Category Archives: Musical

There’s No Seder Like our Seder Song

Nationality: Jewish
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Primary Language: English

The informant is my film partner (referred to as MR) who has a Jewish mother and was raised Jewish.  This is a song his Jewish grandmother has the family sing before the dinner service of Passover.

There’s No Seder Like our Seder

There’s no seder like our seder,

There’s no seder I know.

Everything about it is Halachic

nothing that the Torah won’t allow.

Listen how we read the whole Haggadah

It’s all in Hebrew

‘Cause we know how.

There’s no Seder like our seder,

We tell a tale that is swell:

Moses took the people out into the heat

They baked the matzoh

While on their feet

Now isn’t that a story

That just can’t be beat?

Let’s go on with the show!

MR: “We sing this song to the tune of “There’s no Business like Show business,” and my grandma had them printed on a twice photocopied piece of paper that she stores in this big bin that only comes out of the closet during Passover. So we all sing this right before the meal of Passover.”

This song is very interesting because it is sung to the tune of a song that is obviously not Jewish which also means that while this is a family tradition this may not be a widespread Jewish cultural tradition. At least this song being sung to the tune of “There’s no Business like Show business,” means that this is not carried down for centuries and is a modern twist on perhaps a more historically grounded Jewish song. The act of singing before a meal is also interesting because it shows the meal is much more of a celebration than other events.

A-ri-rang

Nationality: South Korean
Age: 53
Occupation: Doctor
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 27th, 2018
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English, Mandarin

Song

 

A-ri-rang is a renowned South Korean folk song

Line Original Script Phonetic Script Translation
1 아리랑, 아리랑, 아라리요… A-ri-rang, A-ri-rang, Arariyo…A-ri-rang gogaero neomeoganda

 

 A-ri-rang, A-ri-rang, Arariyo…You are going over A-ri-rang hill

 
2 아리랑 고개로 넘어간다  A-ri-rang go-gae-ro neom-eo-gan-da  You are going over A-ri-rang hill 
3 나를 버리고 가시는 님은  Na-reul beo-ri-go ga-shi-neun nim-eun  My love, you are leaving me 
4 십리도 못가서 발병난다. Shim-ri-do mot-ga-seo bal-byeong-nan-da. Your feet will be sore before you go ten li.
5 청천하늘엔 잔별도 많고 Cheong-cheon-han-eur-en jan-byeol-do man-ko Just as there are many stars in the clear sky,
6 우리네 가슴엔 희망도 많다. Uri ne ga-seum-en hui-mang-do man-ta.  There are also many dreams in our heart. 
7 저기 저 산이 백두산이라지 Jeo-gi jeo san-i Baek-du-san-i-ra-ji There, over there, that mountain is Baekdu Mountain,
8 동지 섣달에도 꽃만 핀다. Dong-ji seot-dar-e-do kkot-man- pin-da. Where, even in the middle of winter days, flowers bloom.

 

 

Context

 

The performer, my mother, heard of A-ri-rang the same way as I did: through the mother singing it to the child since youth. Despite many beliefs of the origin of the song, for my mother, the song was learnt through my grandmother, who lived through the Korean war in the Gangwon province as a child. My mother told me that A-ri-rang has special significance for my maternal side of the family as during the fearful times of the war, my then young grandmother would sing the song with others in order to feel hopeful and feel the bond with those in the same dreadful situation.

During my studies in Shanghai, China, my grandmother visited during the Chinese New Year period. During these times, those celebrating the holiday sets off tremendous amounts of fireworks. In the evening, while the rest of the family were enjoying the sight of the fireworks in the sky, my grandmother told us that the sound of the fireworks reminded her of the times of the Korean War.

 

Analysis

 

According to The Dual Career of “A-ri-rang”: The Korean Resistance Anthem That Became a Japanese Pop Hit by E. Taylor Atkins, A-ri-rang was a resistance anthem during the Japanese Colonization of South Korea of 1910 to 1945. It is famous for being sang during the famous March 1st demonstration against Japan in 1919 (known as 삼일절/ Sam-il Jeol/ Three-one day).

When looking into the meaning of the song, it can be clearly seen as why it was chosen as the resistance anthem. In the second line, “You are going over A-ri-rang hill” symbolizes one going through hardship, which in this case is Japan colonizing South Korea. Those “Leaving” in the third line refers to those leaving the South Korean side to the Japanese. “Your feet will be sore before you go ten li” means that they will not go far and “ten li” here is four kilometers in distance. The sixth line mentions having “dreams in the heart” while dream in this case is more close to hope in literal translation. This hope is the hope of one day being free from the Japanese oppression. And Finally, the eighth line, “Where, even in the middle of winter days, flowers bloom” refers that even during the struggle, they will fight through and they will succeed.

Although I had heard the song many times before, my mother mentioning this context that was relevant not only to my grandmother, but everyone in her generation, made the performance of the song in my opinion more poignant.

 

 

 

Gang-gang-sul-lae

Nationality: South Korean
Age: 53
Occupation: Doctor
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: March 27th, 2018
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English, Mandarin

Story 

Gang-gang-sul-lae is a Korean folk dance that is exclusively performed by women of the community. It is also known as Ganggangsuwollae (강강수월래 in Hangeul/ 强羌水越來 in Hanja, which are Traditional Chinese Characters. It is a traditional dance where group of women hold hands in a circle, spinning around and singing. 

My mother, who I collected this data from said: “When I learned the history of Gang-gang-sul-lae in elementary school, I was told that admiral Yi Sun-sin (이순신) , during the Japanese invasion of Korea in the 16th Century, devised a plan to dress all the women into men’s clothing and dance around in circles. Then the Japanese soliders thought that admiral Yi had a big army and retreated in intimidation.”

Context

I remember first seeing Gang-gang-sul-lae in the field of my public school when celebrating Chuseok (추석/ Mid-Autumn Festival). It was during 2005, which was the same year when I started attending elementary school. I remember my mother and I dressing up in Hanbok (한복/ Traditional Korean Attire) and having a valuable cultural experience provided by the local community. This traditional dance has significance to my mother and many other Korean women as they have partaken in Gang-gang-sul-lae themselves. Because my mother now resides in Los Angeles and has not performed the Gang-gang-sul-lae for over a decade, singing and spinning around the living room while holding her son’s hand apparently brought back a “joyous memory”. 

Analysis

Despite being well known through its role it allegedly served in the 1592-1598 Japanese invasions of Korea, Gang-gang-sul-lae’s role in modern day society serves as a symbol of Korean culture and ‘heritage’. It is rare to see youth to play though performing the dance, it can always be seen at cultural events, which are especially prevalent during traditional holidays such as the first full moon of the lunar calendar and the mid-autumn festival.

Neko Funjatta (ねこふんじゃった)

Nationality: Japanese
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Massachusetts, Boston
Performance Date: March 29th, 2018
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese, Mandarin

Song

Neko Funjatta is a Japanese children’s song about stepping on a cat.

 

Line Original Script Phonetic Script Translation
1 ねこふんじゃった　ねこふんじゃった Neko funjatta neko funjatta I stepped on a cat, I stepped on a cat

 
2 ねこふんづけちゃったら　ひっかいた Neko funzukechattara hikkaita I stepped on a cat and it scratched me

 
3 ねこひっかいた　ねこひっかいた Neko hikkaita neko hikkaita It scratched me, it scratched me

 
4 ねこびっくりして　ひっかいた Neko bikkurishite hikkaita

 

 Cat was shocked and it scratched me

 

 

Context

 

I collected this from my Japanese friend that I befriended during my times studying abroad in Shanghai, China. She learned of Nekko Funjatta while learning the piano from her mother during her childhood. It is significant to her because as an avid piano player to this day, it is one of the first pieces of music that she could play and sing along.

 

Analysis

 

The Nekko Funjatta is sung over the tune of Der Flohwalzer (Flea Waltz). Unlike the German version however, the Japanese version has lyrics. Although the tune is renown over the world, in Japan, people know of Nekko Funjatta over Flea Waltz because the lyrics of the song is valued as somewhat of a tradition. One of the first pieces that children will perform to their parents is this song due to its easy to recognize and play tune as well as its playful and repetitive lyrics. This is how, through adding a verbal aspect to the song, the Japanese elevated the already renowned tune into a cultural song of their own.

 

 

Annotate

 

Other examples similar to Nekko Funjatta are Der Flohwalzer (Flea Waltz) in Germany and Kissanpolkka (Cat’s Polka) in Finland

 

Ice Cream Man

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 10th, 2018
Primary Language: English

Song

 

Ice Cream Man is a parody song of Iron Man by the band Black Sabbath. The lyrics goes as follows:

 

I am Ice Cream Man

Running over fat kids with my van

When I ring my bell

All the fat kids run like hell

 

Context

 

I collected this from my friend that I made in university. He is Asian American and grew up in the city of Walnut his whole life. This parody song is significant as it was an immature song that was popular at the same time of our lives, despite him present in America and me in China. What was also significant was that despite there being many different versions of the Ice Cream Man song, we both knew of this exact version of the song when we were on the opposite side of the globe. Additionally, he mentions that the song was popularized by word of mouth in his school, rather than a video going viral.

 

Analysis

 

When looking up examples of the Ice Cream Man song, there were all different to the one my friend and I knew. One example has the same first stanza as the one presented above. However, the song is extended to 6 minutes, with additional lines such as “Watch them run in fear” and “As I shift to Reverse Gear”. Another example only had one stanza like the example provided above, but the last two lines were “if I don’t hit them at first” and “I will surely hit them in reverse”. It is interesting to see another example of the same music have the same lyrical elements, but structured differently.

This parody song is folk music because in this situation, the folk refers those who are the same generation that can identify and perform the song. Despite being based on authored material, Iron Man by Black Sabbath, the parody song has numerous evidence for oikotypical variation.