h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Is Ryperd a horse, maybe?

What a cute song! It sounds like the 'hillbilly' music that was so popular in the 1930s here. And that we sang up in the hills.

Heh heh you're right! 'Ryperd' translates to 'riding horse' but merely means 'horse'.

Glad you like it! It's fun to straddle a dog or a cat and then sing this song. The lyrics:

Old horse, we ride the road together
Old horse, through the lanes of life
When your riding days are over
Your old body will rest well
You, old horse of mine

Charge on old pal, the moon shines brightly tonight
Charge on old pal, the girl is waiting there tonight
Hear the jackal wailing at the bridge of the river
So carry me on your nice old back
Charge on old pal because the girl she is waiting there tonight

Charge on, charge on my old pal
There's feed and rest, you do your best my old pal

Carry me over the bridge of the river
Carry me on your nice old back
To my girl Sannie, the daughter of Aunt Annie on the farm

Very .

Reminds me of a song we sang in school with a chorus that went, 'Go 'long, mule, there's a steamer at the landing, waiting for the cotton to load...'

I'll have to look that one up!

Here's one by David Kramer, a prolific artist who also got some of his songs banned by the old government. This song, at least, passed without problems.

'Royal Hotel'

Here the men sit in the Royal Hotel
I know everyone, I'm everyone's pal
Listen old friend behind the bar
How about another drink?

And do you know Doepie?
His nickname is 'Dop' (a drink)
He kicked goal for the Springbucks
An empty beer can he can easily squash flat
With just one blow to his big forehead

Now I introduce my old friend Fanie
There's nothing in the world that bothers Fanie
Meet him in the street, say how goes it old pal?
Says Fanie, no I can't complain

But here the men sit in the Royal Hotel etc.

And here sits the detective Sergeant de Kok
He drinks his whiskey so on the rocks
A cool cucumber, we call him by his number
He's double-o-double-o-seven De Kok

Yes here sit the men etc.

And from the northwest comes Karel Bester
Wears short-sleeved shirt and khaki shorts
Born long ago, his hair short around his ears
He loves to laugh, he loves to curse

Here beside the till, a man sits so still
There are tears in his eyes
He says he's the boss of a bankrupt farm
Here far away from the Klein Karoo

But it's fun it's fun, but it's too much fun here
Music on the wireless and foam on my beer
Listen old friend there behind the bar
How about another drink?

Yes here sit the men in the Royal Hotel

Sorry, the link!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOUaJJzTjGw

Oh, that's catchy! A real toe-tapper.

I'm beginning to catch more of the spoken Afrikaans - I see what you mean about how it's unlike spoken Dutch. The way he sang 'luister'...not at all like Dutch...

I'm enjoying the course here.

I'm glad you like this! Kramer is affecting a rather 'flat' kind of Cape accent here.

I think I'm also getting an education here, learning more about my own culture. I

OK speaking of folks who got into trouble for their music, here's Johannes Kerkorrel (John Church-Organ! He was inspired by seeing the name 'Johannus kerkorrels' in a shop window) who was banned from radio a lot. His real name was Ralph John Rabie. His band was called the 'Gereformeerde Blues Band'. He started a movement called 'voëlvry' (multiple meanings: 'free as a bird', 'declared an outlaw' and 'penis freedom') of revolutionary and rather counter-cultural Afrikaans music. But was quite popular over here. Sadly he committed suicide in 2002.

Here's 'Halala Afrika' ('may Africa be happy' if I'm not mistaken)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1l-E8hkbUzw

When the world here was still young and the horizon wide and open
It was green here in the hemisphere south of the equator
And at dusk when the sun sets and the cattle walk back home
Sound the voices of the women over the hills of the land:

Halala Halala, eternal is our Africa

Tula tula mtanami, tula tula sanaboni, tula tula mtanami
Ubab uzobuya sihlale naye, ubab uzobuya sihlale sonke, Hmmm-Hmmm

Then the ships came from the west, white sails over the sea
To ask for food and water, and to stay for so much more
And the land that was always open, this land we exchanged
For ghettos in the cities we've been given copper wire

Halala Halala, eternal is our Africa

Halala, sasiphila, kamnandi, halala, mayibuye Afrika
Tula tula mtanami, tula tula sanaboni, tula tula mtanami
Ubab uzobuya sihlale naye, ubab uzobuya sihlale sonke, Hmmm-Hmmm

There was wealth in the belly of our mother Africa
Diamonds and also coal, gold, noble metal
And the people became the slaves here, since the people are being paid
To tunnel in the earth, remove each grain
And the great and open grass plains are fenced with barbed wire
And from the elephant to the gemsbok all the animals had to kneel
Before the power of the great hunter, in front of the mouth of his big gun
Until only silence remains, until only silence reigns

Halala etc.

What a beautiful, sad song. Great voice!

Yes, it's a sad song, but I'm glad you like it. I do hope there's hope for Africa!

Here's another song by Johannes Kerkorrel, this time with translated lyrics handily supplied!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZZk_stMzZE

Very nice! I particularly enjoyed the organ music...suitable.

Again I'm glad you like!

And now for something completely different.

This is Karin Hougaard singing 'Lui Lui Telefoon' which can be translated as 'Ring Ring Telephone' or 'Lazy Lazy Telephone'.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-d0HcN1vps

Karin was one of the first Afrikaans singers to really do pop/rock-style songs. I was never very impressed with this, her biggest hit, but I saw her in concert once and she was amazing, very energetic, really firing up the crowd.

Will post lyrics tomorrow ... but I'm sure you'll be able to tell what the song is about.

Not bad, for sort of homemade...funny video. With bubble bath, no less.

She's got the same dishes we have.

Yeh there was a lot of amateurish stuff back then ... still is, come to think of it.

Here's a proper song, 'Straattroebadoere' (Street Troubadours) written by Anton Goosen and sung by Laurika Rauch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlsD_PHVV3I

Lyrics:

Between the dark secrets of the night
The street troubadours play
Drum-concertos for the Southern Cross, Milky Way and Moon
Sad concertinas for the glowing-coal ballerinas
Of the street troubadours,
And the princes of the Bundu, the Gramadula-Bundu, yearn
And the fires in their eyes show where the Dixieland Paradise hangs

Walk along through Diagonal Street
Walk along to where the night-guards talk
Walk along where the street troubadours
Sit talking about the yearning in their hearts

(Repeat but last lines change to

Walk along where the street troubadours
Leave the twentieth century behind

Lovely song!

Now for "balance" a song that irritated the disgusting stuff out of me when I was young. Do I really need to translate the lyrics? (This is NOT the Afrikaans theme song to 'Thomas the Tank Engine' ... the video uploaders just randomly stole a pic of it for sorta fitting the song.) Can you figure out the reason for those ascending and descending arpeggios? Mynie Grové did lots of children's songs. Looking back on it, I guess it's not that bad. There are children's songs today that totally set my teeth on edge ... I need to flee if I find myself in their presence. I wonder why that is? Is it like that over there also?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-0dX9G0nxI

I didn't make it all the way through that one.

That kind of 'children's' song annoys the life out of me, too - even in languages other than English. One that we really hated on German TV at Christmas was 'Kling', Glöckchen, Kling-a-Ling-a-Ling'.

Well here's one I'd like to know what you think of, a children's song which I think is all right, this was the Afrikaans version of the German theme song to the Japanese animated version of the Swiss story by Johanna Spyri. Do you know it at all? I know you don't like animated stuff much, but this one I actually loved back in the seventies when I was six or so years old. Anyways the song is by Carike Keuzenkamp, she's not doing goofy voices, and her proper singing voice is beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsqBlyoILw8

She does have a beautiful voice. And her yodeling is terrific. I like the 'hola-di-hi' stuff, myself. When we were small, we liked the Shirley Temple version of 'Heidi'. American kids think Fraeulein Rottenmeier is well-named...

Did you know that Southerners in the US have a yodelling tradition as well?

Here's our beloved Grandpa Jones' take on what he *thinks* some Swiss yodelers said back in '19-and-33' in Cleveland, Ohio:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkzdsQtnHqs

I wasn't surprised to learn that the Southern folks over there also yodel! Over here we do like it ... here are a couple of good yodelers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InBAQoo9k14

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uzgo368Ki9U

Fraeulein Rottenmeier's name is even worse in Afrikaans, where it means 'rat maggot'.

I couldn't make out any words in that clip! But it was entertaining.

Now THAT is serious yodelling! That guy could win a hog-calling contest!

Elektra just came in and she's laughing.