26 Mar
2018
26 Mar
'18
12:55 a.m.
I feel that the old dances, like old movies, shouldn’t be left in the dust because they
are offensive in our modern context. Rather we can take them in their context, as a relic
of an older day.
I happen to LOVE the song Billy Boy, it was on a movie I saw as a child and was one of the
few pieces of folk music I was exposed to as a child growing up in suburbia. “She’s a
young thing” sounds endearing to me, though of course dated and somewhat archaic. It also
just happens to be the way people talked them.
We as callers can perhaps help moderate this, with an introduction that puts the dance in
a context for the dancers where it is less offensive and more what in classical music is
called a “period piece”- that is, a work that is performed with an understanding by all
that it is a dated, but valuable piece of art that we can keep alive.
My caution is to not throw the baby out with the bath water, whatever folks decide.
Happy dancing!
Cara
On Mar 25, 2018, at 19:22, Robert Livingston via
Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I visited, more than once, an assisted living home, here in CT, to talk to a prominent
caller of "back in the day".
He told of dancing as a teen. So many young folks did then. The call was "swing
her in the center and kiss her if you dare".
He stammered and turned red as she poked fun at his shyness. They both ended up on the
floor. They became friends, not
dates; but he did take her to the Senior Ball, filling in for her steady boyfriend, who
for some reason, couldn't.
I still call - by a lady's request - Girl I Left Behind Me: "swing that girl,
she's a cute little girl, swing that girl behind you - pass
right thru, and balance too" - her favorite! Then there's "push her away
and watch her grin pull her right back and swing her again -
push her away and watch her smile - pull her right in and swing her awhile." It
comes up.
Singing calls are indigenous to the US. And ubiquitous - back in the day of my shy
caller.
Bob Livingston
Middletown, CT
On Sunday, March 25, 2018, 1:12:51 AM EDT, Rich Sbardella via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Hello folks,
I have been calling singing squares for years, and there is one I love by Dick Leger
titled Billy Boy. The tag line that is sung during the Promenade is "She's a
young thing, that cannot leave her mother."
Here is a link to a version of the full song, not within a square.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKRJuLHU3Qo
My question is, is this song appropriate for the contra dance crowd with the tag line
above? (The tag line is the only line that is sung.)
Any Thoughts?
Rich
Stafford, CT
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