Category Archives: Musical

Song Wars

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Luis Obispo, CA
Performance Date: 4/15/17
Primary Language: English

SP is a current student at California Polytechnic University at San Luis Obispo where she studies Geography and Anthropology. She is originally from Seattle, WA and grew up in a small town nearby. She grew up in a typical American middle-class family. She attended a public high school in Washington where she grew up with a sister and her mother and father. She has a background of being half-Mexican and half Irish/Italian that has in some ways heavily influenced her beliefs as well as her religious beliefs rooted in Catholicism.

What is something, perhaps a game or activity, you participate in or know of that you believe is lesser known?

SP: Well me and my family learned this game from some family friends that we always play together and have a fun time with. It is called ‘song wars’ and it is a game where you pick categories of music and each person plays a song that they feel best fits their category and the person who chose the category judges whose song is best. The only rules are that you cannot replay someone else’s song and that no one truly wins. You play in multiple rounds but no one keeps track or score of whose song is the best because sometimes it is too hard to choose or sometimes we just decide to play for fun and not say whose is the best. They game is not a game that is about strategy or smarts, its more about listening and enjoying others music no matter what different tastes you have.

How did you come up with this game and why do you think you enjoy playing it together so much?

SP: I think my friends came up with it when they were at their cabin in the winter and were bored and had nothing to do so they came up with the game to pass time and make sure everyone got a chance to hear the kind of music they liked. The game helps when you have all kinds of generations of kids, parents, and grandparents with you who can choose the music of their taste that they think the others will also enjoy. The game makes you laugh and cry and just have an enjoyable time together. Every time you play it you get the chance to get to know each other better and just enjoy each other company. Music is a way to connect people together and what a better time than with family or friends? I think that is why we enjoy playing it so much. It is not about a competition or who is the best it is just about setting the mood and creating memories together.

Analysis:

This game is one I have never heard of but I find it is almost perplexing that it isn’t a popular game yet or patented somewhere. Music is a huge interest of all generations and is a valuable tool of unification or experience when you are with others. I find this game interesting because it is played mostly amongst family and across many generations. The game has no clear objective or strategy other than to have an enjoyable time and relax which is what makes it unique. It has not aspect of competition which is at the core of many games no matter how many players are involved. I think if there was a game similar to this that were to get exposure it would because very popular and modernized quickly.

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

Nationality: Hispanic
Age: 6
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/17/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

This is a skipping rhyme told by a male second grader. As he was singing it some of her peers joined in the song.

“Teddy bear, teddy bear, turn around. Teddy bear, teddy bear, touch the ground. Teddy bear, teddy bear, tie your shoes. Teddy bear, teddy bear, get out of school.”

The skipping rhyme was shared by one student within a small group of second graders and myself. The rhyme associates childish themes, such as the teddy bear and tying shoe laces, with more controversial ideas such as ditching school, or perhaps dropping out. This is an oikotype of Teddy Bear skipping song. Upon further research, I found a different rendition of the song that replaced “get out of school” with “say your prayers.” The latter version was a nursery rhyme that may have been passed down my parents and then modified by the children. The children from whom I collected this rhyme couldn’t remember where that had learned the rhyme, therefore it is unclear whether they changed the lyric themselves or had heard it in that form. Either way, the line “get out of school” reflects children’s frustration with the education system. The skipping rhyme was well known by most of the second graders in the classroom, therefore the negative connotation of school was widely spread amongst them and possible others in different grades or classrooms.

For another version of this song, see 201 Nursery Rhymes & Sing-Along Songs for Kids by Jennifer M. Edwards.

Katyusha

Nationality: Russian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 04/25/2017
Primary Language: Russian
Language: English

Subject:

Russian War Song

Informant:

Vadim Korolik was born in Los Angeles but grew up speaking Russian until he was five. His parents spent most of their lives in Russia, and much of Vadim’s family still lives there. Vadim is currently a student at the University of Southern California.

Original Script:

Расцветали яблони и груши,

 

Поплыли туманы над рекой.

 

Выходила на берег Катюша,

 

На высокий берег на крутой.

 

 

Выходила, песню заводила

 

Про степного, сизого орла,

 

Про того, которого любила,

 

Про того, чьи письма берегла.

 

 

Ах ты, песня, песенка девичья,

 

Ты лети за ясным солнцем вслед.

 

И бойцу на дальнем пограничье

 

От Катюши передай привет.

 

 

Пусть он вспомнит девушку простую,

 

Пусть услышит, как она поет,

 

Пусть он землю бережет родную,

 

А любовь Катюша сбережет.

 

Пусть он землю бережет родную,

 

А любовь Катюша сбережет.

 

Translation:

 

Apple and pear trees were a-blooming,

 

Mist (was) creeping on the river.

 

Katyusha set out on the banks,

 

On the steep and lofty bank.

 

 

 

She was walking, singing a song

 

About a grey steppe eagle,

 

About her true love,

 

Whose letters she was keeping.

 

 

 

Oh you song! Little song of a maiden,

 

Head for the bright sun.

 

And reach for the soldier on the far-away border

 

Along with greetings from Katyusha.

 

 

 

Let him remember an ordinary girl,

 

And hear how she sings,

 

Let him preserve the Motherland,

 

Same as Katyusha preserves their love.

 

Let him preserve the Motherland,

 

Same as Katyusha preserves their love.

 

Informant’s Background Knowledge and Relationship with this Piece:

Vadim first learned this song from his grandmother, but claims to have heard it subsequently in Russian war movies. He doesn’t know much about the origins of the song.

Thoughts About the Piece:

While a war song, the story focuses mainly on the girl that the soldier left behind. Perhaps it was made to boost the morale of soldiers, who wanted to think of their lives back home, and wanted to believe that while they preserved the motherland, things back home would stay the same, and they would be able to return to the ones they loved.

Audio Player

Mary Had A Little Lamb Variation

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Forest Hills, NY
Performance Date: April 21
Primary Language: English

“This was a funny little variation of the Mary Had A Little Lamb rhyme that was ummm… taught to me by ummm…someone…. ummm…when I was a kid… in school…. it went kind of like… Mary had a little lamb/ little lamb/ little lamb/ Mary had a little lamb her fleece was white as snow/ Mary brought the lamb to school/ lamb to school/ lamb to school/ Mary brought the lamb to school her teacher hated it/ School was canceled for a week/ for a week/ for a week/ School was canceled for a week just as Mary had planned.”

This was an interesting one because instead of a change in the lyrics of Mary Had A Little Lamb it was adding more verses to the song already. Almost as if it were adding to the cannon of Mary Had A Little Lamb. From the original song all we know about Mary was that she owned a lamb that had a very white fleece. Now we know that not only does she go to school like most kids, but she hates it and uses her lamb to get out of going to school like most children.

This seems like a modern update on the song especially for young kids beginning to feel the angst against going to school in general. It seems like it’s a part of the many ‘I hate school’ anthems.

Persian Lullaby

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Gilbert, AZ
Performance Date: 4/13/2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Farsi

Informant Description/ Context of performance: This is a lullaby that was sung to my friend every night when she was a child. Her mom and dad sang it to her and her little sister; her grandma sang it to her mother.

 

Transliteration:

Gonjeeshkakeh ashi mashee

Labebooyeh mah nashee

Baroon meyad tam meeshee

Barf meeyad gooleh meeshee

Meeyoftee too hoseh nagashee

 

Daret meeyareh

Havash bashee

Booset mekoneh va looset meekoneh, va paret meedeh ashi mashee

 

Translation:

Little sparrow, little sparrow

Don’t land on my rooftop edge

It’s going to rain and you’ll get wet

It’s going to snow and you’ll turn into a snow ball

And you’ll slip into the painted piscine

 

The groundskeeper will pull you out

The doctor will cuddle you

The mediator will kiss you and spoil you and let you FLY!

 

Conclusion (written by Interviewer):

I found this lullaby very interesting and different from most other lullabies. For example, most well-known lullabies like “Go to Sleep Little Baby” have lyrics about going to sleep or falling asleep. This lullaby is very soothing and light in its tone and performance; however, its literal translation has nothing to do with falling asleep. The song is about comforting the listener, which begs the question – did it actually originate with the intention of being a lullaby? It seems like it could be a child’s song, not necessarily a lullaby.