Category Archives: Musical

“What-a To Do”

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Houston, TX
Performance Date: April 5, 2017
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Subject: Game, Song

 

Informant: Natalie Thurman

 

Background Information/Context: Natalie, like me, is a theatre major. I asked her if she had any theatre games or warm-up activities at school, and she thought of this one:

 

“There was this theatre exercise we used to do at my high school called ‘what-a to do.’ We would just do it before rehearsal or before shows to warm up our voices and articulation. It was just like a little song that went:

 

What a to do to die today

At a minute or two to two

A thing distinctly hard to say

But harder still to do

For they’ll beat a tattoo at two to two

A rat-a-ta-rat-a-ta-ta-ta-ta-too

And the dragon will come

When he hears the drum

At a minute or two to two today

At a minute or two to two.

 

I had never really thought about what we were saying because we focused so much on our articulation, because that’s what we used it for—as a warm-up. But when I got to college, we used it in one of my acting classes in a completely different context. We had to build a story around it. And we talked about the text in class and, like, what it was actually saying. It’s a children’s nursery rhyme, but it’s one of those nursery rhymes that’s like super dark, like ring around the rosy.

 

It’s about a soldier going to war for the first time, and at the beginning of it, it takes place on the battlefield, right before the two armies are about to charge at each other, and he’s really scared and knows he’s going to die in a few minutes—‘at a minute or two to 2:00. And then the ‘tattoo’ is a drum that the drummer person beats, signaling the charge forward. And then right after that is the climax of it. And then when it ends, the soldier looks around him and sees that everyone has died but him, and he’s the last one standing. But like all of his friends are dead around him. Wow, that was really dark, sorry! But yeah, really different from using it as a warm-up.

 

Bedtime Song

Nationality: Mexican American
Age: 50
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Bothell, WA
Performance Date: 3/5/17
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

TM is an accountant who was born in Sunnyside, WA and now is currently living in Bothell, WA. He descends from a heavy Irish and Italian background which have influenced much of his culture growing up. His grandparents were the ones to teach him the most about his culture through their traditions and common sayings.

Are there any rituals or things you did on a daily basis that you felt were unique to your family or culture?

TM: There wasn’t anything that was very different. There was the bed time prayers we used to say, those were very unique and I never heard them in the bible or any of my friends who were catholic who would say them. My grandmother taught my father how to say them and in turn my father passed it to me as I have passed it to my children. Hopefully they will pass it on.

Do you happen to remember the prayer?

TM: Yes I do, the way it went was; “Now I lay me, down to sleep, pray the Lord, my soul to keep. Keep me safe, through the night, and wake me with, thy mornings light. Amen.”

Do you know what it means or the significance behind it?

TM: It is supposed to be a bedtime prayer for children but some adults I knew still said it. It basically means that when you sleep you hope that God will keep you safe and that you will wake up the next morning safe in your bed. I think it became sort of a chore or habit more than a ritual for me. Many times, when I said it I didn’t really mean it and I just wanted to go to sleep. Now that I am older and I have a different relationship with God the words resonate deeper with me which is why I think I wanted my kids to say it too. We all want our kids to sleep safe and this was a way of keeping an ease at mind in a way. I liked to say it with them sometimes when they were really little. I think it loses it significance when you don’t really understand what you are saying especially when you are young.

Analysis:

Prayers at bedtime right before you sleep is common between many devout Catholics and Christians. This particular prayer TM shared is common but not widely known or practiced. It would serve as a protection or barrier against harm or bad dreams which is why it was very common among children. When I researched the prayer, there were many variations to the middle phrase of the prayer, ‘keep me safe, through the night’. Sometimes it was ‘may angels watch me through the night’ or ‘guide me safely through the night’. Or I came across one with an alternative ending, ‘god bless family, friends, and fun, I thank you each for every one. Although they vary, they all seem to carry the same message of protection and trust in God.

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.

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