"The" Philippines

[Jonathan Lighter]

Page's soldier songs come from the period of U.S. counterinsurgency operations in the P.I. against the independence movement led by Emilio Aguinaldo.  "Zamboanga" was still current during WWII.

Texts of both appear in Edward Arthur Dolph's _Sound Off ! : Soldier Songs from Yankee Doodle to Parlez-Vous_ (N.Y., 1929).

ISTR that Pete Seeger sang "Damn, Damn, Damn" (tune: "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp," by George F. Root [1862]), with heavy irony on "The Smothers Bros. Comedy Hour" back in 1969, moments before he premiered "Waist Deep in the Big Muddy."

JL

Page Stephens <hpst at EARTHLINK.NET> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Page Stephens
Subject: Re: "The" Philippines
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zamboanga

Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga,
Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga,
Oh, the monkeys have no tails,
They were bitten off by whales,
Oh, the monkeys have no tails in Zamboanga.


2
Oh, the carabao have no hair in Mindanao,
Oh, the carabao have no hair in Mindanao,
Oh, the carabao have no hair,
Holy smoke! But they are bare,
Oh, the carabao have no hair in Mindanao.

3
Oh, the birdies have no feet in Mariveles,
Oh, the birdies have no feet in Mariveles,
Oh, the birdies have no feet,
They were burned off by the heat,
Oh, the birdies have no feet in Mariveles.

4
Oh, we'll all go up to China in the spring time,
Oh, we'll all go up to China in the spring time,
Oh, we'll hop aboard a liner,
I can think of nothing finer,
Oh, we'll all go up to China in the spring time.

5
Ob, we'll all go down to Shanghai in the fall,
Ob, we'll all go down to Shanghai in the fall,
Oh, we'll all get down to Shanghai,
Those champagne corks will bang high,
Oh, we'll all go down to Shanghai in the fall.

6
Oh, we lived ten thousand years in old Chefoo.
Oh, we lived ten thousand years in old Chefoo.
And it didn't smell like roses,
So we had to hold our noses,
Oh, we lived ten thousand years in old Chefoo.



----- Original Message -----
From: "Page Stephens"
To:
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2005 12:22 PM
Subject: Re: "The" Philippines


> ---------------------- Information from the mail
> header -----------------------
> Sender: American Dialect Society
> Poster: Page Stephens
> Subject: Re: "The" Philippines
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Damn, Damn, Damn the Filipinos
>
> ln that land of dopy dreams, happy peaceful Philippines,
> Where the bolo-man is hiking night and day;
> Where Tagalos steal and lie, where Americanos die,
> There you hear the soldiers sing this evening lay :
>
> cho: Damn, damn, damn the Filipinos, cross-eyed kakiack ladrones,
> Underneath our starry flag, civilize 'em with a Krag,
> And return us to our own beloved homes.
>
> Underneath the nipa thatch, where the skinny chickens scrath,
> Only refuge after hiking all day long,
> When I lay me down to sleep, slimy lizards o'er me creep,
> Then you hear the soldiers sing this evening song:
>
> Social customs there are few, all the ladies smoke and chew.
> And the men do things the padres say are wrong.
> But the padres cut no ice -- for they live on fish and rice--
> Where you hear the soldiers sing this evening song:
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "James Smith"
> To:
> Sent: Friday, April 01, 2005 8:32 AM
> Subject: Re: "The" Philippines
>
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail
>> header -----------------------
>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>> Poster: James Smith
>> Subject: Re: "The" Philippines
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Usage of "the" in place names is not necessarily
>> fixed. Throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries,
>> the big lake here in Utah was Great Salt Lake. It is
>> now almost always called the Great Salt Lake, which
>> for some reason annoys me very much.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> James D. SMITH |If history teaches anything
>> South SLC, UT |it is that we will be sued
>> jsmithjamessmith at yahoo.com |whether we act quickly and decisively
>> |or slowly and cautiously.
>>
>>
>>
>> __________________________________
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