Category Archives: Musical

Las Mananitas

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Texas
Performance Date: April 19th, 2016
Primary Language: English

Las Mañanitas

Instead of the english birthday song, every time it was a kid’s birthday in my elementary school class we would sing Las Mañanitas before taking turns hitting a piñata. It’s a traditional mexican birthday song sung at parties. YOu usually replace “mi bien” with the person’s name.

 

Lyrics:

Estas son las mañanitas que cantaba el rey David.

Hoy por ser día de tu santo, te las cantamos a ti.

 

Despierta mi bien, despierta, mira que ya amaneció

ya los pajarillos cantan la luna ya se metió.

 

Qué linda está la mañana en que vengo a saludarte

venimos todos con gusto y placer a felicitarte.

 

El día en que tu naciste nacieron todas las flores

y en la pila del bautismo cantaron los ruiseñores.

 

Ya viene amaneciendo, ya la luz del día nos dio.

Levántate de mañana mira que ya amaneció.

Translation:

 

This is the morning song that King David used to sing.

Today being the day of your saint, we sing it to you.

 

Wake up my dearest, wake up, see now that the day has dawned

the sparrows are singing, the moon has finally set.

 

How lovely is this morning, when I come to greet you

we all come with joy and pleasure to congratulate you.

 

The very day you were born all the flowers first bloomed

and in the baptismal font all the nightingales sang.

 

The dawn has come my darling, and the sunlight is here for us.

Rise up and shine with the morning and you’ll see that here’s the dawn.

I do know of similar things before, as where I went to for middle school in San Antonio, Texas also had similar traditions where they sang long spanish birthday songs. Having never learnt Spanish however, I never knew what the lyrics meant.

“Three Prominent Bastards Are We” Song from 1930s

Nationality: American
Age: 86
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Long Island, New York
Performance Date: 3/7/16
Primary Language: English

The informant has the lyrics to a popular folk song of the 1930s that his father would sing to him. The lyrics were written on an old piece of paper for years (which has survived due to lamination). The following are lyrics to a poem that expresses public cynicism towards  bankers and politicians after the 1929 Great Crash of the United States economy and the subsequent Great Depression. The poem was never formally published and copyrighted, but the lyrics spread by word of mouth and performances. It has never been confirmed, but popular assumption is that the song was written by Ogden Nash and is called “Three Prominent Bastards Are We!” (although the informants’ lyrics were labeled “Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker”.

 

Where did you find this song?

TS: My father took me out…. when I was young…and we heard this song. I asked him what it was about, and he told me, then wrote down the words.

How long have you had that piece of paper with the lyrics on it?

TS: Oh, that’s not the original one. The original one was very worn, so my mother rewrote it on another paper. I wish I had the original one though. Would’ve meant a lot.

 

Verse: I’m an autocratic figure in these democratic states,

A dandy demonstration of hereditary traits.

As the children of the baker bake delicious breads,

As the sons of Casanova fill the most exclusive beds,

As the Barrymores and Roosevelts and others I could name

Inherited the talents that perpetuate their fame,

My position in the structure of society I owe

To the qualities my parents bequeathed me long ago.

My father was a gentleman and musical to boot.

He used to play piano in a house of ill repute.

The Madam was a lady and a credit to her cult,

She enjoyed my father’s playing and I was the result.

So my Daddy and my Mummy are the ones I have to thank

That I’m Chairman of the Board of the National Silly Bank.

 

Chorus: oh, our parents forgot to get married.

Our parents forgot to get wed.

Did a wedding bell chime, it was always time

When our parents were somewhere in bed.

Then all thanks to our kind loving parents.

We are kings in the land of the free.

Your banker, your broker, your Washington joker,

Three prominent bastards are we, tra la,

Three prominent bastards are we!

 

Verse: In a cozy little farmhouse in a cozy little dell,

A dear old-fashioned farmer and his daughter used to dwell.

She was pretty, she was charming, she was tender, she was mild,

And her sympathy was such that she was frequently with child.

The year her hospitality attained a record high

She became the happy mother of an infant which was I.

Whenever she was gloomy, I could always make her grin,

By childishly inquiring who my daddy could’ve been.

The hired man was favored by the girls in Mummy’s set,

And a traveling man from Scranton was an even money bet.

But such were Mother’s motives and such was her allure,

That even Roger Babson wasn’t sure.

Well, I took my mother’s morals and I took my daddy’s crust,

And I grew to be the founder of the New York Blanker’s Trust.

 

Chorus: oh, our parents forgot to get married.

Our parents forgot to get wed.

Did a wedding bell chime, it was always time

When our parents were somewhere in bed.

Then all thanks to our kind loving parents.

We are kings in the land of the free.

Your banker, your broker, your Washington joker,

Three prominent bastards are we, tra la,

Three prominent bastards are we!

 

Verse: In a torrid penal chain gang on a dusty southern road

My late lamented daddy has his permanent abode.

Now some were there for stealing, but my daddy’s only fault

Was an overwhelming tendency for criminal assault.

His philosophy and quite free from moral taint;

Seduction is for sissies, but a he-man wants his rape.

Daddy’s total list of victims was embarrassingly rich,

And one of them was Mother, but he couldn’t tell me which.

Well, I didn’t go to college but I got me a degree.

I reckon I’m the model of a perfect S.O.B.,

I’m a debit to my country but a credit to my Dad,

The most expensive senator the country ever had.

I remember Daddy’s warning—that that raping is a crime,

Unless you rape the voters, a million at a time.

 

Chorus: oh, our parents forgot to get married.

Our parents forgot to get wed.

Did a wedding bell chime, it was always time

When our parents were somewhere in bed.

Then all thanks to our kind loving parents.

We are kings in the land of the free.

Your banker, your broker, your Washington joker,

Three prominent bastards are we, tra la,

Three prominent bastards are we!

 

Verse: I’m an ordinary figure in these democratic states,

A pathetic demonstration of hereditary traits.

As the children of the cop possess the flattest kind of feet,

As the daughter of the floosie has a waggle to her seat,

My position at the bottom of society I owe

To the qualities my parents bequeathed me long ago.

My father was a married man and, what is even more,

He was married to my mother—a fact which I deplore.

I was born in holy wedlock, consequently by and by.

I was rooked by bastard who had plunder in his eye.

I invested, I deposited, I voted every fall,

And I saved up every penny and the bastards took it all.

At last I’ve learned my lesson, and I’m on the proper track,

I’m a self-appointed bastard and I’M GOING TO GET IT BACK.

 

Chorus: oh, our parents forgot to get married.

Our parents forgot to get wed.

Did a wedding bell chime, it was always time

When our parents were somewhere in bed.

Then all thanks to our kind loving parents.

We are kings in the land of the free.

Your banker, your broker, your Washington joker,

Three prominent bastards are we, tra la,

Three prominent bastards are we!

 

 

A recorded version of the song can be heard here

Handgame: Miss Suzy

Nationality: European American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Chicago
Performance Date: 03/27/2016
Primary Language: English
Language: French

Main Piece: (sung) “Miss Suzy had a baby/ she named him Tiny Tim/ she put him in the bathtub/ to see if he could swim/ he drank up all the water/ he ate up all the soap/ he tried to eat the bathtub/ but it wouldn’t go down his throat (giggles)/ miss Suzy called the doctor/ miss Suzy called the nurse/ miss Suzy called the lady/ with the alligator purse….uhhhh…..oh yeah ok….measles said the doctor/ mumps said the nurse… haha that’s terrible… pizza said the lady/ with the alligator purse.”

Background: The informant initially learned this handgame on the playground in elementary school from her friends. The piece would be performed on the playground during recess or occasionally in the hallway. The informant finds the piece entertaining and humorous. She remembers learning the song and finding it all so random, making little sense. This piece is sung while playing a handgame, a repetitive motion between partners clapping their hands together. The informant says this is usually performed between two young girls. She says it was a popular song among the group of girls she atteneded elementary school with. The game would become more advanced as it would speed up and test who could keep up.

Performance Context: I sat across the informant in my living room as she told me the piece.

My Thoughts: This handgame seems to be utilized as a way of defining in-group versus out-group members (i.e. as the game advances, less and less participants are included). The rhyme itself, as the informant contends, does not completely make sense. Its lyrics are a bit morbid, but is sung in a child-like tune, and is best known in the context of an elementary school playground. The informant alludes to the ways in which childhood folklore can be somewhat explicit, exploring themes of adulthood (i.e. morbidity, illness, death). Although the lyrics of the handgame are somehwat grave, the informant was an innocent receiver and teller and enjoyed participating in the folklore.

Military Service and Folk Music

Nationality: South Korean
Age: 42
Occupation: Engineer
Residence: Seoul, South Korea
Performance Date: March 16th 2016
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English

Informant Information

The informant is my uncle: He often told stories to my brother, my cousins and myself during holiday gatherings, and I heard it mentioned before that he served in the Korean marines. Curious, I decided to ask him about it, and he told me about things he found most memorable: the constant risk of injury (“if the bamboo [spear] splits into the visor, the wearer is probably already blind”), occasional beatings issued by superiors and how he was “counting his days”. He told me that by the time he was almost done with his service, he found himself remembering a song his superiors sang when they were almost done with their services; the song is shown below in the original Korean, revised Romanization version as well as the translated version:

Korean

나 태어나 이 강산에 의경이 되어
꽃 피고 눈 내리기 어언 이십육개월
무엇을 배웠느냐 무엇을 하였느냐
데모막다 돌맞아서 병가가면 그만이지
아, 다시 못 올 흘러간 내 청춘
방석복에 실려간 좆같은 군대생활

Phonetic (romanized using Revised Romanization)

Na tae-eo-na i gang-san-e ui-gyeong-i doe-eo
Kkot pi-go nun nae-ri-gi eo-eon i-sib-ryuk-gae-wol
Mu-eos-eul bae-won-neu-nya mu-eos-eul ha-yeon-neu-nya
De-mo-mak-da dol-ma-ja-seo byeong-ga-ga-myeon geu-man-i-ji
A, da-si mot ol heul-leo-gan nae cheong-chun
Bang-seok-bo-ge sil-lyeo-gan jot-ga-teun gun-dae-saeng-hwal

Translation

I was born and became a conscripted policeman in this land
Flowers blossomed and snow has fallen for twenty-six months already
Regardless of what I learned or did
I’ll get hit by a rock in a riot and be on sick leave
Oh, my springtime of youth has already flown
This fucking military life, stretchered away in protective gear

Analysis

Once reaching adulthood, a South Korean man has to serve in the Korean military unless dealing with debilitating conditions – it is very much considered a rite of passage. In the military, the man may deal with instances of hazing on top of the military training, while the thought that his life is being wasted (especially as certain privileged people and women can spend time to have fun or better themselves instead with no drawbacks) is very much an existential crisis on its own. The Korean military police is particularly notorious for their hazing practices and perpetual danger in duty as it is often tasked with stopping violent, politically extremist riots. In such an environment started the singing of songs – defeatist songs lamenting their wasting of time and their lives.

The lyrical structure and the instrumental of the song itself was taken from the Korean song “An Old Soldier’s Song” written by Kim Min-gi and performed by Yang Hee-eun. Therefore, the example provided above is a variant of this song, but the narrator has changed from an old professional soldier who sacrificed his youth for future happiness to a nihilistic youth who laments the wasting away of his ‘best days’. As a musical piece performed by a member of a folk group (with military service being the common interest), the subject highlights the flexibility of folklore in that folklore can be repurposed to suit new folk groups and practices.

A link for the original song is shown below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckuiScOH3iM

Oyfn Pripetshik – Yiddish Song

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 71
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Mexico
Performance Date: 71
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English, Yiddish

Oyfn pripetchik brent a fayerl,

Un in shtub iz heys,

Un der rebe lernt kleyne kinderlekh,

Dem alef-beys.
Zet zhe kinderlekh, gedenkt zhe, tayere,

Vos ir lernt do;

Zogt zhe nokh a mol un take nokh a mol:

Komets–alef: o!

Lernt, kinder, mit groys kheyshek,

Azoy zog ikh aykh on;

Ver s’vet gikher fun aykh kenen ivre –

Der bakumt a fon.

Lernt, kinder, hot nit moyre,

Yeder onheyb iz shver;

Gliklekh der vos hot gelernt toyre,

Tsi darf der mentsh nokh mer?

Ir vet, kinder, elter vern,

Vet ir aleyn farshteyn,

Vifl in di oysyes lign trern,

Un vi fil geveyn.

Az ir vet, kinder, dem goles shlepn,

Oysgemutshet zayn,

Zolt ir fun di oysyes koyekh shepn,

Kukt in zey arayn!!!

 

English Translation:

On the stove, a fire burns,

And in the house it is warm.

And the rabbi is teaching little children,

The alphabet.

See, children, remember, dear ones,

What you learn here;

Repeat and repeat yet again,

“Komets–alef: o!”

Learn, children, with great enthusiasm.

So I instruct you;

He among you who learns Hebrew pronunciation faster –

He will receive a flag.

Learn children, don’t be afraid,

Every beginning is hard;

Lucky is the one has learned Torah,

What more does a person need?

When you grow older, children,

You will understand by yourselves,

How many tears lie in these letters,

And how much lament.

When you, children, will bear the Exile,

And will be exhausted,

May you derive strength from these letters,

Look in at them!

The song Oyfn Pripetshik (translates to above the stove) is a traditional Yiddish/Jewish song that is usually taught by teachers to their juvenile students in their kindergarden class. The song is about a rabbi teaching the alef bet (the hebrew alphabet) to his young students. Because of its simplistic tune and lyrics, the song is often used to teach students Yiddish grammar and vocabulary. Interestingly, the song also contains a lyrical reference to the many struggles that Jews have struggled throughout history in the lyrics “When you grow older, children, You will understand by yourselves, How many tears lie in these letters, And how much lament”.

The informant, Reyna Babani, is a 71-year-old Mexican Jew who lives in Mexico City. Because she grew up in such a close knit community, Reyna considers herself an expert on Jewish culture. She was taught the song as a young girl in a Yiddish elementary school in Mexico City. She has a strong emotional connection to this song, as it was an easy way for her to connect with her immigrant grandparents. They did not speak much Spanish, and she was the only grandchild who spoke Yiddish, so they very much liked it when she sang to them in their native language.

This song is noteworthy because it seems to be an attempt by the elders of the Mexican-Jewish community to encourage children to embrace their Jewish identity. Even though this school was in Mexico, children were taught several Yiddish songs and were even instructed in how to speak the language itself. This goal to have children stay connected to their roots seems to have worked, as Reyna’s learning of the song left her feeling encouraged to spend more time with her grandparents.