and brings them together.  The cheer probably reminds the batter that they share this common tie with their team and this familiarity and this bond makes her want to succeed for the sake of not only herself, but for the whole team.