“Ride Red, Ride”
is a reference to Henry ‘Red’ Allen, one of the greatest jazz trumpeters and singers to come out of New Orleans.
http://www.louisianamusicfactory.com
Line 2, “When the role is called up yonder” I leave room for interpretation. Given the references that follow in the poem it’s difficult to deny the spiritual implications… ‘up yonder’ as in heaven, a gathering of histories. There is also a fragment of the dream that closes the Cultural Exchange section that carries through to this.
Line 7, “Ca Ira! Ca Ira!” … “les aristocrats a la lanterne” is the refrain to a song from the French Revolution. “It shall go on, it shall go on, [hang] the aristocrats to the lantern.”
Alone, “IRA!” also implies anger, fury. (Webster’s Dictionary 1913).
Line 8 “IRA! BOY, IRA!” has the intensity of light, enlightenment, anger into energy, TURN ON!
The Spanish in the second stanza translates roughly to “Grandmother (Abuela), where are you? (donde esta).”
Line 12, “lost in Castro’s beard” Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba in 1959 after leading a revolution against Batista.
Line 14, “blown sky high by Mont Pelee?”
Mt. Pelee, located on the island of Martinique, is famous for the May 8, 1902 eruption which killed 29,000 people and destroyed the city of St. Pierre. This is the largest number of casualties for a volcanic eruption this century.
http://volcano.und.nodak.edu/vwdocs/volc_images/img_mt_pelee.html
Line 16, “was she fleeing with Lumumba?” Patrice Lumumba was the first Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He was deposed by Mobutu Sese Seko in 1960 and executed in 1961. New reports have shown the CIA and the Belgian government to share responsibility for his death.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrice_Lumumba
Line 17 throws me off a bit. The history of the events that are behind the specific names Hughes mentions here is staggering. In other words, I don’t know which side is which.
And the next line, “A little rum with sugar” could possibly imply a lament for the Caribbean, a loyalty to… this takes some digging!
No luck yet on Morena (line 18).
Grenadine: A chain of islands off the coast of Venezuela. Also a red syrup made from pomegranates.
Granada: was first settled by native tribes in the prehistoric period, and was known as Ilbyr.
When the Romans colonised southern Spain, they built their own city here and called it Illibris. The Arabs, invading the peninsula in the 8th century, gave it its current name of Granada. It was the last Muslim city to fall to the Christians in 1492, at the hands of Queen Isabel of Castile and her husband Ferdinand of Aragon.
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/granada.htm
I’m not quite sure how to translate line 20. I think it has something to do with drops of blood.
Adam Powell, mentioned in the last stanza, was the first person to represent Harlem in Council. His career seems to have ended rather tragically.
Overall, there is an urgency about this poem to acknowledge the past and to be proud instead of silent, to be angry instead of silent, to be curious, to become part of the legacy; “When they ask if you knew me,/ don’t take the Fifth Amendment.”
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A Reader's Guide
These annotations to Langston Hughes' long poem "Ask Your Mama: 12 Moods for Jazz" are compiled and expanded each semester by students in Naropa University’s "Investigative Poetics" class, offered through the MFA Creative Writing low-residency program.
Annotations by Section
- Ask Your Mama (1)
- Bird in Orbit (1)
- Blues in Stereo (1)
- Cultural Exchange (1)
- Gospel of Cha-Cha (1)
- Horn of Plenty (1)
- Is It True (1)
- Jazztet Muted (1)
- Ode to Dinah (1)
- Ride Red Ride (1)
- Shades of Pigment (1)
- Show Fare Please (1)
5 comments:
“de sangre es la gota?”
Since I’m from the south, it may have stood out since I’m familiar with the historical use of the one drop rule. The one drop rule states that a person is considered “black” or “negro” if they have just one drop of African blood in their ancestry. In New Orleans, the culture is somewhat unique since African- Americans for a time enjoyed an independence here not found in the rest of the country. Free men and women of color could hold property, receive education and enjoy the rights that many whites did including owning slaves. Part of the history regarding this society of free people of color was tied up in the tradition of placage, or the tradition of white men keeping mulatto or quadroon mistresses. The arrangements for this were very formal and were established when the men met the young women at the infamous quadroon balls and agreed to provide them with a home and income as well as future security for any children produced by the arrangement. These children were often well educated enjoying trips to Europe and many financial opportunities even if they could never inherit their father’s property. As you can imagine, these complex race relations simply provided another myriad of problems than those found in other states. The children of these unions were often “white” enough to pass as they called it, and so standards had to be established to continue to demarcate who was “black” and who was “white” when the eye could no longer discern the color difference. The one drop rule is only applied to African ancestry and is only found in the United States.
In “Ride, Red, Ride” (486) there is in the music instruction in the margin the reference to the song “Eli Eli”. I thought this was interesting, because it is Hebrew meaning “O Lord, My God” and most probably indicates the song written by Hannah Senesh, a Jewish heroine of WWII. I thought this was a subtle way for Hughes to use the music to open up other instances of great prejudice and tragedy without using the language of the poem. The poem remains on track exploring African- American historical references while Hughes employs the music to do a little extra leg work for him. Here’s a brief site on her life: http://talmud.epsb.ca/ourwork/grade9/hannah.htm
Megan
Morena is sort of slang (polite slang, because in the carib isles and parts of central america it is not meant as a put down), and originates, obviously, in Spain, where the Spaniards had their antipathy for some centuries with the Moors. A morena is thus basically anyone who is tan-colored and raven-haired. at least in my cuban/puerto-rican culture.
jorge
Investigative Research
On “Ride, Red, Ride”
1)“Ride Red Ride” We know that Red is referring to Henry Red Allen, but it also looks like “Ride Red Ride” was the name of one of Allen’s songs and the name of one of his albums. I tried to find a link that would allow me to listen to it, but alas, no luck.
http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,42489,00.html
“ride, red, ride in hi-fi - album reviews
This 1957 LP (which has since been reissued as World on a String on CD) was one of trumpeter Henry "Red" Allen's finest hours. He leads a potentially unruly group of all-stars (which includes Coleman Hawkins on tenor, clarinetist Buster Bailey and trombonist J.C. Higginbotham) through a variety of heated standards. The highpoints are Red's abstract solo on "I Cover the Waterfront," the catchy "Algiers Bounce" and the hot ensembles of the Dixielandish "Love Is Just Around the Corner." ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide”
2)The word “ride” may refer to a slang word for “play” as in “Play Red Play.” Or it may refer to a movement of travel, like travel with or through the music Red. The whole title may also be a play on the tale “Little Red Riding Hood” Which is all about deceiving; the big bad wolf dressing up as the grandma to “fool” the little girl. Therefore the title could imply, Fool them Red Fool them, deceive the music with your sound, or deceive the audience with your sound.
3)Line 2 “When the roll is called up yonder”
This is a song by Mickey Gilley. This line seems to reference the “coming of the Lord” The judgment day.
“On that bright and cloudless morning when the dead in Christ shall rise
And the glory of His resurrection share
When His chosen ones shall gather to their home beyond the skies
When the roll is called up yonder I’ll be there.”
http://www.tsrocks.com/m/mickey_gilley_texts/when_the_roll_is_called_up_yonder.html
4)The word “roll” in this line could mean “(1)a written document that may be rolled up: scroll. A document containing an official or formal record (the roll of parliament) (2) a manuscript book, a list of names or related items; catalog, an official list (the voter rolls)…” Merriam-Webster.
Thus in reference to the song it could mean the Lords list of who is saved and who is not saved.
The word “yonder” means: “at or in that indicated more or less distant place usually within sight” Merriam-Webster.
Thus in reference to the song, the word “yonder” could be referring to the skies, the Heavens.
5) Line 19 “A Little Rum With Sugar” Really intrigues me and throws me at the same time. Why would someone put sugar in their rum? Rum is usually made from molasses or sugar cane; it is over 50% sugar. Unless, a little rum with sugar is a reference to a cocktail. That would make sense, since there are a lot cocktails that are made with rum and fruit juice (implying natural sugar, sugar from fruit). Rum comes from the Caribbean and in my Rum search I found a reference to: Martinique which was previously mentioned as the island where the volcano Mont Pelee is located. Mont Pelee is also a referred to in the poem. So it seems like the rum and the volcano are related.
Martinique: is a French island with the largest number of distilleries in the Eastern Caribbean. Both pot and column stills are used. As on other French islands such as Guadeloupe, both rhum agricole (made from sugar cane juice) and rhum industriel (made from molasses) are produced. These Rums are frequently aged in used French brandy casks for a minimum of three years. Rhum vieux (aged Rum) is frequently compared to high-quality French brandies.
(http://www.tastings.com/spirits/rum.html)
6) In line 22 “De sangre es la gota?” My translative guess is: The blood is the drop. But I do not know exactly what this means in the context of the poem. My first guess is that it is referring to the volcanic eruption of Mont Pelee in 1902, referring to the lava and to the blood of the people the eruption killed and injured.
7) Line 26 “You’ll be called by Eastland” Eastland was a passenger ship based in Chicago In June of 1914 there was an “Eastland Disaster” in which the ship rolled over.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastland)
“…Eastland began to roll over, coming to rest on its side in 20 feet of water only 20 feet from the wharf, on the south bank of the Chicago River between Clark and LaSalle Streets. The Kenosha came alongside the hull to allow some passengers to leap to safety. 841 passengers and 4 crew died in the disaster. Many of the passengers on the Eastland were Czech ("Bohemian") immigrants from Cicero, Illinois….”
8) I am puzzled by the reference to ‘Santa Claus.’ It seems to be a metaphor, maybe for the white man, maybe for capitalism (the idea of presents buying). Yet, Santa represents an element of ‘belief.’ He is a fictional character and one must ‘believe’ in him.
Thus the reference to Santa Claus may represent the ‘belief’ in the white man or the ‘white man’s beliefs.
Process Note:
Overall, I agree this piece is about speaking up and it also seems to me to be about great hope, great hope in that there will be a salvation. The last line referring to seeing Santa once, meeting him once, implies to me that the narrator saw (past tense) Santa in the position of riding in a jaguar once, for a time. It suggests that this site of Santa’s position being chauffeured by Powell is fleeting or did not last. It is also interesting to me that Santa who dresses in red and white rides on a sleigh, this again alludes back to the title Ride Red Ride.
(Pg. 484 - right margin) Dixieland Jazz
What I found most interesting in my research into Dixieland Jazz was the disparities of its history (specifically where & when it originated). Each site seemed to have a slightly different version…
Defining Dixieland Jazz:
It's rather sad to relate, but even many Americans (the land where Jazz was born) no longer understand the meaning of the expression "Dixieland Jazz". If we define 'Jazz' as the free improvisation on a melody, then "Dixieland Jazz" is that type of improvisation which we today associate with bands originally playing in America's 'Southland'. (Most folks now think of 'Southland' as New Orleans, LA, but in fact the music was being played over very large areas of the U.S.A. including, Memphis, St. Louis, Texas, Detroit etc., not to mention the lively 'Barrelhouse' music of San Francisco's Barbary Coast.)
Before -say the 1880s - composers would write a melody, which in time would be orchestrated for a small orchestra. Bands would always play the tune the same way - precisely as it was orchestrated. Eventually, small groups of musicians took it upon themselves to improvise on the melody - to "Jazz" it up. Early bands were usually very small groups, a "Frontline" of cornet, trombone and clarinet/Saxophone, and a "backline" (rhythm section) of Brass Bass (tuba), Banjo (an American invention), Drums and Piano.
In the South, these bands would play 'ensemble style' - no solos - with different instruments of the frontline varying, 'Jazzing', the melody -while the musicians all played together (no solos). This 'Ensemble Playing', with each instrument 'jazzing up' it's own part, is what came to be called "Dixieland Jazz".
When the music moved to St. Louis, MO, Detroit, MI, and to Chicago, IL, - it changed somewhat, but most notably in two ways.
Firstly, due very greatly to the influence of one musician, Bix Beiderbecke, instrumental Soloing became a fixture of Dixieland Jazz. Musicians, such as Louis Armstrong and others, would take Bix's idea and expand on it by making Solos a fixed feature, along with routining the way bands would play, and some other improvements.
Secondly, Dixieland changed into a 'harder driving' form. In America's South, the music seemingly 'unfurled' in front of you. A relatively gentle style of playing, - associated with the gentler days of the old South. In the North, - in Chicago - the music reflected life in Chicago, - a hard driving, hustling and bustling city of stock yards, businesses, saloons, gangsters, bootleg 'hooch', and JAZZ. Due to Bix Beiderbecke's influence, soloists were given "space" in each tune, and the music was more forcefully presented to the audience.
(Source: http://nfo.net/usa/JO.html)
Another take on the history of Dixieland Jazz:
The style combined earlier brass band marches, French quadrilles, ragtime and blues with collective, polyphonic improvisation. While instrumentation and size of bands can be very flexible, the "standard" band consists of a "front line" of trumpet (or cornet), trombone, and clarinet, with a "rhythm section" of at least two of the following instruments: guitar or banjo, string bass or tuba, piano, and drums.
The term Dixieland became widely used after the advent of the first million-selling hit records of the Original Dixieland Jass Band in 1917. The music has been played continuously since the early part of the 20th century. Louis Armstrong's All-Stars was the band most popularly identified with Dixieland, although Armstrong's own influence runs through all of jazz.
Some fans of post- bebop jazz consider Dixieland no longer to be a vital part of jazz, while some adherents consider music in the traditional style, when well and creatively played, every bit as modern as any other jazz style.
The definitive Dixieland sound is created when one instrument (usually the trumpet) plays the melody or a recognizable paraphrase or variation on it, and the other instruments of the "front line" improvise around that melody. This creates a more polyphonic sound than the extremely regimented big band sound or the unison melody of bebop.
Etymology
While the term Dixieland is still in wide use, the term's appropriateness is a hotly debated topic in some circles. For some it is the preferred label (especially bands on the USA's West coast and those influenced by the 1940s revival bands), while others (especially New Orleans musicians, and those influenced by the African-American bands of the 1920s) would rather use terms like Classic Jazz or Traditional Jazz. Some of the latter consider Dixieland a derogatory term implying superficial hokum played without passion or deep understanding of the music.
According to jazz writer Gary Giddins, the term Dixieland was widely understood in the early 20th century as a code for "black music." Frequent references to Dixieland were made in the lyrics of popular songs of this era, often written by songwriters of both races who had never been south of New Jersey. Other composers of the "Dixieland" standards, such as Clarence Williams and Jelly Roll Morton, were native New Orleanians.
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dixieland)
“I WANT TO SEE MOTHER’S MOTHER”
This, along with other longing pleas for knowledge about ancestors, the naming of so many African & African American figures (musicians, artists, politicians, freedom-fighters, civil-rights leaders, writers, actors), as well as the naming of so many places of significance to Africans, African Americans, and members of the African Diaspora all over the world, came through really powerfully to me. This poem seems to have everything to do with LINEAGE. In reading about Hughes, and his interest in the paradox of a culture that is both strong and weak, empowered and disempowered, vital and self-undermining, I feel that the treatment of lineage is portrayed here as being just as paradoxical. On one hand, Hughes is invoking so many powerful, impacting people in the African American lineage…. By drawing the all collectively into this poem, the poem stands almost as a pillar of community, an unabashed showing of accomplishment, soul, vitality. And yet, there is the undercurrent of longing – where is his mother’s mother? Who are the people he came from? What happened to them? What did they KNOW? There is a feeling that the lineage is a patchwork affair, of mixed origins, experiences, mixed languages (lots of references to Creole languages/culture in here – and also the attunement to African American vernacular language). This dual way of delving into lineage was truly evocative for me, and it made me think a lot about lineage, and how it becomes erased, and how it is re-invented through language, art, music. Many of the people named in this poem are creatives, ones who contribute to the reinventing of culture and the reinvesting in lineage, however patchwork it may be. It is true, what other people have commented, about many of these figures having “made it” in American culture, at least, as black folks in white genres. Despite this, their contributions are just as big a part of black culture as it stands today – and the complexities of race, society, politics under which they did their art are PART of the lineage that they have added to, just like this poem by Langston Hughes, who so many readers and writers today look to as a source of inspiration.
“MORENA”
This may have already been commented on, but here it is again if so (I am pasting these from the Urban Dictionary):
“A spanish word used to describe Latinas who are tanned/dark (i.e., dark hair/brunette, dark eyes, dark skin) in varying degrees. Used in contrast to Gringa or Guedo for a White Latina, Negra for a Black Latina and Asianz aren't usually included in this definition.
A word blacks and latinos call pretty/ attractive {dark} {skinned} girls.
{morrrr -ay- n- ah} takin from the spanish language”
(caitlin scholl)
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