Sylvia Knörr
2007-03-23 23:30:07 UTC
Look what I found! Does anybody know this folk song?
A Filipino Hombre
(Words by Capt. Lyman A. Cotton, U.S. Navy, circa 1900, tune: "I am a Gay
Cavaliero"; in Carl Sandburg's THE AMERICAN SONGBAG, pp. 434-435)
There once was a Filipino hombre
Who ate rice pescado y legumbre;
His trousers were wide, and his shirt hung outside,
And this, I may say, was his costumbre.
He lived in a nipa bahay
Which served as a stable and sty;
He slept on a mat with the dogs and a cat
And the rest of the family near by.
His daddy, un buen' Filipino,
Who never mixed tubig with bino,
Said, "I am no insurrecto - no got gun or bolo,"
Yet used both to kill a vecino.
His mujer once kept a tienda
Underneath a large stone hacienda;
She chewed buyo and sold for jawbones and gold
To soldades who said, "No intienda."
Of ninos he had dos or tres,
Good types of the Tagalo race;
In dry or wet weather, in the altogether,
They'd romp and they'd race and they'd chase.
Su hermana fue lavandera,
And slapped clothes in fuerte manera;
On a rock in a stream where the carabaos dream,
Which gave them a perfume lijera.
His brother, who was a cochero,
Buscare in Manila dinero;
His prices were high when a cop was near by
To help scare the poor pasajero.
He once owned a bulic manoc,
With a haughty, valorus look;
Which lost him a name, y mil pesos tambien,
So he changed to monte for luck.
When his pueblo last had a fiesta
His family tried to digest a
Mule that had died of glanders inside,
And now his familia no esta.
No esta,
Charley Noble
Source:
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63698
There are more song lyrics and notes concerning the Philippines.
A Filipino Hombre
(Words by Capt. Lyman A. Cotton, U.S. Navy, circa 1900, tune: "I am a Gay
Cavaliero"; in Carl Sandburg's THE AMERICAN SONGBAG, pp. 434-435)
There once was a Filipino hombre
Who ate rice pescado y legumbre;
His trousers were wide, and his shirt hung outside,
And this, I may say, was his costumbre.
He lived in a nipa bahay
Which served as a stable and sty;
He slept on a mat with the dogs and a cat
And the rest of the family near by.
His daddy, un buen' Filipino,
Who never mixed tubig with bino,
Said, "I am no insurrecto - no got gun or bolo,"
Yet used both to kill a vecino.
His mujer once kept a tienda
Underneath a large stone hacienda;
She chewed buyo and sold for jawbones and gold
To soldades who said, "No intienda."
Of ninos he had dos or tres,
Good types of the Tagalo race;
In dry or wet weather, in the altogether,
They'd romp and they'd race and they'd chase.
Su hermana fue lavandera,
And slapped clothes in fuerte manera;
On a rock in a stream where the carabaos dream,
Which gave them a perfume lijera.
His brother, who was a cochero,
Buscare in Manila dinero;
His prices were high when a cop was near by
To help scare the poor pasajero.
He once owned a bulic manoc,
With a haughty, valorus look;
Which lost him a name, y mil pesos tambien,
So he changed to monte for luck.
When his pueblo last had a fiesta
His family tried to digest a
Mule that had died of glanders inside,
And now his familia no esta.
No esta,
Charley Noble
Source:
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=63698
There are more song lyrics and notes concerning the Philippines.