Plays:144
Song DescriptionChakiso, in the Ethiopian province of Sidamo, was where the engineers who ran Haile Selassie's gold mines lived with at least one family. The author's childhood in these circumstances is recalled.
Story Behind the SongMother -- romantic; father -- heavy equipment operator. Post-war opportunity to live in Africa a la Isak Dinesen or Lawrence Durrell. Viola Anne (Hayes) Moore took her three sons to Ethiopia to join her husband at the gold-mining fields of the south of
Lyrics
Crackbone Tune
When I was a boy, and a bad one, too,
I would listen all night to the hyenas croon.
And the words to that song
went the whole night long?
by the light of the moon
they'd all sing this crack-bone tune. It goes:
Tumble out of bed, tumble out of bed,
we're going to meet you someday, anyway.
Won't you come out right now, anyhow?
Don't like to wait till this late, anyway.
Won't you come out right now, anyhow?
We're going to meet you someday, anyway.
It's the African moon, it's the African sky;
it's a crack-bone tune that I'll hear till I die.
And the words to that song
are as right as they're wrong?
when the hyena calls,
they're all singing only for you. It goes:
Tumble out of bed, tumble out of bed,
we're going to meet you someday, anyway.
Won't you come out right now, anyhow?
Don't like to wait till this late, anyway.
Won't you come out right now, anyhow?
We're going to meet you someday, anyway.
©1974 Thom Moore, reg. IMRO, MCPS
Song Length
2:20
Genres
Folk - Rock, World - African
Tempo / Feel
Fast (151 - 170)
Lead Vocal
Male Vocal
Moods
Brutal, Cheerful
Subject Matter
Wild Animals, Doom
Language
English
Era
1950 - 1959
| Lyric Credits |
Thom Moore |
|
| Music Credits |
Thom Moore |
|
| Producer Credits |
Donal Lunny |
|
| Publisher Credits |
IMRO, MCPS, PRS |
|
| Performance Credits |
Pumpkinhead |
|
| Label Credits |
Mulligan LUN-001 |
|