Monday, February 25, 2013

Folk Song Folks, Yee-Haw


We have been talking about folk songs lately just FYI. A folk song that originates in traditional popular culture or that is written in such a style. In class we have read folk songs from chinese literature too. The Chinese folk songs we read were "I Beg of you Chung Tzu" and "Thick Grow the Rush Leaves". Both songs tend to infer meanings of love towards someone. I worked with Malorie B-T-Dubs. 



"I've Been Working on the Railroad"
I've been working on the railroad
All the livelong day
I've been working on the railroad
Just to pass the time away 

Can't you hear the whistle blowing
Rise up so early in the morn
Can't you hear the captain shouting
Dinah, blow your horn 

Dinah, won't you blow
Dinah, won't you blow
Dinah, won't you blow your horn
Dinah, won't you blow
Dinah, won't you blow
Dinah, won't you blow your horn 

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Someone's in the kitchen I know
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Strumming on the old banjo, and singing 

Fie, fi, fiddly i o
Fie, fi, fiddly i o
Fie, fi, fiddly i o
Strumming on the old banjo 



This song is from the late 1800's when the rail road was big business. It talks about all the grueling back breaking work that thousands of men did daily on the rail road. The song is like a motivator, stating the obvious hard work done by everyone. It also talks about this Dinah. Not so much a love story here. Dinah was a typical name of an enslaved black woman in those times. Dinah blowing her horn and being in the kitchen would have been a lunch call from here to the workers. Lunch was their break time and no one messes with break time. The "Fie fi, fiddly i o" was just inspirational cheering lyrics. Since these men were men and looked for the "brighter side" of working all day, some verses that involved making love with Dinah were later left out of the original song. The more you know, knowledge is power. 


"Ain't No One Got Time" by Kasey Murphy and Malorie Browning 

Feel the flames of heat as the man steps down
Yelling and forcing us to look like clowns
Communist society rebellion is here
With hypocritical rhymes that fill our ear

Ain't no one got time for trees and flowers
But everyone got time for nice long showers
It's all about you no time for two
Ain't no one got time anymore, dude 

These days isn't about you or me
It's about making your way through society
Drowning in an ocean sulking in food
Puts you in the mood to be straight up rude


Ain't no one got time for trees and flowers
But everyone got time for nice long showers
It's all about you no time for two
Ain't no one got time anymore, dude

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