William Whelan wrote to me looking for help with a Haitian song. The song is called “Angelique O” and seems to have been written during the US occupation of Haiti (1915 – 1934). Here you’ll find the original Haitian lyrics with an English translation.
First I’ll start with William’s email:
My father taught me a song he picked up in Haiti back in the 1920s. It tells of a mother’s advice to her daughter. He started it off with the word “Jellico,” but I understand it should have been “Angelique.” Phonetically, its major words are “Jellico, alli kai mama. Tifi paconi lavi passi.” Are you familiar with it?
Below are lyrics I found of two similar versions of “O Angelique”. They have different spellings (Haitian Creole spelling isn’t always standardized), and the 2nd version is longer…
Version 1
Angelique O
Angelique, oh!
Angelique, oh!
Allé caille manman ouTi fi pas qui conne lave pas
Allé caille manman ou!In English:
Angelique, oh!
Angelique, oh!
Go back to your mother!A girl who doesn’t know how to wash or iron
Go back to your mother!Version 2
Anjelik o!
Anjelik o!
Anjelik o!
aie kay manman ou!Ti fi ki pa konn
lave, pase
aie kay manman ou!Ti fi ki pa konn
dezabiye noun sou
aie kay manman ou!Aie kay manman ou, chè ! (bis)
aie kay manman ou, ma chè
pou ou pa ban mwen dezagreman.Angelique, oh!
Angelique, oh!
Go back to your mother!A girl who doesn’t know
How to wash or iron!
Go back to your mother!A girl who can’t put
A drunk husband to bed!
Go back to your mother!Go back to your mother, dear!
Go back to your mother, my dear,
I can’t burden myself with you.
I’ve also seen this song called Anjelin O.
There’s a recording at Smithsonian Folkways where you can hear part of the song or pay to download the full song.
Here’s what the article Carnival in Haiti said about this song:
During the first U.S. occupation of Haiti [1915 – 1934], for example, after the U.S. commander sent his wife, Angelica, back to the U.S. because of marital problems, a song was born which is still heard today: “Anjeliko, Anjeliko, ale kay manman ou…” (“Angelica, Angelica, go on back to your mother’s house…”) While its words concern a wife who does not know how to wash and iron and is sent back home, its true meaning was clear to all. Jean Fouchard, author of Meringues et Danses d’Haiti, calls it the first cry of “Yankee go home!” It was repeatedly played by popular and bourgeois bands to express the population’s desire to have their country un-occupied.
Harry Belefonte sang an English version of Angelique-O in the 1950’s. The Brothers Four also sang it.
Feel free to tell us anything you know about this song in the comments below. We would also welcome a recording, especially in Haitian Creole.
Mama Lisa
This article was posted on Thursday, September 30th, 2010 at 1:04 pm and is filed under Countries & Cultures, Folk Songs, Haiti, Haitian Creole, Haitian Folk Songs, Languages, Mama Lisa, Questions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
16 Responses to “Angelique O – An Anti-colonial Song from Haiti”
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January 9th, 2011 at 6:13 am
My parents had this song and several other Haitian folk songs on a record by an exiled artist/singer named Martha Jean-Claude. The record was made in the late ’60’s or early ’70’s I have heard the line, ‘Allé caille manman ou’ also sang as, “Chita caye manman ou’ or ‘Rete caye manmanou’ . Instead of saying go back to you’re mother’s, this says to ‘sit’ and/or stay at your mothers.
September 9th, 2012 at 11:39 am
A song came into my head yesterday from my childhood (I am 53) and I decided to Google it to see what its’ origin was. I grew up in Upstate/Western New York, in the Buffalo area. Even as I child, I found the words offensive and degrading to women. Until today, I had no idea that it was actually an anti-colonial song form Haiti.
Here are the lyrics that we were taught:
Angelique-O, Angelique-O
Go home to your mama,
Angelique-O, Angelique-O
Go home to your papa.
Angelique-O, Angelique-O
Tell your mama I said,
Angelique-O, Angelique-O
You’re still too young to wed.
Little girls should know how to cook and sew
Go home to your mama,
Little girls should know how to iron clothes
Go home to your papa.
December 28th, 2012 at 12:00 am
I learned this sing in the 5th grade at Columbia Elementary School in Cleveland Ohio in the early 1970s. The song was in a school songbook of children’s music,whichI have never been able to locate. The lyrics were identical to those quoted by Diane Parnell in an earlier post. It was a catchy tune, but the words were oh so non-PC.
September 21st, 2014 at 1:50 pm
I learned that song in elemetary school in Miami, Florida the early sixties with the same words as Diane Parnell. Only I thought the words were “buy new clothes” instead of ironing them which explained my mother’s affinity for shopping.
I was remembering the song this morning for some reason and searched on line and found this posting.
September 21st, 2014 at 2:08 pm
Thanks for sharing! Would any of you like to sing this song for us? :) Mama Lisa
July 16th, 2015 at 3:26 pm
A variation of this song was included on a 10 inch 78 rpm record by the Children’s Record Guild in the early 1950s. The song was titled Angelico and was sung by Charity Bailey. I was trying to find out what “Alle’ caille Manman” means. On the record it’s pronounced Eye La Kie Ma-ma. According to the information on the record, it’s “patois” which is a language spoken by black Cajuns of Louisiana with a French dialect.
July 16th, 2015 at 3:45 pm
These are the lyrics as sung by Charity Bailey.
ANGELICO
Angelico, Angelico,
Go home to mama.
Angelico, Angelico,
Go home to mama.
Little girl who cannot wash the clothes,
Go home to mama
Little girl better dance on her tippy toes,
Go home to mama.
Go home to mamma dear,
Go home to mama dear,
Go home to mama and say,
Better come back in a year and a day.
Chorus (patois)
Angelico, Angelico
Alle’ caille Manman
Angelico, Angelico
Alle’ caille Manman
Little girl who cannot bake or fry,
Go home to mama.
Little girl better make a nice mud pie,
Go home to mama.
Go home to mama dear,
Go home to mama dear,
Go home to mama and say,
Better come back in a year and a day.
Chorus (patois)
July 19th, 2015 at 6:35 am
LP leaflet from the Smithsonian Institution.
The sentence is “allez/allé caille manman ou”: “allez/allé” = go, “caille” = house; “manman” = “mom”; “ou” = “you” = “go to your mom’s.”
March 20th, 2016 at 4:42 pm
Bud & Travis recorded this song as titled Angelico on their album The Best of Bud & Travis. They sing the first verse in Haitian Creole. The second verse has some English in it.
March 20th, 2016 at 5:02 pm
The English language version seems to have been written by Lord Burgess (Irving Louis Burgie) and Bill Attaway. This is the song recorded by Harry Belafonte, The Brothers Four, et al.
February 23rd, 2017 at 9:51 pm
I remember this song, my dad was the Peruvian Ambassador in Port au Prince when Jean Claude Duvalier was the president, back in 1970’s and I loved this song, I was a child and used to dance with it.
May 23rd, 2018 at 9:19 pm
The one I remember is the one Joseph posted sung by Charity Bailey. I have been looking for this song for many years! When I was a young child, I am 65 now, I listened to this record over and over. It is still a source of wonderful memories of my grandmother. Thank you!
February 8th, 2021 at 2:57 pm
The version I remember was like this:
“Angelica, Angelica
Mamma gonna take you back. Angelica, Angelica, teach you all the things you lack. Well, you never learned how to cook a stew. Mamma gonna take you back. And your biscuits, Mamia! I can hardly chew! Mamma gonna take you back! Angelica, Angelica, teach you all the things you lack.” Who sang that version?
April 19th, 2021 at 4:29 am
We had the version Joseph posted and Joanne Nugent mentioned. My parents taped many of our records when we moved to another country. My sisters and I are going to be going through the tapes soon. If we find it, we will find a way to post it and I’ll let you know, Joanne.
September 6th, 2021 at 8:06 pm
Thank you all for finding the source of this beautiful song, one I have hummed for nearly 70 years. Thanks to Joseph, who identified the Charity Bailey recording of the Children’s Record Guild—undoubtedly the one I cherished as a child.
April 3rd, 2022 at 6:05 pm
I liked this song and learned it from the Charity Bailey record my dad brought us.. the line I’m interested in knowing more about is “better come back in a year and a day.” I think it has something to do with slavery or indentured servitude. New year’s day was the day when a slave owner could rent out their slaves to other people. Maybe Angelique was too young and this song says “go home and come back when you are worth paying for” ????