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Saturday, December 16, 2006

Things I want to know: language edition QUESTIONS


I really want to know, if you know, or even if you have a theory.

1. When did the term "drop" replace the word "release" when describing the sale date of an album? "My album will be dropping on January 2." And why drop? My wife has a theory about this; one's album is like one's baby, and in birthing a child, the baby drops down the birth canal. Plausible, but is it correct?

2. When did the term swag add the definition of "promotional items, especially when given for free, considered as a group," and by extension, free stuff? As opposed to window treatment?

3. When did kumbaya become a term of scorn? "We didn’t hold hands and sing kumbyah." "This is the sort of mushy, 'kumbaya' leftist pablum that is deserving of derision." Just this week, I saw Rosie O'Donnell on "The View" - I was flipping through channels, really! - get her colleagues to hold hands and say, sarcastically, "Let's all sing Kumbaya!"

I'm especially interested in the latter, because, in the late 1960s, my father, sister and I used to sing it. But NOT with those banal campfire lyrics: someone's doing this, someone's that. As my father would introduce it: "Kumbaya is a lullabye." And we treated it as such:
The wind is whisperin', Lord
The trees are swayin', Lord
The cradle's rockin' Lord
The baby's sleepin', Lord
***
I was watching JEOPARDY! last week (of a show that ran a week or two before), and Lynne (who became a one-day champion on that show) is a features editor for the Akron newpaper who said she was the one who caught this "Simpsons"/Dear Abby hoax involving Marge and a bowling instructor.

4 comments:

Uthaclena said...

In the spirit of 'When Did...?', sometime in the mid-80's my cousin posed the question "When did PARTY become a VERB??"

Anonymous said...

I remember singing Kumbayah at camp with candles glowing. One half of the camp was on one side of the lake and the other half facing them singing such a beautiful song. Yes, let's stop the derisive tone that this beautiful song does not deserve.

Kumbayah my Lord, kumbayah
Kumbayah my Lord, kumbayah
Kumbayah my Lord, kumbayah
Oh Lord, kumbayah

Someone's singing my Lord, kumbaya
Someone's singing my Lord, kumbaya
Someone's singing my Lord, kumbaya
Oh Lord, kumbayah

Someone's laughing, my Lord, cumbaya
Someone's laughing, my Lord, cumbaya
Someone's laughing,my Lord, cumbaya
Oh Lord, cumbaya

Someone's crying, my Lord, cumbayah
Someone's crying, my Lord, cumbayah
Someone's crying, my Lord, cumbayah
Oh Lord, cumbayah

Someone's praying, my Lord, kumbaya
Someone's praying, my Lord, kumbaya
Someone's praying, my Lord, kumbaya
Oh Lord, kumbaya

Someone's sleeping, my Lord, kumbaya
Someone's sleeping, my Lord, kumbaya
Someone's sleeping,my Lord, kumbaya
Oh Lord, kumbaya
Oh Lord, kumbaya

love,
SMc

Anonymous said...

Hi Roger - Christmas Greetings

First of all, I've never heard 'drop' being used in the way you describe- maybe I'm just an out of touch Brit on this.

As for 'swag' - in England it had/has the meaning of stolen property - the kind of stuff that a burglar takes...

Anonymous said...

I was looking for information on Levon Helm's song "I Want To Know". When I googled the song with the singer's name, I found your blog. How would I find the information I was looking for? I LOVE your Bush countdown!