Indian Red
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
- This article refers to the traditional New Orleans song; for the color see Indian red (color).
Indian Red is traditionally sung at the beginning and at the end of gatherings of Mardi Gras Indians in New Orleans. It is a traditional chant that may have been first recorded in 1947 by Danny Barker for King Zulu label[1] (Barker on guitar & vocals, Don Kirkpatrick on piano, Heywood Henry on baritone saxophone, and Freddie Moore). It has since been recorded many times by, among others, Dr. John and Wild Tchoupitoulas.
Lyrics
- Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day[2]
- Madi cu defio, en dans dey, end dans day
- We are the Indians, Indians, Indians of the nation
- The wild, wild creation
- We won't bow down
- Down on the ground
- Oh how I love to hear him call Indian Red
- I've got a Big Chief, Big Chief, Big Chief of the Nation
- The wild, wild creation
- He won't bow down
- Down on the ground
- Oh how I love to hear him call Indian Red
Notes
- ↑ Lipitz, George. Time Passages: Collective Memory and American Popular Culture, p. 250. University of Minnesota Press, 1990. ISBN 0-816-63881-0
- ↑ A corruption of a phrase from an old Creole song, "M'allé couri dans deser" (Wilson, Traditional Louisiana French Folk Music, 59; Mrs. Augustine Moore, interview by author, 1980. As cited in "The Use of Louisiana Creole in Southern Literature" by Sybil Rein, Creole: The History and Legacy of Louisiana's Free People of Color ed. Sybil Rein. Louisiana State University Press: 2000. ISBN 0-8071-2532-6 pg 124). "M'allé couri dans deser" is said to mean "I am going into the wilderness" ("Creole Slave Songs." The Century Magazine. Vol XXXI, No 6. April 1886. pg 820).
