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Ken Bilby
Rhinebeck, New York
November 1, 2002
Dear Sid,
Here are two Jamaican mento “recipes” from the 50s. You might’ve even heard these while sampling bhaji in Kingston or dip-and-fall-back in Sturge Town. (They weren’t, however, in your personal collection of Jamaican 78s, which you lent me way back when so that I could make copies -- which I still listen to with pleasure.) Several years ago, you asked me to help you find a Trinidad calypso you remembered, a song about how to make bhaji (or was it another Indian dish?). I never did find it… maybe because it wasn’t from Trinidad, after all, but Jamaica (via British Guiana). The Jamaican version by Lord Lebby is a very rare record, but the British Guiana original by Bill Rogers (of “West Indian Weed Woman” fame) was a big hit in 1929.
Best birthday wishes, and bon appétit!
Ken
BARGIE [bhaji]
by Lord Lebby (1958)
(based on “B.G. Bargee,” by Bill Rogers)There was a Coolie man de name of Kangaloo,
He married to a Coolie gal, they call her Cookie.
Tell her to cook de rice and de ackee,
She disobey de order, cook de rice and bargie.
Bargie is a thing that boil without water,
Bargie is a thing that need plenty fire.
Get two brick, you put i pon de kibba,
Prevent de bargie from boil in a hour.
Get you curry, get you coriander,
Get you mausie, get you mausiana.
Get you spice, and you spice down de bargie,
For when I sing, I lead young gal to wonder,
Just because I am a bargie composer.
When Lulu mango start to ripe,
Long long Sammy wouldn’t sleep at night.
When Lulu mango start to ripe,
Big long Sammy wouldn’t sleep at night.
When de bargie boil, you put dung de oil,
And it set for human consumption.
When I sing, I lef gal to wonder,
When I talk, I mek dem surrender.
DIP AND FALL BACK
by Lord Fly
(original composers are thought to be Slim and Sam)
When the war was on, and everything was scarce,
Everyone experiment with things to fill dem face.
We had a lot of food, but meat was out of stock,
To get a blend, we recommend a dip and fall back.
Dip and fall back,
Dip and fall back,
My advice, there is nothing nice
Like de dip and fall back.
Now you buy a shad or mackerel, and you put him dung fe soak,
Buy a bone-dry coconut, you don’t need fe get no cook.
You grater dung de coconut, and you put it dung fe boil,
Then de custard start fe settle dung upon de coconut oil.
Now you put de shad or mackerel, and you put him dung fe steam,
Tek a tomato scallion till it form into a cream.
No stew beef or no mackerel, no mutton, pork or scrap,
Can be as sweet when you start to eat de dip and fall back.
Now you crush de boil banana, and you eat it with de milk,
Get a mug of beveridge, and as you dip you strip.
And if de war should come, and de bomb begins to drop,
You’ll face a tank or a long-range gun with de dip and fall back.
Dip and fall back,
Dip and fall back,
My advice, there is nothing nice
Like de dip and fall back.