"Tammurriata Nera" (Black Drumsong) - War Songs Fest

[alfstone]

Absit iniuria verbis, but I would like to conclude this my experience with war songs with a smile.

This song was written in 1945 by Edoardo Nicolardi, an employee in the "San Loreto Mare" Naples hospital. He was inspired by a true story: in 1944, more or less nine months after the liberation of Naples by the Allied Forces, in the hospital something very, very strange happened...a child was born...but that child was BLACK!!!

The reason why this happened was of course rather obvious, but at that time, and in that particular popular culture, it was something very difficult to admit.

So, the song develops this way: a narrator sings "the fact" by his point of view, trying to avoid the truth in every possible way; a sort of *choir*, like in Greek tragedies, answers to him in a rather direct, even rude way, telling what happened *exactly* instead. A strong contrast between the two parties, that reflects on the musical side too, with the song going from Major to Minor key, in function of the two parts (narrator/choir), with the global feeling of a modal song.

My (obvious) inspiration for this was the great, wonderful interpretation by the NCCP (Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare), who recorded "Tammurriata Nera" in 1974, making it a great success in Italy, where very few knew the song before.

At the end of Tammurriata (= a song played with Tammorra, a big hand drum popular in the region of Naples), there's a sort of *Neapolization* of the song "Pistol Packin' Mama" by Al Dexter, very popular among the American troops in those years (1943-44).

The lyrics are NOT in Italian: it's Neapolitan dialect (or better, "language")

Tammurriata Nera

Io nun capisco 'e vvote che succere
e chello ca se vere nun se crere.
E' nato nu criaturo, è nato niro,
e 'a mamma 'o chiamma gGiro,
sissignore, 'o chiamma gGiro.

Seh, vota e gira, seh
seh, gira e vota, seh
ca tu 'o chiamme Ciccio o 'Ntuono,
ca tu 'o chiamme Peppe o gGiro,
chillo 'o fatto è niro niro, niro niro comm'a cche...

S''o contano 'e cummare chist'affare
sti cose nun so' rare se ne vedono a migliare.
'E vvote basta sulo 'na 'uardata,
e 'a femmena è rimasta sott''a botta 'mpressiunata.

Seh, 'na 'uardata, seh
seh, 'na 'mprissione, seh
va truvanno mò chi è stato,
c'ha cugliuto buono 'o tiro
chillo 'o fatto è niro niro, niro niro comm'a cche...

E dice 'o parulano, Embè parlammo,
pecché si raggiunammo chistu fatto ce 'o spiegammo.
Addò pastin' 'o grano, 'o grano cresce
riesce o nun riesce, semp'è grano chello ch'esce.

Meh, dillo a mamma, meh
meh, dillo pure a me
conta 'o fatto comm'è ghiuto
Ciccio, 'Ntuono, Peppe, gGiro
chillo 'o fatto è niro niro, niro niro comm'a che...

Seh 'na 'uardata seh
seh 'na 'mprissione seh
và truvanno mò chi è stato
c'ha cugliuto buono 'o tiro
chillo 'o fatto è niro niro, niro niro comm'a cche...

'E signurine 'e Caporichino
fanno ammore cu 'e marrucchine,
'e marrucchine se vottano 'e lanze,
e 'e signurine cu 'e panze annanze.

American espresso,
ramme 'o dollaro ca vaco 'e pressa
sinò vene 'a pulisse,
mette 'e mmane addò vò isse.

Aieressera a piazza Dante
'o stommaco mio era vacante,
si nun era p''o contrabbando,
ì' mò già stevo 'o campusanto.

E levate 'a pistuldà
uè e levate 'a pistuldà,
e pisti pakin mama
e levate 'a pistuldà.

'E signurine napulitane
fanno 'e figlie cu 'e 'mericane,
nce verimme ogge o dimane
mmiezo Porta Capuana.

Sigarette papà
caramelle mammà,
biscuit bambino
dduie dollare 'e signurine.

E Ciurcillo 'o viecchio pazzo
s''è arrubbato 'e matarazze
e ll'America pe' dispietto
ce ha sceppato 'e pile 'a pietto.

Aieressera magnai pellecchie
'e capille 'ncopp''e recchie
e capille e capille
e 'o recotto 'e camumilla...
'O recotto,'o recotto
e 'a fresella cu 'a carna cotta,
'a fresella 'a fresella
e zì moneco ten''a zella.

E levate 'a pistuldà
uè e levate 'a pistuldà,
e pisti pakin mama
e levate 'a pistuldà.

And this is the English text:
(US) English Version by Riccardo Venturi
Freiburg, Switzerland, November 26, 2006

BLACK DRUMSONG

Don't understand what's happenin' sometimes
you don't believe your eyes, nay, you don't.
A baby's born and he's all black,
and his mom calls him Ciro, yeah,
she calls him Ciro!*

You may believe it or not,
You may believe it or not,
you may call him Ciccio or Antonio,
you may call him Peppe or Ciro**
but the baby's all black, black like don't know what!

Street gossips keep a-talkin' 'bout all this:
"Now, it's no uncommon case,
you see thousands of 'em!
An' sometimes one look is enough
an' the gal's left struck, yea, left struck.

Well, one look, that's fuzz,
well, she's left struck, oh yeah,
now go find who dun it,
go find who made the good shot,
and the baby's all black, black like don't know what!

The ol' wiseman in the street says "Let's talk 'bout it,
cuz if we talk about it,
then we can explain how all this gone.
Corn grows where you sow it,
and when you sow corn, it's always corn what grows up."

Yeah, go tell it to mom, yeah,
Yeah, go tell it to me too,
you may call him Ciccio or Antonio,
you may call him Peppe or Ciro
but the baby's all black, black like don't know what!

The gals from Capodichino
make love to black soldiers,
the black soldier have their cumshots
and the gals yay they get preggo.

American Express,
get me money an' hurry up
or the Police will come in
and do what they want.

Yesterday nite in Piazza Dante
I had an empty stomach,
wasn't it for smuggling,
I'd now be stone dead.

Lay that pistol down, babe,
Lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama,
Lay that pistol down.

Cigarettes for dad,
Sweets for mom,
Biscuits for the kids
And two dollars for the gal.

The Neapolitan girls
make babies with Americans,
see you today or tomorrow
at Porta Capuana.

And Churchill, that ol' fool
stole all mattresses out,
and America to spite him
tore him all hair from his breast.

Yesterday was eatin' peelings
with my hair on my ears,
my hair, my hair,
a cup of camomile tea,
camomile tea, camomile tea,
and frisella bread with boiled meat,
frisella bread, frisella bread,
and the monk's gotten the scab,

Lay that pistol down, babe,
Lay that pistol down.
Pistol packin' mama,
Lay that pistol down.


*/** Typical Neapolitan names.

Technical stuff:

myself: vocals, several takes of 12-string guitar
for the percussion I used DrumJam and Sampletank on an iPad 2
flute is a VST instrument; some sampled and looped sounds from the NCCP version

Enjoy!  

[Groundy]

What a sound Alfstone, Brilliant just brilliant...
Thanks for sharing,.........
well done...........

Alex

[Greeny]

What a weird and trance-like soundscape. Absolutely love the feel of this - it's hypnotic and feels both folky and psychedelic. Beautifully done - masterful!

[alfstone]

What a weird and trance-like soundscape. Absolutely love the feel of this - it's hypnotic and feels both folky and psychedelic. Beautifully done - masterful!

Dear Tim, you went directly to the true essence of the tammurriata:

- yes, it's absolutely folk music...it's a very old traditional dance of the family of the *tarantella*: the difference is the 2/4 rhythm, the use of tammorra and castanets, and the "couple" dance, with the couple surrounded by a "magic circle" made by players, those who listen and even other dancers.

- and yes, it MUST be hypnotic!  

This is an example of the original, TRUE tammurriata, in the streets of Naples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqj6n1MQEBE

...and there's even something in English that can help, if some of you would like to know more about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_RPEG4Ae9w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5xWQpeEqzU

Alfredo

[kenny mac]

Very hypnotic feel to this and it certainly is different from the usual on this site.
It reminds me of some of the stuff robert plant is experimenting with these days.
Well done.

[Carpy]

Hypnotic!

[Oldrottenhead]

alfredo sings!


FMGWABP!

you should sing more often.


i am totally blown away by this.

i feel as if someone just spiked my drink with mescaline.

i love this.

bravo my friend.

[Greeny]

Cool videos. You should do more like this!

[SwanSong]

Don't honestly know this song but I loved this from you
a great listen well done ..NEIL.!!