Category Archives: Musical

“The Johnson Boys” Campfire Song

Nationality: Canada/USA

Age: 55

Occupation: Software Engineer

Residence: Seattle

Performance Date: 4/1/22

Primary Language: English

Context:

KR’s grandfather was a Scoutmaster in Ontario who led Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts on camping trips and also enjoyed going camping with his own family. He remembers this piece as one of the songs his grandfather used to sing around the campfire with them.

Main Piece:

“The Johnson Boys”

Verse 1:  
Oh, the Johnson boys, the Johnson boys,
 They lived on a mill on the side of the hill,

Verse 2:
Oohh, the Johnson boys, the Johnson boys, 
They lived on a mill on the side of the hill,

Verse 3:
Ooohhhhh, the Johnson boys, the Johnson boys,
They lived on a mill on the side of the hill.

Continue ad infinitum, with the “oh” being drawn out longer with each repetition of the verse.

Analysis:

KR remembers “The Johnson Boys,” as “the song with one hundred thousand verses.” He says it’s, “a fun little song that everyone gets to chime in on,” since the lyrics were easy to remember and stretching out the “oh” always made the kids laugh. This song fulfills the classic roles of a good campfire song: something easy to pick up and remember, but with a fun twist to entertain the children. Since KR’s grandfather was a scout leader, the trips he led were mainly composed of children, it makes sense that he would have a library of these songs that are easily accessible for anyone.

This facet of folk song is interesting to me because while it is folk culture, it is also in some ways an institutionally pushed song. By this I do not mean that it was integrated into standardized education, or utilized by the government/corporations, but it significantly differs from some other children’s songs because it is a song that was taught to children by adults, and generally performed between children and adults. Often, folkloric children’s chants and songs evolve within the young population, perhaps even against the will of the adults surrounding them. But this song, and other campfire songs like it, are more of a bridge between the cultural worlds of the child and the adult leaders. They are neither the children’s song (because the children did not create it or claim it as their own to change and sing on their own) but also not a song for the adults (because the adults sing it primarily for the enjoyment of the children).

German Birthday Rhyme

Nationality: German

Occupation: Retired

Residence: Westergellersen, Germany

Performance Date: 4/10/22

Primary Language: German

Context:

HH is a retired former housewife who lives in Westergellersen, a small village in northern Germany.

Main Piece:

Am Fenster heute Morgen
Da saßen ohne Sorgen
Drei Spatzen und drei Meisen.
Ja was soll das den heißen?
Sie haben’s mir geflüstert.
Ich weiß es ganz genau:
"Name" hat heute Geburtstag.
Darum der Radau!

Translation:

At the window this morning
There sat without worries
Three sparrows and three tits.
What is that supposed to mean?
They whispered it to me.
I know it exactly:
It's "Name"'s birthday today
Therefore the noise!

Analysis:

This rhyme is longer and a bit more complex than the now ubiquitous ‘happy birthday’ song is in America, but it serves the same function. Both verses have a space to insert the name of the person who is being celebrated, which makes the chant personalized to the birthday celebrator. I think the inclusion of specifically named bird varieties, sparrows and tits, interesting because while these are common birds, they do place locational limits on the rhyme.

The final line of the verse, “Darum der Radau!” I found a little difficult to translate. I chose to translate word for word, but fear that the implied meaning may not be clear from this literal translation. ‘Darum’ can mean because of, therefore, or hence, and ‘Radau’ has a lot of adjacent translations including noise, racket, and hullabaloo. In effect, the final line of the rhyme is the speakers explaining why they are being boisterous and causing a racket (either through the loud reciting of the rhyme, or the celebratory event they are in the midst of).

Mary Mack

Context:

AS grew up in Ontario, Canada, and remembers playing this clapping game on the playground growing up. This piece was performed as a form of play between two children in coordination with a clapping game. The game consisted of both participants clapping their two hands together, then clapping on of their hands to the other person’s (right hand to right hand) and then repeating, alternating the hand that they clapped against the other participant’s.

Main Piece:

“Oh Mary Mack, Mack, Mack,
All dressed in black, black black,
She asked her mother, mother, mother
For fifty cents, cents, cents, 
She climbed a fence, fence, fence,
She went so high, high, high,
She didn’t come back, back, back,
Till the Fourth of July, -ly, -ly”

Additional Commentary:

“I don’t know why we said fourth of July because that meant nothing to us as kids. But, the point was, is it kept going and going and going and going, and it got slowly faster and faster and faster until one of you messed up. Then you probably slapped ‘em or something, I don’t know. So there were lots of variations on that.”

Analysis:

Both the rhythm of the clapping game itself and the song are relatively simple, so once the game and song are learned, the challenge consists in the ability to maintain coordination of singing and clapping in the correct rhythm while continuously increasing the speed. The song rhymes and repeats in sections, which makes it easier to remember.

AS has no idea what the song was about, but still remembers the lyrics and hand movements decades later. Though, with the general trend of folkloric children’s songs being about taboo topics like sex and death, there are some lines that could point in that direction. The lines “She climbed a fence… she went so high… she didn’t come back… till the Fourth of July” seem like they could hint at something darker, especially since they do not clarify how she came down (climbing or falling). The final line also points the origin of the song in the United States, as the Fourth of July is Independence Day in the US. AS grew up in Canada, so, as she mentioned, the date “meant nothing to us as kids.”

When trying to discern the meaning of the song, it’s important to mention that there are other recorded versions of this song that include different variations on the lyrics. In another version, it is not Mary Mack that climbs the fence and doesn’t come down till the Fourth of July, but instead an elephant that jumps the fence, touches the sky, and doesn’t come back till the Fourth of July. For a recording of that version, refer here: “Miss Mary Mack,” Ian Cabeen, USC Digital Folklore Archives, May 17, 2021. http://uscfolklorearc.wpenginepowered.com/miss-mary-mack-2/

En el Muelles de San Blas- Folk song by Mana

Context:

A is a Mexican immigrant from the state of Nayarit. They heard of this legend when they lived in the city of Tepic, which was about an hour away from where the legend takes place. San Blas is a well-know beach and was frequently visited by A.

The context of this piece was over a dinner when we were discussing future plans to visit Nayarit, specifically which beaches we were going to. A mentioned the legend and showed me the song.

Text:

Uh-uh-uh-uh, uh-uh

Ella despidió a su amor
El partió en un barco en el muelle de San Blas
El juró que volvería
Y empapada en llanto, ella juró que esperaría

Miles de lunas pasaron
Y siempre ella estaba en el muelle, esperando
Muchas tardes se anidaron
Se anidaron en su pelo y en sus labios

Uh-uh-uh-uh, uh-uh

Llevaba el mismo vestido
Y por si él volviera, no se fuera a equivocar
Los cangrejos le mordían
Su ropaje, su tristeza y su ilusión

Y el tiempo se escurrió
Y sus ojos se le llenaron de amaneceres
Y del mar se enamoró
Y su cuerpo se enraizó en el muelle

, sola en el olvido
(Sola), sola con su espíritu
(Sola), sola con su amor el mar
(Sola), en el muelle de San Blas

Su cabello se blanqueó
Pero ningún barco a su amor le devolvía
Y en el pueblo le decían
Le decían la loca del muelle de San Blas

Y una tarde de abril
La intentaron trasladar al manicomio
Nadie la pudo arrancar
Y del mar nunca jamás la separaron

, sola en el olvido
(Sola), sola con su espíritu
(Sola), sola con su amor el mar
(Sola), en el muelle de San Blas

, sola en el olvido
(Sola), sola con su espíritu
(Sola), sola con el sol y el mar
(Sola), ¡Oh, sola!

Sola en el olvido
(Sola), sola con su espíritu
(Sola), sola con su amor el mar
(Sola), en el muelle de San Blas

Se quedó
Se quedó sola, sola
Se quedó
Se quedó con el sol y con el mar

Se quedó ahí
Se quedó hasta el fin
Se quedó ahí
Se quedó en el muelle de San Blas

Uoh, oh-oh-oh

Sola, sola se quedó
Uoh, oh-oh-oh

// Translation:

Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh, uh-uh

She said goodbye to her love

He left on a boat at the pier in San Blas

He swore he’d come back

And drenched in tears, she swore she’d wait

Thousands of moons passed

And always she stood on the dock, waiting

Many afternoons nested

They nested in her hair and on her lips

Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh, uh-uh

She wore the same dress

And just in case he came back, he wouldn’t be wrong

The crabs were biting him

Her clothes, her sadness and her illusion

And time slipped away

And her eyes were filled with sunrises

And she fell in love with the sea

And her body took root on the pier

Alone in oblivion

(Alone), alone with her spirit

(Alone), alone with her love for the sea

(Alone), alone on the pier of San Blas

Her hair bleached white

But no ship to her love returned to her

And in the town they called her

They called her the madwoman of the pier of San Blas

And one April afternoon

They tried to transfer her to the asylum

No one could tear her away

And from the sea they never ever separated her

Alone in oblivion

(Alone), alone with her spirit

(Alone), alone with her love for the sea

(Alone), on the pier of San Blas

alone in oblivion

(Alone), alone with her spirit

(Alone), alone with the sun and the sea

(Alone), Oh, alone!

Alone in oblivion

(Alone), alone with her spirit

(Alone), alone with her love the sea

(Alone), on the pier of San Blas

She stayed

She stayed alone, alone

She stayed

She stayed with the sun and the sea

She stayed there

She stayed until the end

She stayed there

He stayed on the pier of San Blas

Uoh, oh-oh-oh-oh

Alone, alone she stayed

Uoh, oh-oh-oh

Analysis:

This text describes the legend of the crazed woman of San Blas. This song was made by the well-known Mexican rock band Mana and is around the folklore of the madwoman of the pier of San Blas. It was said that she was a young and beautiful woman that had fallen in love with a young sailor, possibly a fisherman. The two fell madly in love but their time together was brief as he left once his work was done in Nayarit. His departure was set to be from the shores of San Blas, a popular beach in Nayarit. Before leaving, he promised he would come back for her and marry her. As the song says, she stood there for a thousand nights and spent the entirety of her life waiting for him to come back. The legend says that the overwhelming feels of sadness, nostalgia, and desperation drove her into madness. It was said that in her state of madness, she began to head to the pier in a wedding gown with a veil and bouquet to wait for her groom to return to her. I found this song especially interesting as it was able to turn a somewhat niche local lore and publicize to the masses. I enjoyed how the band was able to transform the lore into a musical piece that captured the lore’s essence.

Arrorró mi niño

Context:

A is a Mexican immigrant and learned this lullaby from their mother and used it on his children. He now uses it as a lullaby for his grandchildren when they become restless.

The context of this piece was when A was babysitting their grandson and sang this lullaby to put him to sleep.

Text:

Arrorró mi niño,
arrorró mi sol,
arrorró pedazo,
de mi corazón.

Este niño lindo
ya quiere dormir;
háganle la cuna
de rosa y jazmín.

Háganle la cama
en el toronjil,
y en la cabecera
pónganle un jazmín
que con su fragancia
me lo haga dormir.

Arrorró mi niño,
arrorró mi sol,
arrorró pedazo,
de mi corazón.

Esta leche linda
que le traigo aquí,
es para este niño
que se va a dormir.

Arrorró mi niño,
arrorró mi sol,
arrorró pedazo,
de mi corazón.

Este lindo niño
se quiere dormir…
cierra los ojitos
y los vuelve a abrir.

Arrorró mi niño,
arrorró mi sol,
duérmase pedazo,
de mi corazón.

//Translation:

Hush-a-bye my baby
Hush-a-bye my sun
Hush-a-bye oh piece
of my heart.

This pretty child
Wants to sleep already
Make him a cradle
of rose and jasmine.

Make him a bed
On the lemon balm
And at the head
Put jasmine
With its fragrance
To put him to sleep for me.

Hush-a-bye my baby
Hush-a-bye my sun
Hush-a-bye oh piece
of my heart.

This beautiful milk
That I bring him here
Is for this baby
Who is going to sleep.

Hush-a-bye my baby
Hush-a-bye my sun
Hush-a-bye oh piece
of my heart.

This lovely baby
Wants to sleep
He closes his eyes
And opens them again.

Hush-a-bye my baby
Hush-a-bye my sun
Hush-a-bye oh piece
of my heart.

Analysis:

This is a common musical piece that is used throughout the Mexican culture. I had heard this lullaby frequently as a child but I had only heard of a few portions of it so it was nice to hear A recite it in its entirety. This was a learning experience for me as although I thought I had already known about this lullaby but A introduced me to more of it. This made it clear that this lullaby continues to spread throughout the generations. It also suggests that there are variations of the lullaby itself; thus, it demonstrates how musical pieces like this one change to cater to its audience.