This is the 1250th published post here at Folklife Today. In honor of the milestone, we’ll introduce an outstanding singer whose voice happens to appear on the 1250th disc recorded for the archive. The person in question was one of Alan Lomax’s most important and enigmatic singers, the Haitian song leader Francilia. Lomax recorded 96 songs led by Francilia. Some of these were sung solo, while others were recorded in a small group setting, and still others in a ritual context during Vodou ceremonies recorded by the team of Alan and Elizabeth Lomax and their Haitian colleague Revolie Polinice.
Alan Lomax went to Haiti in 1936 and 1937, partly at the urging of Zora Neale Hurston, who was fascinated by Haitian culture and thought it was an important influence on African American culture in Florida and elsewhere in the southern United States. Lomax convinced his supervisors at the Library of Congress to support the four-month expedition. He also brought his fiancee, Elizabeth Lyttleton, to help with the fieldwork, and they were married in Haiti during the trip. Toward the end of the trip, the Lomaxes stayed in the town of Carrefour Dufort, and recorded a wide variety of songs there, including Vodou ceremonies held by several worship communities. While there, they met Francilia, who turned out to be one of the best singers they recorded in Haiti.
Unfortunately, the Lomaxes wrote down very little about Francilia. We don’t even know her last name for sure, though one reference in their notebook suggests it could have been Pierre. Lomax recorded several other Haitian singers with the surname Pierre, and two of them sang with Francilia; it’s conceivable Francilia might have been a relative of theirs.
The Lomaxes took two brief motion pictures of Francilia, which reveal that she was surprisingly young to know so many songs. Lomax’s few written notes about her confirm this. His only real description of Francilia is contained in a document called “Descriptive Notes Pertaining to the Archive’s Haitian Film,” which is not part of the Haiti collection, but rather part of the collection “Archive of American Folk Song films, 1936-1942 (AFC 1990/017).” Lomax wrote:
“We employed Francilia, a young peasant girl of the neighborhood, ostensibly as a servant, for the three weeks we spent in Carrefour Deux Forts [sic]. Our real reason was not her cleanliness or her ability to cook or her energy in sweeping or her excellence as a laundress, because she had none of these qualities, but because she was a delightful singer.”
Disc AFS 1250 was recorded in the town of Carrefour Dufort during a Vodou ceremony (seremoni) of the Sosyete Dereyal. This Sosyete was a worship community belonging to the Kongo-Petwo branch of Vodou, whose spirits largely derive from the deities of Congo River Basin peoples in the western part of Central Africa. According to ethnomusicologist Gage Averill, writing in the booklet notes for these recordings contained in the out of print “Haiti Box” from Harte records, which featured many of these recordings, “Kongo-Petwo rites are the inheritors of the revolutionary fervor of the Petwo (and Lenba) movements among slaves in colonial Saint-Domingue.”
The Lomaxes did not write anything about the Sosyete Dereyal, and little is known about its specific history. Francilia was evidently a member; she took a very active singing role in this seremoni. In her solo sessions with the Lomaxes, she sang many of the same songs, and many other sacred songs, suggesting her participation in the Sosyete was an important part of her life as a singer.
AFS 1250 A: “Champay OK, mande twa fwa nan peyi-a”
Although Lomax called Francilia’s first song on disc 1250 “Champagne OK, mandé trois fois nan pays-o” (which the Association for Cultural Equity renders in better Kreyòl as “Champay OK, mande twa fwa nan peyi-a”), I think in naming it Lomax was influenced by the song immediately preceding it in the seremoni, which began with the words “Champay OK.” This song begins with the words “Twa fwa nan peyi-a,” and when Francilia sang it for Lomax solo, he therefore called it “Trois fois naus pays-a, Champagne O.K.” The words Lomax rendered as “Champagne OK” are transcribed by ethnomusicologist Gage Averill as “chanpay-o te.”
The song is addressed to Penba and Bazawou, two lwa (or spirits) in the Kongo-Petwo branch of Vodou. On AFS 1250 Francilia repeatedly invokes Penba throughout the song from the beginning, adding Bazawou about halfway through. The song was obviously sung as part of ceremonies, but its meaning is obscure; as Gage Averill writes, “we are at a loss to properly convey the theological meaning of the song.”
Francilia’s two performances of this song differ in some ways, but since I don’t have an adequate transcription of the one on AFS 1250, I’ll post a transcription and translation of Francilia’s solo performance of this song on AFS 1228. Most of the lines of the solo version are repeated more than once in the version on AFS 1250, but not always in the same order. Hear the version on AFS 1250 in the player below.
Lyrics to the version on AFS 1228
Penba Penba
Twa fwa nan peyi-a
Chanpay-o te mande twa fwa nan peyi-a
O! Chanpay ki Chanpay jouke nan lanmè
Wo! Banbou ki Banbou jouke nan lankò yo
Lwa Bazawou mande twa fwa nan peyi-a
M rele Bazawou mande twa fwa nan peyi-a
M rele Bazawou mande twa fwa nan peyi-a
Lwa Bazawou mande twa fwa nan peyi-a
Translation
Pemba! Pemba!
Three times in the country
Champagne-o asks three times in the country
Oh, Champagne is perched in the ocean
Whoa, bamboo is hanging from the bodies
The lwa Bazawou asks three times in the country
I shout, Bazawou asks three times in the country
I shout, Bazawou asks three times in the country
The lwa Bazawou asks three times in the country
We’ll pass over the second song on AFS 1250, “Senti foula nan kay Manbwe,” which is similarly obscure, and which is not sung by Francilia. You can find it online here, courtesty of the Association for Cultural Equity.
AFS 1250 B2: Lè minwit o! Se lè mwen!
This song is evidently intended to welcome midnight as a time of spiritual possibilities. Note that it mentions “dyab.” This word is derived from French “diable,” or devil, and Haitian Christians use it with that meaning. However, while “dyab” in Vodou can mean Satan, it more often refers to either a demon or a lwa who is seen as mercenary or mischievous.
Lyrics
Lè minwit o! Se lè mwen!
Lè minwit o! Se lè mwen!
Mwen di kou n tande kòk la chante
Se lè mwen!
Chorus: Lè minwit o! Se lè mwen!
Lè minwit o o! Se lè pa mwen!
Mwen di o! Kou w-tande kòk la chante
Lè minwit o! Se lè mwen!
Adye!
Lè minwit sa-w!
Se lè mwen!
Ay! Li se lè-m sa o!
Se lè mwen!
Adye O! Kou w-tande dyab la chante
O! Lè minwit o! Se lè mwen!
Translation
Oh, midnight! It’s my hour!
Oh, midnight! It’s my hour!
I say as soon as you hear the cock sing
It’s my hour!
Chorus: Oh, midnight! It’s my hour!
Oh! I say as soon as you hear the cock sing
Oh, midnight! It’s my hour!
Adye! It’s midnight
It’s my hour!
Ay! It’s my hour!
It’s my hour!
Oh! Adye! As soon as you hear dyab sing
Oh, midnight! It’s my hour!
In addition to the seremoni recorded by the Lomaxes, Francilia made many recordings for the Lomaxes alone, and a few with several friends. These included solo versions of many ritual Vodou songs, which as Averill notes was “a bit artificial” since the songs were meant to be sung in a ceremonial setting with group responses and in some cases drumming. But she also sang a wide range of other songs, including lullabies and love songs, children’s ditties and songs about current events.
According to Averill:
“The comfort level attained between the Lomaxes and Francilia is palpable, and the Francilia recordings are certainly some of the best, in terms of audio quality, in the entire collection. I would also point out the informal feeling of the recording sessions, with Francilia occasionally breaking out into laughter in reaction to people around her.”
Of course, we can never know for sure, but this all suggests that Francilia was aware that her ostensible position as a servant was really a cover story. It was likely employed by both parties to allow the Lomaxes to keep her close, pay her, and record her songs, without causing gossip or jealousy in the tight-knit community.
We’ll present three more of Francilia’s songs in this post, and continue with a second post about her soon!
AFS 1226 A2: “Demwazèl, na fe renmen”
The proper interpretation of this jocular love song has been difficult because the main phrase is hard to hear and seems to vary through the course of the song. Different experts have heard “Young ladies, let’s make love” or “young ladies, don’t make me fall in love.” Either way, the young male narrator is distracted by thoughts of young women, and has a hard time sitting still to practice his music! The manouba mentioned in the song’s lyrics is a large lamellophone similar to a supersized version of the mbira, kalimba, or “thumb piano” common across sub-saharan Africa. It consists of a box with a sound hole, over which are suspended metal tongues, which are plucked with the fingers. Usually the player sits on top of the box to play it. It is common throughout the Caribbean, with various names such as marimbula, manibula, or maniba. It often provides bass lines in Haitian twoubadou music.
Lyrics
Demwazèl, na fè renmen
Renmen byen pou w sa jwenn byen
Mwen chita nan biwo-m mape jwe manouba
Kou w wè m sonje w m pa sa rete, wololoy!
Demwazèl, na fè renmen
Renmen byen pou jwenn yon byen
Demwazèl, ka fè renmen
Renmen byen na jwenn yon byen
Mwen chita sou biwo mape jwe manouba
Mwen chita nan biwo-m mape jwe manouba
Kou w wè m sonje w m pa sa rete, wololoy!
Demwazèl, na fè renmen
Renmen byen pou jwenn yon byen
Demwazèl, na fè renmen
Renmen byen pou jwenn yon byen
Mwen chita sou biwo m’ape jwe manouba
Lè m sonje w, m pa sa rete, o lo lo!
Demwazèl, na fè renmen
Renmen byen na jwenn yon byen
Demwazèl, pa fè renmen
Renmen byen pou jwenn yon byen
Mwen chita sou biwo m’ape jwe manouba
Lè m sonje w, m pa sa rete, o lo lo!
Demwazèl, pa fè renmen
Renmen byen pou jwenn yon byen
Mwen chita sou biwo m’ape jwe manouba
Lè m sonje w, m pa sa rete, o lo lo!
Translation
Young ladies, we’ll make love
Love well to find happiness
I am sitting on my desk and playing manouba
Oh! When I think of you, I can’t sit still, wololoy!
Young ladies, we’ll make love
Love well to find happiness
Young ladies, we’ll make love
Love well to find happiness
I am sitting on my desk playing manouba
I am sitting on my desk playing manouba
When I think of you, I can’t sit still, o lo lo
Young ladies, we’ll make love
Love well to find happiness
Young ladies, we’ll make love
Love well to find happiness
I am sitting on my desk playing manouba
When I think of you, I can’t sit still, o lo lo
Young ladies, we’ll make love
Love well to find happiness
Young ladies, don’t make me fall in love
Love well to find happiness
I am sitting on my desk playing manouba
When I think of you, I can’t sit still, o lo lo
Young ladies, don’t make me fall in love
Love well to find happiness
I am sitting on my desk playing manouba
When I think of you, I can’t sit still, o lo lo
AFS 1226 B2: “Ou pa si bèl, ou pa si dous”
This is an example of Francilia interpreting a currently popular hit, whose title translates to “You’re Not that Pretty, You’re Not that Sweet.” As Gage Averill notes in the liner notes to the Haiti box set, the sad story of Carmen, who cheats on Joe and suffers the consequences, was a well known song in 1930s Haiti:
“This song was very popular in Haiti in the 1930s and into the 1940s. It was a hit for artists (especially troubadours) in Port-au-Prince and in the provinces of Haiti. In Port-au-Prince, Antoine Radule (an excellent player of the trios/tres), Féfé Clermont, and Annilus Cadet all performed it. In Cap Haitien, Emmanuel “Manno” Toussaint used to play it as well.”
Lyrics
Ou pa si bèl
Ou pa si dou
Ou pa yon bote
Ou pa si bèl
Ou pa si dou
Ou pa yon bote
Sipoze, cheri, ma fè yon bèl avè w
Men yon bon chans mape ba ou
Kou w fè on lapat
Devenn pou ou timanman
Men w twonpe Zo
Zo fè de la!
Ou pa si bèl
Ou pa si dou
Ou pa on bote
Ou pa si bèl, Ti Kamèn
Ou pa si fre
Ni ou pa on bote
Sipoze, cheri, ma fè yon bèl avè w
Se yon bon chans m ape ba ou
Kou w ou fè on lapat
Devenn pou ou ti manman
Men ou twonpe Zo
Zo fè de la
[Repeats]
Kamen ale kay manman
Kamèn, kèl erè ou fè!
Kèl erè, kome Kamèn
Cheri, kèl erè ou fè!
Translation
You’re not that pretty
You’re not that sweet
You’re not a beauty
You’re no·t that pretty
You’re not that sweet
You’re not a beauty
Suppose, my dear, I want to be nice to you
I was going to offer you a good opportunity
But you’ve screwed it up
Unlucky you, little mama
You’ve cheated on Joe
Joe has now hooked up with two women!
You’re not that pretty
You’re not that sweet
You’re not a beauty
Little Carmen, you’re not that pretty
You’re not that chic
You’re not a beauty either
Suppose, my dear, I want to be nice to you
Here is a good opportunity I’m giving you
But you’ve screwed up
Unlucky you, little mama
You’ve cheated on Joe
Joe has now hooked up with two women!
[Repeats]
Carmen, go to your mother’s house
Carmen, what a mistake you have made!
What a mistake, my dear girl Carmen
Darling, what a mistake you’ve made!
AFS 1192 B2: Etendez-la
“Etendez-la” is an example of Francilia singing with Baptiste Pierre and Alberto Pierre. Her ability to sing easily with them makes the single reference to “Francillia Pierre” in the Lomaxes’ notebook particularly intriguing: were they family? The song seems to be a ballad about a nautical disaster. As with the “blues ballad” and other African American ballad forms, the song focuses on expressing the emotions brought up by specific moments in the narrative rather than on telling a chronological story of the shipwreck. Note the word “podyab,” another sense in which dyab may be invoked, in exactly the same sense as English “poor devil.” The Lomaxes recorded this song several times, including from Francilia alone. In some cases they titled it “Entendez-La.”
Lyrics
Chorus: Ela ela ela, etendez la
repeats after every line or couplet
Etendez la, Bade nwaye
Etendez la, etendez la
Etendez la, Capitaine Golore
Golore lo mes bras
Etendez la, Bade nwaye
Etendez la, etendez la,
Podyab pov amate,
Podyab pov kapiten
Etendez la, Bade nwaye
Etendez la, Etendez la, Capitaine Golore
Golore lo mes bras
Etendez la, Bade nwaye
Etendez la, Etendez la,
Batiman navige, Golore lo mes bras
Etendez la, Bade nwaye
Etendez la, Etendez la,
Batiman navige, Golore lo mes bras
Etendez la, Bade nwaye
Etendez la, etendez la,
Podyab pov kapiten,
Podyab pov amate
Etendez la, Bade nwaye
Etendez la, etendez la,
Podyab pov kapiten,
Podyab pov amate
Etendez la, Bade nwaye
Ro!
Translation
Chorus: Ela, ela, ela, listen
(repeats after every line or couplet)
Listen, Bade was drowned
Listen, listen
Listen, Captain Golore
Golore in my arms
Listen, Bade was drowned
Listen, listen
Poor devil poor ship owner
Poor devil poor captain
Listen, Bade was drowned
Listen listen, Captain Golore
Golore in my arms
Listen, Bade was drowned
Listen, listen
The ship sailed, Golore in my arms
Listen, Bade was drowned
Listen, listen
The ship sailed, Golore in my arms
Listen, Bade was drowned
Listen, listen
Poor devil poor captain
Poor devil poor ship owner
Listen, Bade was drowned
Listen, listen
Poor devil poor captain
Poor devil poor ship owner
Listen, Bade was drowned
Ro!
N a wè pi ta!
Thanks for joining us, and extra special thanks to anyone who has followed us since the blog debuted in 2013. We’ll return soon with another post saying more about Francilia, including her influence on contemporary Haitian music. In all, the Lomaxes recorded 96 songs from this fascinating singer. Find all the Francilia recordings at this link courtesy of the Association for Cultural Equity. You can also find out more about the Haitian collection by watching the lecture at this link, by ethnomusicologist Gage Averill.
Note: For the transcriptions and translations, I relied heavily on Gage Averill’s booklet notes for these recordings contained in the out of print “Haiti Box” from Harte records, which featured many of these recordings. However, I did edit the transcriptions in some cases, and I lengthened them where they had been shortened for inclusion in the book. I am responsible for any errors introduced in that process.