Re: iko iko

[mudws@sunvis2.vislab.olemiss.edu (Warren Steel)]

In <C7xELI.Esq@acsu.buffalo.edu> 
  dmarcher@acsu.buffalo.edu (Dave Archer) writes:
>Actually, now that I think about it, it might be on the
>soundtrack to Rain Man.  
>I never realized Iko Iko was a childrens song, but I guess
>anything's possible.
   It isn't really a children's song.  It's an old carnival song from
New Orleans, associated with the "masking indians," associations of
citizens who spend all year preparing songs and costumes for the 
carnival season, then process through the neighborhood in fanciful
costume, singing boastful songs to onlookers and competing "tribes."
It's like carnival throughout the African diaspora.  The words were
once in Creole, but few still know their original meaning.  The Dixie
Cups made an early recording, and Professor Longhair and Dr. John are
known for their spirited piano renditions (I like the Neville Brothers 
recording on their album Fiyo on the Bayou), but most know it as a
carnival street song.  

let the good times roll...

Warren Steel                      mudws@sunvis1.vislab.olemiss.edu