Category Archives: Musical

Indonesian Lullaby

Nationality: Indonesian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: California
Performance Date: 04/05/15
Primary Language: English
Language: Indonesian

This is a lullaby that the informant’s father used to sing to her and her sister.

Translation

“Miel, go to sleep. Miel, go to sleep. If you don’t go to sleep, you’re going to get bit by ants.” The alternate ending means, “you’ll get bit by a fly.”

Informant’s Thoughts

The informant described this as a dark lullaby, and even mentioned that her sister used to hate the song and that it would keep her up. The informant herself said she never had a problem going to sleep, despite the lullaby being dark. Her father most likely learned it from his parents, since it is meant to be a song that parents sing to their children to scare them into sleeping. The informant doesn’t know of any name for the lullaby, but her father would call it “Informant bobo”, meaning “Informant sleep.”

Background & Analysis

The informant’s parents are from Indonesia, however the informant herself was born in the U.S., but is fluent in both Indonesian and English. The informant and I live in the same residence hall, and for this folklore collection, we got pizzas together and just sat down and ate them in my room while talking and sharing stories. I think it is an interesting, if somewhat backwards logic, that parents sing this song to coerce their children into going to sleep, since in American culture, lullabies are generally supposed to be sweet and gentle songs that “lull” a child to sleep. Perhaps the lyrics are supposed to be a sort of joke and meant to be ignored, however it would be difficult not to take the words seriously when living a country (Indonesia) that is home to a host of exotic insect species.

One Child of God

Nationality: Indonesian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: California
Performance Date: 04/05/15
Primary Language: English
Language: Indonesian

This is an Indonesian church song that the informant’s mom used to sing when she was younger. Her mom grew up Christian and went to a Catholic, all girls school.

Translation

“‘One child of God goes to church, and then he brings a friend, and they go to church.’ And then it starts over, it’s like, ‘Two children of God, one of them brings a friend, and they go to church.’ All of them go to church together and it’s like this growing…”

Background & Analysis

The informant’s parents are from Indonesia, however the informant herself was born in the U.S., but is fluent in both Indonesian and English. The informant and I live in the same residence hall, and for this folklore collection, we got pizzas together and just sat down and ate them in my room while talking and sharing stories.

The name of this church song is “Satu Anak Tuhan” which mean “One Child of God.” When I asked the informant if this song is sung more in youth groups, she said she had absolutely no idea, but that it was just one of those little songs that you learn when you’re younger. This reminds me a a children’s song that most latin or hispanic people know, and that I myself learned from my dad who speaks Spanish, called “Un Elefante se Balanceaba.” The song begins with one elephant balancing on a spider web, and when he sees that it holds him, he calls over another elephant, and then they are both balancing on a spider web. This song can continue indefinitely. Just as with “One Child of God,” it is mostly children who learn and sing this song, and both were probably created to pass the time on long car rides, or to teach numbers and counting.

Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: USC
Performance Date: 4/24/2015
Primary Language: English
Language: Polish, French, German

Informant: Eeny meeny miny mo, catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers let him go, my mom picked the very best one and you are it.

The informant first heard the counting out song when she was in elementary school on the playground. This song was used to determine who would be ‘it’ in games. The person deciding would point to each person sequentially changing the selected person at each new word until the song ended and a person was chosen to be ‘it.’

The song is a standard among counting out rhymes but the interesting aspect of the informant’s version is that it’s the basic version. In many cases, people remember add-ons or additional lines that make the song unique.

Collector: Did you ever hear anyone tell variations of this?

Informant: Yes, but we only used them when we didn’t want to choose the person we were about to land on so we added on the next part to choose the next person.

When variation is allowed, kids could add whatever they wanted to the end and more syllables meant they could use them to their advantage and choose whom they wanted to be ‘it.’

This example of counting out songs shows an inherent need for order. The anarchy of allowing someone to choose whomever they wanted to be ‘it’ with no system would allow for favoritism. By following the rules of the counting out songs that children themselves placed, they regulated themselves into an almost democratic like state.

Pembroke Boat Club Song, University of Cambridge

Nationality: British, Canadian, American
Age: 26
Occupation: CTO at Yieldify
Residence: London, UK
Performance Date: 04/27/2015
Primary Language: English
Language: Japanese

My friend M and I spent time together when I studied abroad on the Pembroke-Kings Programme at the University of Cambridge four terms ago. As a graduate of Pembroke with a Masters in Engineering, he reminisced about the various sports he played from rugby to coxing the men’s 8 for rowing. He and I became close after going rowing together on the Cam and we still stay in contact with weekly phone calls to check in. During one of these calls after he had been out at a pub, he mentioned that he had been to the Boat Race a few weeks earlier sporting his Pembroke blazer. This soon prompted a hilarious rendition of one of his boat club songs:

M: So I don’t know if I told you this, but I went to the boat race with T and B. They didn’t know what was going on, but wanted to be supportive of the squad. It’s been so long that I barely know anyone on the team now, but L was there. He just got back from Germany. I was trying to teach T and B some of the Pembroke songs.

L: Do you remember them?

M: Of course, what kind of coxswain would I be (he then proceeds to start singing quite loudly and off key to the tune of the Battle Hymn of the Republic)

“Well you’ve heard of Lady Margaret and you’ve heard of Jesus one

And all the other college crews who couldn’t have gotten on

But when it comes to bumps they are but far outshone

By the might Pembroke men

PCBC PCBC, PCBC PCBC, PCBC PCBC, ROW ON PC PC

L: Is that the whole song?

M: Um, I don’t really remember the rest of it. Usually I just tend to hum along after that. You get though the other crews, right?

L: Yeah. Jesus’ college first eight during bumps racing.

M: Haha good, I wish I remembered more. It had about three or four different verses followed by the PCBC chorus.

L: Could I record you singing it?

M: No. No one would want that.

L/M: Haha

We eventually descended into laughing afterwards.

Las Mañanitas

Nationality: Mexican-American
Age: 20
Occupation: California Gas Company
Residence: Atwater Village, California
Performance Date: 4/20/15
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Background:

The informant is my best friend from middle school. He has a twin sister and is older by a couple minutes. He currently works for the California Gas Company and on the side does voice overs for D.J. drops. 

Informant: 

Every year on my birthday my grandma wakes my ass up early in the morning to sing me Las Mañanitas which is the Spanish version of Happy Birthday. Basically, she’s my alarm clock on my birthday. She’s been doing it for 20 years without fail. I love my grandma, but that shit drives me crazy. She wakes me up at 6AM to sing to me.

Lyrics:

Estas son las mañanitas
que cantaba el rey David.
Hoy por ser dia de tu santo
te las cantamos a ti.
Despierta, mi bien, despierta;
mira que ya amaneció.
Ya los pajaritos cantan;
la luna ya se metió
Que linda está la manãna
en que vengo a saludarte;
venimos todos con gusto
y plazer a felicitarte.
El dia en que tu naciste
Nacieron todas las flores
En la fila del bautizmo
cantaron los Ruiseñores
Ya viene amaneciendo
Ya la luz del dia nos dio
Levántate de mañana
mira que ya amaneció
Si yo pudiera bajarte
las estrellas y un lucero
para poder demostrarte
lo mucho que yo te quiero
Con jazmines y flores
Este dia quiero acordar
Hoy por ser dia de tu santo
Te venimos a cantar
Translation:
These are the mañanitas
King David sang.
Today to be your holy day
you sing them to you.
Wake up, my love, awake;
look already dawned.
And the birds sing;
the moon and got
The morning is bordering
when I come to say hello;
we all come willingly
and plazer to congratulate you.
The day you were born
They born all the flowers
In the row of baptism
nightingales
It is already dawning
And the daylight gave us
Get up tomorrow
look already dawned
If I could get off
stars and a bright star
to prove
how much I love you
With jasmine and flowers
I agree this day
Today to be your holy day
We come to sing
Analysis:
This version of the happy birthday song is a lot different from the American version. It has many religious ties which makes the song quite unique in its own light. It shows how much Mexican culture intertwines with Catholic religion.