Musical Joke about Oboes

Piece of Folklore:

“How do you get two oboes to play in tune?… to kill one of them.”

Context:

I collected this piece of folklore from my informant in an interview while at the informant’s house. The informant, my brother, was told this joke by his high school band teacher. My informant went to high school in California. He said that he can’t remember if he or anyone else actually laughed at this joke, but they at least smiled. My informant also told me that one of the reasons the joke was funny (and why he remembers it) was because it wasn’t what was expected to come out of a Christian high school teacher’s mouth.

Thoughts/Analysis:

This joke would most likely be unique to music folk groups especially ones that specialize in classical music where oboes are more common. Oboes are notoriously hard instruments to play in tune especially for beginners, so this joke which may seem vulgar or extreme to people outside of a music folk group could probably get a laugh from people who understand, and who possibly have heard, what oboes sound like out of tune.

Annotation:

For another version of this joke see http://uscfolklorearc.wpenginepowered.com/?p=11158

Children’s Game: Running Bases

Main Piece:

The following was transcribed from an interview between the informant and the interviewer.

“We played a game called running bases. You have to have baseball gloves and a ball. And so you would probably stand like the length of a house or two houses usually the length of two houses and you throw the ball back and forth. And so there’s like 2 catchers on the ball and there’s the person that’s running in between the two points where the two people are. And they would have to run to the other person before you could throw the ball to them or you’re out. Now, of course, nobody can run faster than somebody can throw a ball so you would try to have it, what you would do is, you wait until somebody missed and they have to go retrieve the ball. And then while they’re retrieving the ball then you’re running back and forth and you’re running the base  back and forth until you know you don’t wanna get caught when they go get the ball and then throw it to the other side because if you’re not on the base then you out.”

Context:

I collected this piece of folklore in an over-the-phone interview. The informant, my uncle, is an African American who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He was taught by his friends, and he used to play this game all throughout his childhood.

My Thoughts:

This game is knock off version of baseball where there are only two bases. It’s kind of like monkey in the middle and baseball combined since you only have three people playing with two base men and a runner in the middle. This game is also a cheaper version of baseball. It doesn’t require as many resources as an actual baseball game like a bat. It is also more convenient since it only requires three people and can be played in a neighborhood as opposed to on a baseball field. So, this game might be more popular among people that don’t have quick access to a baseball field.

Children’s Games: Paper Football

Nationality: African American
Age: 58
Performance Date: April 22, 2020
Primary Language: English

Main Piece:

The following was transcribed from an interview between the informant and the interviewer.

“We used to play this football game when I was a kid. So, we took a piece of paper, and we folded it up to where it was like this triangular football. And we played it on a table and the table was the field. And you would hit the piece of paper, and I think you had four times, just like four downs in a football game. And if because it’s triangular, if one edge of the little football, was hanging over the table, that was a score.

And if you didn’t get it to hang over, you could kick a field goal. And what the other person would do is they would make like a goal out of their hands. They would take their two thumbs and put ‘em together and then hold their hands up and that would be the goal post. So, you put your two thumbs together to make the goal post and then you would like prop the little piece of triangular paper up, and then take your finger and like thump it through. And depending on where you were on the table it would be a long field goal or a short field goal. So you would do that and if it goes in between the goal, then you would get three points.”

Context:

I collected this piece of folklore in an over-the-phone interview. The informant, my uncle, is an African American who grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. He used to play this game all throughout his childhood, and he was taught this game by his friends.

My Thoughts:

This game is meant to be a really cheap version of the popular American game. Not only is it cheap, but it also requires no physical skill, strength, or agility in the same way that actual football does. So, this game is an easily accessible game for people of all economic backgrounds and various physical abilities to play. Since all it requires is a piece of paper, at least two people, and a table, this game was and is an easy way to pass time without a financial or physical barriers.

Sana Sana the Silly Healing Saying

Nationality: Mexican American
Age: 44
Occupation: unemployed
Residence: Franklin Park IL
Performance Date: 3.16.20
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish


Background: Below is an account of this informant’s memory of a silly spanish saying that was meant to make you feel better. The informant is a mother in her 40s of Mexican Descent. She reflects on the how healing ritual below shaped both aspects of her childhood and parenting. Under the informant’s experience I have clarified the literal translation of this version of the saying according to google translate. 

The main piece: 

“Sana Sana Colita de rana, si no se Sana hoy, se aliviara mañana” 

It means like when you hurt yourself.” Sana Sana” means heal heal, so it’s like you know we would say ‘there there’ if you were rubbing a boo boo. “Sana Sana” is like heal heal.  Colita de rana means— literal translation — a frog’s…tail…butt? Ha! A frogs rump. It’s something about butts I think. “If you don’t get better today, you’ll get better tomorrow.”  So someone would hit their elbow or arm, so you’d be like come here and rub it saying “Sana Sana…” Only my mom did that to me and… it felt better. And it would make me giggle. So I think maybe that’s why too: The touch and then it like makes you laugh, to think of a frog’s butt. It’s something I did with my kids too, out of habit I think. Not because I was trying to pass it on— it just felt like the right thing to do in the moment.

Literal Translation (google): heals heals Frogtail, if he does not heal today he will heal tomorrow

Context: This conversation arose from a video call where we were comfortable chatting with the informant’s mother for some time  talking about her childhood. With the nostalgic memories in mind, I asked the informant to share what Sana Sana means, and what it meant in terms of her childhood. 

Analysis: This another saying I vaguely remember from my childhood. The interesting part of this particular experience is how transformative a silly saying has been in the informant’s life. Not in the sense that her life changed because of it, but in the sense that it changed with her life. The transition between Sana recipient and Sana healer, seemed almost nature to the informant. So natural, that she didn’t even seem to notice why she began performing it with her children, it just happened. This for me shows how some of these simple sayings/ beliefs can be so casually ingrained in our identity. 

Anansi Tales

Nationality: American, Jamaican and Nicaraguan descent
Age: 20
Occupation: student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4.18.20
Primary Language: English

Main piece: So, it’s the Anansi Tales, it’s really popular in Jamaica, and my mom grew up in Jamaica so her mom used to tell her the stories. Basically, Anansi was this spider and he was pretty popular in most of the stories but one of them specifically was about Anansi and the snake. So, there was this tiger that was the king of the forest and had a bunch of stuff named after him. And Anansi was like, “I want something named after me.” So he went up to the tiger and was like, “hey you have everything you could ever want, can you just name something after me?” and the tiger was like, “okay, what do you want me to name after you?” and Anansi said that he wanted the stories to be called the Anansi stories because they were originally called the tiger stories. So, the tiger didn’t want to give up his name as the story names. So he was like, “ok fine I’ll entertain this idea for a second.” And he decided to make a deal with Anansi. So he was like, “Okay, here’s the deal bro, capture the snake, then I’ll change the name to the Anansi stories.” And Anansi was like, “Okay, BET.” So, he was thinking about how he could capture the snake. And his first plan he got a noose and some berries, and put the berries in the noose, I think. But, the snake managed to get the berries without getting caught. So Anansi was like, “Aw dang. What’s another way I can do this?” And so then he went a little bit further down the trail — like he did this on a trail that he knows the snake normally goes down — and then he went further in the trail and dug a pit and put some bananas in it. Oh, and then he put grease along the side so that the snake wouldn’t get out. So the snake saw the bananas, but he also saw the grease so he was like “no” and he tied his tail or something to like the tree that was next to it, and he went in and got the bananas just fine. So then, Anansi was like, “alright cool. What can I do now?” So, then he made this trap and put mangos in it and then this piglet walked by and was like “whoa” so he got trapped in the trap. So basically there was enough room in the trap for the snake to go and eat the piglet but not get out. But then when the snake arrived, the piglet started to go crazy and he like broke down the trap and ran away and the snake didn’t get caught. So then the next day Anansi was sitting outside the snakes house and the snake was like, “oh okay, so after you try to kill me on multiple accounts, you’re just going to sit outside my house? Smart idea” and then Anansi was like, “Yeah, you’re right but like I was doing it for a good cause, people are talking about you behind your back. And the snake was like, “What do you mean?” and he [Anansi] was like, “They’re saying that you’re not the longest creature here. They’re saying you’re not even like as long as bamboo.” And the Snake was like, “Hell nah I am. Get the longest piece of bamboo you can find and like measure me next to it” and Anansi was like, “Okay here’s the issue: what if like I’m measuring, and when I go by your head you make yourself seem longer, but when I goby your tail you move closer to make it seem longer.” Cause obviously Anansi can’t see the whole length of the snake like all the time, so the snake told him to tie his tail to the bamboo. So, Anansi does and then goes down to measure the head. But, what he really does at that point to that snake is he quickly ties the head to the bamboo and to the middle. And at this point, everyones kinda gathered around and watching and they’re like “oh, what the fuck—” Oh sorry— “Anansi caught the snake!” and then ya all the animals were like “Okay respect, we’re not gonna laugh at you anymore. They’re the Anansi Tales now.” And that’s how they became the Anansi tales, but there’s a ton of other stories and they’re super popular in Jamaica. 

Background: My informant is a Junior in college. She is American, but her Mom is an immigrant from Jamaica and her Dad is an immigrant from Nicaragua. Here she talks about a tale that her mom heard when she was a kid, and then passed it on down to her kids. The informant says that they’re not well known stories here, in Jamaica the characters and stories of the Anansi tales are like kids stories, that the culture holds very fondly. It is important to note that my informant acknowledged the fact that this wasn’t going to be the exact same as the way her mom tells it, but she remembers most of the ‘specifics.’

Context: This story was told during the day in a group setting. What was nice is that time didn’t seem to pass as we heard this story, as the informant shared it in a way that was aimed towards us. The language used was casual and engaging, and the group was listening to the story with the same engagement of watching a netflix show. I could also tell that the informant fed off this energy and began to have fun with the tale. 

My Thoughts: What I think is super important here is the idea that two versions of the same story could stem from the same house. Of course, the informant’s mother’s version is great as it was listened to many times by the informant. However, the informant has created her own version in sharing the story with me and a few others. The way she performed it for us was very informal and modern in terms of language, which made the story engaging and hilarious for the audience. I found myself rooting for Anansi at the end of the rather long narrative, and also curious as to what other adventures this spider has gone on, both in a traditional sense, but also in a non traditional sense. I mean, the stories this spider has inspired from passing from person to person. I am excited to try this one out on my younger siblings, and I am sure my version will not be the same, but still hold some of the Anansi magic. Of course, I have no intense personal ties to the Jamiacan roots of this story, however the informant’s genuine love for her childhood tale is inspiring to keep that tale alive.