1914: LBDB’s “Chinook-English Songs”, part 7 of 15 “Good Night Ladies”

by

I’m delighted to share with you another Chinook Jargon song from more than a century ago!

I apologize for how atrocious the CJ in it is!

Image credit: Youtube

As usual, legit pioneer Laura Belle Downey-Bartlett’s good knowledge of Chinuk Wawa got led astray when she tried to translate popular American songs into it.

(A link to all installments in this mini-series.)

Pages 24 & 25 of LBDB’s book, “Chinook-English Songs” (Portland, OR: Kubli-Miller, 1914).

Song #7 “Klosh Polakely T’sladie” is a Jargon translation of the well-known minstrel song “Goodnight Ladies“.

Pacific NW tie-ins: compare LBDB’s lyrics below with the 1951 Portland “Klooches Sika Klattawa” song. And, as a kid, we sang “Goodnight Cub Scouts” to close our den meetings.

I’ll confine my comments on what’s below to these:

  • T’sladie would be a word unknown in the Central and Southern dialects of CJ; it’s Dxʷləšucid (Lushootseed Salish) from Puget Sound, sɬádəyʔ ‘woman, lady’. (Or the Twana equivalent.)
  • Hee-hee nesika cooley kah actually means something like ‘It’s hilarious that we’re going somewhere’…
  • E-niti hy-as chuck = ‘across the big water / Columbia River’ …
  • T’see moosum unavoidably sounds like you’re wishing somebody ‘sweet sex’…

KLOSH POLAKELY T’SLADIE.

Ict.

Klosh polakely t’sladie!
Klosh polakely t’sladie!
Klosh polakely t’sladie!
Nesika klatawa, alta.

Konaway Shunta.

Hee-hee nesika cooley kah,
Cooley kah, cooley kah,
Hee-hee nesika cooley kah,
E-niti hy-as chuck.

Mox.

Kla-how-ya t’sladie!
Kla-how-ya t’sladie!
Kla-how-ya t’sladie!
Nesika klatawa alta.

          Konaway Shunta.

Klone.

T’see moosum t’sladie!
T’see moosum t’sladie!
T’see moosum t’sladie!
Nesika klatawa alta.

          Konaway Shunta.

GOOD NIGHT LADIES.

1

Good night ladies!
Good night ladies!
Good night ladies!
We’re going to leave you now.

Chorus

Merrily we roll along,
Roll along, roll along,
Merrily we roll along
O’er the dark blue sea.

2

Fare-well ladies!
Fare-well ladies!
Fare-well ladies!
We’re going to leave you now.

          Chorus, Merrily etc.

3

Sweet dreams ladies!
Sweet dreams ladies!
Sweet dreams ladies!
We’re going to leave you now.

          Chorus, Merrily etc.

ikta mayka chaku-kəmtəks?
What have you learned?

Category : Uncategorized