My newest lullaby

Lately, this song got stuck in my mind. The first time I heard of it was when I watched Skeleton Key with Leo months ago, a suspense/thriller about hoodoo practice that starred Kate Hudson. She played a private nurse to an elderly man in a creepy old mansion in the bayou of Louisiana. The song sounded eerie, even supernatural at first (either that or the movie just did a real good job playing me all along). I can even imagine this being played in hoodoo celebration, alongside another record called Conjure of Sacrifice, which is way more sinister in its scoring.

Weirdly enough, I find the song amusing that I constantly hum it before bedtime. What’s more amusing is that I learned that it was actually a call-and-respond chant of a Mardi Gras Indian tribe, which was recorded in the ‘60s by a trio of African American girls from New Orleans called the Dixie Cups. They were singing this while they were on break recording their hit “Chapel of Love” in the same circa. It caught the attention of their producer who decided to include the chant in their album. This later became their final top-forty. Sadly, I also found out that the Dixie Cups singers were not spared from the recent wrath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. I also came across a radio interview of them and their voices sounded angelic despite the tragedy. Now, I so want an mp3 of this.


Iko Iko (Dixie Cups)

My grandma and your grandma were
Sit-tin' by the fire.
My grandma told Your grandma:
"I'm gonna set your flag on fire."

Talk-in' 'bout, Hey now ! Hey now ! I-KO, I-KO, un-day
Jock-a-mo fee-no ai na-né. Jock-a-mo fee na-né.

Look at my king all dressed in red.
I-KO, I-KO, un-day. I betcha five dollars he'll kill you dead.
Jock-a-mo fee na-né

Talk-in' 'bout, Hey now ! Hey now ! I-KO, I-KO, un-day
Jock-a-mo fee-no ai na-né. - Jock-a-mo fee na-né.

My flag boy and your flag boy were
sit-tin' by the fire.
My flag boy told Your flag boy:
"I'm gonna set your flag on fire."

Talk-in' 'bout, Hey now ! Hey now ! I-KO, I-KO, un-day
Jock-a-mo fee-no ai na-né. - Jock-a-mo fee na-né.

See that guy all dressed in green ?
I-KO, I-KO, un-day.
He's not a man;
He's a lov-in' machine.
Jock-a mo fee na-né.

Talk-in' 'bout, Hey now ! Hey now ! I-KO, I-KO, un-day
Jock-a-mo fee-no ai na-né. - Jock-a-mo fee na-né.