Tag Archives: chant

Marine Jody

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: College Student
Language: English

Text: 

(Each line repeated once by leader and once by platoon)

Around her head, she wore a yellow ribbon

She wore it in the springtime, the merry month of may

And if you asked her why the hell she wore it

She wore it for that young Marine so far, far away. 

Far away

Far away

She wore it for that young Marine so far, far away

Around the block, she pushed a baby carriage

She pushed it for that young Marine so far, far away.

And if you asked her why the heck she pushed it 

She pushed it for that young Marine so far, far away.

Far away

Far away

She pushed it for that young Marine so far, far away

(3rd verse non PG- song ends after this verse)

Behind the door, her daddy kept a shotgun

He kept it in the springtime, in the merry month of May

And if you asked him why the hell he kept it

He kept it just to blow that young Marine’s ass away

Far away

Far away

He kept it just to blow that young Marine’s ass away

(3rd verse PG- song continues to verse 4)

Behind the door, her daddy kept a shotgun

He kept it in the springtime, in the merry month of May

And if you asked him why the hell he kept it

He kept it for that young Marine so far, far away

Far away

Far away

He kept it for that young Marine so far, far away

(4th verse, slowing)

Around his grave, she laid the pretty flowers

She laid them in the springtime in the merry month of May

And if you ask her why the hell she laid them

She laid them for that young Marine so far, far away

Far away

Far away

She laid them for that young Marine so far, far away

Context:

“This is my favorite jody that I learned in high school in JROTC. It’s passed down by a Prior, which is a Cadet who has been in the program at least for a year, so she was like a year older than me, I was a freshmen and she was a sophomore. And it was her favorite jody and it’s, according to her, originally a Marine jody. Jodies are- I guess I should explain what Jodies are. Jodies are songs you sing while marching, kind of sing, they’re kind of sing songy, but they’re yelling and they’re call and response. So you yell a line and the platoon repeats a line and it’s while marching. A lot of them are story centered, so I want to share one that’s story centered. I love this jody because it’s sad, it tells a story.

“I said young Marine, but when we would say it around our senior Chief, we would have to say Sailor because we weren’t allowed to sing Marines jodies because we were in the Navy unit. And each of the lines is repeated back, I just did it straight through”

“And then the third stanza, there’s two versions. Also, I said hell, but we said heck when instructors were around. And the third one, there’s two endings, one is non PG and one is PG. 

Analysis:

The jody itself is a chant, meant to (in the case of this informant) draw people together within their platoon. Especially as the informant mentions how she was taught this by a classmate in the grade above her, one can see this folk song as a form of mentorship. Learned from the mouth of a more senior individual, the jody is passed between them and gives a sense of identity within the group. The informant even mentions how important the specific branch is. She wasn’t allowed to sing this as a Marine jody normally because they were the Navy unit and therefore could only sing Navy songs. Specificity is important to the practice of this jody even though the rest of the lyrics are unchanged by a change in branch or between platoons. 

Additionally, we can see the influence of some of Olrick’s epic laws within the narrative. Repetition of the chorus and of structures make the stanzas easier to learn, and the chorus itself has three lines. Most ‘scenes’ are between the woman and the soldier, with one between the soldier and the woman’s father. All detail how two characters relate to each other, keeping the story straightforward and in line with the expectations of tales and folk songs. 

Chants for Good Luck

Context:

H is a spring admin freshman at USC, studying Music Industry. H grew up in Taiwan, but moved when she was 8 to San Jose. 

Text:

H: “Whenever I encounter something bad, I basically chant like something from Buddhism. It goes like ‘大慈大悲, 救苦救难, 管旭音菩萨’ (Pinying: da ci da bei, jiu ku jiu nan, guan yin pu sa; Translation: great mercy and great compassion, save the suffering, guan xu yin bodhisattva). It’s basically what I chant so they can give me power, something like that. I think it’s just telling them I’m in trouble, it’s not asking them to come to me, but I feel like they’re going to do something about it and that’s why I do it.”

Analysis:

H’s chant is something along the lines of a conversion, a superstitious charm that negates or balances out an event. In H’s case, the chant is religious, referring to a god in Buddhism, but meant to offset something bad in her life using her god’s power. Her chanting is ritualistic, in the sense that H will do it on the principle or possibility that her god may be listening, while not knowing if anything will change. Just the act of chanting, the practice of a charm that’s believed to give good fortune, makes her believe that good will come, which is a faith nearly more powerful than the tangible confirmation that there really is a god up there, in my opinion. H creates a sense of order for herself in the midst of a crisis or hardship through this learned chant, and always repeating it to herself, she maintains faith that her chant comes true. Essentially, her ritual chant is believed to bring good luck for her, therefore it does bring good luck.  

High School Marching Band ‘Flute Salute’

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA and Chicago, Il
Performance Date: 2/18/23
Primary Language: English

Informant Background:

My informant RA is a 22-year-old senior at USC and a member of the Trojan Marching Band. She was also a flute section leader in her high school marching band in Chicago, Illinois.  

Tradition:

RA: “It was just something we would do at the end of every rehearsal. Like we’d get, we’d meet up with the section after the band director dismissed us and just like give announcements like we do in the TMB and then we would all do our little cheer when we were holding our flutes and then we would say:

Row. Row. Row. Row.

Kayak.  (the word is elongated to ‘Kaayyaaak’)

Flute Salute.”

[With each “row”, the person speaking will move their flute side to side in a motion mimicking paddling. While saying “kayak” the person will change to move their flute horizontally in front of themselves and dip each end left to right in a motion mimicking kayaking. When saying ‘flute salute’ the person will thrust their flute into the air twice with their dominant hand.]

RA: “Typically, the section leader would start [the chant] and then the whole section would join in.”

Analysis:

The ‘flute salute’ chant is a fun unifying activity for the flute section of a high school marching band. The chant likely serves the purpose of creating section pride by using specific gestures that only a flute (or a clarinet) could do easily. The chant is also a fun way to end practice helping to ensure that flute members keep their interest in the band and section. Marching band sections spend a lot of time practicing with each other so it is crucial for the people within each section to get along and, at least, partially enjoy their time in the band. Chants and other unique quick activities that solidify the status of a section as a whole are therefore so important.

Theatre Tongue Twisters- A Pre-Performance Chant

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: USC Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 2/14/23
Primary Language: English

Text:

“Whether the weather be cold or whether the weather be hot, we’ll be together whatever the weather, whether we like it or not.”

Context/Background:

NW is a USC senior who went to high school in San Diego. She was a member of her high school’s theater production. Before going on stage, the cast would perform this tongue twister as a “little good luck thing” to do together. To NW, it gave “the same energy as a huddle… I don’t think it was an actual good tongue twister. It was just for fun.” It was a dynamic performance; they would start off in a whisper and spread out, then would grow louder and clump together. It was a “little button” to boost the cast morale amidst skyrocketing nerves.

Interpretation:

Especially in the theatre community, tongue twisters can be practical exercises that enable performers to practice their diction and pronunciation, which is crucial for storytelling and communicating a message to the audience from the stage. Beyond its functional implications, this tongue twister has become ritualized in NW’s community. The pre-show routine has been extremely important in boosting the morale of the group and calming down their nerves. Specifically with live performances, there can be a lot of angst and fear of things going wrong; having a stable, consistent routine, such as the recitation of a tongue twister, can bolster focus and channel calmer energy. NW mentions that the tongue twister wasn’t even a “good” tongue twister, but it doesn’t change because it’s familiar and effective. Unlike proverbs, tongue twisters often don’t make sense or mean anything in particular, but they are performed out of habit and custom. It’s not necessarily about the content–it’s more about the setting and the people you are sharing this folklore with, which applies to the general essence of occupational folklore. The cast is no longer related just because they’re in the same show, but also because they embrace the customs that come with being a member. There’s no rule dictating what they do before their performance, but the tongue twister has become a tradition that is almost second nature.

Beginning a School Wide Chant

Background: The informant  is a 22 year old male currently living in San Luis Obispo, California. He attended CalPoly-SLO and is currently working as a manager for a boy and girls volleyball club. He played volleyball and basketball throughout high school, and played and coached volleyball while in college. His story is from his time in college.

Context: The context was the informant was, after a sporting event, the informant was reminded of his time in college when he and his friends started a cheer. He performed the cheer.

Text:

WC: In college, since I was on the club volleyball team and was a coach for the girl’s team, I would always attend the volleyball matches whenever they were at home. So, my friends and I thought it would be funny to start a cheer, or a chant, at the games, as we knew all the players. 

Me: What was the cheer?

WC: Every time, someone got a block, we would say “booboo” and then clap twice. [does it]

Me: Was there significance behind it?

WC: Uh, not really, it was more to show the girls that we were there and we were supporting them. I mean, cheers in sports are really just to build morale and boost the team’s spirit so that was all that we were trying to do.

Me: What happened to the chant?

WC: Actually, since we did it at every D1 game, the other people around us started to pick it up. And then, the girls on the team started to do it after every block. So, what started as just our little firendgroup chant became a CalPoly-wide thing.

Analysis:

Informant: He was clearly very happy with the chant becoming a sports-wide occurrence at his school, especially that the girl’s themselves started using it. His intention was simply to have a morale boosting chant, but it did much more than that.

Mine: Cheers have long been used in sports in order to reveal a certain community of people. Typically, cheers are created in groups and spread through word of mouth, at least initially. People spend time in order to create someone that will stand out and boost morale. While initially it was simply something between friends, it became a much bigger thing, spreading to other fans and the players themselves. It demonstrates that folklore starts from the people, no matter who they are, and that anyone can contribute to the culture of the group they are in. The main form of communication in sports is cheering from the sidelines, and anyone should be able to contribute to that. There doesn’t need to always be people leading the cheers; instead, the cheers can start on their own.