Marianne
Marianne
Traditional Song
CHORUS: All day, all night, Marianne
Down by the seaside sifting sand
Even little children love Marianne
Down by the seaside sifting sand.
When she walks along the shore, people pause to greet
Seagulls fly around her, little fish come to her feet.
In her heart there's love but I'm the only mortal man
Who's allowed to kiss my Marianne (CHORUS)
Marianne, oh Marianne oh won't you marry me
We could have a bamboo hut with brandy in the tea
Leave your fat old mama home she never will say yes
If Mama' don't know now, she can guess. (CHORUS)
When we marry we will have a time you never saw
I will be so happy I will kiss me mother in law (Phooey!)
Children by the dozens running round the bamboo hut,
One for every pine tree and coconut! (CHORUS)
Comments
A Trini teacher wrote to me, "The name of the lady in this song from Trinidad and Tobago would be pronounced Mary Ann rather than the French Marianne. Also, French Creole is almost a dead language in T&T now. If it is still spoken at all, it would be by a handful of aging people, or a handful of young people who are learning it formally, rather than as a native language. Thank you for all your work!"
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Mary Kay Helba for contributing this song. Mary Kay wrote, "Calypso is an integration of many cultures' music and originated in Trinidad."
Thanks also to Monique Palomares for creating the midi music.
Photo: "Cedros 40" by Kalamazadkhan - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.
Thanks so much!
