OUR SONGS FROM
Everything is a drum
Ay Zuzuma
COUNTRY: Jamaica
“Ay Zuzuma” is a song about what happens when our friend Zuzuma goes to market – watch that goat and pig!
Arsomo Baba
COUNTRY: Morocco
“Arsomo Baba” is a song from Morocco inspired by a kid drawing a multicolored picture of his dad.
Bale Ile
COUNTRY: Nigeria
“Bale Ile” is a multi-rhythmic West African drum song that originated in Nigeria as a rollicking example of a Yoruban genre known as fuji.
Bene Ame
COUNTRY: Ghana
“Bene Ame” takes us to West Africa where we band together to escape a despotic king.
Bambo du Bambo
COUNTRY: Brazil
“Bambo du Bambo” is a samba from Brazil. The original is an embolada, a fast-paced, often-improvised song style popular in northeastern Brazil in which vocalists challenge each other, competing lightly based on verbal and vocal ability.
Daweedem
COUNTRY: Afghanistan
“Daweedam” is a Dari chant from Afghanistan that tells the tale of a little boy who values his teacher so much he honors him by baking him a loaf of bread.
E Qee Qee
COUNTRY: Greenland
“E Qee Qee” is our version of a Greenlandic drum dance.
Kerry Dancing
COUNTRY: Ireland
“Kerry Dancing” transports us to a simpler time in the past when our hearts were full of song and dance.
Lau Lupe
COUNTRY: Samoa
“Lau Lupe” is a rhythmic Samoan song that tells the surface story of dancing girls and pigeons, but actually muses about the passing of time.
Mela Babka
COUNTRY: Czechia
“Mela Babka” is a Czech song based upon the 1-2-3 rhythm of a type of song and social dance called the mazurka. In class we sing, but let beanbags do the dancing.
Nanu Nanu Ney
COUNTRY: Ethiopia
“Nanu Nanu Ney” is a phenomenally funky Ethiopian dance song from the 1980s. In class we use it as inspiration to enjoy the shoulder shaking dance, the Eskista.
Olafur
COUNTRY: Iceland
“Olafur” is an Icelandic epic, taking us to a battle between our children and a no-nonsense elf.
Por Colombianas
COUNTRY: Spain
We draw “Por Colombianas” from a set of flamenco rhythms that traveled from Spain to the “New World,” then somehow found their way back.
Sto Mi E Milo
COUNTRY: Macedonia
“Sto Mi E Milo” is an iconic Balkan folk song about the many benefits of owning a shop in the Macedonian town of Struga.
Sweetest Darling
COUNTRY: The Philippines
“Sweetest Darling” is a Filipino Independence-era “kundiman” that on the surface seems to be a song about love.
Tribulchay
COUNTRY: Ecuador
"Tribulchay” is a song from Ecuador, in Quechua, that we sing, in class, as we find our ears.
Wan Boto
COUNTRY: Suriname
“Wan Boto” is originally from Suriname, which is a small country on the Caribbean coast of South America. This is a song fisherman may sing to greet an incoming boat. (“One boat is coming with just one flag.”)
Ya Mustapha
COUNTRY: Egypt
“Ya Mustapha” is a playful song sung in many permutations all over West Asia and the Middle East, but always to a bellydancer's drum beat.