I hate to crack an egg of knowledge all over everyone's theories, but the lyrics used in "Flower" are sampled from an old African American children's song called "Green Sally Up," which shares similarities with the British children's song, "Ring Around The Rosie." The actual lyrics being sung in the "Flower" sample are "Green Sally up, Green Sally down. Last one squat gotta tear the ground." Samurai was correct in assuming that this song is rooted historically in the slave culture of the American South, but it was more a song to entertain and occupy the children out in the fields than it was a commentary on slavery. Like "Ring Around The Rosie," "Green Sally Up" has an accompanying game that's played in time and accordance with the lyrics. 'Green Sally' means 'little girl,' hence the first two lines direct the children to rise up and then squat down in rhythm with the song. "Last one squat gotta tear the ground" means, quite plainly, that the last child to squat has to help the adults with the cotton picking. It's assumed that this was not a literal rule of the game, but a threat of the "last one home is a rotten egg" variety. The lines, "Old Miss Lucy's dead and gone, left me here to weep and moan" is indeed a reference to the death of a slave 'owner', and in the original song is followed by the lines, "If you hate it, fold your arms; if you love it, clap your hands," which was a signal for those listening to indicate their feelings towards their 'master' by either joining in the rhythmic clapping that accompanies the song, or by refraining from doing so, which would indicate a measure of love/respect/complacency that the individual may have had for the 'owner'. Yes, I know how messed up that sounds, but c'est la vie. Here's a clip of the original recording from which Moby drew his sample: youtube.com/watch
I hate to crack an egg of knowledge all over everyone's theories, but the lyrics used in "Flower" are sampled from an old African American children's song called "Green Sally Up," which shares similarities with the British children's song, "Ring Around The Rosie." The actual lyrics being sung in the "Flower" sample are "Green Sally up, Green Sally down. Last one squat gotta tear the ground." Samurai was correct in assuming that this song is rooted historically in the slave culture of the American South, but it was more a song to entertain and occupy the children out in the fields than it was a commentary on slavery. Like "Ring Around The Rosie," "Green Sally Up" has an accompanying game that's played in time and accordance with the lyrics. 'Green Sally' means 'little girl,' hence the first two lines direct the children to rise up and then squat down in rhythm with the song. "Last one squat gotta tear the ground" means, quite plainly, that the last child to squat has to help the adults with the cotton picking. It's assumed that this was not a literal rule of the game, but a threat of the "last one home is a rotten egg" variety. The lines, "Old Miss Lucy's dead and gone, left me here to weep and moan" is indeed a reference to the death of a slave 'owner', and in the original song is followed by the lines, "If you hate it, fold your arms; if you love it, clap your hands," which was a signal for those listening to indicate their feelings towards their 'master' by either joining in the rhythmic clapping that accompanies the song, or by refraining from doing so, which would indicate a measure of love/respect/complacency that the individual may have had for the 'owner'. Yes, I know how messed up that sounds, but c'est la vie. Here's a clip of the original recording from which Moby drew his sample: youtube.com/watch
Thanks for writing, i googled it more n found that you are correct. Thanks Man.
Thanks for writing, i googled it more n found that you are correct. Thanks Man.
the egg of knowledge sunny-side-up. thanks for the explanation. it actually makes a very cool tune even cooler.
the egg of knowledge sunny-side-up. thanks for the explanation. it actually makes a very cool tune even cooler.