"Mop" in Caldonia (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Wilson Gray]

One of my most favoritest songs, when I was twelve years old.

Is this a "silly song" about a rag mop, a common household utensil of
the day? Or is it a deep pun combining "rag" as a kind of music with
the beat-marker "mop" from another kind of music?

-Wilson
–––
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-----
-Mark Twain





On Thu, May 21, 2009 at 6:50 PM, Paul <paulzjoh at mtnhome.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender: Â  Â  Â  American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster: Â  Â  Â  Paul <paulzjoh at MTNHOME.COM>
> Subject: Â  Â  Â Re: "Mop" in Caldonia (UNCLASSIFIED)
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> then there was "RAG MOP' 1950 Though Caladonia
>
>
> Â M
> Â I say M-O
> Â M-O-P
> Â M-O-P-P
> Â Mop
> Â M-O-P-P
> Â Mop Mop Mop Mop
>
> Â R
> Â I say R-A
> Â R-A-G
> Â R-A-G-G
> Â Rag
> Â R-A-G-G M-O-P-P
> Â Rag Mop
>
> Â Doo-doo-doo-DAH-dee-ah-dah
> Â Rag Mop
> Â Doo-doo-doo-DAH-dee-ah-dah
> Â Rag Mop
> Â Doo-doo-doo-DAH-dee-ah-dah
> Â Rag Mop
> Â Doo-doo-doo-DAH-dee-ah-dah
> Â Rag Mop
> Â Doo-doo-doo-DAH-dee-ah-dah
> Â R-A-G-G M-O-P-P
> Â Rag Mop!
>
> Â A
> Â I say A-B
> Â A-B-C
> Â A-B-C-D
> Â A-B-C-D-E
> Â A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H
>
> Â I
> Â I say M-O
> Â M-O-P
> Â M-O-P-P
> Â Mop
> Â M-O-P-P
> Â Mop Mop Mop Mop
>
> Â R
> Â I say R-A
> Â R-A-G
> Â R-A-G-G
> Â Rag
> Â R-A-G-G M-O-P-P
> Â Rag Mop
>
> Â Doo-doo-doo-DAH-dee-ah-dah
> Â Rag Mop
> Â Doo-doo-doo-DAH-dee-ah-dah
> Â Rag Mop
> Â Doo-doo-doo-DAH-dee-ah-dah
> Â Rag Mop
> Â Doo-doo-doo-DAH-dee-ah-dah
> Â Rag Mop
> Â Doo-doo-doo-DAH-dee-ah-dah
> Â R-A-G-G M-O-P-P
> Â Rag Mop!
>
>
>
>
> Wilson Gray wrote:
>> It's just an exclamation used to mark the beat, probably originally a
>> variation on "bop," or the other way around, though possibly not,
>> since "bop" may be a clip of "be-bop." Or not. IAC, it's completely
>> without meaning.
>>
>> I remember Louis Jordan & The Tympany Five very well, since they were
>> featured in dozens of Sepiatone movies made for the cinematic version
>> of the chitlin circuit. Therre wasn't anything similar for Charlie
>> Yardbird and le grand Dizzy. I know when (be-)bop was hip, but I have
>> no useful idea as to when or how the term came about. Other people
>> have ideas about this, but I have no more faith in
>> their ideas than I have in my own.
>> WRT to movies, you never knew what chitlin-circuit flick you might
>> see. Would you believe, e.g. Roy Acuff's "Night Train to Memphis" and
>> various shorts by the Sons of the Pioneers and Bob Wills and the Texas
>> Playboys? These were in addition to the usual Westerns featuring Ken
>> Maynard and "Tarzan," The Wonder Horse, Whip Wilson, Lash Larue, and
>> other giants of the field.
>>
>> -Wilson
>> ------
>>
>>
>>
>
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