National Anthropological Archives

MS 7561 Anthropology lyrics for songs

Summary

Collection ID:
NAA.MS7561
Creators:
Lurie, Nancy Oestreich
Dates:
n.d
Languages:
Undetermined
.
Physical Description:
6 Pages
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Included are lyrics "The King-Pin of Anthropology" for the tune of Gilbert and Sullivan's "I'm the Ruler of the Queen's Navee"; The Northern Athabascan Bastards", by Lurie for the tune of the "Wabash Cannonball"; "The Great Athabascan Migration for the tune of the "Wabash Cannonball"; and "The Ethnolinguists Lament: by Helm and Lurie to the tune of "On Top of Old Sophie."

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Lurie reported that "The Great Athbascan Migration," AKA "The Athabascan Bastards Caused the Great Pueblo Fall," is very old and was composed, I'm told around the campfire during fieldwork at a SW dig. I first heard it when I was a graduate student at the University of Chicago, 1945-47, and it already was an established part of the repertoire when grad students sang to guitar accompaniment at parties. My sequel, written ca. 1959 when June Helm and I did field work among the Dogrib, never gained any wide currency. There aren't as many N. Athabascan researchers as SW archeologists. The other Northern Athabascan song was composed by June and me during the fied season of 1967 at Fort Rae, NWT, when a linguist, Bob Howren, then of the U. of Iowa, and a graduate student whose last name I've forgotten also spent the summer there. It was inspired by the fact that the Dogrib word for peanut butter is squirrel shit. The first jars they saw, I believe "Nutty Club" brand, had a picture of a squirrel on the label and the Dogrib drew a natural conclusion . . . I have no idea where I got the other song, but my copy is a xwerox of old darened thermofaxes . . .. Although there are out and out typos, it appears that some of the misspelling is intentional.. . . I don't recall hearing it sung, but the culture and personality field started in the 1940s."

Using the Collection

Citation
Manuscript 7561, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution

More Information

Local Numbers

Local Numbers
NAA MS 7561

Local Note

Local Note
Electrostatic copies of typescripts


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Helm, June, 1924- Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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