Hill And Gully Rider

 "Hill an gully rider" is a call and response work song from Jamaica which used to be sung by workmen constructing new roads. In its topical way it refers to the uneven and hazardous terrain through which the new road had to be cut. The response can be sung in unison or in two part harmony. 

Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music.

Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso; mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques. As in Calypso, Mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues. Sexual innuendos are also common. 

To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy! 

Lyrics

Refrain
Hill and gully rider, Hill and gully. (repeat)

1. Took my horse and come down, Hill and gully,
But my horse done tumble down, Hill and gully.
And the nighttime come a-tumblin’ down, Hill and gully.

2. Oh the moon shone bright down, Hill and gully,
Ain’t no place to hide in down…
An’ a zombie come a ridin’ down… Refrain

3. Oh, my knees they shake down…
An’ my heart starts quakin’ down…
An’ I run ’til daylight breakin’ down… Refrain

4. That’s the last I set down…
Pray the Lord don’ let me down…
Ain’t nobody goin’ to get me down… Refrain

Fan Me Solja Man

 Fan Me Solja Man is from Jamaica. It's about a young wife, whose husband has gone to war. This young wife  loses her good reputation, although she continues to be well dressed, because she is carousing with and accepting the gifts of (ill reputed) soldiers. 

Around 1945 Lion (Hubert Charles) wrote and recorded "Fan Me, Saga Boys." A "saga boy" was "a lower-class male whose garb and behavior were copied from American zoot-suitrers of the 1940s.... The song utilizes images of World War II to metaphorically describe sexual intercourse.... 'Fan Me Soldier Man, Fan Me' is probably based upon the same lavway as this song" (Donald R. Hill, "Calypso Calaloo" (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1993), p. 264; The Lion with Gerald Clark and His Original Calypsos, "Fan Me Saga Boy", Guild 125A, 1945?)). It seems unlikely that the source for "Fan Mi Solja Man" is a Trinidad lavway (calypso road march). Lion's chorus is "Fan me, saga boys, fan me / I said, Oh! fan me, saga boys, fan me / Long live our gracious king / But I kiss me saga boy Christmas morning." The chorus from Jekyll-JamaicanSongAndStory is "Fan me, soldier man, fan me / Fan me, soldier man, fan me/ Fan me, soldier man, fan me oh! / Gal, you character gone.' 

To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

Fan me solja man, fan me,
Fan me solja man. fan me,
Fan me solja man, fan me, oh !

Gal, yuh character gawn.

Wey de use yuh dah shawl up, shawl up, (3x)
Gal yuh character gawn.

Wey de use dah lace-up stays-up, (3x)

Gal, yuh character gawn.

Sake a Coolie-man bangle, (3x)

Gal yuh character gawn.

Fan me solja man, fan me,
Fan me solja man, fan me,
Fan me solja man, fan me, oh,

Gal yuh character gawn.

Cudelia Brown

Cudelia Brown  (also known as "Cordelia Brown") is a Jamaican folk song from a tradition of "Mento Music".

 "Mento Music is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music...

Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms...

Mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues. Sexual innuendos are also common. Mento was strongly influenced by calypso, the musical traditions of the Kumina religion and Cuban music. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso; mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques.

To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!

Lyrics: 

O Cudelia Brown,
Wha mek yu head so red? (Yu head so red!)
O Cudelia Brown,
Wha mek yu head so red? (Yu head so red!)
Yu si' dung eena di sunshine wit' nut'n 'pon yu head,
O Cudelia Brown,
Wha mek yu head so red? (Yu head so red!)

On a moonshine night, on a moonshine night,
I met Missa Ivan, an' Missa Ivan tol' me,
Sey dat 'im gi Neita di drop, Jamaica flop, and di moonshine drop,
Ee-hee-aw, haw; Ee-hee-aw, haw; Ee-hee-aw, haw.

Nobody's Business

Nobody's Business is a Jamaican folk song. Jamaican folk songs have become a definitive characteristic of Jamaican culture. They are exemplars of a culture whose music reflects the lifestyle of most of its citizens. In modern times, their beauty has been show cased in local and foreign performances which exposes an element of the country to the world. Additionally, the arrangements of these songs by Jamaican composers like Noel Dexter and Peter Ashbourne have aided in their renaissance in modern times. This also attests to their high entertaining quality which most audiences have come to appreciate. 

However, in colonial times, the songs’ function and purpose were two-fold. First, they were used as a mode of communication between slaves and their masters, as well as among the slaves themselves. Secondly, they were used to enhance religious aspects of worship and praise. Additionally, the colonial system created a stratified society in which the white masters were superior to the enslaved Africans. This permeated every aspect of the colonial society and was especially noticeable in the disparity in social conditions between the whites and the slaves. Colonialism also enabled the imposition of European culture on society. Overtime, the slaves perceived that the European culture was better than theirs, and they fashioned their social habits after their masters’. The resultant was their viewing their African ancestry with shame and overtime abandoning its traditions.

This research explored the transition of Jamaican folk songs from the slave fields to the art music stage. In so doing, it investigated colonialism and slavery as factors that influenced these songs’ usage in communication, entertainment, and worship. It also explored independence as a catalyst in the creation of a new identity for Jamaicans and, in so doing, investigated the cultural policies of successive Jamaican governments coupled with the concerted efforts of the artisan class, especially musicians in producing Jamaican artifacts that are representative of the people.

To download the easy alphanotes and chords, look here. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

1.Solomon Grundy gone a Ecuador
Lef him wife and pickney out a door
Nobody's business but me own;
Solomon Grundy gone a Ecuador
Lef him wife and pickney out a door
Nobody's business but me own.

Chorus:

Nobody's business, business
Nobody's business, business
Nobody's business but my own
Nobody's business, business
Nobody's business, business
Nobody's business but my own.

2.If I married to a naygarman
An' I lef' him for a Chinaman
Nobody's business but me own
If I married to a naygarman
An' I lef' him for a Chinaman
Nobody's business but me own.

Linstead Market

Linstead Market is a Jamaican folk song of the mento type that tells of a mother who goes to the market with her ackee fruit but does not sell any, with the result that her children will go hungry.

Possibly the earliest publication of the tune with words occurs in Walter Jekyll's 1907 book, Jamaican Song and Story, as item 121, pages 219-220. In Jekyll, the lyrics are as follows:

In Helen H. Roberts' collection of folk song variants based on field work in Jamaica, published in 1925, the version in Jekyll is reproduced, followed by twelve variants. In some of these, "Sollas market" replaces "Linstead market"

On page 14, Dr. Lewin explains that "Linstead Market still remains a picturesque small town market. The song is now often taken at a much faster pace for dancing but was originally sung slow and plaintively by a mother who couldn't sell enough at the market to feed her children. A quatty was a small copper coin of very small value." 

Note: A quatty(or quattie) was actually one and one-half penny(halfpenny). During that time it was standard to sell goods in quatty(s) worth, which was 1.5 penny in value. If an item increased in value, then the quantity you received for a quatty would decrease. The quattie was not a minted coin. Three halfpenny(ha'penny) or six farthing would be the equivalent of one quatty. 

In all the versions mentioned above except the earliest, the melody is written in 2/4 or 4/4 time, but in Jekyll, the time signature is 6/8.

The melody has been arranged for solo voice with piano. One of the earliest such publications was "Linstead Market: a Jamaican Folk-song," by Arthur Benjamin, Boosey & Hawkes, 1947 (5 pages). Among choral arrangements is one of the same title by A. H. Green, published by Oxford University Press in 1967 (8 pages). The song was included on the compact disc " The King's Singers in 1992. The song was recorded by the English folk group The Spinners, sung by their Caribbean singer Cliff Hall. The song is also published in modern collections, such as Songs of the Americas, arranged by Margery Hargest John, published by Boosey & Hawkes, London, 1993. 

More recently, published in January 2014, the album by Monty Alexander, titled "Harlem-Kingston Express, Vol. 2: The River Rolls On", contains track #11, "Linstead Market (Live Bonus)". It is 6:37 long and features a spoken introduction. Liner notes of the album by Monty Alexander reference the track by stating, "... this beloved old Jamaican folk song from way before my time, is one of the staples of the Mento repertoire."

 The track was recorded by Rob Macomber in 2012 at Dizzy's Club Coca Cola in NYC. Additional liner notes from the album regarding the song.

To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!

Lyrics:

1. Carry me ackee go a Linstead Market,

Not a quatty wut sell.Oh

Carry me ackee go a Linstead Market,

Not a quatty wut sell. Oh

Chorus:

Lawd! 

Not a mite, not a bite,

Wat a Satiday Night!

Oh Lawd!

Not a mite, not a bite,

Wat a Satiday Night!

2.Ev'ry body come feel up, feel up,

Not a quatty wut sell. Oh

Ev'ry body come feel up, feel up,

Not a quatty wut sell. Oh

Chorus

3.Mek me call i' louda 'Ackee, Ackee,

Red an' pretty dem tan. Oh

Lady buy yuh Sunday mawnin' breakfus'

Rice an' ackee nyam gran'. Oh

Chorus

4. All de pickney come lingaling,

Fe weh dem Mama no bring. Oh

All de pickney come lingaling,

Fe weh dem Mama no bring. Oh

Chorus

Wata Come a Me Y'eye

Wata Come a Me Y'eye is a Jamaican love song shows how Liza's man becomes upset after she leaves him.

To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy! 

Lyrics

Every time I ‘membah Liza,

Watah come a me eye.

 Wen I tink pon my girl Liza,

Watah come a me eye.

Come back, Liza, come back girl.

Watah come a me eye.

Come back, Liza, come back girl.

Watah come a me eye. 

Brown Gal In De Ring

Brown Gal In De Ring or  Brown Girl in the Ring is a traditional children's song in the West Indies. It was originally featured in the game of the same name, thought to have originated in Jamaica.
The song became internationally known when it was recorded by the group Boney M. in 1978. Originally it was the B-side of their hit "Rivers of Babylon", but soon became a hit in its own right.
The song had previously been recorded by the group Malcolm's Locks, leading to a dispute over royalties. The song had also been recorded in 1972 by the Bahamian musician Exuma.
Children play ring games in many parts of the world, especially during their pre-teen years. In There's a Brown Girl in the Ring, an anthology of Eastern Caribbean song games by Alan Lomax, J.D. Elder and Bess Lomax Hawes, it is suggested that ring games are a children's precursor to adult courtship.

To download the easy alphanotes and chords sheet music, look here. Enjoy!

Lyrics: 
There's a brown girl in the ring
Tra la la la la
There's a brown girl in the ring
Tra la la la la la
Brown girl in the ring
Tra la la la la
She looks like a sugar and a plum*
Plum, plum!
 
Show me your motion
Tra la la la la
Come on show me your motion
Tra la la la la la
Show me your motion
Tra la la la la
She looks like a sugar and a plum*
Plum, plum!
 
Skip across the ocean
Tra la la la la
Skip across the ocean
Tra la la la la la
Skip across the ocean
Tra la la la la
She looks like a sugar and a plum*
Plum, plum!

Jamaican Creole Lyrics: 
Dere is a brown girl in the ring
Tra la la la la
Dere is a brown girl in the ring
Tra la la la la la
Brown girl in the ring
Tra la la la la
Shi luk lakka sugar and a plum
Plum plum.
 
Show mi yu motion
Tra la la la la
Show mi yu motion
Tra la la la la la
Show mi yu motion
Tra la la la la
Shi luk lakka sugar and a plum
Plum plum.
 
Skip across the ocean
Tra la la la la
Skip across the ocean
Tra la la la la la
Skip across the ocean
Tra la la la la
Shi luk lakka sugar and a plum
Plum plum.