Sundaygar Dearboy - Ma Ellen Give Them Pressure (video, comments, partial lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases videos and comments about the 2011 Liberian song "Ma Ellen Give Them Pressure" ("Ellen Pressure"). "Ma Ellen Give Them Pressure" serves as an example of the role of music in contemporary African political campaigns as it was sung in support for a second term of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Another example of a Liberian political campaign song "Monkey Come Down" which was sung by Sirleaf's opposition is also referenced in this post.

Partial lyrics of "Ma Ellen Give Them Pressure" are included in this post along with information about Liberian President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

The content of this post is presented for folkloric, cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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INFORMATION ABOUT ELLEN JOHNSON SIRLEAF
From http://www.biography.com/people/ellen-johnson-sirleaf-201269
"Born in Liberia in 1938, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was schooled in the United States before serving in the government of her native Liberia. A military coup in 1980 sent her into exile, but she returned in 1985 to speak out against the military regime. She was forced to briefly leave the country again. When she won the 2005 election, Johnson Sirleaf became the first female elected head of state in Africa. In 2011, she was one of a trio of women to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

After supporting Charles Taylor's bloody rebellion against President Samuel Doe in 1990, Johnson Sirleaf ran unsuccessfully against Taylor in the 1997 presidential election. Taylor subsequently charged Johnson Sirleaf with treason. In 2005, after campaigning for the removal of President Taylor, Johnson Sirleaf took over as leader of the Unity Party. That year, promising economic development and an end to corruption and civil war, she was elected to the Liberian presidency. When she was inaugurated in 2006, Johnson Sirleaf, or the "Iron Lady," as she was also known, became the world's first elected black female president and Africa's first elected female head of state.

Despite Charles Taylor's large number of followers in Liberian government, including his son-in-law and estranged wife, President Johnson Sirleaf submitted an official request to Nigeria for Taylor's extradition in 2006. Five years later, she shared the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize with Leymah Gbowee and Tawakkol Karman, awarded "for their nonviolent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work."...

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FEATURED VIDEOS
Example #1: Sundaygar--ELLEN PRESSURE -liberian music 2011



DESTEER1, Uploaded on Oct 5, 2011
shouts goes to rabcarter
-snip-
At the beginning of this video, the text under the picture of the Liberian flag is the name rab carter and the words “promote your roots”.

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Example #2: Ma Ellen Give Them Pressure

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t2, Uploaded on Oct 8, 2011

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PARTIAL LYRICS FOR "MA ELLEN GIVE THEM PRESSURE"
I am a LIBE RIAN
that means I got to give my vote to
Madam Ellen

So everybody come and join me
so that we are one.

Mama, give them pressure
make them surrender
Mama we are tired
We cannot defeat you.

Come on Mama*
Give them pressure
Make them surrender
Mama* we are tired
We cannot defeat you.

Come on Ma Ellen
Give them pressure
Make them surrender
Make them scream and say
Mama we are tired
We cannot defeat you.

Pressure, pressure, pressure
Pressure, pressure, pressure
Pressure, pressure, pressure
Pressure, pressure, pressure
Pressure, pressure, pressure
Pressure, pressure, pressure

Vote for UP
*I'm not sure about this word. "Mama" might have been "Madam" or Ma Ellen".
-snip-
Transcribed by Azizi Powell in part from text on screen in the beginning of the video of Example #2, and in part from listing to those videos. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to fully transcribe this song. I haven't been able to find the lyrics on the internet. I also heard the following words:
"we don’t want no bloodshead...
Let them see your UP banner
Don’t forget your UP flags"

Please help by correcting this transcription and posting the full lyrics of this song. Thank you.

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SELECTED COMMENTS
From the viewer comment thread of Example #1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbBKWOEaMl0

Note: The dates given for these comments are "1 year ago" which would make that date "2012". However, these comments read as though they were posted before that October 11th election day.

"Geeesss......this one here da pure fiya from UP for dey Oct 11 election...good way to go Sundaygar......becuz we na going to sit and allow anyone come take LIB back to dey stone age. UP for relection and Case Closed!"
-marck224
-snip-
"LIB" is a colloquial referent for Liberia, West Africa.

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"I like the way he mixed it. This Bassa boy can sing."
-minitwink1
-snip-
"Bassa" is an ethnic group in Liberia. Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassa_people_(Liberia) for information about Bassa [Liberia].

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"great song bro.. i love diz song so muchhhh ma ellen will sure win her second term.. thank sundaygar for a wonderful song."
-odij54

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"Sundaygar, you are the man. I like your support for the oldma, you always drop a very nice jam right on time for elections."
-isaackarmue

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"We need more strong educated president like Ellen Johnson Sireaf. Thats just the fact!"
-KingLiberia15
-snip-
This commenter wrote that this wasn't a campaign song as it wasn't paid for by Ellen's campaign. Various comments were posted in response to that first comment, including these:

"Oh and i'm guessing every song that been made for Ellen is her campaign song. THe must "Iron Lady" by Jodi and "Letter to the President" by 2c is also her campaign song huh? wow. i didn't know she has all these campaign song. i thought it was just music people sing for her. but i guess i was wrong."
-KingLiberia15

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"Greetings LIB, KingLiberia15 got a point although he/she sound piste-off, but its true music is business and entrainment... lots of our people are not educated or exposed these aspects of life so we usually say things before we process them. If a president/leader has high popularity of course he/she can easily becomes a marketing target; making songs of them don't necessarily mean a campaign... just another business and pleasure. I love the sound. "Sundygha ni zuo, uh numonge cha gayu"!! "
-Mombassa

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"Honey, it's a campaign song sung during the campaign by Ellen supporters. It was as popular as Monkey Come Down. So, i beg, don't even tell me about Ellen, you hater.
-minitwink16 [2013]
-snip-
This commenter quoted above mentioned another Liberian political campaign song "Monkey Come Down". That song was sung by the party in opposition to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's party.

Here's a link to a video of "Monkey Come Down" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ29Dsec54A. That is another uptempo, highly danceable song. The publisher's summary statement says "New Liberian music tittle "Monkey Come Down" by George's CDC Party

The monkey in the song is suppose to be President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and her Unit Party. and the monkey suppose to be George weah and his CDC Party".

I wonder if the second use of that word "monkey" is a typographical error as a commenter wrote on the comment thread on another video of "Monkey Come Down" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvbL6lH-YyA that "the liberian president is the monkey and the baboo is the other guy."

Another commenter wrote that the full statement for "Monkey come down" was "come down from the tree". Presumably, in this case, that meant "fall down from a high position", in other words, lose the election.

I'm curious. Is referring to Black people as either monkeys or baboons not considered as insulting in Liberia as it is in the United States and in other nations?

I would appreciate some clarification about this from Liberians or others familiar with that song. Thank you.

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Thanks to the role model of Liberian President/Nobel Prize winner

Thanks to the composer/peformer of this song -and also the composer/performer of the song "Monkey Come Down" that is also noted in this post.

Thanks also to the publishers of these videos, and all those whose comments are quoted in this post.

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Visitor comments are welcome.