Tuesday, September 16, 2008
" HOORAY ! HOORAY !"
" oh i wish i was in the land of cotton
old times there arent soon forgotten
look away look away look away to dixie land "
a great american classic quite a shame it is ignored.
but it lives on in indonesia for the following reason :
it was a morning in late december of 1989.
my assignment completed i am travelling fourth class
on a pelni ship from pulau flores to pulau sumbawa.
after showering i return to my space on the communal
bed. a man wearing a sleeveless white shirt black
short pants and holding a baby is seated across the aisle.
he looks at me and says " hey american sing us a song !"
i laugh and say i cannot sing. he replies
" i see on television ! every negro american can sing !
sing a song for us !"
i look around. the steerage cabin is a cacophony of
every type of sound. no one will hear me. i stand in
the aisle and begin to sing " dixie " very slowly.
carefully pronouncing each word and syllable.
with closed eyes i imagine sitting in a mississippi bar.
there is a confederate flag on a wall and a man stands
in front of it loudly and emotionally singing
" i wish i was in dixie hooray ! hooray !
in dixie land i'll take my stand
to live and die in dixie !"
customers let out rebel yells and wave their arms
in the air. the bartender shouts " my great great
grandpappy lived and died at sharpsburg ! drinks on
the house ! drinks on the house everybody !". he walks
along the bar with a bottle of whiskey filling shot glasses.
approaching me i notice tears running down his face.
he tops up my glass and says " drink up brother !
drink up for dixie !"
i finish singing and open my eyes. the indonesian
cacophony has ceased and there is crowd around me.
though surely no one understood what i sang about
they are very impressed and numerous offers of food
drink and a place to stay in sumbawa are made.
i am asked to sing it again and again with everyone
pumping arms in the air and shouting
" dixie " and " hooray ! hooray !"
and that my friend is how " dixie "
came to nusa tenggara indonesia
" oh i wish i was in the land of cotton
old times there arent soon forgotten
look away look away look away to dixie land "
a great american classic quite a shame it is ignored.
but it lives on in indonesia for the following reason :
it was a morning in late december of 1989.
my assignment completed i am travelling fourth class
on a pelni ship from pulau flores to pulau sumbawa.
after showering i return to my space on the communal
bed. a man wearing a sleeveless white shirt black
short pants and holding a baby is seated across the aisle.
he looks at me and says " hey american sing us a song !"
i laugh and say i cannot sing. he replies
" i see on television ! every negro american can sing !
sing a song for us !"
i look around. the steerage cabin is a cacophony of
every type of sound. no one will hear me. i stand in
the aisle and begin to sing " dixie " very slowly.
carefully pronouncing each word and syllable.
with closed eyes i imagine sitting in a mississippi bar.
there is a confederate flag on a wall and a man stands
in front of it loudly and emotionally singing
" i wish i was in dixie hooray ! hooray !
in dixie land i'll take my stand
to live and die in dixie !"
customers let out rebel yells and wave their arms
in the air. the bartender shouts " my great great
grandpappy lived and died at sharpsburg ! drinks on
the house ! drinks on the house everybody !". he walks
along the bar with a bottle of whiskey filling shot glasses.
approaching me i notice tears running down his face.
he tops up my glass and says " drink up brother !
drink up for dixie !"
i finish singing and open my eyes. the indonesian
cacophony has ceased and there is crowd around me.
though surely no one understood what i sang about
they are very impressed and numerous offers of food
drink and a place to stay in sumbawa are made.
i am asked to sing it again and again with everyone
pumping arms in the air and shouting
" dixie " and " hooray ! hooray !"
and that my friend is how " dixie "
came to nusa tenggara indonesia
# posted by scotty @ 6:53 PM 
