Category: Music

Zulu songs

By Simon

In the Bangor Comunity Choir we often sing songs from southern Africa in languages like Xhosa and Zulu. I don’t speak these languages, yet, and neither does anybody in the choir, so we’re never entirely sure how to pronounce the words. We usually have a rough translation of the words, so we at least know what they mean.

At the moment we’re learning a Zulu song called “Sesizo Hamba Kancane” which apparently means ‘Walk Gracefully (you people of modern days)’. Here are the words we’re singing:

Sesizo hamba kancane nje nge si manje
Sizo hamba kancane nge hoshimamma

This isn’t the whole song, but these are words are repeated in various combinations throughout.

I thought it would be interesting to find out what they all mean and how to pronounce them.

– sesizo – not sure what this means
– hamba [ˈhaːmba] = to go, walk, ride, travel – often appears in Zulu songs
– kancane [ɠaˈn͡ǀaːne] = a bit; a little; slightly; softly; slowly; gradually; tenderly; barely; scarcely – not an easy word to pronounce what with the implosive g and the dental click.
– nje [nʤe] = (suffix) merely; only; just
– nge [ŋge] = (prefix) not
– si [si] = we
– manje [ˈmaːnʤe] = now; at present

I’m not sure about the rest of it. We were told that it’s something about driving our mother’s car carefully. Does anyone know the song, or speak Zulu?

Source: http://isizulu.net/

This is one of the songs we’ll be singing with lots of other choirs in London on Sunday 9th September this year at Sing for Water London. If you happen to be in London at that time, please come along a listen.

When you get to jiggit

By Simon

Herdwick sheep at Ullswater, from: http://www.shelwin.com/e/sheep/sheep.htm

This is a little ditty I came up with recently and which incorporates the old sheep scoring numbers and a bit about their history. I first discovered these numbers in a book about Cumbrian dialect in Lancaster library one day many years ago while I was waiting for my train home from school. The numbers I use here come from Keswick in Cumbria. There are many other versions from all over England, Wales and Scotland.

When you get to jiggit

A long time ago in a land not so far away
The shepherds did count their sheep in this way
And the children did use these numbers in their play
And this is what they’d say.

Yan, tyan, tethera, methera, pimp
sethera, lethera, hovera, dovera, dick
yanadick, tanadick, tetherdick,
petheradick, bumfit, yanabumfit, tanabumfit,
tetherabumfit, petherabumfit, jiggit.

And when you get to jiggit put a stone in your pocket
a stone in your pocket
a stone in your pocket
When you get to jiggit put a stone in your pocket
a stone in your pocket
So you know how many jiggits you’ve got.

The last remaining fragments of long-forgotten Celtic tongues
That’s what they’re thought to be.
Collected mainly during the 19th century
In many parts of the north country.
And they go …

Yan, tyan, tethera, methera, pimp
sethera, lethera, hovera, dovera, dick
yanadick, tanadick, tetherdick,
petheradick, bumfit, yanabumfit, tanabumfit,
tetherabumfit, petherabumfit, jiggit.

And when you get to jiggit put a stone in your pocket
a stone in your pocket
a stone in your pocket
When you get to jiggit put a stone in your pocket
a stone in your pocket
So you know how many jiggits you’ve got.

Here’s a recording:

I sang this in public for the first time last night at Poetica, an evening of poetry and music at the Blue Sky Café in Bangor, and it went down well.

More information about the sheep scoring numbers.

Pozo

By Simon

Last night I learnt a song, En el pozo María Luisa (In the Maria Lusia mine), from a Spanish friend. This song, which is also known as Nel Pozu Maria Luisa or Santa Bárbara Bendita, comes from Asturias in north west Spain and is usually sung in Asturian, Spanish or a mixture of the two. It is the story of a mining accident in the Pozu Maria Luisa coal mine, in the town of Ciaño in the municipality of Langreo.

While I was able to understand most of the words after hearing them a few times, some of them puzzled me. For example, when I heard the word pozo (mine) it sounded to me more like porzo, which I couldn’t find in my Spanish dictionaries when I looked. Eventually I found pozo when looking in the English-Spanish section for the word mine. Another word for mine is mina.

Pozo /’poθo/ is a well; a deep pool, the deep part of a river; a shaft, pit or mine; or the hold (of a ship). It comes from the Latin word puteus (pit, dungeon, well, cistern).

Expressions containing pozo include:

– pozo artesiano = artesian well
– pozo de petróleo = oil well
– pozo ciego/negro = cesspool
– caer en el pozo = to fall into oblivion
– pozo de aire = air shaft
– pozo de registro/visita = manhole / inspection hatch
– ser un pozo de ciencia = to be immensely learned
– es un pozo de maldad = he is utterly wicked

I assumed that the song was in Spanish, and that the words that puzzled me they were just ones I hadn’t heard before, like pozo. Now I realise that some of the words might have been Asturian – the Spanish friend who taught me the song is from Asturias.

The Elephant in the Room

By Simon

Photo of the elephant that lives on the mantel piece in my living room

Here’s a silly little song I wrote recently – the first song I’ve ever written in fact – which I sang in public for the first time this morning. It was at the Joy of Singing class I go to on Monday mornings, and was well-received.

The Elephant Song

There’s a matter we must discuss
But I don’t want to make a fuss
It’s an issue we must address
But I don’t want to cause any stress.

There’s an elephant in the room
You’ve noticed, I assume
She’s rather large and grey
And getting in the way.

Oh why you can’t see
It’s so obvious to me
We need to sort this out
And there’s no need to pout!

Now the elephant’s in the hall
Painting pictures on the wall
Of dragons and ships and trees
And great big bumblebees.

We must find a way
We can’t let her stay
I’ll go and call the zoo
To see what they can do

Now the elephant’s on the stairs
Playing scrabble with the bears
Who live under chairs
And like to wear blue flares.

The zoo say they can give her
A nice place to stay
And we can go and see her
And we never have to pay.

Now the elephant’s in the zoo
Making friends with the kangaroos
And delighting all the kids
By juggling dustbin lids.

Here’s a recording of the song:

There’s plenty of scope for adding verses and playing with the words – feel free to have fun with it.

It was inspired by contemplation of the phrase “the elephant in the room”, which also inspired this video:

This video, and other videos I’ve made, are also available on my YouTube channel.

Bodhrán

By Simon

An seachtain seo caite cheannaigh mé bodhrán. Bhí mé ag smaoineamh ar cheann a cheannaigh ar feadh tamallín, agus anois tá ceann agam. Níl mé abalta é a sheinm go fóill, ach tá mé ag foghlaim leis ceachtanna ar líne.

Last week I bought a bodhrán. I’ve been thinking about getting one for a while, and now I have one. I can’t play it yet, but am learning with online tutorials.

Audio illusions

By Simon

Last Sunday I took part in a carol concert, both singing in the Bangor Community Choir, and singing with everybody else as part of the audience / congregation. The chapel where this took place is a bilingual one where people are encouraged to sing in Welsh or English – words for both are projected on the front wall. I think roughly half of those there sang in Welsh and the other half in English. I sang mostly in Welsh, and found that when doing so, I could hear the other people singing in Welsh around me and could hardly hear those singing in English. The opposite was true when I sang in English – I could hear the other people singing in English, but couldn’t hear the Welsh singing nearly as clearly. Occasionally I stopped singing for a little while and could hear both languages, though if I concentrated on one, the other wasn’t as clear.

It was a bit like one of those pictures which look like one thing if you look at them in a certain way, and like something else if you look at them differently. With those it’s almost impossible to see both versions at the same time. When I was singing I could hear both languages being sung around me if I concentrated on doing so, but the one I was singing in was much more noticeable and easier to hear.

Have you had any similar experiences?

Nursery rhymes and computers

By Simon

Comptine /kɔ̃tin/ is the French for nursery rhyme or for a counting rhyme or song. I learnt it last night and thought I’d look into where it comes from.

According Wiktionnaire, comptine is made up of compte (count, number, account) and the suffix -ine. Compte /kɔ̃t/ comes from computus (count, number, account, calculation), from computo (to count – computer in French), from con- (suffix = with; all) and putō (to think, suppose, reckon, count, prune), perhaps from the Proto-Indo-European *pu- (to wash).

My French dictionary says that comptine refers particularly to nursery rhymes involving counting, which is reflected in its etymology. Other words for children’s songs include chansons pour enfant (songs for children) and berceuse (lullaby, cradle song, hushaby, rocking chair), which also means nursemaid, and comes from bercer (to rock, cradle, lull), which apparently comes from Gaulish.

Links
– Comptines et chansons pour enfant
– Toutes les comptines et chansons pour enfants
– Comptines.net – Paroles de Comptines et Berceuses pour enfants et bébes

Lyrics Translate

By Simon

The other day I came across a useful site called Lyrics Translate, where you can find, submit and request translations of songs. It currently contains translations between a wide range of languages, including English, German, Russian, Turkish, Spanish, Polish and so on, and the site itself can be viewed in a variety of languages. There is also a forum for translators, as well as articles and videos.

So it look like a good place to practise languages you’re learning – you can find songs in those languages, either originals, or translated from other languages, and you could even have a go at translating songs yourself.

I have submitted translations of Cockles and Mussels (Molly Malone) in Irish and Manx – not my own translations admittedly, and just found a song in Breton with a translations in English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and a video. There are quite a few other songs in Breton too.

Sing me a song

By Simon

Recently I’ve noticed that my motivation to study languages is low. I listen to online radio stations in various language every day; I’m reading literature in Welsh, Irish, French and Manx at the moment; and I speak my languages with myself and with others when the opportunity arises. Occasionally I’ll listen to and/or read a lesson in one of the languages I’m dabbling with at the moment (mainly Czech, Russian and Breton), however I’m not strongly motivated to learn the languages and don’t study them everyday.

I’ve been thinking about other ways to study and practise using my languages that will interest me more and have realised that what I really enjoy is singing. So maybe I could try learning songs in the languages I want to study and practise. I already know quite a few songs in English, Irish, Manx, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh, and in the Bangor Community Choir and other groups I’ve sang with, we’ve learnt songs in various other languages, including Bulgarian, Corsican, Croatian, Georgian, Greek, Sindebele, Spanish, Xhosa, Yoruba and Zulu.

What I’d like to learn is songs that most people in a particular country or who speak a particular language know. The kind of songs you might learn at home and/or at school, including children’s songs, which can be good for learning basic vocabulary. So any suggestions are welcome, including words, translations, recordings and so on.

I’m particularly interested in songs in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Breton, Cornish, Czech, Russian, Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese), Japanese. I’ll also share them with you in the songs section of Omniglot.

Sing for Water London

By Simon

I will be singing with the Bangor Community Choir and many other choirs from around the UK at Sing for Water London, part of the Thames Festival, on Sunday 11th September 2011. The aim is to raise funds for Water Aid.

The Bangor Community Choir will be singing by HMS Belfast on the South Bank from about 12.15pm, and the massed choirs will be singing in the Scoop next to City Hall from 2pm.

Please come along if you can, and if you’d like to contribute to Water Aid, please go to: http://www.justgiving.com/simon-ager/