"Let Your Backbone Slip" Phrase In R&B Music & Children's Rhymes

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part series on the verse "Put your hand on your hips / and let your backbone slip" or "put your hands on your hips / and let your right foot slip".

Part II provides selected text excerpts & videos of the children's singing game "Little Sally Walker" and several R&B songs that include the "let your backbone slip" form of this verse. My guess is that "let your right foot slip" is a later version of the phrase "let your backbone slip".

Part I provides an overview of this featured verse and its performance movements.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/let-your-right-foot-slip-origin.html for Part I of this series.

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

FEATURED VIDEOS & TEXT EXCERPTS
[These videos are presented in chronological order. Notice that the studio dancers in these 1960s videos are all White. For the most part, their dance movements should not be considered the correct dance movements for those dance songs.]

Example #1: Major Lance - The Monkey Time




HeftynealPublished on Aug 7, 2012

Major Lance (4 April 1939, 1941 or 1942 -- 3 September 1994) was an American R&B singer. After a number of US hits in the 1960s, including "The Monkey Time" and "Um, Um, Um, Um, Um, Um", In the 1970's he became an iconic UK figure among followers of Northern soul. Although he stopped making records in 1982, Major Lance continued to perform at concerts and tours until his death in 1994.
-snip-
TEXT EXCERPT: MONKEY TIME
(written by Curtis Mayfield)

Do the Monkey, yeah (do the Monkey Time)
Do the Monkey, yeah (do the Monkey Time)
Ah-twist them hips (twist them hips)
Let your backbone slip (let your backbone slip)
Now move your feet (move your feet)
Get on the beat (get on the beat)
Are you ready (are you ready)
Well, you get yours, cause-a I got mine
For the Monkey Time (Monkey Time)

Source: http://www.lyricstime.com/major-lance-monkey-time-lyrics.html

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Example #2: Little Sally Walker - Bessie Jones [Children's Singing Game]

Little Sally Walker Bessie Jones



ichagall | April 20, 2010
-snip-
This clip was filmed in the USA in 1970s or 1980s.

TEXT EXCERPT: LITTLE SALLY WALKER

Little Sally Walker
Sittin in a saucer
Rise, Sally , rise
Wipe your weeping eyes
Put your hand on your hip
And let your backbone slip
Oh, shake it to the East
Oh, shake it to the West
Oh, shake it to the one
that you love the best.

Editor:
This version of "Little Sally Walker" is from multiple sources including Step It Down edited by Bessie Jones & Bess Lomax Hawes.

Pianist/vocalist Billy Preston also recorded the song "Little Sally Walker" in 1965. Unfortunately, that YouTube video is private. The lyrics of that song are very similar to the text that is given above.

**
Version of the children's singing game "All Around The Kitchen" may contain the rhyming couplet "put your hands on your hip/and let your right foot slip". "All Around The Kitchen" was first collected in the 1940s in Alabama from African American children. Visit Part I of this series whose link is given above for a lyric excerpt & information about the performance activity that I've used for that game.

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Example #3: Jackie Wilson - Baby Workout (Shindig 1965)



moondancerfarm, Uploaded on Jul 23, 2011

-snip-
TEXT EXCERPT: BABY WORKOUT
(written by Jackie Wilson & Alonzo Tucker)

Now when you get out here
Don't you have no fear.
Put your hands on your hip
And let your backbone slip
And work out.

Source: http://www.metrolyrics.com/baby-workout-lyrics-jackie-wilson.html

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Example #4: Wilson Pickett - Land Of 1000 Dances - Live `66



Uploaded by charley trenn on Jun 19, 2009
-snip-
TEXT EXCERPT: LAND OF 1000 DANCES
(written and first recorded by Chris Kenner in 1962)

1-2-3
1-2-3
Ow! Uh! Alright! Uh!

Got to know how to pony
Like Bony Maronie
Mash potato, do the alligator
Put your hand on your hips, yeah
Let your backbone slip
Do the Watusi
Like my little Lucy
Hey! Uh!

Source: http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/thefullmonty/landof1000dances.htm

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Example #6: Otis Redding - Shake, 1966



Uploaded by jmannen77 on May 9, 2010

Posted by http://www.nostalgoteket.se From September 16, 1966 and the tv show Ready Steady Go!recorded in London, England.

"Shake" is a song written and recorded by Sam Cooke.
Otis Redding's version was elected to the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll " by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

In 1966, the now cult '60s British pop show Ready Steady Goes Live, devoted a whole programme to a live performance of Soul singer Otis Redding, who regularly covered many of Cooke's songs. One of the highlights was a rousing version of "Shake" on which Redding was joined by British Soul legends Eric Burdon, lead singer of The Animals, and chart topper Chris Farlowe. The programme is acclaimed by many as the best episode of the whole series.
-snip-
TEXT EXCERPT - SHAKE
(written by Sam Cooke)

You move your body all around
And just shake
That's the way you do it
Shake, shake, shake it baby
Shake it like a bowl of soup
Let your body loop de loop
Put your hands on your hip
Come on and let your backbone slip
Move your body like your hip
And just shake!

Source: http://www.songmeanings.net/songs/view/3530822107859327854/

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
Thanks to all the composers, vocalists, and musicians of these featured songs. Thanks also to the uploaders of these videos.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

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"Let Your Right Foot Slip" (Origin & Performance Instructions)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part series on the verse "Put your hand on your hips/and let your right foot slip".

Part I provides an overview of this verse and its perhaps better known version that has the second line "and let your backbone slip".

Part II provides selected text excerpts & videos of the children's singing game "Little Sally Walker" and several R&B songs that include the "let your backbone slip" form of this floating verse.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/let-your-right-foot-slip-videos-text.html for Part II of this series.

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

OVERVIEW OF THE "LET YOUR BACKBONE SLIP" VERSE
"Put your hands on your hip/and let your backbone slip" is an instructional dance call. An instructional dance call is a spoken or sung line or rhyming verse which is given by a person to tell a group of dancers such as square dancers which series of dance movements they are to perform. In the context of this featured verse, the word "backbone" means "the spine". I believe that the verb "slip" means "move loosely" or "be flexible". The line "let your backbone slip" is thus interpreted to mean " shake your hips from side to side".

Possible Origins
I'm uncertain about the age of the verse "put your hands on your hips/and let your backbone slip" (and/or "let your right foot slip"), but these verses Black origin is certain. Notice below that a form of this verse was collected in the Caribbean in the children's singing game "Little Sally Walters".

In its essence, the featured verse is an instructional dance call. There is extensive documentation of pre and post civil war 19th century Black dance callers, fiddlers, and banjoist performing for White dances, or performing for Black dances. The first song included in Thomas W. Talley's now classic 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise & Otherwise is the dance song "Jonah's Band Party". That song is made up of a series of dance calls including those found in this verse:
Setch a kickin' up san'
Jonah's Band!
Setch a kickin' up san'!
Jonah's Band!
"Han's up sixteen! Circle to the right!
We're going to get big eatin's here tonight".*

Thomas W. Talley's collection also includes the still relatively widely known Black dance songs "Juba" and "Jump Jim Crow".*

I'm not certain whether "put your hands on your hips/and let your backbone (or "your right foot") slip" was known in the 19th century. However, those rhyming couplets are certainly similar in form and function to those 19th century Black instructional calls.

*A complete online version of Talley's Negro Folk Rhymes is found at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm That version includes the full spelling of what is now known as "the n word". Click http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=123317 for a post that I started in 2009 on Mudcat Folk & Blues discussion forum. That post provides lyrics to various African American dance songs & other songs from Talley's book. That particular post also includes hyperlinks to other Mudcat posts which contain additional song lyrics from Talley's book Negro Folk Rhymes book. In that post, the lyrics to those songs don't include the fully spelled out "n word".

Floating Verses In Children's Singing Games
"Put your hands on your hip/and let your backbone slip" is a floating verse that is found in the widely known children's game song "Little Sally Walker" ("Little Sally Waters"). The verse "put your hands on your hips/ and let your right foot slip" is often part of the less widely known children's song "All Around The Kitchen Cock A Doodle Doodle Do". I'm not certain which version of the second line is the oldest.

From 1997-2006, I taught the follow the leader movement game "All Around The Kitchen" to children who were part of game song groups & game song special programming events that I facilitated in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area. Click this page of my cocojams website http://cocojams.com/content/childrens-game-songs-and-movement-rhymes for the words I taught to this song as well as information about that song's early documentation, and information about the play activities that I used for that song.

A text excerpt & videos of "Little Sally Walker" children's singing games are found in Part II of this series.

Floating Verse In Commercially Recorded Songs
The "let your backbone slip" verse was lifted from the "Little Sally Walker" children's singing game & included in the mid 1960s African American Rhythm & Blues songs "Monkey Time (Major Lance -1963), "Baby Workout" (Jackie Wilson -1965), "Shake" (Sam Cooke & Otis Redding, 1966), and "Land Of 1000 Dances" (Wilson Pickett, 1966). Excerpts & videos of these songs are found in Part II of this series.

Other Black vocalists and White vocalists have recorded a number of R&B and Pop covers of these songs. This verse is also found in some Hip-Hop songs. For two examples of pop songs which were recorded by White vocalists that include this verse, click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTZgWWTlT7c for a video of the 1989 song "Resurrection Shuffle" by Tom Jones, and click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsL2u4J4MG0 for a video of the early 2000 Atom Kitten's song "Get Real".

How "Let Your Backbone Slip" & "Let Your Right Foot Slip" Are Performed
The song "Little Sally Waters" is included in the 1997 book Brown Girl In The Ring: An Anthology Of Songs Games From The Eastern Caribbean by Alan Lomax, J. D. Elder, and Bess Lomax Hawes. The title "Little Sally Waters" is an older form of the title "Little Sally Walker". In the above named book, that singing game includes the verse "put your hands on your hips, let your backbone shake". Part of the play instructions for that song which is given in that book indicate that the girl in the center of the ring selects a partner and "The two then put their hands on their hips and "shake their backbones" in the familiar Caribbean "winding" motion."
-snip-
In the United States, a 1970s video of Bessie Jones leading children & adults in singing & playing the game "Little Sally Walker" shows the person in the middle pantomining the words of that song. Part of that pantomine is for the person in the middle of the ring putting her (or his) hands on her hips & shaking her hips from side to side while the group sings the "put your hands on your hips & let your backbone slip" words.

In part because R&B & Pop dance songs focus on tunes more than words, I don't believe that most females dancing to songs in the 1960s & on that include this featured verse necessarily did anything different when (or if) they heard that verse. Videos of those dances (as found in Part II of this series) show most of the White studio dancers just continuing to do whatever dance moves they were doing before those lyrics were sung. Other videos show those dancers putting their hands on their hips and shaking their hips back & forth. I assume that hand on your hip/hip shaking movement is the what is "supposed to be done" for the words "let your backbone slip" - with "backbone" in this context meaning "spin" and "slip" in this context meaning "be flexible".

From 1997-2006 I taught the movement game "All Around The Kitchen" & other old & adapted African American game songs to groups of children & their adult & teen staff. (in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania & the surrounding area.) In so doing I used the second line "let your right foot slip" instead of the line "let your backbone slip". I'm not sure how I learned this version, but I'm reasonably sure that I didn't make it up myself. I also taught those groups the following movements to do for those lyric:
(All movements are performed to the beat while standing in place)
1.Put your hands on your hips when that line is sung
1. On the word "let" - extend your right foot toe pointing in front of you

2. On the word "your" - place your foot directly in back of your position

3. On the words "right foot" - point your right foot in front of you

4. On the word "slip" - return your right foot flat next to your left foot
-snip-
This may be the "traditional" way that "let your right foot slip" was/is performed. Or it may be a dance routine that I observed somewhere & made my own. I'm not a dancer or a choreographer so it's unlikely that I made up this routine by myself.

If anyone has any information or an opinion about the dance movement that I use to "let your right foot slip", please share it with me & other pancocojams readers.

Variant Form Of "Little Sally Walker"
As an aside, my sense is that since at least the 1960s, the version of "Little Sally Walker" which contains the "put your hand on your hips/and let your backbone slip" verse isn't well known among either African American (particularly African Americans outside the South) And since at least the early 2000s, an updated version of this rhyme which I call "Little Sally Walker Walking Down The Street" appears to be much more popular in the United States than any other version of that game song. I believe that this updated version originated among African American children & then spread to other American children and also to teens, and young adults where it is used as a stress reducing group activity.
Click http://cocojams.com/content/childrens-game-songs-and-movement-rhymes for words & videos of "Little Sally Walker Walking Down The Street".

That same page includes the words to versions of "Little Sally Walker ("Little Sally Waters" and similar singing games), as well as the words to & videos of other English language children's movement songs.

RELATED LINK
http://lyrics.filestube.com/look_for.html?q=let+your+backbone+slip&mode=3&page=1 This is page #1 of 3 pages of lyric excerpts of songs that include the lines "put your hand on your hip & let your backbone slip".

**
Click http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=104001#2125148 for information about the early collection & publication of the children's song "All Around The Kitchen".

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & THANKS
My thanks to the unknown composers of the children's playground songs that include this featured verse. Thanks also to the composers of R&B songs that include this verse. Thanks also to those whose comments I quoted or provided links to.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

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Handclapping In African American Churches, Part II (Videos)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a two part post. This post presents seven videos which showcase types of handclapping in African American churches & Gospel concerts

Part I provides general comments about the when and why handclapping is done in many African American churches & African American Gospel concerts. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/handclapping-in-african-american.html for Part I of this series.

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

All copyrights remain with their owners.

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FEATURED VIDEOS
(These videos are of African American Gospel music, including what I consider to be "gospelized" African American spirituals - spirituals performed in a Gospel style. These featured videos are presented in no particular order with no information about the types of soulful handclapping that is performed.)

Example #1: I Know I've Been Changed - Joe Ligon & The Mighty Clouds of Joy "Live In Charleston" album



Uploaded by pannellctp on Dec 5, 2011

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Example #2: Florida Mass Choir "All Night All Day"



Uploaded by chj333 on Apr 7, 2009

Florida Mass Choir "All Night All Day" directed by V. Michael McKay

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Example #3: "Pentecostal Praise" - Bishop Leonard Scott



Uploaded by pannellctp on Jul 13, 2011

Bishop Leonard Scott Hymns & Church Songs Live From Alabama

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Example #4: "Hallelujah Anyhow" - Rev. Clay Evans



Uploaded by malacomg on Oct 29, 2010

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Example #5: Detroit Mass Choir - Climbing Up The Mountain/Hallelujah



Uploaded by gooblaprea on Aug 3, 2011
Detroit Mass Choir singing two classic songs. With Ora Watkins-Jones and Gabrielle Johnson on lead.

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Example #6: Soul Children - Weeping May Endure For A Night



Uploaded by reesamae on Feb 19, 2010

Soul Children singing JOY - Weeping May Endure for a Night (Chicago)

This is the one and only Recording Artist and The Legendary Courtney Duncan from the Grammy nominated Soul Children of Chicago. He is now Pastor Courtney C. (Duncan) Maxwell (search youtube vids), and was a legendary vocalist with Walt Whitman and the choir in the 90's. He now pastor's Greater Deliverance Temple in Chicago, IL. PURE RARE ANOINTING, he has had since childhood


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Example #7: Mississippi Mass Choir - I'm Not Tired Yet



uploaded by TheSevenChosen on Oct 17, 2011

Mississippi Mass Choir - I'm Not Tired Yet

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RELATED LINK
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/old-time-handclapping-foot-stomping-in.html
"Old Time Handclapping & Foot Stomping In African American Religious Singing"

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
Thanks to all composers, choir directors, vocalists, and musicians whose songs are featured in this post.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

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Handclapping In African American Churches, Part I

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part I of a two part poston handclapping in African American services and/or religious concerts. This post provides general comments about the reasons for handclapping in many African American churches & African American Gospel concerts.

Part II presents seven videos which showcase types of handclapping in African American churches & Gospel concerts. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/handclapping-in-african-american_26.html for Part II of this series.

The content of this post is presented for religious and folkloric purposes.

EDITORIAL COMMENTS
I'm writing this post because I haven't found any online articles that provide details of what is usually referred to as "soulful handclapping" in African American churches. Because I'm neither a musician or musicologist or apparently someone who understands music definitions found on sites like Wikipedia, I've been looking for (and still haven't found) easy to understand explanations of how handclapping is done in African American churches.

I know that there's more than one style of soulful handclapping & I know how to "clap soulfully" But I don't feel confident about my ability to explain the differences between "soulful handclapping" and "non-soulful handclapping"(a phrase btw that I've never seen before). I've read that the beats that are emphasized in soulful handclapping are 2 and 4 instead of 1 and 3. For instance, here's a comment posted on http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=262429 by Mister Rik:
"*heh* One of the little joke you hear in group singing situations (such as church) is that where you clap indicates how "black" you are. i.e. if you clap on 1 & 3, you must be really white; clapping on 2 & 4 indicates "black". This derives from the traditional image of an all-white congregation clapping on 1 & 3 as compared to a black Southern Baptist congregation all clapping on 2 & 4.

If you're clapping along with, say, a march or ragtime song, 1 & 3 would be appropriate. If you're clapping along with rock & roll, country, gospel, jazz, etc, 2 & 4 is appropriate. Basically, listen for the snare drum and clap where you hear it."
-snip-
And I've read that when the second and fourth beat are emphasized that is "offbeat" or "downbeat" and when the first and third beat are emphasized that is "on beat". I've also read that soulful handclapping can be done in "double time or "double off-beat". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_(music) "Beat (music)"

And I've read about Black people clapping "between the beats", and doing "polyrhythmic clapping". http://mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=53920#836017 "Jerry R's 'Black/White Gospel Workshop". I added several comments to that discussion thread but I choose not to muddy the water here with any attempt to explain any of those musical terms. However, I believe that persons interested in this subject may appreciate Part II of this post which presents videos that showcase one or more styles of soulful handclapping.

Instead of trying to explain how soulful handclapping is done, I've chosen to focus on another part of this topic that I've not found online - when and why soulful handclapping is done in Black churches & Black religious concerts. I feel much more confident to comment about this portion of that subject because of my experiences as a Black person who is a member of a Black church and who has attended a number of Black churches. I've listed the reasons for soulful clapping in church & church related events with the important qualifier that I think that the acceptance of handclapping in African American (and other Black churches) has changed overtime and also differs then and now depending on what denomination of church a Black person attends, and also probably what pastor is in charge of that church.

As a general statement, it seems to me that COGIC (Church of God In Christ) churches and some other Pentacostal Christian churches have a much higher degree of acceptance and practice of handclapping during church services than some Baptist (particularly Northern Baptist) or Methodist or Presbyterian or other Protestant denominations. And while there Catholic churches that are afro-centric such as Saint Benedict The Moor in my adopted hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in which soulful handclapping is encouraged, I think it's safe to say that most Black Catholic congregations don't do much soulful handclapping.

Without further introductory comments, here's my list of when handclapping is done in African American churches/religious events:
(The reasons listed aren't presented in any quantitative order.)

HANDCLAPPING MAY OCCUR IN AFRICAN AMERICAN CHURCHES
1. as accompaniment for singing and/or instrumental music

2. as a way of praising God

Ministers and choir leaders often direct the congregation to "Give God some praise". The congregation then claps their hands.


3. as an expression of approval and/or agreement about what is being heard or seen, including the way portions of a song are sung or played, or the way a mime group performs a dance

In contrast to Anglo-American customs, it's traditional, acceptable, and expected in many African American (and other Black) churches and other Black venues for people to show their approval of what is being sung or said or the music that is being performed by applauding during the performance.

4. as a voluntary or involuntary expression of jubilation, excitement, and/or exhilaration, including an expression of feeling the Holy Spirit

5. as applause at the conclusion of musical performances*

*It seems to me that there has been some change in the position on the suitability of clapping in church after a choir sings. In the Baptist church I was a member of in Atlantic City, New Jersey in the 1950s to 1970s until I moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the congregation was discouraged from clapping after the choir sang or anyone else in the program sang. I think this was because the pastors wanted to make a clear distinction that was made between a church worship service and an entertainment program. Instead of clapping at the end of the choir's rendition (or a song sung by any other vocalist or vocalists), it was acceptable for members of that congregation to say "Amen!" or "Praise God!" or similar exclamations. However, since at least the 2000s, it appears to now be acceptable for members of that congregation to applaud after musical numbers. Yet it's still unacceptable for people to applaud the minister at the conclusion of his or her sermon, or applaud a person at the end of his or her prayer.

HANDCLAPPING MAY OCCUR IN AFRICAN AMERICAN RELIGIOUS CONCERTS

1. as applause made to recognize distinguished guests who are pointed out by the master or mistess of ceremony

2. as applause made to acknowledge, show respect for, and/or show appreciation for speakers & singers prior to them speaking or singing (This includes applause during the introduction of speakers, vocalists, or musicians).

3. as a way of praising God

4. as applause at the conclusion of the spoken, sung, or instrumental musical performances (This does not include sermons or prayers or music sung for church offerings)

Choirs may also clap after their rendition of a song. If so, that clapping probably can be best interpreted as "clapping for the words that were sung and not how they sung those words." Another way to put this is that the handclaps that the choir makes, and also at least in part, the applause that the congregation makes at the conclusion of a song are directed to the glory of God.

5. as accompaniment for singing and/or instrumental music

6. as an expression of approval and/or agreement about what is being heard and/or seen, including the way portions of a song are sung or played or the way a mime group performs a dance

7. as a voluntary or involuntary expression of jubilation, excitement, and/or exhilaration, including an expression of feeling the Holy Spirit


RELATED LINKS
http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/05/old-time-handclapping-foot-stomping-in.html
"Old Time Handclapping & Foot Stomping In African American Religious Singing"
**
http://www.afgen.com/christian_church2.html
"Afrocentricity - The Christian Church Part II"

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Thanks to all those whose comments I linked to in this post.

Thanks for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer's comments are welcome.

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You Can't Beat God's Giving (Videos & Lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides a sound file & videos of the Gospel song "You Can't Beat God's Giving". That song's lyrics are also included in this post.

The content of this post is presented for religious and aesthetic purposes.

All rights remain with their owners.

LYRICS: YOU CAN'T BEAT GOD'S GIVING
(Written by Doris Akers)

Chorus [2x]:
You can't beat God's giving
No matter how you try.
'Cause just as sure as you are living
And the Lord is in heaven on high.
The more you give, the more He gives to you.
Just keep on giving because it's really true.
That you can't beat God's giving,
No matter how you try.

Verse:
He send the sun and he sends the rain.
He send the harvest for the grain.
And He comes to see me every now and then.
Because He's my best friend.
And that's why I say

Chorus [2x]
-snip-
I transcribed these basic words for "You Can't Beat God's Giving" from the sound file that is given below as Example #1. Corrections are welcome.

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LYRICS: YOU CAN'T BEAT GOD'S GIVING
(as sung by the Sky Pilot Choir)

Chorus:
You can't beat God giving,
No matter how you try
And just as sure as you are living
And the Lord is in heaven on high
The more you give the more He gives to you
So keep on giving because it's really true that
You can't beat God giving,
No matter how you try

Verse:
He gave me peace, He made me whole
And when in sin, He saved my soul
And what I give could never be compared
With the blessings that I share
And that's why I say that

Chorus
-snip-
I transcribed these lyrics are from the sound file of the Sky Pilot Choir (Example #3 of this post). The uploader of that sound file provided lyrics for this song that differ from the sound file. The first verse given above is very similar to the words that are posted as song's third verse. The first and second verses which were given by the uploader of that sound file are:
"Should we receive and never give
The Saviour died that we might live
His life on Calvary He gladly gave
Our sinful souls to save

He gives me health, He keeps me strong
He guides me when I would go wrong
He gives me everything that I need
My every hunger feeds"

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UH72l-ATyDk
-snip-
The verse that begins with "Should we receive and never give" is similar to the verse that is sung by Gene Martin in the video given as Example #4 of this post. My transcription of that verse is given after that video.

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SOUND FILES AND VIDEOS

Example #1: "You Can't Beat God Giving" - The Caravans



Uploaded by MrChoirDirector87 on Jun 23, 2011

The Caravans
You Can't Beat God Giving
Albertina Walker & Eddie Williams, Lead
1958

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Example #2: Doris Akers & Gospel Legends - You Can't Beat God Giving



Uploaded by PrazHymn83 on Mar 22, 2010

The Gospel Legends minister with Doris Akers' "You Can't Beat God Giving"

The pianist is the late, great Rev. Donald Vails and the organist is the late, great Billy Preston

You also see Dr. Margaret Douroux, Richard Smallwood, Billy Preston, Jesse Dixon, Al Hobbs, Danniebelle Hall, The Barrett Sisters, The Caravans, Debbie Austin, Richard "Mr. Clean" White, Bishop Walter Hawkins, Jennifer Holiday and many, many more!!

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Example #3: Sky Pilot Choir - You Can't Beat God Giving



Uploaded by karma342 on May 14, 2009

Sky Pilot Choir singing another great song written by Doris.[Akers]

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Example #4: Gene Martin-You Can't Beat God Giving (Video)



Uploaded by boofitts on Jul 8, 2011

Legendary gospel artist with heavenly voice sings classic. Gene Martin was featured soloist with A.A. Allen Miracle Revivals during the 60's and 70's,
-snip-
The basic words to the verse of "You Can't Beat God's Giving" that Gene Martin sang in this video are:
"Should you receive and never give
The Saviour died that we all might live
And His life on Calvary He freely gave
To save* our world free.
That's why I say

-snip-
*It sounds to me like Gene Martin sang "save". However, the word "make" seems to be a better fit for the sentence's meaning. Perhaps Gene Martin mistakenly sang "save" when the actual word was supposed to be "make".

****
Example #5: Gospel Starlites - You Can't Beat God's Giving - Gospel



Published on Mar 24, 2012 by gospel

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
My thanks to Doris Akers, the composer of "You Can't Beat God's Giving". Thanks also to the Caravans & the other vocalists who sang this song on the featured sound file and videos. Thanks to the uploaders of the sound file and videos.

Thanks for visiting Pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

Read More

Rev. Timothy Wright - "Who's On The Lord's Side?" (Sound File, Video, & Lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides a sound file & video of Rev. Timothy Wright's Gospel song "Who's On The Lord's Side?" This song’s lyrics are also included in this post

The content of this post is presented for religious and aesthetic purposes.

All rights remain with their owners.

LYRICS
(Rev. Timothy Wright, 1989)

You’ve been running
Running for a long time
Your time is winding up,
Better make up your mind.
It’s getting late in the evening.
The sun is going down.
You better get right, get right while
You may be found.
I wanna know

Where do you stand?
Who’s on the Lord’s side?
Where do you stand?
Who’s on the Lord’s side?
Where do you stand?
Who’s on the Lord’s side?
I’m on...the Lord’s...side!
I’m on...the Lord’s...side!

Lead:
You gotta work, gotta work, work while it’s day.
‘Cause the night is coming, and you can’t find your way.
O sinner! I wonder, what will you do.
You gotta choose this day
‘Cause tomorrow’s not promised to you.
I wanna know

Where do you stand?
Who’s on the Lord’s side?
Where do you stand?
Who’s on the Lord’s side?
Where do you stand?
Who’s on the Lord’s side?
I’m on...the Lord’s...side!
I’m on...the Lord’s...side!

Lead:
Get up! If you’re on the Lord’s side.
Get up!
Choir: Get up! If you’re on the Lord’s side.
Lead: Get on up!
Choir: Get up! If you’re on the Lord’s side.
Lead: Get on up!
Choir: Get up! If you’re on the Lord’s side.
Lead: Get on up!
Choir: Get up! If you’re on the Lord’s side.
(choir continue)

Lead [ad. lib].
You stand up! You stand up!
Get on, Get on up! Get on, Get on up!
Get up! If you’re on the Lord’s side.
Ge-ge-ge-ge-ge-ge-ge get on up,
If you’re on the Lord’s side.
Oh what about you, you, if
you’re on the Lord’s side.
Oh what about you, you, if
you’re on the Lord’s side.

Who’s on the Lord’s side?
Aren’t you on the Lord’s side.
Geeeet on up if you’re on the Lord’s side.
Ge-ge-ge-ge-ge-ge-ge get on up,
if you’re on the Lord’s side.
Don’t you love the Lord?
Don’t you love the Lord?
Has He, Has He been good to you?
Hasn’t He been good to you?
Didn’t He bring you out?
Oh, without a shadow of a doubt?
Oh, didn’t He make a way through,
Throughout every day?
Oh, what’s the Lord done for you?
Didn’t He bring you through?
Didn’t He, didn’t He bring you out?
Didn’t He bring you out
Without a shadow of a doubt?
Ge-ge-ge-ge-ge-ge-ge get on up,
Ge,ge,ge,ge get on up!
You’ve been down too long,
You’ve been down too long!
Get up, get up from desperation,
Ge-get up, get up from depression.
Get up, get up for victory.

Get up, get up, put your heart at ease!
Hey, hey, hey
(Wait a minute. If you see somebody around you,
Look like they might be down,
You know what I want you to tell ‘em?)
GET UP!
Choir: Get up!
Lead [continue ad lib]
Woke you up this morning,
Started you on your way.
Gave you a brand new dawning,
Gave you a brand new day!
Didn’t God been good
Ga-good-ga-good-ga-good-
Ga-good
Sopranos: GET UP!
Altos: GET UP!
Tenors: GET UP!
All: GET UP!
All: Get up, if you’re on the Lord’s side.
I’m on the Lord’s side!
I’m on the Lord’s side!
-snip-
These lyrics were superimposed on the screen of the sound file posted below. Any corrections or additions to my transcription of those words are welcome. The only addition that I believe I made to those words were to add the word "Lead" before the words "ad lib".

****
FEATURED EXAMPLES
Example #1: Who's on the Lord's Side by Rev. Timothy Wright and the Timothy Wright Concert Choir



Uploaded by robbieatnsudotcom on Nov 30, 2009

Hello everyone and here's another YouTube gospel video. This time, I'm taking us back even further to 1993 with the late great "Godfather of Gospel", the Rev. Timothy D. Wright and the Timothy Wright Concert Choir. The song is the famous "Who's on the Lord's Side?" from the album of the same name. Today, almost 17 years after the debut of the song, there are still many people who sing this in their churches, and all thanks to a wonderful saint of God who showered us with his inspirational music. I do not own this song nor am I seeking monetary gains or publicity. The lyrics are on the video, for everyone to follow along or learn. And BTW, if there is a song that you would like for me to do a video on, let me know. Hope you enjoy. God bless!

****
Example #2: Rev Timothy Wright I'm On The Lords Side SNS



Uploaded by Charisse Wilson on Feb 19, 2010

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RELATED LINK
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Wright for biographical information about Rev. Timothy Wright (June 17, 1947 – April 24, 2009) and a listing of his compositions.

****
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
My thanks to Rev. Timothy Wright for composing & singing "Who's On The Lord's Side" and other Gospel songs. Thanks also to the choirs who sang this song on the featured sound file and video. Thanks to the uploaders of the sound file for including the lyrics to this song, and thanks also to the uploader of the featured video.

Thanks for visiting Pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

Read More

The Duckworth Chant (Sound Off!) - Information & Examples

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides information about and examples of the military cadence known as "The Duckworth Chant", "Sound Off!", and "Cadence Count".

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

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MILITARY CADENCES & THE DUCKWORTH CHANT
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_cadence [hereafter given as wikipedia:Military cadences]
"In the armed services, a military cadence or cadence call is a traditional call-and-response work song sung by military personnel while running or marching. In the United States, these cadences are sometimes called jody calls or jodies, after Jody, a recurring character who figures in some traditional cadences.

As a sort of work song, military cadences take their rhythms from the work being done (compare sea shanty). Many cadences have a call and response structure of which one soldier initiates a line, and the remaining soldiers complete it, thus instilling teamwork and camaraderie for completion. The cadence calls move to the beat and rhythm of the normal speed (quick time) march or running-in-formation (double time) march. This serves the purpose of keeping soldiers "dressed", moving in step as a unit and in formation, while maintaining the correct beat or cadence...

The Duckworth Chant (or Sound Off!)
A V-Disc issued in 1944 credits the origin of Sound Off (The Duckworth Chant) to Private Willie Duckworth, an African American soldier serving in the then segregated US Army.

...as a company ... was returning from a long tedious march through swamps and rough country, a chant broke the stillness of the night. Upon investigation, it was found that an African American soldier by the name of Willie Duckworth, on detached service with the Provisional Training Center, was chanting to build up the spirits of his comrades.

It was not long before the infectious rhythm was spreading throughout the ranks. Footweary soldiers started to pick up their step in cadence with the growing chorus of hearty male voices. Instead of a down trodden, fatigued company, here marched 200 soldiers with heads up, a spring to their step, and happy smiles on their faces. This transformation occurred with the beginning of the Duckworth Chant.

Upon returning to Fort Slocum, Pvt. Duckworth, with the aid of Provisional Training Center instructors, composed a series of verses and choruses to be used with the marching cadence. Since that eventful evening the Duckworth Chant was made a part of the drill at Fort Slocum as it proved to be not only a tremendous morale factor while marching, but also coordinated the movements of close order drill with troop precision.

This original cadence was recorded as "Sound Off:"
Sound-off; 1 - 2; Sound-off; 3 - 4; Cadence count; 1 - 2 - 3 - 4; 1 - 2 — 3 - 4.

This cadence, known as the "Duckworth Chant," still exists with variations in the different branches of the U.S. military. Duckworth's simple chant was elaborated on by Army drill sergeants and their trainees, and the practice of creating elaborate marching chants spread to the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy..

-snip-
From http://home.earthlink.net/~michaelacavanaugh/id3.htmlThe Duckworth Chant, Sound Off, and the Jody Call by Michael & Elizabeth Cavanaugh:

...The first recorded versions [of what is now known as The Duckworth Chant] appeared on an unnumbered V-Disc (undated, but recorded at the Slocum auditorium, Raymond Hall, sometime in 1945). The V-Disc consists of three different versions of the Duckworth Chant, plus an introductory track by T. Sgt Henry C. “Jack” Felice (1914-2001)"...

..."the phrase “Sound Off” predates 1944 (as the title of a collection of Army songs edited by Edward Arthur Dolph in 1924, reissued in 1942; and even appears as the legend on a WWI-era postcard from Fort Slocum itself)...

Despite parallels or precursors, the fact remains that the Jody is not just any chant, work song, or the like. And the related phrases cited above also do not amount to the Duckworth chant. There is no record of the original chant as developed by Duckworth in mid-1944. As noted in the received narrative cited above, upon returning to post it was quickly embellished and added to; even early on there were significant variations in the verses, and this sort of innovation continues still. But think of the “Duckworth Chant” as like a jazz ballad: there is a basic core, around which the performers can still weave significant improvisations...

FEATURED EXAMPLES OF THE DUCKWORTH CADENCE & OTHER MILITARY CADENCES THAT INCLUDE SIMILAR WORDS AS THE DUCKWORTH CHANT

WARNING: Websites that contain examples of military cadences often include examples that may be inappropriate for children.

Example #1: THE DUCKWORTH CHANT
Sound-off; 1 – 2
Sound-off; 3 – 4
Cadence count
1 - 2 - 3 - 4; 1 - 2 — 3 - 4.
-composed by Private Willie Duckworth, United States Army, 1944, quoted in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_cadence

****
Example #2: SOUND OFF!
Hib-hub, hib-hub, hib-hub, hib-hub
The heads are up
The chests are out
The arms are swinging
And cadence count
Sound off (sound off)
Sound off (sound off)
Cadence count
1-2-3-4 (1-2, 3-4)

Enie, Meanie, Minie, Moe
Let's go back and count some more

Sound off (sound off)
Sound off (sound off)
Cadence count
1-2-3-4 (1-2, 3-4)

I had a good home, but I left (you're right)
I had a good home, but I left (you're right)
Jody was there*, when I left (you're right)
Jody was there, when I left (you're right)

Sound off (1-2)
Sound off (3-4)
Cadence count
1-2-3-4 (1-2, 3-4)

I left gal away out west
I thought this army life was best
Now she's someone elses wife
And I'll be marchin' the rest of my life

Sound off (1-2)
Sound off (3-4)
1-2, 3-4
1-2, (2-3-4)
1-2-3-4, (1-2, 3-4)

The captain rides in a jeep
The sargent rides in a truck
The general rides in a limosine
But we're just out of luck

Sound off
Sound off
Cadence count
1-2-3-4 (1-2, 3-4)

Hib-hub, hib-hub, hib-hub, hib-hub
The heads are up
The chests are out
The arms are swinging
And cadence count
Sound off (sound off)
Sound off (sound off)
Cadence count
1-2-3-4 (1-2, 3-4)

Enie, Meanie, Minnie, Moe
And let's go back and count some more

Sound off
Sound off
Cadence count
1-2-3-4 (1-2, 3-4)

1-2, 3-4)
(1-2, 3-4)
(1-2, 3-4)
Company halt
(1-2, 3-4)
Source: http://www.lyricstime.com/vaughn-monroe-sound-off-lyrics.html

-snip-
Here's more information about this version of "Sound Off!" from wikipedia:Military cadences:
"A musical version of the chant was recorded by Vaughn Monroe and His Orchestra (Voc.: Vaughn Monroe & Chorus in New York City) on March 7, 1951. It was released by RCA Victor Records as catalog number 20-4113A (in USA)and by EMI on the His Master's Voice label as catalog number B 10086."

*"Jody" is
"Joe de Grinder" ("Joe The Grinder"), an African American folk character who steals other men's women. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/three-songs-about-joe-grinder.html for a Pancocojams post on "Joe The Grinder".

Here's a video of version of "Sound Off!":

Vaughn Monroe - Sound Off!



janschro | April 18, 2008

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Example #3: YOU HAD A GOOD HOME AND YOU LEFT
You had a good home and you left...YOU'RE RIGHT
You want to go home but you can't.....YOU'RE RIGHT
JODY was there when you left.....YOU'RE RIGHT
JODY was there when you left.....YOU'RE RIGHT
Aint no sense in goin' home, JODY's got you're gal and gone
Hip oh hop oh wring out the mop
Oh left oh right oh left.
-Cranky Yankee, Military Jodies?, http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=2915 , May 21, 2001 [remembrance of basic training at Lackland AFB, San Antonio, Tex in the winter of 1947-48]

****
Example #4: GI BEANS AND GI GRAVY
GI Beans and GI Gravy,
Gee I wish I'd joined the Navy...
Sound Off....Sound Off....
Sound off 1-2...3-4,
ain't no use in lookin' down,
ain't no discharge on the ground...
Count Cadance, Count Cadence Count Cadence count!
-Tucker, http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=10803 Cadence or Marching Songs, May 9, 1999

****
Example #5: SOUND OFF (If You Like Your Pork Fried Rice)
if you like your pork fried rice
stomp with your left and drag your right.
** stomp drag stomp drag**
sound off"1,2"
sound off"3,4"
"1,2,3,4"

let me here the sound of your left,*stomp*
the sound of your right*stomp*
the sound of em both*stomp stomp*
one more time*stomp stomp*
bring it all down *stomp stomp stomp stomp*
LEFT, YOUR LEFT, YOUR LEFT RIGHT, (SHOUT YOUR COMPANY) FOXTROT!!
-Guest, kara from nyma; Marching song; http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=8473&messages=45 ; May 6, 2008

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Example #6: PARTY HARDY (Version #1)
(Army Marching Cadence)
We are ____ platoon
and we like to party
party hardy
party hardy all night long

Your left, your left, your left, right, get on down
Your left, your left, your left, right, get on down
Now drop, and beat your face
___ platoon's gonna rock this place
Boom, check it out, check it out
Boom, check it out, check it out

My rifle, my rucksack, my bayonet, now get on down
My rifle, my rucksack, my bayonet, now get on down
Say one, twwwoooo,
three, four,
Eleven Bravo, hey
Eleven Bravo, hey
- http://www.army-cadence.com/Army-Marching-Cadences.php

****
Example #7: PARTY HARDY (Version #2)
(Air Force Marching Cadence)

We don't like the army
Army don't party,
party hardy
party hardy all night long

We don't like the Navy,
Navy don't party,
party hardy
party hardy all night long

We don't like marines,
Marines don't party
party hardy
party hardy all night long

We don't like the Coast Guard,
Coast Guard don't party
party hardy
party hardy all night long

We like the Air Force,
Air Force can party,
party hardy
party hardy all night long

** Your left, your left, your left, right, get on down
Your left, your left, your left, right, get on down

Now drop, and beat your face
___ flight's gonna rock this place

We said it, we meant it, and now we're here to represent it!
- http://army-cadence.com/Air-Force-Marching-Cadences.php

-snip-
The phrases "party hardy" (meaning "to really party hard"), "Boom, check it out", "gonna rock this place", and "we said it, we meant it, and we're here to represent it are lifted from African American R&B records and other African American cultural sources. For instance, the phrase "check it out", is found in a number of African American girls' foot stomping cheers. Click http://cocojams.com/content/foot-stomping-cheers-0 for "Ah Boom Boom Check" and other examples of those cheers.

****
RELATED LINK
Click http://cocojams.com/content/military-cadences-other-cadences

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
Thanks to Willie Duckworth and others for the contributions to America’s folkloric repertoire. Thanks also to the uploaders of the video featured in this post.

Thanks for visiting Pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

Read More

Three Songs About Joe The Grinder

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides information "Joe The Grinder" and also showcases three examples of recorded songs about that African American folk character. The songs that are showcased in this post are Slim Harpo's "Jody Man", Johnny Taylor's "Jody Got Your Girl And Gone", and Bobby Newsome's "Jody, Come Back And Get Your Shoes".

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

INFORMATION ABOUT JOE THE GRINDER
From http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/02/who-is-he-and-w.html
"wordorigins.org
The military use of jody was introduced to the U.S. Army by African-American soldiers. Jody is a clipping of the name of Joe the Grinder, a slightly older character in jazz and blues mythology.
Joe the Grinder is the name of mythical ladies man in blues tunes who seduces the wives and sweethearts of prisoners and soldiers. He’s also known as Joe De Grinder and Joe D. Grinder. The term dates to at least 1939. Grinder is from an old slang verb, to grind, meaning to copulate."
-snip-
Reading this excerpt reminds me of a slow couple’s dance called "The Grind". That dance was done by African Americans (and probably other people) in Atlantic City, New Jersey and I'm sure elsewhere from at least the 1960s. Couples grinded to slow songs, the male holding the female very close and "dancing" to the beat of the song while basically standing in place. My sisters and I and our girlfriends weren't allowed to "grind" because it was considered "nasty".

FEATURED SONG FILES, VIDEO, AND LYRICS
(These examples are presented in chronological order.)

Example #1: Slim Harpo - Jody Man



Uploaded by sugarmamaaa on Nov 14, 2011
Information about Slim Harpo is provided in the sound file from http://www.bluesharp.ca/legends/sharpo.html

LYRICS: JODY MAN
(Slim Harpo)

Jody man,
You betta leave my baby alone.
Jody man.
You betta leave my baby alone.
You gonna find yourself wasted.
Leave my door.
You’s just keep steppin on.*

I can purry like a chicken.
And I can roar like a lion.
But when you mess with my baby
You know you ain’t on my time.

Jody man,
You betta leave my baby alone.
Jody man,
You betta leave my baby alone.
You gonna find yourself wasted.
Leave my door.
You’s just keep steppin on.*

[Instrumental]

Well I can purr like a chicken.
And I can roar like a lion.
But when you mess with my baby
You know you ain’t on my time.

Jody man,
You betta leave my baby alone.
Jody man,
You betta leave my baby alone.
You gonna find yourself wasted.
Leave my door.
You’s just keep steppin on.*

[Spoken]: Ah let’s play the blues a while
[instrumental]

-snip-
Slim Harpo is the stage name for James Moore (1924-1970). "Jody Man" was recorded in the mid 1960s.

This transcription is by Azizi Powell, 8/19/2012.
*I believe that the words "You's just keep" are slurred together, but I'm unsure about that. Corrections to this transcription and the actual date of the recorded are very welcome.

****
Example #2: Johnnie Taylor - Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone (1972)



Uploaded by seezurefall on Oct 22, 2010
-snip-
This song was actually recorded in 1971. The video shown above was filmed in 1972 as part of the music documentary "Wattstax".

LYRICS: JODY'S GOT YOUR GIRL AND GONE
(Songwriters: James Wilson, Kent Barker, Don Davis)

Every guy I know
Trying to get ahead
Working two jobs
Til you're almost dead
(You tell em)

Work your fingers
Right down to the bone
There's a cat named Jody
Sneaking around in your home

There's a cat named Jody
In every town
Spending lots of cash
And just riding around

Ride on, Jody
Ride on, ride on
With your bad self
Jody

The ashes in your ashtray
Footprints on your carpet
While you work all day
He even got the nerve
To sleep in your bed
Sit down at the table
Eat your bread

When you get home
After working hard all day
Jody's got your girl
And he don't play

I said
Ain't no sense in going home
Jody's got your girl and gone

(It ain't no sense in going home)
(You gotta get home but
You work too hard)
(It ain't no sense in going home)
(You gotta get home but
You work too hard)

Ain't no sense in going home
Jody's got your girl and gone)
I tell you, Jody's got
Your girl and gone
(Ain't no sense in going home)

When you discover
Your gross neglect
It'll be too late to
Give your woman respect

You'll hunt down Jody
Dead or alive
Ten thousand dollar reward
For Jody's hide

Ain't no sense in going home
Jody's got your girl and gone

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/j/johnnie_taylor/jodys_got_your_girl_and_gone.html

****
Example #3: Bobby Newsome "Jody, Come Back And Get Your Shoes" [1972]



Uploaded by sirc73 on Oct 23, 2011

LYRICS*: JODY, COME BACK AND GET YOUR SHOES
(composer/s ??)

Everybody talkin bout Jody
Had himself a real good time.
He stole the wife of my next door neighbor
And the cat done lost his mind.

????
????
He’s gone down there walkin talkin to himself
with a 38 in his hand

Talkin about Jody
Come back and get your shoes, Jody.
You left your shoes under my bed.
I’m talkin bout Jody.
Come back and get your shoes, Jody.
You left your shoes under my bed.

????
????
gone for a month or so
Jody got everything that he wanted.
And he won’t be back no more.

????
????
Only thing less than life
Is my next door neighbor’s wife.

Talkin about Jody.
Come back and get your shoes, Jody.
You left your shoes under my bed.
Jody, Jody, Jody, Jody.
Jody, come back and get your shoes, Jody.
You left your shoes under my bed.

[instrumental]

Sound off
1,2
Sound off
3,4
Sound off
1,2
1,2
1,2,3,4

Well men let this be a lesson
In this world we live
You gotta keep your eye on everyone
‘Cause you never know who Jody is

Now Jody could be the milkman
And he could be the mailman too.
And Jody could even be your very best friend
Just makin a fool of you.

Now I’d ask you to come to see me
When the state ??
walkin around in a padded room
How did that happen [they know]?

Talkin bout Jody
Come back and get your shoes, Jody
Jody Jody Jody Jody
You left your shoes under my bed.
Jody, come back and get your shoes, Jody
You left your shoes under my bed.

Jody!
Keep your eye on your neighbor...
??? [song fades out]

-snip-
*This is a partial transcription made from the sound file. The question marks and the words in brackets followed by a question mark signify that I'm unsure about what words are being sung. Corrections and additions are very welcome. Identification of the composer is also very welcome.

-snip-
Here's some information about "Jody, Come Back and Get Your Shoes" and the preceding featured song "Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone" from http://stepfatherofsoul.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html:
"[Johnny] Taylor had the biggest hits of all the "Jody" songs with "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" and "Standing In for Jody." The former song made it all the way to #1 on the R&B charts in 1971, one of several chart toppers Stax Records would have that year (if I recall correctly, Rufus Thomas' "(Do The) Push and Pull" had been #1 the week before). Bobby Newsome's "Jody, Come Back and Get Your Shoes" was an answer record to the Taylor hit and features a stomping, stripped down funk groove and military-chant background vocals (a nod to "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone"). It's my favorite "Jody" record."

****
RELATED LINKS
In the United States, another term for military cadences is "Jodies". Click http://cocojams.com/content/military-cadences-other-cadences to find the Military Cadences page of my Cocojams website for examples that mention "Jody". One example on that page is ‘Till I Get Back Home". An excerpt of that cadence is:
"Ain't no use in going back
Jody's got your Cadillac
Ain't no use in calling home
Jody's got your girl and gone
Ain't no use in feeling blue
Jody's got your sister too."

**
Also, Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/03/jodys-got-your-girl-and-gone-why.html for a pancocojams' post about military cadences (also known as "jodies").

****
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
My thanks to the composers, singers, and musicians on these featured sound files and this video. Thanks also to the uploaders of these sound files and this video.

Thanks for visiting Pancocojams.

Visitor comments are welcome.

Read More

Rev. James Cleveland - "Plenty Good Room" (Sound File & Lyrics)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides a sound file of and lyrics to Rev. James Cleveland's version of the African American spiritual "Plenty Good Room".

The content of this post is presented for religious and aesthetic purposes.

All rights remain with their owners.

****
FEATURED SOUND FILE: "Plenty Good Room"



Uploaded by JayEm86 on May 22, 2008

With The Voices of Tabernacle.

-snip-
This comment identifies the members of the Voices Of Tabernacle choir who are featured singers along with Rev. James Cleveland:
"Richard Rocquemore (baritone) and Rev Charles Craig (tenor) are singing with Rev Cleveland.
-VantisDoroHall, 2010

****
LYRICS: PLENTY GOOD ROOM
[African American spiritual]

There is plenty good room
Plenty good room
Plenty good room
Plenty good room
In my Father's kingdom
Plenty good room
Plenty good room
Choose your seat and sit down.

Plenty good room
Plenty good room
Plenty good room
Plenty good room
In my Father's kingdom
Plenty good room
Plenty good room
Choose your seats and sit down.

[chorus]

There's a long white robe up in heaven I know
There's a long white robe up in heaven I know
There's a long white robe up in heaven I know
We can choose our seat and sit down.

[chorus]

There are golden slippers in the heaven I know
There are golden slippers in the heaven I know
There are golden slippers in the heaven I know
Choose your seat and sit down.

[chorus]

There are starry crown in the heaven I know
There are starry crown in the heaven I know
There are starry crown in the heaven I know
Choose your seat and sit down.

Plenty good room
Plenty good room
Plenty good room
Plenty good room
In my Father's kingdom
Plenty good room
Plenty good room
Choose your seats and sit down.

-snip-
These are basic lyrics to "Plenty Good Room" and not an exact transcription of the sound file given above.]

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RELATED LINKS
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cleveland for information about Rev. James Cleveland.

Click for the pancocojams post http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/staple-singers-sit-down-servant-sound.html Staple Singers - "Sit Down Servant" (Sound File, Lyrics, & Song Meaning)

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
My thanks to the unknown composers of the African American spiritual "Plenty Good Room." Thanks also to Rev. James Cleveland and The Voices of Tabernacle choir that is featured in this song file. Thanks to the uploader of this sound file.

Thanks for visiting Pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

Read More

Staple Singers - "Sit Down Servant" (Sound File, Lyrics, & Song Meaning)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post provides a sound file of and lyrics to The Staple Singer's version of the African American spiritual "Sit Down Servant".

This post also includes a bonus sound file of "Sit Down Servant" by The Swan Silvertones, Dorothy Love Coates and The Original Gospel Harmonettes.

The content of this post is presented for religious, and aesthetic purposes.

All rights to this material remains with their owners.
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FEATURED SOUND FILE: Sit Down Servant-STAPLES



Uploaded by GStrongRAW on Feb 2, 2009

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LYRICS: SIT DOWN SERVANT
One Group Member – Woh oh oh oh, sit down
Soloist – Now now now now no
Group –Sit down!
Soloist –Woh oh oh, please don’t make me
Group- Sit down!
Soloist – Cause I just got to heaven
Group- Sit down!
Soloist- Gonna walk all around.
Group –Sit down servant and rest a while. Sit down!
Soloist- Done call little David
Group- Sit down!
Soloist- With his rock and sling.
Group-Sit down!
Soloist I don’t wanta meet him.
Group- Sit down!
Soloist – He’s a dangerous man.
Group –Sit down servant and rest a while. Sit down!

Soloist - Sit down servant!
Group – I can’t sit down.
Soloist Sit down!
Group – Lord I can’t sit down.
Soloist - Sit down servant.
Group – I can’t sit down.
Just got to get to heaven and I can’t sit down.

[Soloist sings while group repeats “Can’t sit down” after every line]

So you can watch the sun
See how steady she run.
Don’t let it catch you with your work undone.
Joshua Joshua the son of Nun
He thought God almighty was a Gospel son
God spoke to Joshua to do My will.
He said lift up your hand, the sun stand still.
He give me a lantern and he told me to go.
He give me a harp and he told me to go.
If I threw my lungs away
I would get them back in a coming day.
When I get to heaven gonna put on my shoes
And walk around heaven and tell my news.
Look up to the hills in the heat of the day
Tune up my hart and begin to play.

Soloist - Sit down servant!
Group-I can’t sit down.
Soloist - Sit down servant.
Group-Oh I can’t sit down.
Soloist - You oughta sit down servant.
Group- I can’t sit down. Oh! I just got to heaven and I can’t sit down.
Soloist – Oh-o-o sit down servant.
Group –I can’t sit down.
Soloist – Sit down servant.
Group- I can’t sit down.
Soloist –Why don’t you sit down servant.
Group & Soloist – I can’t sit down. I just got to heaven and I can’t sit down.

[Transcription by Azizi Powell, 8/17/2012. Words in italics indicate that I am unsure of these words. Corrections and additions to this transcription are very welcome.]

THE MEANING OF THE LYRICS TO "SIT DOWN SERVANT"
A person arrives in heaven and is told to rest after his or her hard labor as a servant of the Lord. However, the person is so excited to be in heaven that he or she can't sit down and rest. Instead, that newly arrived soul wants to walk around heaven, and see Biblical figures, while retaining an awareness that they are dangerous beings. [I think in this context "dangerous" means "powerful". The person singing is being humble in recognizing a difference between himself or herself and the great Biblical persons mentioned in Biblical stories.]

The theme of being too excited to rest from your hard labor as a servant of God when you first get to heaven is also expressed in an alternative line to "I just got to heaven and I can't sit down". That line is "My soul is so happy that I can't sit down".

BONUS SOUND FILE: Sit Down Servant


Uploaded by DaSourcespr06 on Oct 18, 2008

The Swan Silvertones and Dorothy Love Coates and The Original Gospel Harmonettes come together for a live performance of "Sit Down Servant"...

RELATED LINK
Click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Staple_Singers for information about the Staple Singers.

Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/rev-james-cleveland-plenty-good-room.html for a post that features the related African American spiritual "Plenty Good Room".

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
My thanks to the unknown composers of "Sit Down Servant". Thanks also to the Staple Singers and The Swan Silvertones and Dorothy Love Coates and The Original Gospel Harmonettes for their renditions of this song. Thanks to the uploader of this sound file.

Thanks for visiting Pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

Read More

Mzansi Youth Choir (Videos & Sound Files)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases the Mzansi Youth Choir from South Africa.

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

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INFORMATION ABOUT THE MZANSI YOUTH CHOIR
From http://www.mychoir.co.za/mzansi-youth-choir-profile/:

The Mzansi Youth Choir was established in July 2003 with the aim of affording talented, underprivileged teenagers and young adults (14-24 years) the opportunity to proficiently perform locally and abroad. The choir consists of 45 choristers from Soweto and other areas in and around Johannesburg.

The word Mzansi means south in isiZulu and is also the township slang word for South Africa. The choir’s repertoire is an exciting assortment of South African music which incorporates elements of traditional music, pop and jazz.

-snip-
From http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmR7RpgnQSE&feature=related video uploader comment:BOUSTV on Sep 24, 2011:

The Choir was established in July 2003 with the aim of affording talented, underprivileged teenagers and young adults (ages 14-24), the perfect opportunity to perform both locally and abroad. Their past performance highlights include: The One World Music Festival in Durban, South Africa, Songs of Praise, the Presidential Awards Ceremony, a performance with Andrea Bocelli and variety of other engagements. During the 2-1- FIFA World Cup , the choir shared the stage with Columbian superstar Shakira and the local band Freshly Ground for the performance of the official World Cup song Waka Waka at the Kick-Off Concert and the World Cup Final. The choir's repertoire is an exciting assortment of South African music which incorporates elements of traditional music, pop and Jazz.

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FEATURED VIDEOS & SOUND FILES
(These videos are posted in no particular order.)

Example #1: Mzansi Youth Choir



Uploaded by TheTony0404 on Jul 19, 2010

One of the best choirs South Africa has to offer! Performed at the opening of the Fifa 2010 Soccer World cup. Shot with a Canon 5D by Redletter productions

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Example #2: Mzansi Youth Choir – Ndikhokhele



Uploaded by mzansiyouthchoir on Jul 27, 2011

Producer, arranger and Conductor: Ralf Schmitt

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Example #3: Mzansi Youth Choir from South Africa



Uploaded by 2286cc on Jun 6, 2010

The wonderful Mzansi Youth Choir from South Africa

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Example #4: Mzansi Youth Choir – Celebration



Uploaded by rjzaaiman on Jun 1, 2010

Mzansi Youth Choir - Celebration. Composition by Ralf Schmitt. Producer: Phillip van der Merwe. Director: Harry Botha. Production by Merz & Matters. www.mychoir.co.za www.merzandmatters.com

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Example #5: Mzansi Youth Choir – Stimela



Uploaded by mzansiyouthchoir on Jul 27, 2011

-snip-
"Stimela" in English means "the coal train". This Zulu song was composed and made famous by recordings & performances by the South African musician/singer Hugh Masekela. For information from Hugh Masekela about the background & meaning of this song, click http://www.garyin.com/MUSIC/Stimela/Stimela.html.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
My thanks to the Mzansi Youth Choir and its producer, arranger, and conductor Ralf Schmitt and all others who are involved with this choir. My thanks also to the uploaders of these featured videos.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

Read More

Jamaican Nine Nights Performances

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part III of a three part series on Jamaican Night Nights music and dance. Part III provides videos of staged Nine Nights music & dance performances.

Part I of this series provides information about Night Nights and videos or sound files of actual Nine Nights wakes. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/jamaican-nine-nights-wakes-music-dance.html for Part I of this series.

Part II of this series provides information and videos of dinki mini dancing. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/jamaican-dinki-mini-dancing.html for Part II of this series.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, folkloric, and aesthetic purposes. This series is not meant to be a comprehensive portrayal of Jamaican Nine Nights (Set Up) music & dances.

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FEATURED VIDEOS

Example #1: UWI Singers 'Nine Night' (Part 1)



Uploaded by podimusicus on Jun 4, 2008

Watch this parodied dramatization of the Jamaican 'Nine Night' where relatives, friends, neighbours and even strangers come together to comfort each other after the death of a loved one. It is now the culminating ninth night and even the blesséd mournful must eat and ,especially, drink.

-snip-
Here's an excerpt from a longer quote about Nine Nights which provides information about this type of singing:
"Although the concept is African derived, the proceedings at a [Nine Nights] wake have a strong European Christian influence. Special hymns (sankeys) are sung emphasising the soul's journey to heaven. The singing is done in a style known as 'tracking', where someone will call out one line of the sankey at a time, and then the rest of the gathering will sing the line together."
Source: http://www.real-jamaica-vacations.com/jamaican-traditions.html

-snip-
In the United States, "tracking" is also called "lining" a song.

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Example #2: UWI Singers 'Nine Night' (Part 2)



Uploaded by podimusicus on Jun 4, 2008
-snip-
Here are several comments from this video's viewer comment thread:

wat does the guy say at 3:37 there about that cause they audience to laugh?
-ddankis, 2009

**
captains bakery junk a bread.
-lorin80, 2010

**
Is not 'chunk' dem seh...is 'junk'. And I do remember my mother rebuking us boys (and me especially) about "junking' de bread when wi cut off one big rahtid 'slice' an it lean no hell.
-LoveMusicBadin, 2009

**
Captain's Bakery .....something something...(Captian's Bakery is a favourite for Jamaicans..if you are not Jamaican)
-LoveMusicBad, 2011
-snip-
There are other portions of that performance in which the audience laughs, but unfortunately, no explanations are given in the comments about what prompted that laughter.

As an aside, the processional style at the end of this performance reminds me of the processional style that is shown in this video of West African Dozo Hunters: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NoKr3p8v7g "Sekouba Traore". That video is included in this pancocojams' post: http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/07/shared-aesthetics-west-african-dozo.html

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Example #3: Gerrehbenta Part 1 of 2



Uploaded by jstuttgart on May 16, 2010

Gerrehbenta takes its name from two of the major traditional rites practised in Jamaica. "Gerreh" in Hanover and "Dinki-Mini" which uses the musical instrument, the 'Benta', from St. Mary

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Example #4: Gerrehbenta Part 2 of 2



Uploaded by jstuttgart on May 16, 2010

Gerrehbenta takes its name from two of the major traditional rites practised in Jamaica. "Gerreh" in Hanover and "Dinki-Mini" which uses the musical instrument, the 'Benta', from St. Mary.

-snip-
Here are two comments from this video's viewer comment thread which were written in 2012:
"This is much too sanitized. Compare with real exponents of Dinky Mini. Best thing is the music, very authentic but not the dancing. In this clip, the two shirtless males probably come closest to the real thing and it is a pity that they weren't given a chance to develop their performances. There is also too much unnecessary separation of the male and female dancers. Dinky Mini is a highly sexually charged thing and this hardly comes across.
TheLegin01; 2012

**
@thelegin1 they are academics so a stylized version would be expected. That said I think its a decent attempt of replicating the original. The true folk performers I fear may all be dead. So we have to accept this. It is afterall admirable to immortalize these folk performances
-jstuttgart, 2012

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RELATED LINK
For more video examples of Caribbean folk dances, click this page of my cocojams website: http://cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-dances. A link on that page leads to a cocojams page on Caribbean folk songs.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
My thanks to the musicians, singers, and dancers who are featured in this post. My thanks also to the producers & uploaders of these featured videos.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

Read More

Jamaican Dinki Mini Dancing

Edited by Azizi Powell

This is Part II of a three part series on Jamaican Night Nights music and dance. Part II provides information and videos of dinki mini dancing.

Part I of this series provides information about Night Nights and videos or sound files of actual Nine Nights wakes. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/jamaican-nine-nights-wakes-music-dance.html for Part I of this series.

Part III of this series provides videos of staged Nine Nights music & dance performances. Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2012/08/jamaican-nine-nights-performances.html for Part III of this series.

The content of this post is presented for cultural, folkloric, and aesthetic purposes. This series is not meant to be a comprehensive portrayal of Dinki Mini or Jamaican Nine Nights (Set Up) traditions.

INFORMATION ABOUT DINKI MINI
From http://www.chat-bout.net/content/view/2758/1/:

What is Dinki Mini and Gerreh?

Both dances are of African origin of the wake tradition usually performed after the death of a person, and up until the ninth night after the death. These sessions are usually held to cheer the bereaved.

Dinki Mini originates from the Congolese word ‘ndingi’ which means lamentation or funeral song. Dinkies are celebratory occasions. Although associated with death, the music is lively, joyous, and exciting, intending to cheer the family and friends of the dear person. Dinki Mini was practised openly throughout slavery but is now done mainly during our annual Festival celebration.

However, it is still performed in the parishes of St. Mary, St Ann, St Andrew and Portland, while Gerreh is found in the parishes of Hanover, Westmoreland and St. James. Its popularity came about from the death of Tacky, a hero of the Maroons, as it was performed during his funeral celebrations.

Popular at set-ups or nine-nights, the first few nights consist of singing and dancing to Mento music. The sixth to the eighth night is dominated by ring games, role playing, riddles and Anancy stories. On the ninth night, a ritual to send off the ‘mature’ spirit to begin its journey ‘home’ is performed. The family of the deceased will ‘turn out’ the spirit by turning over mattresses and rearranging rooms.

The aim of the ritual is to properly send the spirit on its journey. Hymns such as “Rock of Ages” are sung.

Included in the activities, is the feeding of the dancers and singers who will not hesitate to remind the householders of this duty. This is done in song.

While refreshment is provided at the set-up, a mini feast is prepared for the Ninth Night. This consists of fried fish, coffee, or chocolate tea, crackers and bread. In some parishes curried goat and rice with mannish water (i.e. goat had soup) is served.

Instruments associated with Dinki Mini are shakas, katta sticks, condensed milk tins, grater, the tamboo (cylindrical shaped drum) and the benta. The benta is an accident stringed instrument – a fret board made of bamboo and a gourd resonator.

The Dinki Mini dance focuses in the pelvic region, as it is performed in defiance of the death that has occurred. The dancers, male and female together, make suggestive rotations with the pelvis in an attempt to prove that they are stronger than death, as they have the means to reproduce.

The lyrics of the songs associated with Gerreh are also suggestive. Gerreh however had another dimension – the bamboo dance – that is dancing on elevated bamboo poles and between four bamboo poles brought together and pulled back by four crouching players.

-snip-
From
http://mountalvernia.tripod.com/id15.html Jamaican Folklore: What is dinky-mini?

Dinky-mini is a group dance and song ritual held to cheer the family of a dead person. Dinky-minis, African-derived traditions, were an integral part of the mourning process in rural communities. Nowadays, however, dinky-minis are performed mainly at cultural stage shows.

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FEATURED VIDEOS

Example #1: Dinky Mini Dancing



Uploaded by Derrick Hunter on Jan 4, 2011

Islington Dinky Group

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Example #2: Dinki group 2.AVI



Uploaded by Kaerykaye on Jun 4, 2011

Islington Dinki Mini Group In Trelawny

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Example #3: Jamaican FOLK DANCES explained



Uploaded by VIBESJAMAICAJTB on Oct 21, 2009

Jamaican Early Religious and Folk dances such as ring games, maroon songs, quadrille,
-snip-
A brief clip of dinki-min is shown at 1:10-1:31

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Example #4: Cascade Primary Dancers - "The Dinky Mini"



Published on Jun 29, 2012 by dgoode75

As a means of thanking the mission team from Mc Dill AFB and Going To Serve for holding an after school Bible Club for four days, the students of Cascade Primary School honored us with a concert to display their skills in Jamaican cultural dance and verse...

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An example of dinki mini dancing and gerreh dancing is also shown in the video re-posted as Example #3 of Part I of this series. That link is given above.

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RELATED LINK
For more video examples of Caribbean folk dances, click this page of my cocojams website: http://cocojams.com/content/caribbean-folk-dances. A link on that page leads to a cocojams page on Caribbean folk songs.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT AND THANKS
My thanks to the musicians, singers, and dancers who are featured in this post. My thanks also to those who provided information about dinki mini which is quoted here and thanks to the producers & uploaders of these featured videos.

Thank you for visiting pancocojams.

Viewer comments are welcome.

Read More