Category Archives: Musical

Recesses Pieces

Nationality: White/Indian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

Participant – “So, we would always sing at recess in California the song that goes…

 

‘Brick wall waterfall

girl you think you know it all

you don’t, I do

so boom with that attitude

recesses pieces, 7-up

you mess with me, I’ll mess you up’

 

…and a lot of people have different endings to that”                

Context:

The participant was in my room with a few of my other friends, we discussed the games we used to play as kids. She shared this common song from her childhood that the girls would often sing to one another while playing games.

Background:

The participant was born in the California Bay Area and grew up there until she was 8. Her family then moved to Minnetonka Minnesota where she lived until she moved to Los Angeles to join the University of Southern California’s class of 2021. The participant has a half White and half Indian background. This folk song was passed onto the participant by other girls in her elementary school, almost every girl in school knew the song.          

Analysis:

The participant shared this song and my friends and I all knew the beginning of it but had different variations for the ending. This often happens with folk music, it has a similar base and tone, but can have big differences from place to place. This song varied from friend group to friend group and as kids you could tell if someone went to your school based on what version of the song they knew.

Yo Sun-Sun Ikimashou

Nationality: Japanese, Mexican, American
Age: 23
Occupation: USC Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/19/18
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese

On a few occasions my informant, Peter, has taken my hand and rhythmically chanted a short, japanese phrase while swinging our arms back and forth. I never knew what he was saying or who he had learned it from until I asked to document it. The following is from when I interviewed him in the USC Village:

 

Me: “Can you explain that thing you do where you swing our hands while sing-chanting in Japanese? What is that?”

 

Peter: “Well, when I used to go on walks with my grandmother, we would hold hands and swing them while chanting this over and over again: ‘Yo sun-sun ikimashou, yo sun-sun ikimashou.’”

 

Me: “Could you please translate that for me?”

 

Peter: “The ‘Yo sun-sun’ part does not have a real meaning…”

 

Me: “Can you extrapolate on that?”

 

Peter: “It’s like, ‘la, la, la” in English. It’s just sing-songy.”

 

Me: “And the second part?”

 

Peter: “That means, like, ‘Onward, here we go…;’ but in a pleasant way.”

 

My informant then helped my find the Japanese script and translation with my computer so I could add it to my entry:

~Original script: 行きましょう

~Roman script: Ikimashou

~Translation: (A nice way of saying) Let’s Go

 

Analysis:

I’m so glad my informant chose to share this with me. I now know a little more about his cultural background and how that comes into play in his everyday. I’m also honored that he has done this with me when we hold hands. I think it means he feels connected to me, and wants to replicate the happy feelings he got from his grandmother in me.

 

Russian Folk Song

Nationality: Russian
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Residence: LA
Performance Date: April 3, 2018
Primary Language: Russian
Language: English

Oh, not the evening is a Russian folk song that my friend learned in school. Amina does not remember what it is about, but these are the lyrics:

Oh, at this evening, at this evening, I was sleeping so little, I was sleeping so little. Oh, and I saw in my dreams… I saw in my dreams, that my horse was crazy under my saddle. Oh, evil wings came from the east. Oh, and took the black hat off from my head. But my esaul was clever, he understood and explained my dream “Oh, you will lose” he said “you will lose your head” Oh, at this evening, at this evening, I was sleeping so little, I was sleeping so little. Oh, and I saw in my dreams…

She learned this song in school when she was young. She guesses it was around the 3rd grade.

 

Tamuke

Nationality: English
Age: 67
Occupation: Healer
Residence: New York
Performance Date: April 13, 2018
Primary Language: English

She lived in Kyoto, Japan for three years, where she studied Shinto and learned the Japanese folk song “Tamuke”. This song is supposed to connect her to “the souls of the spirit realm”. Nani used to be able to play it on a Japanese flute, but does not remember how anymore, nor does she have a flute.

Morocco-Spain: Lullaby

Nationality: Morocco
Age: 24
Occupation: Operation Strategist
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 22 2018
Primary Language: French
Language: English and Spanish

Informant: The following is a song my grandmother used to sing to me when I was little. Her mother, so my great grandmother, used to sing it to her and then she started singing it to me when I was born. The song in Spanish goes like this: 

Caminando por un caminito 

Me canse de andar 

Debajo de una sombra me puse a descansar 

Estando descansando por ahí paso 

Una niña muy bella de ella enamoré

In English, it basically translates to “While I was resting on the road, I saw a very beautiful girl and fell in love with her.” The song then goes on to describe the appearance of the girl, saying she was thin and blond. 

Analysis: 

Malak went on to explain how the song used to be sung to her as a nursery rhyme, almost like a lullaby. It is interesting because even though she is Moroccan, the song is not originally from Morocco but has instead been passed done through generations. While the song first begun being sung by her great grandmother, who was from Spain, Malak does not remember any one else who knew the song or where it originated from. She claimed that the only person who ever sung it to her was her grandmother.

This demonstrates how folklore passes down from generation to generation. Furthermore, it demonstrates how folk music is different from other forms of music; Malak was insistent on how the rhythm and beat of the song are the a crucial factor in allowing her to remember how it went.

I think it is very interesting that it is a song about love that is used as a lullaby. Even more interesting is the fact that the narrator of the song, presumably a guy, falls in love with the girl solely based on her looks. The song literally tells the story of how he saw a beautiful girl and was instantly captured by her beauty. In my opinion, this shows a very shallow and physical type of love. There is no emotional connection between the lovers, it is just physical attraction. Maybe this speaks to a generational issue? Malak mentioned how both her great grandmother and grandmother got married extremely young and without knowing very well their future husbands. Therefore, this might have been a song in which they found solace and felt related too, which would explain why they have kept on singing it for years. Nevertheless, I still think that it is a catchy and simple song. It is heartwarming to see how it has been passed down from generation to generation.