Gekke Deuntjes

Oh, Susanna, don't you cwy for me
I'm gonna get me wots of gold
V for Victowy!

Neuriede Golo vanmorgen bij het ochtendgloren. In de badkamer. In de auto. Door de schoolpoort...

Vast weer bij papa naar Looney Tunes gekeken, reeks waarvan ie al gek is sinds prille kleutertijd (geen ander kind kon het snappen, nog steeds niet vaak)!

En die indertijd net bedoeld was om vrolijke wijsjes populair te maken. Werkt 70 jaar na dato nog, blijkt!

Of ik de tekst van het liedje kende, vroeg ie me nog... 

Oh! Susanna, don't you cry for me, 
I'm going to dig up lots of gold, out on the lone prairie.
Gold is where you find it 
And when I find that stuff 
I'll dig and dig and dig and dig 
I'll never get enough.
I tramp the prairies and the plains 
I trudge each weary mile 
I'll tramp and trudge and trudge and tramp 
Until I make my pile.
Oh! Susanna, don't you cry for me, 

I'm going to dig up lots of gold, "V" for victory.

I'm a ragged, rugged lover 
Of the wild and wooly West, 
Of all the things I haven't got 
I like gold the best.
It rained all night the day I left 
The weather it was dry, 
It was so warm I froze to death 
Susanna don't you cry.
Oh! Susanna, don't you cry for me, 
I'm going to get me lots of gold, "V" for victory.

Maar als het dan toch de bedoeling was om populaire Amerikaanse songs te promoten - een minstrel liedje was het van oorsprong -, dan werk ik daar graag nog steeds aan mee!

Luister 'ns naar deze versie, van ene Matthew Sabatella!

I come from Alabama
With my banjo on my knee,
I’m goin' to Lou'siana
My true love for to see,
It rained all night the day I left,
The weather it was dry,
The sun so hot I frose to death;
Susanna, don't you cry.
Oh! Susanna, don't you cry for me,
I come from Alabama with my banjo on my knee. 
I had a dream the other night
When every thing was still;
I thought I saw Susanna,
A coming down the hill.
The buckwheat cake was in her mouth,
A tear was in her eye,
Sayd I, I’m coming from the South,
Susanna, don't you cry.
Chorus
I soon will be in New Orleans,
And then I’ll look around,
And when I find Susanna,
I’ll fall upon the ground.
But if I do not find her,
Then I will surely die,
And when I’m dead and buried,
Susanna, don't you cry.
Chorus

Tot slot:
Stephen Foster was only 21 years old when he composed this song, and he later wrote: 
"The two fifty-dollar bills I received [for Oh Susanna!], had the effect of starting me on my present vocation as a songwriter." 
In his 37 years of life, Foster wrote more than 200 songs. He visited the South only once, yet many of his songs portrayed blacks and slave life, and were frequently performed by blackface minstrel singers. 'Oh Susanna!' was beloved by '49ers during the California gold rush, helping it to become the most popular song in America...

Dank je, Warner Bros! (En Golo!...)