[ExI] newtonmas songs again

[spike at rainier66.com]

From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of Adrian Tymes via extropy-chat



 

But that next part, oh my goodness: We won’t go until we get some.  Some.  Get some.  They won’t go until they get some… what?  From the context, we might presume they want “some” of that suspicious-sounding “figgy pudding” but at this utterance, I might be resorting to faking a seizure and having the ambulance rescue me from these “figgy pudding” demanders. 

 

>…As always with these things, one must consider the context - which in this case was England, some centuries ago.  "Figgy pudding" was a common dish, and the carolers' demands were basically the poor asking for alms in a season when their needs were traditionally given more weight than in the rest of the year.  https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/what-the-heck-is-figgy-pudding-and-why-do-we-sing-about-it/ has more info. 

 

 

 

So we are told Adrian, but in our age of heightened awareness, we see through the thin veneer.  Those Newtonmas songs are full of stuff that escapes the modern awareness, misheard lyrics and such.  Consider for instance the Jose Feliciano classic which is in a mixture of English and what is commonly misreported as Spanish.  The line

 

Feliz Navidad prospero ano y Felicidad

 

is not Spanish at all in reality, and has nothing to do with wishing anyone prosperous year or any of that.  In reality, Feliziano is singing in a mixture of English and his real second language Fulani Swahili.  Of course there are so few speakers of the obscure dialect Fulani Swahili, the listeners read into it the Spanish rather than the mixture often referred to as Swahenglish, and hear something about seasons greetings.  The real meaning is about unwanted figgy-pudding-demanding guests, cornered by Cujo the rabid dishwasher, snarling and snapping as they desperately try to negotiate with him to not tear them a bloody new asshole.  

 

The real translation of the Swahenglish is not:

 

Feliz Navidad prospero ano y Felicidad

 

but rather is really more along the lines of:

 

Please naughty dog, I prosper with the ass I had.

 

Of course neither Spain nor England wants to admit any of this, so we get this pleasant cover story about mysterious but suspicious-sounding fig-based confections no one ever heard of wishes for prosperous new year and all that.

 

But you already knew this was going to happen, ja?  Every year, the same thing, spike desperately struggling to inform his young friends about the real meanings of the songs.  It’s my civic duty, you’re welcome.

 

spike

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